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*Recorded by Ricardo Soto *Date March 22, 2018 O Continuation ❑ Update
<br />*870. 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 />The E.N. Steffensen House is located on the south eastern edge of Washington Square, a neighborhood northwest of
<br />downtown Santa Ana bounded by North Bristol Street, South Flower Street, Civic Center Drive, and Washington. Most of
<br />this area was owned by the family of Jacob Ross, who had purchased portions of the Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana in
<br />1868 and 1869. Walnuts and other crops were grown in the area during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries,
<br />with a few farmhouses, most notably the Ross -McNeal House at 1020 North Baker Street, dotting the landscape. By 1905,
<br />Baker and Towner were the only streets in the neighborhood, which extended from Hickey (now Civic Center) only as far as
<br />Washington and which contained only about a dozen homes. The status quo had not changed much by 1915, when a brick
<br />yard was located at the northern terminus of Olive Street at Hickey. In 1925, the beginning of the development that would
<br />convert this largely agricultural area into a middle class neighborhood of single-family homes over the next 25 years had
<br />begun. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, the Tudor Revival and Spanish Colonial Revival homes were the standard, with
<br />American Colonial Revival saltboxes and ranch style homes favored in the years before and after World War IL During the
<br />1930s, many of the homes were built by local contractor Emmett Rogers, who sold lots and built homes according to
<br />standard plans, which individual property owners could customize to their tastes ("Washington Square: A Neighborhood of
<br />Pride," Washington Square Neighborhood Association). With the return of servicemen following the war and the
<br />accompanying demand for homes in southern California, the development of Washington Square was all but completed.
<br />The E.N. Steffensen House qualifies for listing in the Santa Ana Register of Historical Properties under Criterion 1 for its
<br />representation of the distinguishing characteristics of the Spanish Colonial Revival style. Additionally, the house has been
<br />categorized as "Contributive" because it "contributes to the overall character and history" of the Washington Square
<br />neighborhood and "is a good example of period architecture, " representing the Spanish Cononial Revival style in Santa Ana
<br />(Santa Ana Municipal Code Section 30-2.2). Character defining features of the E.N. Steffensen House that should be
<br />preserved include but may not be limited to: materials and finishes (stucco); roof configuration, materials, and treatment
<br />(dutch clay tiles); massing and composition; fenestration (doors and wood windows); and architectural detailing (cast -stone
<br />appliques).
<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 />Whitten, Marcus. American Architecture Since 1780. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1969.
<br />Santa Ana and Orange County Directories, 1905-2017.
<br />Ancestrycom
<br />Newspapers.com (Santa Ana Register)
<br />Historic Maps, Santa Ana History Room, 1912, 1923, 1932, and 1955.
<br />Armor, Samuel. History of Orange County. Los Angeles: History Record Company, 1921, page 989.
<br />Park Santiago Neighborhood Association. "The Gingerbread Lands Holiday Home Tour, 1999." Brochure.
<br />Rischard, Maureen McClintock. "People Behind Places: Enderle Center." Orange County Genealogical Society Quarterly
<br />December 1993, pages 4-7.
<br />DPR 523L
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