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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 or # (Assigned by recorder) Gear House
<br />'Recorded by Hally Soboleske 'Date March 70, 2090 M Gontinuatlon ❑ update
<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 Gear House is located in Floral Park, a neighborhood northwest of downtown Santa Ana bounded by West Seventeenth
<br />Street, North Flower Street, Riverside Drive, and Broadway. Groves of oranges, avocados and walnuts, and widely scattered
<br />ranch houses characterized this area before 1920. Developer and builder Allison Honer (1897 - 1981), credited as the
<br />subdivider and builder of a major portion of northwest Santa Ana, arrived in Santa Ana from Beaver Falls, New York in 1922
<br />(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
<br />homes were the most lavish and expensive in the area. They sold for about $45,000 each" (Orange County Register.
<br />September 15, 1981). Revival architecture in a wide variety of romantic styles was celebrated in the 1920s and 1930s; Floral
<br />Park showcased examples of the English Tudor, French Norman, Spanish Colonial, and Colonial Revival styles. The Allison
<br />Honer Construction Company went on to complete such notable projects as the 1935 Art Deco - styled Old Santa Ana City
<br />Hall, the El Toro Marine Base during World War fl, and the 1960 Honer Shopping Plaza. Honer lived in the neighborhood he
<br />had helped 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 early 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 Il 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.
<br />In the 1950s, low, horizontal Ranch Style houses completed the growth of Floral Park. Today (2007), Floral Park maintains
<br />its identity as the premier neighborhood of Santa Ana, historically home to many affluent and prominent citizens.
<br />The Gear House qualifies for listing in the Santa Ana Register of Historical Properties under Criterion 1 for its exemplification
<br />of the distinguishing characteristics of the Colonial Revival style. Additionally, the house has been categorized as
<br />"Contributive" because it `contributes to the overall character and history" of Santa Ana, and, as an intact example of the
<br />Colonial Revival style in the Floral Park neighborhood, "is a good example of period architecture ". Character - defining exterior
<br />features of the Gear House that should be preserved include, but may not be limited to, original exterior materials where
<br />extant, roof configuration; and architectural details such as wood tripartite and casement windows.
<br />DPR 523L
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