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Alta Mesa Historic Context Statement And Reconnaissance Survey Prepared for City of Monterey Planning Office Community Planning & Development Department & Historic Preservation Commission Monterey, California Prepared by Diana J. Painter, PhD, Painter Preservation Sonoma, California Adopted by the Monterey City Council on February 18, 2020 Table of Contents Findings and Recommendations .......................................................................3 1. Introduction ................................................................................................... 6 Project Background ............................................................................................. 6 Purpose and Scope ............................................................................................. 6 Research and Field Methods ............................................................................... 7 Report Organization ............................................................................................ 7 Property Types .................................................................................................... 8 2. Regulatory Overview ................................................................................... 12 National Register of Historic Places ....................................................................12 California Register of Historical Resources .........................................................16 Preservation Planning in Monterey .....................................................................17 Previous Documentation ....................................................................................19 Designated Buildings ..........................................................................................20 3. Historical Overview ..................................................................................... 26 Pre-Settlement to 1770 .......................................................................................26 The Spanish (1770-1821) and Mexican (1821-1846) Eras ..................................28 The Early American Period (1846-1919) .............................................................37 Alta Mesa Comes of Age (1919-1931) ................................................................47 The Great Depression through World War II (1931-1945)...................................72 The Post-War Years (1945-1969) .......................................................................77 Postscript – the 1970s ....................................................................................... 86 4. Survey Results............................................................................................. 87 The Built and Developed Environment............................................................... 87 Survey Results .................................................................................................. 90 5. References ................................................................................................... 96 APPENDICES Appendix A - Tables ........................................................................................ 103 Appendix B – DPR Forms................................................................................ 10 8 Findings and Recommendations Summary of Findings The Alta Mesa neighborhood is significant as both Monterey’s oldest residential neighborhood, and one of its most recent, for the fact that the area developed primarily after World War II. The earliest residence in the neighborhood, which has been continuously occupied since first settled, dates to 1817. Three additional nineteenth century adobes are also still extant in the neighborhood, one of which was moved there in the 1920s. The neighborhood also had an important period of development in the 1920s and early 1930s, when a master plan was developed, subdivisions were put in place, and new construction by master builder J.C. Anthony and his colleague, artist/sculptor Jo Mora, catered to visual artists and writers who were attracted to Monterey for its thriving art scene. J.C. Anthony moved and reconstructed one adobe and renovated two additional adobes at this time and undertook new construction in the Spanish Colonial and Monterey Revival styles that reflected his own particular interpretations of the styles. In 1939 a Master Plan for City of Monterey was developed that addressed the preservation of historic resources and conservation of natural resources, another landmark activity. The Alta Mesa neighborhood is also significant as an Olmsted Brothers designed neighborhood. The Jacks sisters, Lee L., Margaret A. and Vida G. Jacks, hired the Olmsted Brothers firm out of Brookline, Massachusetts to layout the neighborhood. The plan area encompassed 545 acres and included the Alta Mesa neighborhood and areas to the south that were eventually developed as the Del Monte Shopping Center and areas to the east, which is now Monterey Peninsula College and a multi-family apartment area south of the college. Within the Alta Mesa neighborhood, the areas laid out in the Olmsted plan, which encompass about 121 acres, or approximately 75% of the neighborhood, reflect the influences of the plan today. The plan laid out the streets, open space, and the residential subdivisions that were eventually developed. It did not include – for the most part - lots that were already occupied by the adobes or had been spoken for, either by the Jacks family or J.C. Anthony. It also did not include the area northwest of the boundary between Rancho Aguajito and the City of Monterey Tract No. 1, much of which was subdivided by descendants of the Boronda family or a large parcel that is occupied by the First Presbyterian Church and Alta Mesa Professional Center today. It also did not include commercial parcels along Abrego and Fremont Streets. Corresponding, the areas that reflect the Olmsted plan are the residential areas of the neighborhood. The areas occupied by Don Dahvee Park and Iris Canyon Park were portrayed as greenways, with some large lot development backing onto them. Today these are dedicated park lands, donated by the Jacks sisters. The lake shown in the plan that was adjacent to what was then the Gouverneur Morris house (Castro Adobe) was also foreseen as a small open space. Today it is Lagunita Mirada Park. The Alta Mesa neighborhood is also significant for its association with the Jacks sisters. The three Jacks sisters that developed this neighborhood inherited the land from their father David Jacks when the David Jacks Corporation was dissolved after his death. The sisters formed their own corporation and hired the Olmsted Brothers to lay out a plan for its development in the mid- 1920s and began early platting of the neighborhood. They also eventually donated the park lands that are within the neighborhood today, including Don Dahvee Park (named for their father), Iris Canyon Park, and Lagunita Mirada Park (they also procured El Estero Park across 3 Fremont Street for the city). The neighborhood today very closely reflects their vision for it, with the exception of properties that were already owned by others when planning as outlined above began. The last subdivision, which was developed by another entity, was recorded in 1957, five years before Margaret Jacks, the youngest of the Jacks children, died. The Period of Significance for the neighborhood is 1817 to 1969, embracing all major periods of residential development.1 Areas of significance are Exploration/Settlement, Community Planning and Development, Architecture, and Landscape Architecture. • Exploration/Settlement. As the first residential area developed outside the original Presidio walls in Monterey, it is highly significant. The area, initially called the Monterey Mesa, retained its semi-rural ambience for over 100 years before slowly developing beginning in the 1920s. Even today there are three adobe residences remaining from this era, as well as one that was moved there nearly 100 years ago. • Community Planning and Development. The Alta Mesa neighborhood was a planned community envisioned by the Jacks sisters (L.M. and V. Jacks, Inc.) and planned under their direction. While the land itself was inherited from their father, land baron David Jacks, its character today reflects their vision in partnership with the Olmsted Brothers Landscape Architects and their donations of major land areas for public parks. The plan was implemented over an approximately 60-year period, with a break for the Great Depression and World War II. • Architecture. The nineteenth century adobe residences in Alta Mesa are significant and are recognized, for the fact that they are locally listed as historic resources in the local historic register. There is a second area/period of significance for these structures, however, and that is that they (with the exception of the Boronda adobe) are also associated with master designer/builder J.C. Anthony (two are also associated with artist Jo Mora, his sometimes partner). Collectively these residences form a strong collection of Spanish and Mediterranean-inspired houses that reflect the vision of their designers. • Landscape. Alta Mesa’s landscape could be found significant as a vernacular cultural landscape, containing formally designed elements, informal elements, significant public open spaces and greenways, dramatic topography, and a forest preserve. The potential for Alta Mesa to be found a cultural landscape is discussed below in the boundary section

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