1314 Seventh Street, Santa Monica Historic Resource Assessment HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP
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10-A Attachment C 1 To: Steve Mizokami Senior Planner, City of Santa Monica From: Christine Lazzaretto; Molly Iker-Johnson; Stephanie Hodal Date: May 2, 2018 RE: 1314 Seventh Street Executive Summary We have evaluated the commercial building located at 1314 Seventh Street in the City of Santa Monica, California, for eligibility for local designation under the City of Santa Monica’s Landmarks and Historic Districts Ordinance. This report concludes that the commercial building at 1314 Seventh Street is eligible for listing as a City of Santa Monica Landmark under Criterion 1 for its association with Santa Monica’s telephone industry, under Criterion 2 for its aesthetic or artistic interest, and under Criterion 4 as a rare local example of a PWA Moderne commercial building. This conclusion is based on a review of previous survey findings for the area, the relevant historic contexts, and an analysis of the eligibility criteria and integrity thresholds for local designation. Research included review of building permits and historic maps; historic newspaper articles in the Los Angeles Times; and historic photographs housed at the Santa Monica Public Library. A site visit was conducted on April 3, 2018. 1314 Seventh Street. East (primary) façade, facing west, 2018. MEMO 1314 Seventh Street, Santa Monica Historic Resource Assessment HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP 2 INTRODUCTION The six-story Associated Telephone Company building at 1314 Seventh Street was built in 1937. It was designed by structural engineer Maurice Sasso and built by Pozzo Construction Co., Ltd. Previous Surveys and Evaluations The City of Santa Monica initiated Phase I of its first comprehensive historic resources survey in 1983 as part of an effort to draft its first historic preservation element for inclusion in the City of Santa Monica General Plan. During that effort, several potential historic districts were identified, including the “Telephone” District, a thematic district of three buildings constructed for the various telephone companies in Santa Monica. The Associated Telephone Company building was assigned a status code of 5D1, meaning “eligible for local listing only – contributor to district listed or eligible under local ordinance” in Phase III of the initial survey, completed by Leslie Heumann and Associates in 1994. The district and status code were reaffirmed in the 1995 Historic Resources Inventory Update, conducted by Parkinson Field Associates and Janet L. Tearnen. The building was re-evaluated in 2010 by ICF Jones & Stokes, which again found the “Telephone” thematic district eligible and gave the property a status code of 5D3, meaning “appears to be a contributor to a district that appears eligible for local listing or designation through survey evaluation.”1 In the 2017 Downtown Community Plan Survey Update, no thematic district was identified; however, the building was assigned a status code of 5S3, meaning “appears to be individually eligible for local listing/designation through survey evaluation.”2 The property is not listed in the California Historic Resources Inventory (HRI). 3 1 In 2003, in order to “simplify and clarify the identification, evaluation, and understanding of California’s historic resources…” the California Office of Historic Preservation updated the codes to reflect the application of California Register and local criterion, and the name was changed to California Historical Resources Status Codes. Source: California State Office of Historic Preservation, Department of Parks & Recreation, “Technical Assistance Bulletin #8, User’s Guide to the California Historical Resource Status Codes & Historic Resources Inventory Directory,” November 2004. Available online: http://ohp.parks.ca.gov/pages/1069/files/tab8.pdf. 2 Architectural Resources Group and Historic Resources Group, City of Santa Monica Citywide Historic Resources Inventory Update: Downtown Community Plan Area, prepared for the City of Santa Monica, April 10, 2017. 3 California Historical Resources Inventory, August 15, 2011. MEMO 1314 Seventh Street, Santa Monica Historic Resource Assessment HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP 3 HISTORIC CONTEXT4 1314 Seventh Street is located at the eastern edge of Santa Monica’s Central Business District, roughly bounded by the east side of Lincoln Boulevard and buildings on the north side of Wilshire Boulevard from Seventh Street to Ocean Avenue. The Central Business District occupies the southern portion of Santa Monica’s original township, which was originally subdivided in 1875. In the 1920s, Santa Monica’s population jumped from 15,000 to 37,000, the largest increase in the city’s history.5 Commercial activity increased apace, and buildings