Single-Family Residence 2323 5th Street Santa Monica, California City Landmark Assessment Report

Evaluation Report Building Permit History City Directory Research Tax Assessor Map Sanborn Maps

Prepared for: City of Santa Monica Planning Division

Prepared by: PCR Services Corporation Santa Monica, California

April 2006 Single-Family Residence 2323 5th Street City of Santa Monica APN: 4289-007-012 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 west side of 5th Street between Strand Street on the north and Hollister Avenue on the south. The property faces west and occupies Lot 2 of Block 4 of the Highland Tract in the City of Santa Monica. The lot size is approximately 50 feet by 140 feet and contains a large, one-and-one-half/two story single- family residence and a small one-story combination apartment and garage. The main residence is situated towards the front (west) of the parcel while the rear (east) double-car enclosed garage/apartment is accessed from a narrow driveway near the property’s south boundary. The subject property is located in a mixed single- and multi-family residential neighborhood.

This property has not been previously identified in the City’s Historic Resources Inventory nor in the Ocean Park Historic Resources Survey Update completed in 2004. Tax assessor records indicate that the subject property was constructed in 1930, although the current owner, who has lived there since 1937, states that the residence was constructed in or before 1925. The property was originally located at 562 Ocean Front (later Palisades Beach Road) along the City’s “Gold Coast” and was relocated to its current location at 2323 5th Street in 1936. Rectangular in plan and of wood frame construction, the residence is reflective of the Colonial Revival architectural style and is capped by a steeply pitched, front-gabled roof. Roof elements include shallow eaves, a mix of hipped and gabled dormers, and triangular vents punctuating gable peaks. The majority of the dwelling’s exterior elevations are sheathed in wide clapboard siding while the dormers are clad in wood shingles. Fenestration consists of large wood-frame, six- over-six double hung sash windows along the primary (west) façade, multi-pane French doors on second story elevations, and a mix of multi-pane casement and sash windows of varying size on north, east, and south elevations.

The primary (west) elevation that originally faced the Pacific Ocean reflects the Colonial Revival style in its six-over-six, double hung sash windows; bracketed balconet with decorative wrought iron railing that is surrounded by squared pilasters surmounted by a broken pediment centered by a decorative urn. Additionally, the Colonial Revival style is especially pronounced near the center of the north elevation surrounding what was once the dwelling’s main entrance when the house was located at the beach. At this entrance,

2323 5th Street City Landmark Assessment Report page 1 squared fluted pilasters crowned by a formal entablature embellished with dentils surround the paneled and glazed entry door. A similar pilaster configuration adorns many of the corners on the dwelling’s secondary elevations. Following the building’s relocation, its main entrance became the entry located near the west end of the north elevation. This entrance is characterized by a paneled wood door with wood-framed, multi-pane sidelights topped by a multi-light transom. A non-original shed roof shelters the entry door.

Centering the rear (east) second story elevation is a wood-framed, multi-pane Palladian entrance fronted by an ornate wrought iron porch supported by scroll-like iron brackets. A metal staircase leads from the driveway to the upstairs porch. An exterior chimney clad in wood shingles that centers the south elevation replaced a brick masonry chimney that was removed following the 1994 Northridge earthquake.

According to the current owner, the combination garage/apartment was relocated from its original Palisades Beach Road location to its present site at the same time as the residence. The wood frame structure, which is rectangular in plan, consists of an enclosed double-car garage sheathed in wide clapboard siding and capped by a flat roof. Both of the structure’s original wooden garage doors have been replaced with metal doors. The apartment portion is located at the structure’s rear (east) with its main entrance located on the unit’s south elevation. Landscaping consists of a small grassy lawn fronting the main building and low shrubs and other vegetation in ground-level planters surrounding the dwelling on all sides.

During the current survey process no original permits for the subject property were located. Additionally, only one building permit for this property is on file with the City. Dated 1994, the permit is for the replacement of the dwelling’s masonry chimney noted above.

Historic photographs and visual inspection of the subject property reveals that the main residence has experienced few alterations over the years. The most significant alteration involves the replacement of the French doors near the west end of the dwelling’s north elevation with a paneled wood door to serve as the dwelling’s new main entrance; however, the entrance’s multi-pane sidelights and transom lights have been retained. Additionally, a shed roof sheltering this entrance is not original. At the rear (east) elevation beneath the second story entry porch, an attached wooden planter has been removed. Metal mesh screens fronting fenestration throughout the residence are not original.

