Multi-Family Residence 130 San Vicente Boulevard Santa Monica, California City Landmark Assessment Report
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Multi-Family Residence 130 San Vicente Boulevard Santa Monica, California City Landmark Assessment Report Evaluation Report Building Permit History Potential District Research City Directory Research Photographs Tax Assessor Map Sanborn Map Prepared for: City of Santa Monica Planning Division Prepared by: PCR Services Corporation Santa Monica, California November 2006 Multi-Family Residence 130 San Vicente Boulevard City of Santa Monica APN: 4293-003-001 City Landmark Assessment and Evaluation BACKGROUND INFORMATION Description of site or structure, note any major alterations and dates of alterations The subject property is situated on the south side of San Vicente Boulevard just east of Ocean Avenue on Lots 1 and 2 of Block K of the Palisades Tract in the City of Santa Monica. The lot size of the irregularly shaped subject parcel is approximately 206 feet by 76 feet. A narrow alley known as First Court borders the subject property on its west parcel line. Another alley (unnamed) borders the property on its south side. The subject property, originally known as the Teriton Apartments, consists of a two- and three-story apartment building arranged in a modified U-shaped configuration around landscaped courtyards with its primary elevations facing San Vicente Boulevard. Additionally, a detached utility room/parking garage and smaller detached parking garages are accessed from rear alleys. The 28-unit vernacular Modern style garden apartment complex was built in 1949 and is located in a primarily multi-family residential neighborhood. This property has been previously identified and assessed under the City’s on-going survey process on numerous occasions. It was documented as a contributor to a potential San Vicente Apartment Courts historic district comprised primarily of 1930s-1950s vernacular Modern style apartment buildings as part of the City’s 1983 historic resources survey. At that time, the subject property was given a 5D rating code, indicating that the property appeared to be eligible for local listing as a contributor to the historic district. Additionally, the 1983 survey’s significance statement states that the review committee [of the Santa Monica Architectural and Historical Survey] deemed the grouping of nearly intact properties along San Vicente worthy of recognition as a level-3 architectural group. [According to the 1983 survey committee logs, the significance levels were either 1, 2, 3, or None, with “1” being the most significant.] The subject property was assessed in the City’s “1985-86 Historic Resources Survey Inventory,” and again after the Northridge earthquake as part of the “Historic Resource Inventory Update for the City of Santa Monica” in 1995. As part of the 1995 survey process the building was noted as sustaining some minor stucco veneer damage, but its 5D evaluation rating as a contributor to the potential San Vicente Apartment Courts historic district was reconfirmed. The property was once again identified in the City’s “Historic Resources Inventory Update: North of Montana Area 2001-2002.” It was at this time 130 San Vicente Boulevard City Landmark Assessment Report page 1 that the property’s status code was changed from 5D, being a contributor to a potential district, to 5S, appearing individually eligible for local designation (Landmark or Structure of Merit). Apparently, because “only 55% [25 of 45] of the properties in this area are contributors”1 the surveyors determined that a historic district did not exist. Additionally, the report concluded, “much about this type and period of development in Santa Monica remains unknown. [Therefore] it is recommended that the properties identified as part of this area be re-classified as potential Landmarks or Structures of Merit and that an investigation of the 1945-1960 period of multi-family housing construction in Santa Monica be studied in greater detail.”2 Surprisingly, there are no other references in the report to support the merits of individual significance for these properties, thus this finding of significance is questionable. As noted above, the three previous surveys conducted of the area concluded that the subject property appeared to qualify as a contributor to a potential apartment courts district and not as an individually eligible local Landmark. Capped by a flat roof with overhanging eaves, this wood-frame, two- and three-story vernacular Modern style garden apartment complex is sheathed in stucco with its primary elevations either facing a landscaped center courtyard or north towards San Vicente Boulevard. The apartment building features an irregular, modified U-shaped plan with rectangular east and south wings, and a west wing with its north