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<br />HRI #,
<br />by Ivan Orozca *Date July20; 2017 D Continuation 0 Update
<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 Fa 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 R. D. Bird House Is located in the Park Santiago neighborhood, near the present northern city limits of Santa Ana and
<br />substantially north of the original city core. The neighborhood is bounded by Santiago Creek and Park on the north; East
<br />Seventeenth Street on the south, North Lincoln Avenue on the east; North Main Street on the west, and the 1-5 freeway on
<br />the southwest. to large part; these boundaries reflect the transportation tines that were constructed towards the end of the
<br />nineteenth century and at the beginning of the twentieth century, when the Pacific Electric interurban railroad ran up Main
<br />Street; the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe tracks followed Lincoln; and the Southern Pacific Railroad right-of-way mirrored
<br />the freeway route. This area remained primarily agricultural well into the 1920s. As of 1905, the city directories listed around
<br />twenty households on East Santa Clara, Twentieth Street, "C Street" (now North. Santiago Street), North Bush Street and
<br />North Main Avenue, the only streets in the area at the time. The vast majority of the residents wore ranchers, By 1911, the
<br />number of households had increased to about thirty, and Edgewood Road and Valencia Street had boon partially laid out, but
<br />most residents continued to list "rancher" or "fruit grower" as their occupation In the city directories. This pattern of land use
<br />was evident an the 1912 plat map of the City, which illustrated two small, Craftsman -ora subdivisions along Bush north of
<br />Santa Clara and on Valencia and Poinsettia south of Twentieth Street, with the remaining area divided Into larger agricultural
<br />parcels held by approximately forty landowners.
<br />While the area east of Santiago Street was not subdivided until after the mid -1920s, most of the present day streets west of
<br />Santiagohad been laid out when the City was mapped in 1923. Ranching continued to be the most prevalent occupation in
<br />the neighborhood, but increasing numbers of professionals, small business owners merchants, and people in service
<br />professions such as painters, electricians; and carpenters made their homes in the western half of the neighborhood during
<br />the 1920s and 1930s. The area also attracted several city and ofcials, Including the City Attorney (Z.B. West, Jr.,
<br />921 East Santa Clara Avenue), County Supervisor, First District (CH, Chapman, 2315 North Santiago Street), County
<br />Surveyor (E.H. Irwin, 2407 North Santiago Street), and County Auditor Gillam C. Jerome, 2422 Poinsettia Street). ByApril
<br />1942, when the Sanborn Company first mapped the western half of the area, most of the lots had been improved with single.
<br />family homes, many In the revival styles popular during the 1920s and 1930s. Subsequent development of the eastern half
<br />of the neighborhood and infill construction in the western half displayed the simplified ranch style that emerged following
<br />World War fl:
<br />The R, D. Bird Nouse qualifies for listing in the Santa Ana Register of Historical Properties under Criterion 1 for Its
<br />exemplification of the distinguishing characteristics of the Ranch style of architecture. The residence features several Ranch
<br />House qualities, making it a prime example of the transitional period between both styles of architecture. Typical features of
<br />this style illustrated by the house Include Its messing and symmetrical u -shape composition; medium -pitched roof; shiplap
<br />wood siding finish; wood -framed single-hung/double-hung windows; and attached chimney. Additionally, the house has been
<br />categorized as "Contributive " because It "'contributes to the overall character and historyor Santa Ana, and, as an intact
<br />example of the Ranch style in the Park Santiago neighborhood, "is a good example of period architecture." Character -
<br />defining exterior features of the R. D: Bird House that should be preserved include, but may not be limited to, materials and
<br />finishes (siding finish); roof design and detailing; original windows and doors where extant.
<br />"812: References (continued).
<br />Hares, Cyril M. AmerlcanArenitecture: An Illustrated Encvcl podia. 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 Amortran Houses: New Yorke 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 />Whiffen, Marcus. American Architecture Since 1780. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1969.
<br />Orange County Plat Maps, 1912
<br />Historic Maps, Santa Ana History Room, 1923, 1932, 1955.
<br />Santa Ana and Orange County Directories, 1926.1961,
<br />DPR 523L
<br />25A-64
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