In terms of the subject property’s overall integrity the dwelling’s mass, scale, and overall design were intimately tied to its original location on a narrow beachfront parcel. As such, its primary (west) elevation was designed to face the Pacific Ocean with the

2323 5th Street City Landmark Assessment Report page 2 garage/apartment facing Palisades Beach Road. Upon its relocation to its current location the primary elevation was positioned to retain its westerly orientation, however, its large windows now face 5th Street. In addition to the loss of the property’s setting and location, its feeling as a “Gold Coast” beach house and association with the Pacific Ocean has been significantly compromised.

Statement of Architectural Significance

The property at 2323 5th Street is a typical example of the Colonial Revival architectural style as applied to a single-family residence erected in the late 1920s. However, the dwelling’s atypically elongated footprint corresponds with its original placement on a narrow 30-foot by 190-foot lot facing the Pacific Ocean on the west side of Palisades Beach Road (with the address 562 Ocean Front) prior to its relocation to its current site.

The Colonial Revival style resulted from the desire of architects and builders to evoke America’s own past. The name Colonial actually encompasses several styles, all loosely associated with the revival of American and Old World building traditions. Features that characterize the style include a simple rectangular volume covered by gabled or hipped roofs with boxed eaves; symmetrical, balanced distribution of windows and doors; surfacing of clapboard or brick; classical, colonial detailing such as columns, pilasters, cornices, pediments, and shuttered windows; and double-hung, multi-paned windows. The Colonial Revival style was popular throughout the country and examples can be found today in all regions, including Southern California. In Santa Monica, elements of the Colonial Revival style appeared in the massed plan vernacular cottages that were popular throughout the City around the turn of the twentieth century. Following the 1905-1920 period of the Craftsman architectural style’s dominance throughout the region and City, the Colonial Revival style, among other revival styles, reappeared in the 1920s as applied to residential and commercial properties.

The features of the property at 2323 5th Street, which are typical of the style and period, include the overall massing and scale; front gable roof; shallow eaves; dormers; wide clapboard siding; wood-framed, six-over-six, double-hung sash fenestration; squared, fluted pilasters; dentiled entablature; and broken pediment centered by a decorative urn. In contrast, the west-facing bracketed balconet with wrought-iron railing and ornate rear second story wrought iron entry porch are more reflective of the French Eclectic or Renaissance Revival style architectural styles. The garage/apartment structure is utilitarian and vernacular in its design and style.

In sum, the subject property includes common elements of the Colonial Revival style as applied to a single-family residence that exhibits a high level of physical integrity from the late 1920s.

2323 5th Street City Landmark Assessment Report page 3 Statement of Historical Importance

Santa Monica. In 1875, the original townsite of Santa Monica was surveyed, including all the land extending from Colorado Street on the south to Montana on the north, and from 26th Street on the east to the Pacific Ocean on the west. Between 1893 and the 1920s, the community operated as a tourist attraction, visited by mostly wealthy patrons. Those areas just outside of the incorporated city limits were semi-rural in setting and were populated with scattered residences. After the advent of the automobile in the 1920s, Santa Monica experienced a significant building boom, with homes being constructed in the tracts north of Montana and east of Seventh Street for year-round residents.

The Gold Coast.1 The so-called “Gold Coast,” stretching along the beach north from Arizona Avenue to the city limits, was developed in the 1920s and 1930s with elegant beach homes, mostly for entertainment industry luminaries, and with exclusive beach clubs. The architectural aristocracy of Los Angeles as well as the art departments of the movie studios were called upon to provide many of the designs, mostly in revival styles such as the Colonial Revival, Spanish Colonial Revival, and French Eclectic, that were popular among the industry’s wealthy clients. Although many of these homes were not primary residences, they were comfortable, even large, in scale; of two to three stories in height; and had servants’ quarters atop many of the garages that line the highway. The subject property is an early example of such a home prior to its relocation from the beach.

The years between 1922 and 1923 saw the beginnings of the development that remains today, following the impermanent shacks and tents that had sprung up on the beach across from the Southern Pacific railroad tracks close to downtown. Several of these earliest homes were associated with land developers in Santa Monica, such as Robert P. Sherman, Robert C. Gillis, and C.L. Bundy. But, even in these early days, the movie industry began moving in. Louis B. Mayer along with Douglas Fairbanks and his wife Mary Pickford apparently pioneered this migration. By the close of the decade, studio founder Jess Lasky and screen stars Bebe Daniels, Ben Lyon, George Bancroft, Marion Davies, and Harold Lloyd had built homes. The services of well-known architects, particularly prominent local architect John Byers, were called upon to design the residences. Ownership of several properties was common, and the houses built for one screen personality were often associated with others in later years.