were constructed to accommodate Santa Monica’s new or expanding businesses and increased tourist activity. Commercial trends that began in the early 20th century continued in the 1920s, with the establishment of numerous prominent commercial buildings downtown, including the city’s first skyscrapers, along with the continued development of resort- and tourist-related resources. The downtown commercial core continued to expand along with the growing population. Following the commercial building boom of the 1920s, Santa Monica’s image as a small seaside resort town was transformed into a metropolitan shopping district. Two- and three-story commercial buildings lined downtown streets in the years leading up to World War II, many of which are still extant today. In 1927, the United States entered a mild recession.6 Because it relied primarily on tourist traffic, Santa Monica was among the first to feel the effects of economic decline. As with financial institutions throughout the United States, almost immediately after the stock market crash in 1929, Santa Monica’s banks were compromised as anxious residents rushed to withdraw their money. Already weakened by the recession, previously solid institutions such as Bay Cities Guaranty Building and Loan Association and the Marine Bank in Ocean Park folded during the Depression. Across the city, businesses failed. Building projects in Santa Monica declined dramatically during the Depression. Where the city had projects valued at $3 million begun in 1929, projects started in 1933 were valued at less than $500,000. By 1932, there were 1,600 unemployed people in the city.7 Santa Monica was a distinctly non-industrial city until the 1930s. However, a transformation began in 1929, when Douglas Aircraft moved to the Santa Monica Airport. 4 Some information in this context was derived from Architectural Resources Group and Historic Resources Group, Historic Resources Inventory Update: Historic Context Statement, prepared for the City of Santa Monica, March 2018. 5 Dave Berman, “Founders’ Dreams Dashed – City Finds its Own Identity,” Santa Monica Evening Outlook, May 17, 1975, 5A. 6 David C. Wheelock, “Monetary Policy in the Great Depression: What the Fed Did, and Why,” Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Review 74, no. 2 (March 1992), 3-27. 7 Paula A. Scott, Santa Monica: A History on the Edge (San Francisco: Arcadia Publishing, 2004), 105. MEMO 1314 Seventh Street, Santa Monica Historic Resource Assessment HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP 4 The demand for commercial aircraft and the success of Douglas’ planes resulted in dramatic growth of the company in the 1930s, and it became one of the largest employers in Santa Monica. The growing economic base at Douglas Aircraft created steady demand for housing, and Santa Monica effectively became a company town for the burgeoning aircraft industry. As a result, despite the Depression, building projects continued to proliferate in Santa Monica as new residential, commercial, and institutional buildings were constructed and new infrastructure improvements were completed to accommodate the growing population. Associated Telephone Company The telephone industry was a key component of Santa Monica’s economic development beginning in the 19th century. As early as the 1890s, Santa Monica was home to two phone companies: Sunset Telephone and Home Telephone. By 1924, the two companies merged and reformed as the Santa Monica Bay Telephone Company.8 Two years later, the company, then the largest independent telephone company on the west coast, constructed a building on Marine Street in Ocean Park to house offices, switchboards, and operations for its 75-square-mile territory. 9 Its range included bay cities as far south as Palos Verdes and north to Topanga, as well as the west side of Los Angeles as far east as Westwood.10 In 1929, six telephone companies including the Santa Monica Bay Telephone Company merged under the name “Associated Telephone Company.”11 In 1937, the newly- consolidated companies decided to construct a headquarters and principal exchange facility at 1314 Seventh Street, designed by structural engineer Maurice Sasso.12 The 10,000-square-foot office and telephone equipment building was 3 stories tall, with a rooftop penthouse centered above the primary entrance. The building contained the principal telephone exchange facilities for the Bay District, with the toll and long-distance services located at 625 Arizona Avenue.13 By 1939, Associated Telephone was part of the New York-based General Telephone Corporation, one of the two largest telephone companies in the country.14 General 8 "Telephone Late 1800s," Santa Monica Evening Outlook, July 10, 1962. 9 "Telephone Block Plan Completed," Los Angeles Times, March 21, 1926. Maurice Sasso was credited as the designer of the new facility. 10 "New Home for Hello Girls," Los Angeles