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<br />DPR 523L
<br />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: M.C. Walker House
<br />*Recorded by Pedro Gomez *Date October 4, 2018 Continuation Update
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<br />*B10. Significance (continued):
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<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 />
<br />1318 North Baker Street is located on the western edge of Washington Square, a neighborhood southwest of Floral Park
<br />bounded by West 15th Street, North Louise Street and West Washington Avenue. Most of this area was owned by the family
<br />of Jacob Ross, who had purchased portions of the Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana in 1868 and 1869. Walnuts and other
<br />crops were grown in the area during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, with a few farmhouses, most notably
<br />the Ross-McNeal House at 1020 North Baker Street, dotting the landscape. By 1905, Baker and Towner were the only
<br />streets in the neighborhood, which extended from Hickey (now Civic Center) only as far as Washington and which contained
<br />only about a dozen homes. The status quo had not changed much by 1915, when a brick yard was located at the northern
<br />terminus of Olive Street at Hickey. In 1925, the beginning of the development that would convert this largely agricultural area
<br />into a middle class neighborhood of single-family homes over the next 25 years had begun. In the late 1920s and early
<br />1930s, the Tudor Revival and Spanish Colonial Revival homes were the standard, with American Colonial Revival saltboxes
<br />and ranch style homes favored in the years before and after World War II. During the 1930s, many of the homes were built
<br />by local contractor Emmett Rogers, who sold lots and built homes according to standard plans, which individual property
<br />owners could customize to their tastes (“Washington Square: A Neighborhood of Pride,” Washington Square Neighborhood
<br />Association). With the return of servicemen following the war and the accompanying demand for homes in southern
<br />California, the development of Washington Square was all but completed.
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<br />The M.C. Walker House qualifies for listing in the Santa Ana Register of Historical Properties for its representation of the
<br />distinguishing characteristics of the Minimal Traditional style. Character defining features of the the M.C. Walker House that
<br />should be preserved include, but may not be limited to, materials and finishes: fenestrations (symmetrical wood windows
<br />and bay window), horizontal wood siding, roof shape and materials (asphalt shingles); and an overextended roofline to form
<br />a rounded porch over the entryway. Additionally, the house has been categorized as “Contributive” because it “contributes to
<br />the overall character and history” of the Washington Square neighborhood and “is a good example of period architecture,”
<br />representing the Minimal Traditional style in Santa Ana (Municipal Code, Section 30-2.2).
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<br />*B12. References (continued):
<br />
<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, 1905-2017.
<br />Ancestry.com
<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 Lande 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.
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