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HRCA No. 2025-12, HRC No. 2025-08, HPPA No. 2025-07– The H.A. Petersen House <br />(2402 N. Riverside Drive) <br />September 23, 2025 <br />Page 2 <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Analysis of the Issues <br /> <br />Historical Listing <br /> <br />In March 1999, the City Council approved Ordinance No. NS-2363 establishing the <br />Historic Resources Commission and the Santa Ana Register of Historical Properties. The <br />Historic Resources Commission may, by resolution and at a noticed public hearing, <br />designate as a historical property any building or part thereof, object, structure, or site <br />having importance to the history or architecture of the city in accordance with the criteria <br />set forth in Section 30-2 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code (SAMC). This project entails <br />applying the selection criteria established in Chapter 30 of the SAMC (Places of Historical <br />and Architectural Significance) to determine if this structure is eligible for historic <br />designation to the Santa Ana Register of Historical Properties. The first criterion for <br />selection requires that the structures be 50 or more years old. <br /> <br />The structure identified meets the selection criteria for inclusion on the Santa Ana <br />Register of Historical Properties pursuant to criteria contained in Section 30-2 of the <br />SAMC, as the structure is 74 years old and is a sound example of period architecture. No <br />known code violations exist on record for this property. <br /> <br />The H.A. Petersen House is architecturally significant as an intact example of a <br />Contemporary Modern-style house in Santa Ana. Assessor data indicates it was built in <br />1951 by contractor Douglas W. Edwards for $15,000. The six-room residence and garage <br />were constructed for Homer A. Petersen. Homer Petersen and his wife Grace are listed <br />in the 1954 Santa Ana City Directory, and Petersen was listed as an internal revenue <br />agent (Ancestry.com 2017). The Petersen family owned and occupied 2402 N. Riverside <br />Drive until 1955 when Dr. Paul Lambert and his wife Jean L. Lambert purchased the <br />property in 1955 (The Register 1955). Dr. Lambert was a physician and general <br />practitioner in Santa Ana and served in the Korean War. According to city building permits, <br />in 1956, Anthony Bros Inc. constructed a swimming pool for Paul Lambert, though the <br />property does not currently have a swimming pool and black and white aerials make it <br />difficult to see a swimming pool in the narrow backyard. According to a newspaper article <br />from 1958, the pool was used as a model pool for Anthony Bros. Inc. (The Register 1958). <br />The Lambert family lived at the property until 1960 (Ancestry.com 2017). Between 1964 <br />and 1968, Mary Ann and Matthew A. Brown occupied 2402 N. Riverside Drive; Mr. Brown <br />was the owner of the Santa Ana Book Store and Mrs. Brown worked for the Santa Ana <br />recreational program (The Register 1964). In 2023, the property was added to the <br />National Register of Historic Places as a contributing property to the Floral Park National <br />Register Historic District. <br /> <br />Located on a corner parcel in the Floral Park neighborhood, the H.A. Petersen House <br />consists of a one-story, single-family residence and attached garage constructed in the <br />  <br />  <br />City Council 13 – 79 11/4/2025