25D - AGMT - HISTORIC PROPERTIES

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State of California —The Resources Agency DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION CONTINUATION SHEET by Leslie J. Heumann, Peter C. Moruzzi, SAIL *810. Significance (continued): Primary It HRI #....-- -_.__. Trinomial or # (Assigned by recorder) Jaynes Alexander House *Date March 20, 2002 ® Continuation ❑ Update Santa Ana was founded by William Spurgeon in 1869 as a speculative town site on part of the Spanish land grant known as Rancho Santiago do Santa Ana. In 1877, Spurgeon, along with James McFadden and James Fruit, formed the Western Development Company with the intention of bringing the Southern Pacific Railroad from its then terminus in Anaheim into Santa Ana. Thinking to capitalize on commercial growth around the railroad, the partners purchased 160 acres adjacent to the eastern city boundary at French Street Although they were successful in luring the Southern Pacific to a new depot on Fruit Street in Santa Ana in 1878, the expected commercial development of "Santa Ana East" never materialized. Early growth and development of the town continued to be centered further west around Fourth and Main Streets, with the result that the legacy of Santa Ana East is an angled street plan whose intersection with the original cityis marked by a small, triangular parcel, developed in the 1890s as Flatiron Park, now known as French Park, Santa Ana continued to grow, stimulated by the arrival of the Santa Fe Railroad in 1886. Following its incorporation as a city in 1886, Santa Ana was recognized as one of the leading communities in the area in 1889 when it became the seat of the newly created County of Orange. Beginning in the 1880s and continuing well into it?e twentieth century, the area around the park began to be developed with many of the finest homes in Santa Ana. Examples of Victorian era, turn of the century, and Craftsman homes were built along the tree -tined streets. By the 1920s, most streets in the neighborhood were fully developed, although a few revival styled single - family homes and duplexes were built during the 1920s, and a handful of apartments constructed in the 1930s. From the nineteenth century onwards, residents were a "Who's Who" of early Santa Ana, and included bankers, attorneys, doctors, businessmen, ranchers, teachers and others active in the civic and social life of the city. Once known as the "Nob Hill" of Santa Ana, French Park declined in the 1940s and 1950s as some homes were converted into rooming houses and others were allowed to deteriorate. In the 1960s and 1970s some houses were demolished and the properties redeveloped with multi - family housing. However, a grass roots preservation effort begun in the late 1970s led to the establishment of a local historic district in 1984 and the listing of the neighborhood in the National Register of Historic Places in 1999. The James Alexander House was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1999 as a contributor to the French Park Historic District. It is therefore listed in the California Register of Historical Resources and is located within the boundaries of the locally designated historic district. It qualifies for listing in the Santa Ana Register of Historical Property under Criterion 1, as representative of the distinguishing characteristics of an architectural period, the late nineteenth century. Furthermore, It also qualifies for listing in the Santa Ana Register of Historical Property under Criterion 4b for its association with James and Thomas Jefferson Alexander. Additionally, the house has beer? categorized as "Key' for its distinctive architectural style end quality and for its association with a significant person, civil servant James Alexander and his father Thomas Jefferson Alexander. in a stylistic blend, characteristic Italianate features such as narrow, double -hung windows are disguised by the prominent addition of a Colonial Revival front porch. However the hipped roof configuration, bracketed cornices, and shiplap siding point to the Italienate. Characteristic Colonial Revival features include parch columns and the stylized pediment over the porch entrance. Character- defining exterior features of the James Alexender House that should be preserved include, but may not be limited to: materials (wood) and finishes (siding); roof configuration and detailing; massing; porch; interior chimney, and architectural details such as the carved brackets. *B12. References (continued): Harris, Cyril M. American Architecture: An Illustrated Encyclopedia. New York WW Norton, 1998. Marsh, Diann. Santa Ana An Illustrated History. Encinitas, Heritage Publishing, 1994. McAlester, Virginia and tee. A Field Guide to American Houses. New Yori<: Alfred A. Knopf, 1984, National Register Bulletin 16A. "How to Complete the National Register Registration Form." Washington DC: National Register Branch, National Park Service, US Dept. of the interior, 1991. Office of Historic Preservation. 'Instructions for Recording Historical Resources." Sacramento: March 1995. Whiffen, Marcus, American Architecture Since 1780: Cambridge: MIT Press, 1969. Armor, Samuel. History of Orange County. 1921, Guinn, James Miller Historical and Biogranhical Record ofS'pnfhem California. 1902, Historical Landmarks Inventory Form, November 18, 1976 (Santa Ana History Room), 'Preserving the Past in French Pan<." The Register. February 12, 1983. DPR 523E Page 5 of 5 25D -80