City Landmark Assessment and Evaluation Report

1129 Ashland Avenue Santa Monica, California

Prepared for

City of Santa Monica Planning Division

Prepared by

Margarita Jerabek, Ph.D. Hansel A. Hernandez, M.Sc. Hanna Winzenried, M.Sc.

Environmental Science Associates, Inc. Santa Monica, California

December 2018

Table of Contents

I. INTRODUCTION ...... 1 A. Executive Summary ...... 1 B. Location ...... 1 C. Methodology ...... 1

II. REGULATORY FRAMEWORK ...... 3 A. City of Santa Monica ...... 3

III. HISTORIC CONTEXT AND EVALUATION ...... 5 A. Historic Context ...... 5 1. Consolidation and Growth of Santa Monica ...... 5 2. Single Family Residential Development of Santa Monica (1875-1977) ...... 5 3. Development of Sunset Park and Tract No. 5217 ...... 6 4. Architectural History of Sunset Park and Tract 5217 ...... 7 5. Occupancy History ...... 8 6. Construction History ...... 12 7. Contractor Charles W. Brown...... 13 8. Craftsman Style (1905-1930) ...... 14 9. The Craftsman Style Bungalow ...... 14 10. High-Style Craftsman Bungalow ...... 15

IV. EVALUATION ...... 17 A. Previous Evaluations ...... 17 B. Architectural Description, Integrity Analysis, and Significance Evaluation ...... 17 1. Architectural Description ...... 17 2. Integrity Analysis ...... 22 3. Evaluation of Local Significance ...... 23 4. Conclusion ...... 26

V. BIBLIOGRAPHY ...... 27

VI. APPENDIX ...... 29

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List of Figures

Page

1 Neighborhood of Sunset Park in Eastern Santa Monica ...... 6 2 1973 sketch showing original footprint, original garage structure at rear, and unrealized rear addition ...... 13 3 2001 new detached garage and office with porch...... 13 4 Aerial View of 1129 Ashland Avenue from the Southwest (Google Earth) ...... 17 5 South (front) façade...... 18 6 South (front) façade. Detail of concrete porch pedestals with decorative brick detailing, and stained-glass at picture window ...... 18 7 South (front) façade. Detail of pedestal, gable, eave junction featuring rafter tails, beams, and purlins ...... 18 8 South (front). Interior view of stained-glass at front porch picture window ...... 18 9 South (front) façade. Detail of lattice attic vent at front gable ...... 19 10 South (front) façade. Band of windows with heavy wood surrounds ...... 19 11 West façade. View twin gable wings at private porch ...... 19 12 West façade. View of 2012 rear extension at northern-most gable wing ...... 19 13 West façade. View of original drop siding (right) and matching rabbeted new rear extension cladding (left) ...... 20 14 West façade. View of setback private porch ...... 20 15 West façade. Detail stained-glass fixed pane window with heavy wood surround...... 20 16 East façade looking north ...... 21 17 East façade. Detail of new vinyl window at bathroom...... 21 18 North (rear) façade with 2012 extension and new deck ...... 21 19 North (rear) façade with 2012 extension ...... 21 20 2001 new garage, office, and porch ...... 22

List of Tables

Page

1 Partial Architectural Survey of Tract 5217 ...... 7 2 Occupancy History of 1129 Ashland Avenue...... 9 3 Building Permits for 1129 Ashland Avenue ...... 12

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I. INTRODUCTION

A. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ESA evaluated 1129 Ashland Avenue against the Landmark Criteria for the City of Santa Monica. Following an intensive pedestrian site survey and historical research, ESA concluded that the subject property was eligible for designation as a Santa Monica Landmark under criteria 2, 3, and 4. The building does not appear eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, or on the California Register of Historic Resources under any of the available criteria. The identified period of significance for 1129 Ashland Avenue is 1916, the building’s date of construction.

B. LOCATION The residence at 1129 Ashland Avenue was constructed circa 1916 in the American Craftsman architectural style. The subject property is located within the neighborhood of Sunset Park in East Santa Monica’s 5217 Tract, Lot 37 of Block 32 and identified with assessor parcel number 4285-013-027, the subject block is bounded by Ashland Avenue to the south, Ashland Place to the north, Euclid Street east, and 11th Street to the west. The home is found within a residential neighborhood comprised primarily of one- and two-story single family residences set-back from the street with large front-lawns.

C. METHODOLOGY The evaluation was conducted by ESA’s Historic Resources Preservation specialists, Hansel A. Hernandez, M.S., and Hanna Winzenried, M.S., whose qualifications meet the Secretary of the Interior’s professional qualifications standards in history and architectural history. Margarita Jerabek, Ph. D., Director of Historic Resources, and Joel Levanetz, M.A. AICP RPA, Historic Resources Manager, provided project oversight and quality control. Professional qualifications are provided in Appendix D.

