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State of California—The Resources Agency Primary #
<br />DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI #
<br />CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial
<br />Page 3 of 3 Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder) 2544 North French Street
<br />*Recorded by Brian Matuk *Date September 7, 2017 ❑x Continuation ❑ Update
<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 de 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
<br />selection as the seat of the newly created County of Orange in 1889, the city grew 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 />2544 North French Street is located in the Park Santiago neighborhood, near the present northern city limits of Santa Ana
<br />and substantially north of the original city core. The neighborhood is bounded by Santiago Creek and Park on the north,
<br />East Seventeenth Street on the south, North Lincoln Avenue on the east, North Main Street on the west, and the 1-5 freeway
<br />on the southwest. In large part, these boundaries reflect the transportation lines that were constructed towards the end of
<br />the nineteenth century and at the beginning of the twentieth century, when the Pacific Electric interurban railroad ran up
<br />Main Street; the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe tracks followed Lincoln; and the Southern Pacific Railroad right-of-way
<br />mirrored the freeway route. This area remained primarily agricultural well into the 1920s. As of 1905, the city directories
<br />listed around twenty households on East Santa Clara, Twentieth Street, "C Street" (now North Santiago Street), North Bush
<br />Street and North Main Avenue, the only streets in the area at the time. The vast majority of the residents were ranchers. By
<br />1911, the number of households had increased to about thirty, and Edgewood Road and Valencia Street had been partially
<br />laid out, but most residents continued to list "rancher" or "fruit grower" as their occupation in the city directories. This pattern
<br />of land use was evident on the 1912 plat map of the City, which illustrated two small, Craftsman -era subdivisions along Bush
<br />north of Santa Clara and on Valencia and Poinsettia south of Twentieth Street, with the remaining area divided into larger
<br />agricultural parcels held by approximately forty landowners.
<br />While the area east of Santiago Street was not subdivided until after the mid -1920s, most of the present day streets west of
<br />Santiago had been laid out when the City was mapped in 1923. Ranching continued to be the most prevalent occupation in
<br />the neighborhood, but increasing numbers of professionals, small business owners, merchants, and people in service
<br />professions such as painters, electricians, and carpenters made their homes in the western half of the neighborhood during
<br />the 1920s and 1930s. The area also attracted several city and county officials, including the City Attorney (Z.B. West, Jr.,
<br />321 East Santa Clara Avenue), County Supervisor, First District (C.H. Chapman, 2315 North Santiago Street), County
<br />Surveyor (E.H. Irwin, 2407 North Santiago Street), and County Auditor (William C. Jerome, 2422 Poinsettia Street). By April
<br />1942, when the Sanborn Company first mapped the western half of the area, most of the lots had been improved with
<br />single-family homes, many in the revival styles popular during the 1920s and 1930s. Subsequent development of the
<br />eastern half of the neighborhood and infill construction in the western half displayed the simplified ranch style that emerged
<br />following World War ll.
<br />2544 North French Street qualifies for listing in the Santa Ana Register of Historical Properties under Criterion 1 for its
<br />exemplification of the distinguishing characteristics of the Ranch style. Additionally, the house has been categorized as
<br />"Contributive" because it "is a good example of period architecture" in its presentation of the Ranch style. All original
<br />exterior features of 2544 North French Street are considered to be character defining and should be preserved. These
<br />features include, but may not be limited to: materials and finishes (siding); roof configuration, materials, and treatment;
<br />massing and composition; fenestration (doors and windows); and architectural detailing (exposed rafters).
<br />*612. References (continued):
<br />McAlester, Virginia and Lee. A Field Guide to American Houses. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1984.
<br />National Register Bulletin 16A. How to Complete the National Register Registration Form." Washington DC: National
<br />Register Branch, National Park Service, US Dept. of the Interior, 1991.
<br />Office of Historic Preservation. "Instructions for Recording Historical Resources." Sacramento: March 1995.
<br />Orange County Plat Maps, 1912.
<br />Santa Ana and Orange County Directories, 1956-1980.
<br />Santa Ana History Room Collection, Santa Ana Public Library.
<br />Whiffen, Marcus. American Architecture Since 1780. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1969.
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