Until the outbreak of World War II, several other prominent figures continued to build beach homes along the “Gold Coast.” They included several movie studio moguls, including Fox’s Darryl Zanuck (546,Wallace Neff architect, the original location of the subject property); Goldwyn Studio’s Samuel Goldwyn (602, Walker and Eisen

1 Excerpted from “Santa Monica Historical Resources Inventory, 1985-1986 Final Report” by Leslie Heumann prepared for the City of Santa Monica. 2323 5th Street City Landmark Assessment Report page 4 architects); MGM’s Louis B. Mayer (625, H. Libbert architect); and Irving Thalberg with wife Norma Shearer (707, John Byers architect); and Warner Brothers’ Harry Warner (605, architect unknown). Later residents of these houses spanned the spectrum from producer-director Mervyn Le Roy, to hotel founder Barron Hilton, to actor Peter Lawford, who often played host to his brother-in-law, then President John F. Kennedy, in the Mayer house. In 1931, Harold Lloyd commissioned Webber and Spaulding, architects of his famed Greenacres estate, to design a beach house (443). Two doors away oil billionaire J. Paul Getty had Santa Monica architect John Byers create what was reputedly one of the industrialist’s favorite homes (270, demolished). Writers and producers such as John Emerson and wife Anita Loos (506) and William Goetz and wife Edith Mayer Goetz (522) erected houses as well.

Against all this glittering backdrop one residence stood out. In 1928, William Randolph Hearst built a large estate for comedic actress Marion Davies (331-415). The immense, columned structure cost $7 million to erect and contained 118 rooms and 55 bathrooms. Many rooms were furnished with some of Hearst’s European treasures stockpiled at San Simeon. The centerpiece of the “Gold Coast” was sold in 1945 and four years later was remodeled and opened as a lavish hotel called the Ocean House. Eight years later much of the estate was demolished, leaving the north guest house, a portion of the Georgian Revival home designed by Julia Morgan, a marble pool that fronts the beach, and a property line fence as remnants of past glory. The subject property is located a few parcels north of this once grand estate.

The “Gold Coast” also contained many beach and swim clubs, including the Santa Monica Swimming Club (195); The Beach Club (201); the Palisades Swimming Club (265), later called the Salt Air Club; the Pacific Syndicate Swimming Club (273); the Sand & Sea Club which was created out of the Marion Davies estate (415); and the Sea Breeze Beach Club (780), which became the Jonathan Club in later years.

2323 5th Street Residence. It has been speculated that the subject property was associated with the Baruch-Iris Food Company as a company-owned “Gold Coast” beach dwelling for entertainment purposes. However, Ms. Nancy Smith (1924- ), daughter of prominent Los Angeles-based building contractor Herbert M. Baruch (1894-1955), stated during a recent telephone interview for this historic assessment that her father had constructed the subject property to serve as the family’s beach house. Erected on a narrow 30-foot by 160-foot parcel that he owned along the “Gold Coast” at 562 Ocean Front (later Palisades Beach Road) in the mid-1920s, the Baruch family enjoyed weekend visits to the residence for approximately ten years before it was sold. However, Ms. Smith was unaware of who may have served as architect for the property or whether it was designed by one of her father’s in-house architects.

Ms. Smith noted that her family’s primary residence was on the southeast corner of

2323 5th Street City Landmark Assessment Report page 5 Country Club Drive and Gramercy Place in what is now known as the Country Club Park district of Los Angeles. Smith commented that her father and his friends had frequented Santa Monica’s beaches during the 1910s as avid swimmers who took the Pacific Electric Railway’s Red Cars to the ocean from Los Angeles. Additionally, her father was one of the charter members of The Beach Club in Santa Monica. As such, she believes that her father selected the 562 Ocean Front site for the location of their beach house because he “loved that end of the beach and the 30-foot lots were quite inexpensive at that time.” By the mid-1930s, however, Smith claims that her father had not only tired of hosting parties at their beach house, but was also less than impressed with the influx of “Hollywood types” that had occupied most of what had become known as the “Gold Coast” since the Baruch house had been erected a decade earlier. As a result, Baruch sold the subject property to one of the Marx Brothers in 1936, who, in turn, quickly re-sold the property to Darryl Zanuck. According to Smith and current subject property owner Karl Rydgren, it was Zanuck who sold the subject residence to a house moving company for relocation in order for Zanuck to construct a much larger residence on the 60-foot-wide lot that consisted of the Baruch parcel and an adjacent Gold Coast parcel that Zanuck already owned.