end bent eastward into a smaller “U.” In addition to the flat roof, extended eaves, and stucco finish, the building’s Modern elements include a pronounced horizontality and rectilinearity in its massing, metal-framed fixed and casement windows (many of which punctuate the building’s corners), and an overall lack of applied ornamentation. Topping recessed entrance areas and staircases are wedge-shaped, stucco clad faux balconets surmounted by wooden louvers, the latter of which provide ventilation to staircases. The three-story portion of the building features open terraces situated between third floor units with each terrace sheltered by wood-framed egg crate grids. Secondary elevations are also unadorned, with rear entrances, metal-framed casement windows, and, in some cases, cantilevered balconies enclosed by wood or metal railings. Low, red brick planters flanking most entrance areas enhance landscaped courtyards, which consist of a mixture of mature trees, clipped hedges, grassy areas, low shrubs, concrete pathways, and decks of scored concrete. The larger of two courtyards, which centers the property’s east, south, and west wings, consists of a mixture of mature trees, clipped hedges, grassy areas, low shrubs, and decks of scored concrete. A smaller courtyard centers the west wing’s secondary “U” with its opening towards First Court. The building’s design takes advantage of these landscaped courtyards by facing primary entrances, staircases, and expansive apartment windows towards the garden setting. 1 City of Santa Monica, “Historic Resources Inventory Update: North of Montana Area 2001-2002,” prepared by Historic Resources Group, 2002. 2 Ibid. 130 San Vicente Boulevard City Landmark Assessment Report page 2 Fronting the apartment complex a wide grassy lawn, shrubs, and hedges embellish the San Vicente Boulevard-facing elevation. It appears that the overall landscaping plan is original to the property’s design and retains a high degree of physical and historical integrity. A row of six enclosed, double-car garages face west along the alley known as First Court. The stucco-clad structures, which are capped by shed roofs, are strictly utilitarian in their design. Additionally, a combination laundry room and garage structure (with eight enclosed double-car garages) that is utilitarian in design and topped by an open deck area is located along the parcel’s south parcel line with access from an unnamed rear alley. Non-original metal fences secure the property from access to courtyards and entrance areas. Building Permits. In 1949, a City of Santa Monica building permit was issued to then- owner Edgar Hillman of Beverly Hills for the construction of a two- and three-story, 28- unit apartment building costing approximately $228,800. The architect for the subject property was Sanford Kent, also of Beverly Hills; the contractor had not yet been selected. Two other building permits for the subject property were issued at the same time – one for a 10-car detached garage costing approximately $4,000; the other for a combination 16-car detached garage and laundry room with an estimated cost of $8,480, both of which were also designed by Kent. Tax assessor records indicate that the subject property’s construction was completed in 1950. Another permit on file dates from 1995 that appears to be for interior plumbing work for then-owners Joseph and Lorretta Corrigan. An additional permit recorded in 1997 indicates windows and a door were replaced along with the construction of interior partition walls for the laundry room. No other building permits were located for the subject property. Statement of Architectural Significance The subject property located at 130 San Vicente Boulevard is a good, representative, but unexceptional example of the vernacular Modern architectural style as applied to a garden apartment complex from 1949. Vernacular Modern style apartment buildings erected just prior to and following the Second World War are relatively common in the residential areas north of Wilshire Boulevard, particularly along Montana Avenue and San Vicente Boulevard in the City of Santa Monica. Starting in the late 1930s and continuing into the post World War II period in America, Modern architecture became the predominant architectural style applied to buildings of every type. During this time period, distinct and identifiable stylistic variants of Modernism evolved. The aesthetic closest to the 1920s origins of Modernism in Europe was dubbed the International Style and was identified by its rectilinear form, flat roofs, open floor plans, use of steel and glass, and lack of applied ornamentation. Vernacular Modern design, while based on International Style precepts, is generally less formal in its 130 San Vicente Boulevard City Landmark Assessment Report page 3 expression of Modernist tenets with results