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State of California—The Resources Agency Primary If
<br />DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI #
<br />CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial
<br />of 4 Resource Name or # {Assigned t
<br />by Hally Sobolaske `Date October 6, 2016 O Continuation ❑
<br />"B10. Significance (continued:
<br />Santa Ana was founded by William Spurgeon in 1869 as a speculative town site on part of the Spanish land grant known as
<br />Rancho Santiago da Santa Ana. The civic and commercial core of the community was centered around the intersection of
<br />Main and Fourth Streets. Stimulated by the arrival of the Santa Fe Railroad and incorporation as a city in 1886, and selection
<br />as the seat of the newly created County of Orange in 1889, the city grow outwards, with residential neighborhoods
<br />developing to the north, south, and east of the city center. Agricultural uses predominated in the outlying areas, with
<br />cultivated fields and orchards dotted with widely scattered farmhouses.
<br />The Dc Sammy Lee House is located in Fisher Park, a neighborhood north of West Floral Park and bounded by Sharon
<br />Road (west of North Flower Street) and Memory Lane (east of North Flower Street) on the north, Interstate 5 on the east,
<br />Santiago Creek (west of North Flower Strout) and Park Lane (east of North Flower Street) on the south, and Bristol Street on
<br />the west. The neighborhood takes Its name from Jacob (Jack) Fisher. Born in Yakima, Washington, Fisher moved to Santa
<br />Ana with his parents and sister in the early twentieth century. In April 1917, upon the United States' entry into World War 1,
<br />Fisher enlisted in the US Army when he was 18 years old. Assigned to Company L, Seventh California Regiment, Fisher
<br />latered advanced to the level of corporal in the 58" Infantry of Company D. During his service in World War 1, Fisher
<br />received several high-level honors for his service in France, Including a Purple Heart, French Croix de Guerre with Palm, and
<br />the Medaiile Militaire, France's highest military recognition. After surviving the battles of Argonne Forest and Verdun, Fisher's
<br />final battle was fought In Argonne, from which he emerged with grave injuries. In 1919, Fisher returned to the United States
<br />for a period of convalescence. During his recuperation at the military hospital in San Francisco, Fisher studied art and
<br />cartoon illustration, which he developed into a career as a cartoonist for the San Francisco Examiner and later, Santa Ana
<br />Ra ister upon his return to Santa Ana in 1927, A decorated veteran with awards from Italy, Belgium, Britain, France, and the
<br />United States, Fisher was Instrumental in the formation of the Santa Ana Chapter of the Disabled American Veterans. After
<br />Fisher's death at the age of 30, in March 1929, the Chapter of Disabled American Veterans he helped form took his name as
<br />the Jack Fisher Post, Chapter of Disabled American Veterans. On August 23, 1933, construction was completed on a park
<br />north of Santiago Creek on North Flower Street and dedicated as the Jack Fisher Memorial Park.
<br />Prior to its residential development, Fisher Park formed Lots 5B, 8 and 9 of the Potts, Borden and Sidwell Tract, subdivided in
<br />1681. Current -day interstate 5 conforms to the prominent diagonal swath cut by the Southern Pacific Railroad line, which
<br />was established In Santa Ana in the late 1870s and still forms the eastern border of the Fisher Park neighborhood. With the
<br />exception of the Southern Pacific Railroad line, the area remained agricultural through much of the first half of the twentieth
<br />century, with walnut groves and orchards dotting the landscape. In November 1947, residential development arrived when a
<br />narrow strip was cleared, graded, and subdivided into 25 lots offered as Tract No. 1160, 'River Lane Tract "on which
<br />present-day Sharon Road appeared as River Lane. Mirroring the curve of Santiago Creek to the south, the streets displayed
<br />a curvilinear layout, with lots ranging in size from 70 to 130 feet long, 140 to 190 daep. Three years later, in August 1950,
<br />another curvilinear subdivision appeared east of Flower Street with smaller lots, averaging 60 feet by 90 feet, arranged
<br />around a curvilinear pattern with cul de sacs. An outgrowth of earlier City Beautiful and Garden City models, this curvilinear
<br />layout reflected neighborhood planning preferences codified in the 1930s by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA),
<br />which regulated and financed the increase in home ownership through its mortgage lending and insurance programs. During
<br />the post -WWII housing expansion In the United States, the FHA -endorsed model for city planning as reflected in the
<br />neighborhood of Fisher Park "set the standards tbr the design of post -World War 11 subdivisions." (National Raglster Bulletin
<br />Historic Residential Suburbs, p. 49).
<br />Construction quickly transformed the neighborhood from agricultural to residential. A 1947 aerial photograph taken a few
<br />months before creation of the River Lane Tract shows the area dominated by groves of trees. By 1955, nearly all the lots of
<br />both tracts had been improved with single-family residences with uniform setbacks, mostly in the Ranch House style popular
<br />in the 1950s and 1960s, in a configuration and unity of design still reflected there today (2006).
<br />The Or Sammy Lee House qualifies for listing in the Santa Ana Register of Historical Properties as "Contributive".
<br />Additionally, the house has been categorized as 'Contributive" because it "contributes to the overall character and history" of
<br />Santa Ana, and, as an Intact example of the Ranch House style in the Fisher Park neighborhood, 'is a good example of
<br />period architecture." Character -defining exterior features of the Dr. Sammy Lee House that should be preserved include, but
<br />may not be limited to, materials and finishes (board-and-betten siding and Palo Verde rock); roof configuration and detailing;
<br />original windows and doors where extant; wood garage door with decorative hinges.
<br />B12. References (continued):
<br />Armor, Samuel. History of Orange County. Los Angeles: History Record Company, 1921.
<br />Cultural Heritage Commission, City of Santa Ana. "Historical Landmarks, Inventory Form, Bowers Museum,' September 12,
<br />1979. Available at the Santa Ana Public Library History Room.
<br />SPR 523E
<br />25F-32
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