The Marx Brothers were a team of sibling comedians that appeared in vaudeville, stage plays, film and television during the first half of the twentieth century. Born in New York City, the Marx Brothers, Groucho, Chico, Harpo, Zeppo and Gummo were a successful Broadway vaudeville comedy team that transitioned to Hollywood motion pictures in 1929, starring in a total of 16 movies together. Their most famous and highly regarded films include “Animal Crackers,” “Duck Soup,” “A Night at the Opera,” and “A Day at the Races.” As southern California residents, the Marx Brothers lived in homes throughout the region, including Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, and the Palm Springs area. Current research suggests that one of the Marx Brothers (it was not determined which one) owned and occupied the subject property for less than one year prior to selling the property to Darryl Zanuck in late 1936.

Producer Darryl Zanuck was one of the kingpins of the Hollywood’s studio system. Zanuck came to Hollywood during the 1920s when he was barely 20 years old, quickly proving his knack for movie plots during apprenticeships with motion picture producers Mack Sennett, Syd Chaplin, and Carl Laemmle. As a Warner Brothers screenwriter, Zanuck became head of production at age 23. A decade later, Zanuck left Warner Brothers to form Twentieth Century Films and, in 1935, absorbed bankrupt Fox Films in creating Twentieth Century Fox. Zanuck ruled the combined studio as a “hands-on” mogul for many decades. His signature productions include “How Green Was My Valley,” “The Grapes of Wrath,” and “Twelve O’Clock High.” Current evidence suggests that Zanuck did not occupy the subject dwelling and, instead, immediately sold the property to a moving company in 1936 to prepare for the construction of a much larger residence.

2323 5th Street City Landmark Assessment Report page 6

Following its sale by Zanuck, current owner Karl Rydgren states that his father-in-law, Emile Pourroy, purchased the subject residence and garage/apartment from the moving company while it was still on its original beach site for $1,800. The buildings were then painstakingly transported up Santa Monica’s steep California Incline to an unimproved parcel Pourroy owned on 5th Street in Ocean Park. It is at this location, 2323 5th Street, that the subject property is situated today. While Rydgren states that he knows of no other instance of a building being moved up the California Incline, this contention was not verified during the current survey process.

Ocean Park.2 The subject property is located midway between Main Street and Lincoln Boulevard within the City of Santa Monica’s Ocean Park neighborhood. Ocean Park’s history was somewhat independent from that of the rest of Santa Monica. Separated from the north by a gully, which today is filled by the Santa Monica Freeway, Ocean Park was initially oriented towards the beach where a series of piers and other tourist attractions were erected in the late nineteenth century. Much of the housing during this initial period of development was deliberately temporary in nature. Although residential tracts began to be subdivided from the large blocks of land owned by families such as the Lucas’ and the Vawters in the mid-1880s, construction tended to cluster on streets nearest the ocean, with the 4th Street hill as the inland boundary.

In the years following the turn-of-the-twentieth-century, however, building activities intensified. Main Street became the commercial spine of the community, servicing both permanent residents and visitors who lived in the cottages, bungalows, and bungalow courts, which sprang up as far east as Lincoln Boulevard and beyond. By the close of the teens, a substantial portion of Ocean Park had been improved with a mixture of massed plan vernacular cottages and Craftsman style dwellings. The twenties and thirties witnessed nearly complete build out of the area, sometimes at the expense of older improvements. This pattern of development has continued in the post World War II era with the result that Ocean Park is characterized by a multi-layered and diverse historical legacy in terms of the ages, styles, and building types it contains. At the time that the subject dwelling was moved onto its 5th Street parcel in 1936, Sanborn maps and tax assessor records indicate that the surrounding neighborhood had not yet been fully improved. However, since the 1960s, half of the parcels along 5th Street between Strand Street and Hollister Avenue in the vicinity of the subject property have been replaced with multi-story condominiums or apartment buildings substantially impacting the setting and feeling of the area as a single-family neighborhood of modest dwellings erected prior to World War II.

2 Excerpted from “Santa Monica Historic Resources Inventory, Phase 3: Final Report,” pp.13-14. 2323 5th Street City Landmark Assessment Report page 7 Person(s) of Historical Importance

