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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 4 Resource Name: Elwood Bear House
<br />*Recorded by Pedro Gomez *Date March 25, 2021 ❑O Continuation ❑ Update
<br />*P3a. Description (continued):
<br />Fenestration along the side (east and west) elevations consists of six -over -six, wood, double -hung windows, and multi -light
<br />wood casement windows, some shaded by fabric awnings. A secondary entry on the east elevation faces the driveway and is
<br />characterized by a simple wood multi -panel door, also shaded by a fabric awning. A small patio cover is attached to the rear
<br />of the residence, but due to their location and design, they do not impact the integrity of the building. There is a one-story
<br />detached garage (built in 1954) at the rear of the property that not considered a character -defining feature. The property is
<br />generally landscaped with low vegetation, shrubs, and lawn. The property retains a high degree of integrity.
<br />*B10. Significance (continued):
<br />in 1945, the home was sold to Hans and Lenora Haug. In 1949, the home was sold to Ivan F. and Hazel I. Macy. Mr. Macy
<br />worked locally as a laborer and later as a building inspector. Mr. Macy passed in 1968 and Mrs. Hazel resided in the home
<br />until 1981. The home was subsequently sold to James R. Trevorrow who resided at the property until 2000 until it was sold to
<br />Gary and Susan Weber.
<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 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 Elwood Bear 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. Groves of oranges, avocados, and walnuts and
<br />widely scattered ranch houses characterized this area before 1920. Developer and builder Allison Honer (1897-1981),
<br />credited as the subdivider and builder of a major portion of northwest Santa Ana, arrived in Santa Ana from Beaver Falls,
<br />New York in 1922 (Talbert, pages 353-356). "Before nightfall on the day of his arrival, Mr. Honer purchased a parcel of land.
<br />And that month, he began building custom homes in Santa Ana" (Orange County Register, September 15, 1981). The parcel
<br />chosen became the Floral Park subdivision between Seventeenth Street and Santiago Creek. "When built in the 1920s, the
<br />Floral Park homes were the most lavish and expensive in the area. They sold for about $45,000 each" (Orange County
<br />Register, September 15, 1981). Revival architecture in a wide variety of romantic styles was celebrated in the 1920s and
<br />1930s and Floral Park showcased examples of the English Tudor, French Norman, Spanish 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 El Toro Marine Base during World War 11, and the 1960 Honer Shopping Plaza. Honer lived in the
<br />neighborhood he had helped to create, at 615 West Santa Clara Avenue.
<br />in the late 1920s and 1930s, another builder, Roy Roscoe Russell (1881-1965), continued developing the groves of Floral
<br />Park. An eady Russell project was his 1928 subdivision of Victoria Drive between West Nineteenth Street and West Santa
<br />Clara Avenue. The homes were quite grand and displayed various revival styles, including Russell's own large, Colonial
<br />Revival mansion at 2009 Victoria Drive. in the early post World War ll years, Floral Park continued its development as
<br />numerous, smaller, single-family houses were built. Continuing in the Floral Park tradition, they were mostly revival in style. In
<br />the 1950s, low, horizontal Ranch Style houses completed the growth of Floral Park. Today (2021) Floral Park maintains its
<br />identity as the premier neighborhood of Santa Ana, historically home to many affluent and prominent citizens.
<br />The Elwood Bear House qualifies for listing in the Santa Ana Register of Historical Properties under Criterion 1, as a very
<br />intact and well -documented example of a Spanish Colonial Revival bungalow in Santa Ana. It appears very much as it was
<br />pictured in a Santa Ana Register advertisement published on June 16, 1923. Additionally, the house has been categorized as
<br />"Key" because it has a "distinctive architectural style and quality' as an example of the Spanish Colonial Revival style in
<br />Santa Ana, exhibiting distinctive features such as the Palladian -influenced treatments of the fagade windows, unusual
<br />shingled tile roof, and front patio enclosure. Character -defining features of the Elwood Bear House that should be preserved
<br />include, but may not be limited to: materials and finishes (stucco); unusual shingled tile roof configuration, materials, and
<br />treatment (clay barrel tile coping and rolled edges); massing and composition; Palladian -influenced treatments of the fagade
<br />windows; fenestration; front patio enclosure (waist high wall and terracotta tile pavers); and original exterior lighting and
<br />lighting bracket.
<br />*B12. References (continued):
<br />Harris, Cyril M. American Architecture: An Illustrated Encyclopedia. New York, WIN 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 />DPR 523L
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