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State of California—The Resources Agency Primary # O
<br />DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # J
<br />CONTINUATION 'SHEET Trinomial
<br />Page 3 of 3 Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder) Leverson House
<br />*Recorded by Hally Soboteske *Date October 6, 2016 N1 Continuation ❑ Update
<br />*610. 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 Leverson 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 Countv Rogister. September 15, 1981). Tho 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 $46,000 each"( Count
<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 Ef 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 it 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 completer/ 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 Leverson House qualities for listing in the Santa Ana Register of Historical Properties as "Contributive". Additionally, the
<br />house has been categorized as "Contributive" because It "contributes to the overall character and history" of Santa Ana, and,
<br />as an intact example of the Ranch House style in the Floral Park neighborhood, "is a good example of period architecture."
<br />Character -defining exterior features of the Leverson House that should be preserved include, but may not be limited to,
<br />materials and finishes (board -and -batten siding); roof configuration and detailing; original windows and doors where extent;
<br />attached chimney; and architectural details such as the decorative shutters and Palos Verdes stone detailing.
<br />512. References (continued):
<br />Armor, Samuel. History of Orange County. Los Angeles: History Record Company, 1921.
<br />Cultural Heritage Commission, City of Santa Ana. "Historical Landmarks, Inventory Form, Bowers Museum," September 12,
<br />1979. Available at the Santa Ana Public Library History Room.
<br />Harris, Cyril M. American Architecture' An illustrated Encyclopedia. New York, WW Norton, 1998.
<br />Marsh, Diann. Santa Ana An Illustrated Hlstory. 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 />Santa Ana and Orange County Directories, 1932-1954.
<br />Whiffen, 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 Reaiater, September 15, 1981.
<br />"Historyof Floral Park.' http:l/www.florar-park.com/pege2html.
<br />"Leverson Rites Friday,"Santa Ana Register, April 4, 1974.
<br />DPR 523L 25F-70
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