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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
<br />McBRIDE HOUSE
<br />2403 North Riverside Drive
<br />Santa Ana, CA 92706
<br />NAME McBride House REF. NO.
<br />ADDRESS 2403 North Riverside Drive
<br />CITY Santa Ana ZIP 92706 ORANGE COUNTY
<br />YEAR BUILT 1936 LOCAL REGISTER CATEGORY: Contributive
<br />HISTORIC DISTRICT N/A NEIGHBORHOOD Floral Park
<br />CALIFORNIA REGISTER CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION 3 CALIFORNIA REGISTER STATUS CODE 2D2
<br />Location: ^ Not for Publication ®Unrestricted
<br />^ Prehistoric ®Historic ^ Both
<br />ARCHITECTURAL STYLE: Ranch House (Proto-Ranch House Variant)
<br />Widely published in Sunset and House Beautiful magazines, the Ranch House dominated post-World War II residential expansion and
<br />represented the most popular house form in the United States from the 1950s through 1970s. The Ranch House originated in the
<br />1930's designs of Southern California architect Cliff May, who sought to reinvent the west's vernacular housing traditions by
<br />combining the form and massing of the traditional ranch house with a modernist's concern for informality, expressed in materials and
<br />plan, and indoor-outdoor integration.
<br />While the style includes several variants, a basic set ofcharacter-defining features applies to most examples. In form and massing, the
<br />style evokes a sprawling ranch that developed over time, with a central block extended by wings of varying roof heights. Generally
<br />L-shaped or U-shaped in plan, the Ranch House typically has aone-story profile with strong horizontal emphasis expressed through a
<br />low pitched or flat roof with wide overhanging eaves. Asymmetrical in design, the Ranch House is often sheathed in and accented
<br />with rustic materials such as board-and-batten siding, high brick foundations, art stone, and wood shake roofs. Indoor-outdoor
<br />integration is achieved through the use of recessed or extended porches, set low to the ground, and the generous use of large picture,
<br />ribbon, or corner windows. Window detailing can include wood frames, decorative shutters, and diamond-patterned muntins.
<br />Ornamentation includes rusticated elements, such as carved porch supports and exposed rafters, uneven rakes and flared eaves, and
<br />faux dove cotes and bird houses. The proto-Ranch House represents a transitional style between the explicitly western-influenced
<br />work of Cliff May in the 1930s and the historic-eclectic styles popular in the 1920s and 1930s. This stylistic hybrid is reflected in
<br />Ranch House elements (such as an emphasis on the horizontal, U-shaped, one-story plan, low-pitched roof, use of rusticated materials,
<br />and incorporation of an extended or recessed porch) and Minimal Traditional elements (such as the shallow eave treatment, gable
<br />treatment with scalloped edge, and front-gabled wings).
<br />SUMMARY/CONCLUSION:
<br />As a contributor to the North Broadway Park district, which has been determined eligible for listing in the National Register of
<br />Historic Places, the McBride House has been listed in the California Register of Historical Resources. The McBride House qualifies
<br />for listing in the Santa Ana Register of Historical Property under Criterion 1 for its exemplification of the distinguishing
<br />characteristics of the proto-Ranch House. Additionally, the house has been categorized as "Contributive" because it "contributes to
<br />the overall character and history" of Santa Ana, and, as an example of a proto-Ranch House, "is a good example of period
<br />architecture" (Municipal Code, Section 30-2.2).
<br />EXPLANATION OF CODES:
<br />• California Re@ister Criteria for Evaluation: (From California Office of Historic Preservation, Technical Assistance Series # 7,
<br />"How to Nominate Resources to the California Register of Historical Resources," September 4, 2001.)
<br />3: It embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, region, or method of construction, or represents the
<br />work of a master, or possesses high artistic values.
<br />• California Register Status Code: (From California Oflce of Historic Preservation, December 8, 2003.)
<br />2D2: Determined eligible for listing as a contributor by consensus determination.
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