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State of California —The Resources Agency Primary #
<br />DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI #
<br />CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial
<br />by Pedro Gomez *Date September 2, 2018 O Continuation ❑ Update
<br />*B10. Significance (continued):
<br />Ray P. Tarr and his wife were members of the Ebell Club and were actively involved in the Junior Ebell Riders. Mr. Tarr was
<br />actively identified with the investment banking field for many years and managed the Santa Ana office for the William A. Lower
<br />& Co. with O'Melveny, Wagenseller & Durst investment banking house, located in the First National Bank building. Robert B.
<br />Wright was also associated with the banking field. However, Mr. Wright was employed by Bank of America as the bank
<br />manager.
<br />The Tarr -Wright 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), credited
<br />as the subdivider and builder of a major portion of northwest Santa Ana, arrived in Santa Ana from Beaver Falls, New York in
<br />1922 (Talbert, pages 353-356). "Before nightfall on the day of his arrival, Mr. Honer purchased a parcel of land. And that month,
<br />he began building custom homes in Santa Ana" (Orange County Register, September 15, 1981), The parcel chosen became
<br />the Floral Park subdivision between Seventeenth Street and Santiago Creek. "When built in the 1920s, the Floral Park homes
<br />were the most lavish and expensive in the area. They sold for about $45,000 each" (Orange County Register, September 15,
<br />1981). Revival architecture in a wide variety of romantic styles was celebrated in the 1920s and 1930s and Floral Park
<br />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 I/, 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 Park.
<br />An early Russell project was his 1928 subdivision of Victoria Drive between West Nineteenth Street and West Santa Clara
<br />Avenue. The homes were quite grand and displayed various revival styles, including Russell's own large, Colonial Revival
<br />mansion at 2009 Victoria Drive. In the early post World War 11 years, Floral Park continued its development as numerous,
<br />smaller, single-family houses were built. Continuing in the Floral Park tradition, they were mostly revival in style. In the 1950s,
<br />low, horizontal Ranch Style houses completed the growth of Floral Park. Today (2021) Floral Park maintains its identity as the
<br />premier neighborhood of Santa Ana, historically home to many affluent and prominent citizens.
<br />The Tarr -Wright House qualifies for listing in the Santa Ana Register of Historical Properties under Criterion 1, for its
<br />exemplification of the distinguishing characteristics of the Colonial Revival Cape Cod style. Additionally, the house has been
<br />categorized as "Contributive" because it "contributes to the overall character and history' of the Floral Park neighborhood, and,
<br />as an example of the Colonial Revival Cape Cod style in the Floral Park neighborhood, "is a good example of period
<br />architecture". Character -defining features of the Tarr -Wright House that should be preserved include, but may not be limited to:
<br />original or replaced in -kind materials and finishes (siding and wood trim); roof configuration, materials, and treatment; massing
<br />and composition; fenestration (doors and windows); architectural detailing (entry, dormers and window shutters), and the one-
<br />story garage.
<br />*1312. References (continued):
<br />City of Santa Ana Building Permits
<br />Santa Ana History Room Collection, Santa Ana Public Library
<br />Sanborn Maps
<br />Harris, Cyril M. American Architecture: An Illustrated Encyclopedia. New York, WW Norton, 1998.
<br />Hess, Alan. Ranch House. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc. 2004
<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 1760. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1969.
<br />"Alison Honer Dies at 84," The Santa Ana Journal September 21, 1981.
<br />"Historyof Floral Park." http:/Awww.floral-park.com/page2.html.
<br />Santa Ana and Orange County Directories, 1941-1962.
<br />Santa Ana Daily Register, April 4, 1923
<br />DPR 523L
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