Though no permits are on file to physically verify ownership, it is speculated that the subject property was owned and built by Herbert M. Baruch. Baruch was the president of the Baruch Corporation, which he founded in Los Angeles in 1920 and grew into one of Southern California’s largest general contracting firms. Herbert M. Baruch, who was a member of the wealthy and prominent Baruch family of wholesale grocers (the company, known as Haas-Baruch, later became the Smart & Final Company), had chosen to forsake the family grocery business in becoming a general contractor. According to Baruch’s October 21, 1955 Los Angeles Times obituary and other sources, the Baruch Corporation was responsible for constructing a number of prominent structures including the Hollywood Bowl; Beverly Hills City Hall; the Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles; Los Angeles’ Mayfair Hotel, Montecito Apartments, and Garfield Building; the Haas-Baruch Company wholesale grocery plant in Vernon; Cedars of Lebanon Hospital; Harbor Junior College; Sun Valley Junior High School; and the Channel Heights and Ramona Gardens housing projects; among many others. Additionally, the Baruch Corporation constructed the Brentwood Country Mart located on the border of Santa Monica in 1948. Baruch’s obituary noted that he was active in the Community Chest as a board member, was president of the Visiting Nurse Association and a director of the Los Angeles Psychiatric Service (both Community Chest agencies), as well as the treasurer and an executive committee member of the Los Angeles chapter of the Red Cross. According to Ms. Smith and current research conducted for this landmark assessment, other than the subject property, the Baruch Corporation erected few buildings of note in the City of Santa Monica.

Neither city records nor personal interviews conducted indicated the name of the original architect, if any, associated with the subject property. Additionally, Santa Monica city directories do not recognize the existence of the subject property at its 562 Ocean Front address (later Palisades Beach Road) during the 1920s or 1930s. (See City Directory Research on page 11). Further, Herbert M. Baruch is not listed in city directories during this time period. According to Nancy Smith, Herbert M. Baruch’s daughter, the family name and their beach property address were unlisted because the family’s primary address was in Los Angeles, not Santa Monica, and their “Gold Coast” residence was not a rental property that would necessitate listing. This explanation does not correspond with the fact that other “Gold Coast” properties and their owners were listed in early 1930s directories although, like the Baruchs, their beach houses were not their primary residences. Nonetheless, for whatever reason, the subject property remained unlisted during the time period that it was situated on the “Gold Coast,” yet its presence there is confirmed by a historic photograph that depicts the dwelling on the beach with Santa Monica’s Palisades visible in the background.3

3 Because the historic photograph was a second-generation photocopy, it was not of sufficient visual quality to include with this assessment. 2323 5th Street City Landmark Assessment Report page 8

The address 546 Palisades Beach Road, the new address of the combined parcels then- owned by Darryl Zanuck and containing the movie mogul’s new 11-room house, first appears in the 1938 city directory, the same year that the subject residence is listed at its current 2323 5th Street address. Based upon comments gleaned from a personal interview conducted with current subject property owner Karl B. Rydgren (1914- ), upon the relocation of the dwelling to his father-in-law Emile Pourroy’s 2323 5th Street parcel in 1936, the property was deeded by Pourroy to Rydgren and his wife Alice. Following the deed transfer, the Rydgrens rented out several rooms in the main dwelling and the rear garage/apartment to various individuals for a number of years in order to repay Pourroy for the cost of the buildings and parcel. City directories confirm that for approximately 10 years, until 1948, in addition to the Rydgrens, single males and at least one married couple resided at the 2323 (and sometimes 2323
) 5th Street address. While the Rydgrens ceased letting rooms in the main house after a few years, since 1937, the garage/apartment has continually served as a rental property. Hence, the tax assessor’s multi-family designation for the address. Remarkably, Karl Rydgren has resided at the subject property for almost 70 years, continuing to live in the dwelling following the death of his wife Alice in 2000.

Karl Bertle Rydgren, originally of Hamilton, Massachusetts has been a Santa Monica resident since 1919. Prior to 1941, although city directories incorrectly indicate that Rydgren was a chauffer, he was actually employed as a bus driver for the Bay Cities Transit Company while he was studying to receive his high school diploma. After receiving his diploma, Rydgren became a Santa Monica policeman for three years before being drafted to serve as a Navy Shore Patrol Specialist during World War II. Following the war, Rydgren returned to the Santa Monica Police Department, serving as a policeman, juvenile officer, and detective (burglary) until his retirement in 1966.

As relates to the other occupants who at one time resided at 2323 5th Street, our current research did not identify any tenants who appeared to be historically significant whose specific contributions to history can be identified or directly connected to this property. However, our current research did not identify any tenants who appeared to be historically significant whose specific contributions to history can be identified or directly connected to this property. According to property owner Rydgren, for many years his tenants were primarily men employed by the Douglas Aircraft Company (Santa Monica plant).

Statement of other significance

Though the subject property exhibits typical Colonial Revival elements in its design, the property does not appear to meet criteria for high aesthetic or artistic value as it is defined in National Register Bulletin: How to Apply the National Register Criteria for

2323 5th Street City Landmark Assessment Report page 9 Evaluation due to its lack of distinctive, notable architectural features associated with the style. Further, no other evidence was discovered in the current research process to indicate other significance.

