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State of California —The Resources Agency Primary #
<br />DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI It
<br />CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial
<br />Page 3 of 3 Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder) Ranney House
<br />Recorded by Leslie J. Heumann and Deborah Howell - Ardila *Date August 12, 2008 3d Continuation ❑ Update
<br />*B10. Significance (continued):
<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 Ranney 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),
<br />credited as the subdivider and builder of a major portion of northwest Santa Ana, arrived in Santa Ana from Beaver Falls,
<br />New York in 1922 (Talbert, pages 353 -356). "Before nightfall on the day of his arrival, Mr. Honer purchased a parcel of land.
<br />And that month, he began building custom homes in Santa Ana" (Orange County Register, September 15, 1981). The parcel
<br />chosen became the Floral Park subdivision between Seventeenth Street and Santiago Creek. "When built in the 1920s, the
<br />Floral Park homes were the most lavish and expensive in the area. They sold for about $45,000 each" (Orange County
<br />Register, September 15, 1981). Revival architecture in a wide variety of romantic styles was celebrated in the 1920s and
<br />1930s; Floral Park showcased examples of the English Tudor, French Norman, Spanish Colonial, and Colonial Revival
<br />styles. The Allison Honer Construction Company went on to complete such notable projects as the 1935 Art Deco - styled Old
<br />Santa Ana City Hall, the El Toro Marine Base during World War 11, and the 1960 Honer Shopping Plaza. Honer lived in the
<br />neighborhood he 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 11 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 (2008), Floral Park maintains
<br />its identity as the premier neighborhood of Santa Ana, historically home to many affluent and prominent citizens.
<br />The Ranney 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 English Revival style. Typical features of this style illustrated by the
<br />house include its asymmetrical composition; steeply- pitched, multi- gabled roof punctuated with a front - gabled dormer, the
<br />entry treatment, with the door and corresponding front gable set at a 45- degree angle; gable treatment, with horizontal wood
<br />siding trimmed with a scalloped edge; multi -light and six - over -six double -hung sash windows; and its overall emphasis on
<br />verticality. Additionally, the house has been categorized as "Contributive" because it "contributes to the overall character and
<br />history' of Santa Ana, and, as an intact example of the English Revival style in the Floral Park neighborhood, "is a good
<br />example of period architecture." Character - defining exterior features of the Ranney House that should be preserved include,
<br />but may not be limited to, materials and finishes (stucco and wood); roof configuration and detailing; original windows and
<br />doors where extant; attached chimney; architectural details such as the scalloped trim accenting the gables.
<br />B12. References (continued):
<br />Armor, Samuel. History of Orange County. Los Angeles: History Record Company, 1921.
<br />Franklin, Don. "NW Santa Ana History: Roy Russell & Son, Builders." Unsourced article from the Santa Aria History Room,
<br />Historic House File, circa 1995.
<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 />Office of Historic Preservation. "Instructions for Recording Historical Resources. " Sacramento: March 1995.
<br />Pheasants, Mrs. J. E. History of Orange County California, volume 2. Los Angeles: J. R. Finnell & Sons, 1931, pp. 164 -166.
<br />Santa Ana and Orange County Directories, 1935 -1962,
<br />Whitten, Marcus. American Architecture Since 1780. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1969.
<br />"Alison Honer Dies at 84, "The Santa Ana Journal, September 21, 1981.
<br />"Builder of Honer Plaza Dies, "Orange County Register, September 15, 1981.
<br />"History of Floral Park." htto:// www.floral- oark.com /oage2.html.
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