|
State of California —The Resources Agency Primary #
<br />DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI #
<br />C`(iNTiNUATION SHEET Trinomial
<br />Page 3 of 3 Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder) Borchard House
<br />*Recorded by Leslie J. Heumann *Date January 2, 2003 ® Continuation ❑ Update
<br />*P3a. Description (continued):
<br />one-story wing is topped by a balcony. The front lawn is accented by a pair of palm trees and other mature plantings. In
<br />the rear, a portion of an original pergola stands at the northeast corner of the property. Although the house has been
<br />converted into offices, it appears to be unchanged on the exterior.
<br />*B10. Significance (continued):
<br />practiced from his home and also served on the City Council in 1942-1943. In 1955, the residence was purchased by G.
<br />Willard and Hazel Bassett, who utilized the property as a home and music school. Willard Bassett was also the director of
<br />music at the United Presbyterian Church in Santa Ana. Mr. Bassett a respected voice instructor and soloist, died in 1973,
<br />after which Mrs. Bassett, also a soloist, and her son Ralph continued to occupy the property and teach music (Les, 1979). By
<br />1992, the house had been converted into offices for Continental Dental Plan.
<br />The Borchard House is located on East Fourth Street several blocks east of downtown. This area, on the outskirts of town at
<br />the time the house was constructed, offered generously sized lots well suited to the substantial massing of this 4,600 square
<br />foot ten -room residence. Showcasing Frederick Eley's mature style, the house was constructed concurrently with the Santa
<br />Ana Ebell and YMCA Clubhouses, also exercises in Spanish -Mediterranean design. Eley, born and educated in England,
<br />arrived in southern Califomia in 1907 after spending a few years in Canada. He settled in Santa Ana and opened an office in
<br />1911, quickly establishing a reputation for residential and school design throughout Orange County. Other key commissions
<br />included churches and government buildings. From 1911 until he left Santa Ana in 1937, but particularly from the mid Teens
<br />through the mid Twenties, Eley was Santa Ana's foremost architect. The Borchard House offered an opportunity to design a
<br />home on a generous budget, and the gracefully designed exterior, incorporating elements culled from the Italian Renaissance
<br />Revival, and lavishly appointed interior featuring a generous use of wood, is a particularly notable survivor of Eley's
<br />distinguished career. Other interior highlights included a living room fireplace, tiled from hearth to ceiling, decorative ceiling
<br />treatments, elaborate crown moldings, leaded glass pocket doors, and a built-in sideboard. Equally impressive, the grounds
<br />incorporated formal gardens whose highlights included a pergola and a rose garden containing some 200 specimens.
<br />The Borchard House qualifies for listing in the Santa Ana Register of Historical Property under Criterion 2 as the work of a
<br />notable architect whose style influenced the City's architectural development. Additionally, the house has been categorized
<br />as "Landmark" for its unique architectural quality as a highly intact and finely detailed example of Eley's interpretation of the
<br />Spanish Colonial Revival style applied to a large residential commission. All original exterior features of the Borchard House
<br />are considered character -defining and should be preserved, including, but not limited to: materials and finishes; roof
<br />configuration, materials, and detailing; massing; entry configuration and detailing; porte cochere; windows, doors, and
<br />balconies; architectural details such as columns; corbels, archivolt, and wrought ironwork,- garage/guest house; and original
<br />landscape features such as the pergola, driveway, palm trees and other mature trees.
<br />*812. References (continued):
<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 />Once of Historic Preservation. `Instructions for Recording Historical Resources." Sacramento: March 1995.
<br />Richardson, Robert. Oran_4e C_ounty's Pioneer Architect: Frederick Eley, Santa Ana, Santa Ana Historical Preservation
<br />Society, 2002.
<br />Whitton, Marcus. American Architecture Since 1780. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1969.
<br />Pleasants, Mrs. J. E. History of Orango County. Biographical. Volume M. Los Angeles, J. R. Finnell & Sons, 1931.
<br />Santa Ana City Directory, 1926, 1930.
<br />DPR 523L
<br />
|