Is the structure representative of a style in the City that is no longer prevalent?

As an architectural style, the Colonial Revival was one of the most popular revival styles of the twentieth century. Its influence can be seen in residential and commercial building types throughout Southern California. In Santa Monica, architectural elements associated with the style, such as round columns, pilasters, boxed eaves, cornice returns, and classical entablatures appeared in the many massed plan vernacular cottages that populated the City, including Ocean Park, around the turn of the twentieth century. Several good examples of massed plan vernacular cottages exhibiting Colonial Revival influences are located in the vicinity of the subject property, including 2547 and 2825 3rd Street, and 2707 6th Street. However, due to the subsequent dominance of the Craftsman style as applied to residences erected throughout Ocean Park between 1905 and 1920, the time period when Ocean Park was effectively built out, the Colonial Revival style did not have the opportunity to reemerge in the area after 1920 as it did in other parts of the City. In particular, some of the larger dwellings constructed north of Montana Avenue, in the Palisades area, and along the “Gold Coast” starting in the 1920s are highly reflective of the Colonial Revival idiom. As a result, the subject property is representative of the post-1920 interpretation of the Colonial Revival style that is rather common in other parts of the City outside of Ocean Park.

Does the structure contribute to a potential historic district?

The subject property, situated within the Ocean Park area of the City of Santa Monica, has not been previously identified in the City’s Historic Resources Inventory or in subsequent survey updates and evaluations, including the Ocean Park Historic Resources Survey Update, as being a contributor to a potential historic district within the City. Additionally, the 5th Street neighborhood in which the subject property is located was not identified as a potential historic district within Ocean Park.

The area in which the subject property is located does not possess a significant concentration, linkage, or continuity of buildings that are united historically or aesthetically by plan, architectural style, or physical development. Additionally, the surrounding area does not reflect a unifying entity that conveys its overall historic context. Specifically, the area’s setting and feeling has been substantially altered over the decades by the appearance of numerous postwar apartment buildings and condominiums, which, in turn, has negatively affected the design, materials, and workmanship associated with single- and multi-family residences of similar mass and scale associated with the

2323 5th Street City Landmark Assessment Report page 10 years prior to World War II. Because of compromised integrity issues, there appears to be no identifiable district in which the subject property would be a potential contributor.

CONCLUSION

In summary, based on current research and the above assessment, the property located at 2323 5th Street does not appear to meet sufficient criteria for designation as a City of Santa Monica Landmark. The property was evaluated according to statutory criteria as follows:

Landmark Criteria:

9.36.100(a)(1) It exemplifies, symbolizes, or manifests elements of the cultural, social, economic, political or architectural history of the City.

The subject property is a typical example of the housing stock constructed in the City during the first quarter of the 20th century reflecting the Colonial Revival style of architecture as applied to a dwelling. Although the subject dwelling was constructed along Palisades Beach Road, it was built prior to the erection of the larger stately residences later associated with Hollywood and the “Gold Coast.” As such, the property is not directly associated with the social or architectural history of the “Gold Coast,” a contention corroborated by the dwelling’s relocation from the beach area by movie mogul Darryl Zanuck due to its relatively modest size when he purchased it in 1936. Additionally, upon the dwelling’s relocation to Ocean Park, the property lost its direct connection with the historic context of the area, and, therefore, its integrity of location was severely compromised. As relates to the actual relocation of the subject property in 1936, while the house apparently traveled up the California Incline as part of the route taken for its relocation to the 5th Street site, no evidence was located during the current survey process indicating that this event was considered to be highly noteworthy at that time or that it was the only property ever to be transported up the Incline. As such, this event alone does not necessarily exemplify, symbolize, or manifest elements of the City’s varied history to merit designation under this criterion. Therefore, the subject property does not appear to satisfy this criterion.

9.36.100(a)(2) It has aesthetic or artistic interest or value, or other noteworthy interest or value.

Although the subject property reflects elements common to the Colonial Revival architectural idiom, it does not possess sufficient aesthetic or artistic value necessary for designation under this criterion.

2323 5th Street City Landmark Assessment Report page 11 9.36.100(a)(3) It is identified with historic personages or with important events in local, state or national history.

Prominent Los Angeles-based building contractor Herbert M. Baruch was the subject property’s original owner whose personal connection to Santa Monica began during his youth and continued into his later years as a charter member of the The Beach Club and the subsequent construction of a beach house for his family along the “Gold Coast.” Nonetheless, Baruch’s notable achievements as a builder and civic leader during his lifetime were intimately tied to Los Angeles, the location of his primary residence and corporate enterprise. As such, the property does not illustrate Baruch’s important achievements or specific contributions to history. In summary, Baruch’s direct connection to Santa Monica and the subject property is somewhat peripheral to Baruch’s life from 1925-1936 and does not rise to the level of satisfying this criterion.

