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*1310. 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 selection
<br />as the seat of the newly created County of Orange in 1869, 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 />The Gregg House is located in Floral Park, a neighborhood northwest of downtown Santa Ana bounded by West
<br />Seventeenth Street, North Flower Street, Riverside Drive, and Broadway. This neighborhood is northwest of downtown Santa
<br />Ana bounded by West Seventeenth Street, North Flower Street, Riverside Drive, and Broadway. Groves of oranges,
<br />avocados, and walnuts and widely scattered ranch houses characterized this area before 1920. Developer and builder Allison
<br />Honer (1897-1981), credited as the subdivider and builder of a major portion of northwest Santa Ana, arrived in Santa Ana
<br />from Beaver Falls, New York in 1922 (Talbert, pages 353-356). "Before nightfall on the day of his arrival, Mr. Honer
<br />purchased a parcel of land. And that month, he began building custom homes in Santa Ana" (Orange County Register,
<br />September 15, 1981). The parcel chosen became the Floral Park subdivision between Seventeenth Street and Santiago
<br />Creek. "When built in the 1920s, the Floral Park homes were the most lavish and expensive in the area. They sold for about
<br />$45,000 each" (Orange County Register, September 15, 1981). Revival architecture in a wide variety of romantic styles was
<br />celebrated in the 1920s and 1930s and Floral Park showcased examples of the English Tudor, French Norman, Spanish
<br />Colonial, and Colonial Revival.
<br />The Allison Honer Construction Company went on to complete such notable projects as the 1935 Art Deco styled Old Santa
<br />Ana City Hall, the EI Toro Marine Base during World War ll, and the 1960 Honer Shopping Plaza. Honer lived in the
<br />neighborhood he had helped to create, at 615 West Santa Clara Avenue. In the late 1920s and 1930s, another builder, Roy
<br />Roscoe Russell (1861-1965), continued developing the groves of Floral Park. An early Russell project was his 1928
<br />subdivision of Victoria Drive between West Nineteenth Street and West Santa Clara Avenue. The homes were quite grand
<br />and displayed various revival styles, including Russell's own large, Colonial Revival mansion at 2009 Victoria Drive. In the
<br />early post World War It years, Floral Park continued its development as numerous, smaller, single-family houses were built.
<br />Continuing in the Floral Park tradition, they were mostly revival in style. In the 1950s, low, horizontal Ranch Style houses
<br />completed the growth of Floral Park. Today (2003) Floral Park maintains its identity as the premier neighborhood of Santa
<br />Ana, historically home to many affluent and prominent citizens.
<br />The Gregg House qualifies for listing in the Santa Ana Register of Historical Properties under Criterion 1 for its representation
<br />of the distinguishing characteristics of the Neoclassical style. Additionally, the house has been categorized as "Key" because
<br />it "has a distinctive architectural style and quality" representing the Neoclassical style in Santa Ana (Santa Ana Municipal
<br />Code, Section 30-2.2). Character defining features of the Gregg House include, but may not be limited to: materials and
<br />finishes (wood siding and columns); roof configuration, materials, and treatment ; massing and composition; fenestration
<br />(multi -pane hung windows where extant); and architectural detailing.
<br />*1312. References (continued):
<br />Harris, Cyril M. American Architecture: An Illustrated Encyclopedia. New York, WW Norton, 1998.
<br />Marsh, Diann. Santa Ana, An Illustrated History. Encinitas, Heritage Publishing, 1994.
<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 />Whiffen, Marcus. American Architecture Since 1780. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1969.
<br />Santa Ana and Orange County Directories, 1920-1979.
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