As relates to the property’s ownership by Hollywood celebrities, by the time that one of the Marx brothers owned the subject property in 1936, the brothers had already achieved fame as comic film actors. As a result, the property does not illustrate the Marx brothers’ specific contributions to the entertainment industry. Additionally, the subject property was associated with the Marx brothers for less than one year, an insufficient time period to suggest that the property is reflective of an important period within their productive lives. For similar reasons, studio executive Darryl Zanuck’s brief ownership of the subject property (that he apparently never occupied) indicates that the property is not sufficiently associated with Zanuck to meet this criterion.

Longtime Santa Monica resident and 25-year veteran of the City’s police department Karl Bertle Rydgren has continuously resided at the subject property since its relocation to its 2323 5th Street site in 1937. Nonetheless, despite Rydgren’s 87-year residency in Santa Monica and his many years of service to the City, current research does not suggest that he would be considered a person strongly identified with local, state, or national history. Additionally, current research did not reveal any information on the property’s tenants to indicate historical significance or notability. Therefore, the subject property does not appear to satisfy this criterion.

9.36.100(a)(4) It embodies distinguishing architectural characteristics valuable to a study of a period, style, method of construction, or the use of indigenous materials or craftsmanship, or is a unique or rare example of an architectural design, detail or historical type valuable to such a study.

The subject property is a typical example of a Colonial Revival style dwelling and garage/apartment specifically designed for a narrow beach lot west of the Palisades. The main dwelling incorporates the massing, roof form, clapboard siding, fenestration, and decorative details of the Colonial Revival idiom that was popular during the 1920s and

2323 5th Street City Landmark Assessment Report page 12 1930s in parts of Santa Monica. Additionally, the main residence retains a high level of physical integrity. However, the subject dwelling does not embody distinguishing architectural characteristics to qualify as a prime or highly representative example of the Colonial Revival style nor is it a unique or rare example of an architectural design or type. Therefore, the property does not appear to satisfy this criterion.

9.36.100(a)(5) It is a significant or a representative example of the work or product of a notable builder, designer or architect.

Because original building permits were not located during the current survey process, the initial architect of the subject property, if any, could not be identified. In terms of being an example of the work of a notable builder, the Baruch Corporation was a highly regarded general contractor that erected many notable buildings throughout much of the Los Angeles region. However, current evidence indicates that the Baruch Company’s output in Santa Monica was particularly limited. Additionally, in reviewing the Baruch Corporation’s portfolio of work, the subject property does not constitute a significant or representative example because the company was known not for modest residential projects but for large, prominent architectural commissions such as hotels, schools, and government buildings. Therefore, the property does not appear to meet this criterion.

9.36.100(a)(6) It has a unique location, a singular physical characteristic, or is an established and familiar visual feature of a neighborhood, community or the City.

The property is located on the east side of 5th Street between a two-story single-family residence to the north and a modest one-story single-family dwelling to the south. In comparison, the subject property’s narrow profile, massing, proportions, and standard set back does not make it a particularly distinctive or established visual feature of the neighborhood. As a result, the subject property does not appear to meet this criterion.

2323 5th Street City Landmark Assessment Report page 13 CITY DIRECTORY RESEARCH

562 Ocean Front (Palisades Beach Road) 2323 5th Street

Year Entry 1925 No listing 1927 No listing 1928 No listing 1930-31 No listing 1933 No listing 1936 No listing 1938 2323 5th Street: Freehouf, Henry J., machinist Rydgren, Bertle [Karl] (Alice), chauffer 1940 2323 5th Street: Smith, Claude W. Jr. (Marie) Rydgren, Carl B. (Alice), driver 1947-48 2323 5th Street: Rydgren, Karl B. (Alice), police Santa Monica Police Department 2323
5th Street: Strugill, Robert 1952-53 2323 5th Street: Rydgren, Karl B. (Alice), city police 1954 2323 5th Street: Rydgren, Karl B. (Alice), city police 1958-59 2323 5th Street: Rydgren, Karl B. (Alice), juvenile officer Santa Monica Police Department 1960-61 2323 5th Street: Rydgren, Karl B. (Alice), officer Santa Monica Police Deparment 1936 Elkhorn Apartments, 1401 The Promenade Gelzen, Henry (Annie), proprietor, Elkhorn Apartments

2323 5th Street City Landmark Assessment Report page 14 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Basten, Fred E. Santa Monica Bay – The First 100 Years. Los Angeles: Douglas-West Publishers, 1974.

Basten, Fred E. Santa Monica Bay: Paradise By the Sea. Santa Monica: Hennessey + Ingalls, 2001.

City of Santa Monica. Existing Conditions Report, prepared by Historic Resources Group and PCR Services Corporation, 2000.

City of Santa Monica. Historic Resources Inventory Update, prepared by Parkinson Field Associates, September 1995.

City of Santa Monica. Historic Resources Survey Update: Ocean Park, prepared by Historic Resources Group, 2004.

City of Santa Monica Building and Safety Department. Building Permits.

City of Santa Monica Public Library, Santa Monica Image Archives.

City of Santa Monica Public Library, Santa Monica Index.

City of Santa Monica. Santa Monica Historical Resources Inventory (various years).

Gebhard, David and Robert Winter. Architecture in Los Angeles. Salt Lake City, Utah: Gibbs Smith Books, 2003.

Ingersoll, Luther A. Ingersoll’s Century History: Santa Monica Bay Cities. Los Angeles: Luther A. Ingersoll, 1908.

Los Angeles County Tax Assessor.

Los Angeles Public Library California Index.

Los Angeles Times. “Local Firm Engaged On Large Jobs.” December 15, 1929, p. D4.

Los Angeles Times. “Zanuck to Build Beach Residence.” January 17, 1937, p. C1.

Los Angeles Times. “Herbert M. Baruch, 61, Contractor, Ends Life.” October 21, 1955, p. 4.

2323 5th Street City Landmark Assessment Report page 15 Marquez, Ernet. Santa Monica Beach: A Collector’s Pictorial History. Los Angeles: Angel City Press, 2004.

McAlester, Virginia & Lee. A Field Guide to American Houses. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1990.

National Park Service. National Register Bulletin: How to Apply the National Register Criteria for Evaluation. Washington DC: U.S. Dept. of the Interior, National Park Service, Interagency Resources Division, 1997.

Newmark, Harris. Sixty Years in Southern California, 1853-1913. New York: Knickerbocker Press, 1916.

Polk. Polk’s Santa Monica City Directory. Los Angeles, (various years).

Robinson, W.W. Santa Monica: A Calendar of Events in the Making of a City. California Title Insurance and Trust Company, 1959.

Rydgren, Karl B., personal interview by author, Santa Monica, California, 23 March 2006.

Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, City of Santa Monica: 1918, 1918-1950.

Smith, Nancy, telephone interview by author, Santa Monica, California, 22 March 2006.

Storrs, Les. Santa Monica, Portrait of a City, 1875-1975. Santa Monica: Santa Monica Bank, 1874.

Warren, Charles S. ed. History of the Santa Monica Bay Region. Santa Monica: Cawston, 1934.

Warren, Charles S. ed. Santa Monica Blue Book. Santa Monica: Cawston, 1941.

Warren, Charles S. ed. Santa Monica Community Book. Santa Monica: Cawston, 1944

White, Col. Carl F. ed. Santa Monica Community Book (Fifth Edition). Santa Monica: Cawston, 1953.

Written correspondence between Mr. Karl B. Rydgren and City of Santa Monica Planning Division dated September 23, 2005.

2323 5th Street City Landmark Assessment Report page 16

PHOTOGRAPHS

Primary (west) elevation, looking east.

Secondary (south) elevation, looking northwest.

2323 5th Street City Landmark Assessment Report page 17

Rear (east) elevation, looking west.

Secondary (north) elevation, looking southeast.

2323 5th Street City Landmark Assessment Report page 18

Window detail, west elevation, looking southeast.

Window detail, west elevation, looking east.

2323 5th Street City Landmark Assessment Report page 19

Primary entrance, north elevation, looking southeast.

Secondary entrance (formerly primary entrance), north elevation, looking southeast.

2323 5th Street City Landmark Assessment Report page 20

Dormer details, south elevation, looking northwest.

Rear (east) upstairs porch balcony, looking northwest.

2323 5th Street City Landmark Assessment Report page 21

Chimney, south elevation, looking northwest.

Garage/Apartment, rear (southeast) corner of parcel, looking east.

2323 5th Street City Landmark Assessment Report page 22

Context view, 5th Street looking north, subject property on far right.

Context view, 5th Street looking south, subject property on left.

2323 5th Street City Landmark Assessment Report page 23 MISCELLENOUS ATTACHMENTS

Current Tax Assessor Map

Sanborn Fire Insurance Map (1918)

Sanborn Fire Insurance Map (1918-1950)

2323 5th Street City Landmark Assessment Report page 24 Assessor Map 03/27/2006 04:18 PM

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