ESA conducted this assessment to evaluate the existing conditions of the subject property in order to determine its eligibility for designation as a Santa Monica Landmark. A multi-step methodology was utilized to evaluate the property. This included an intensive pedestrian site survey was conducted by ESA’s Historic Resources Preservation Specialist, Hansel A. Hernandez, M.S., to identify and record physical conditions through digital photography and manuscript notes. The physical inspection included examination of the materials and construction techniques, as well as analysis of the construction chronology as evidenced in the existing built fabric. Historical background research conducted for the project included review of available building permits, historic photographs, newspaper articles, and published secondary sources on the history of Santa Monica. ESA was unable to study historic maps of the area of the subject property as it is not documented by Sanborn fire insurance maps and no additional maps were encountered during the investigation. The information collected from these sources was used to assist in the architectural analysis and support the evaluation of the building for designation. Ordinances, statutes, regulations, bulletins, and technical materials relating to federal, state, and local historic preservation designation assessment processes and related programs were reviewed and analyzed. The evaluation criteria of the National Register, the California Register, and the City of Santa Monica were utilized to evaluate the current historical and architectural significance of the property.

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II. REGULATORY FRAMEWORK

A. CITY OF SANTA MONICA The City of Santa Monica formally initiated a historic preservation program with its 1976 adoption of the Landmark and Historic Preservation Ordinance. Santa Monica Landmarks and Historic Districts Ordinance was amended in 1987 and again in 1991, to create a more comprehensive preservation program. This ordinance established the Landmarks Commission whose powers include designation of Structures of Merit and Landmarks, and recommendation to the City Council for the designation of historic districts. Furthermore, it identified both obligations required of historic property ownership and a broad range of incentives available to owners of historic properties.

In 2002, the City adopted the Historic Preservation Element of the General Plan. This element includes information about the history and historical development of Santa Monica, establishes a long-range vision for the protection of historic resources in the City of Santa Monica, and provides implementation strategies to achieve that vision. In 2010, the City adopted the updated General Plan Land Use and Circulation Element (LUCE), which includes a chapter on Historic Preservation (Chapter 2.3). The LUCE supplements the City’s existing Historic Preservation Element by actively integrating the preservation of historic resources into planning efforts throughout the City. Chapter 2.3 of the LUCE includes policies to ensure that the City continues to protect what is unique and valued on a citywide and neighborhood level, including Palisades Park and the bluffs; Santa Monica Pier; and neighborhood streetscapes, architecture, and building scale.

Section 9.36.100 of the City of Santa Monica Landmark and Historic Preservation Ordinance authorizes the Landmarks Commission to designate Landmarks or Historic Districts. A geographic area or a noncontiguous grouping of thematically related properties may be designated a Historic District by the City Council. An individually significant property may be designated a Landmark.

Such designations may be made provided that the subject property(ies) meet one or more of the following criteria:

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

2. It has aesthetic or artistic interest or value, or other noteworthy interest or value.

3. It is identified with historic personages or with important events in local, state or national history.

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.

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

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.

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An historic district is defined by the City of Santa Monica as “any geographic area or noncontiguous grouping of thematically related properties that the City Council has designated as and determined to be appropriate for historical preservation pursuant to the provisions of this [ordinance].” In order to be designated an historic district, an area must meet one of the following criteria, outlined in the Santa Monica Municipal Code [§9.36.100(b)]:

1. Any of the criteria identified in Section 9.36.100(a)(1) through (6).

2. It is a noncontiguous grouping of thematically related properties or a definable area possessing a concentration of historic, scenic or thematic sites, which contribute to each other and are unified aesthetically by plan, physical development or architectural quality.

3. It reflects significant geographical patterns, including those associated with different eras of settlement and growth, particular transportation modes, or distinctive examples of park or community planning.

4. It has a unique location, a singular physical characteristic, or is an established and familiar visual feature of a neighborhood, community or the City. (Prior code § 9607; added by Ord. No. 1028CCS, adopted 3/24/76; amended by Ord. No. 1590CCS § 1, adopted 7/23/91)

Section 9.36.080 of this ordinance recognizes the significance of Structures of Merit. The City Landmarks Commission may designate such structures if the structure possesses one of the following characteristics:

 The structure has been identified in the City’s Historic Resources Inventory.

 The structure is a minimum of 50 years of age and meets one of the following criteria:

– The structure is a unique or rare example of an architectural design, detail or historical type. – The structure is representative of a style in the City that is no longer prevalent. – The structure contributes to a potential Historic District. (Prior code § 9606.1; added by Ordinance No. 1590CCS § 1, adopted 7/23/91).

Section 9.36.080 of the Ordinance recognizes the significance of Structures of Merit and empowers the City Landmarks Commission to designate such structures. Section 9.36.140 of the ordinance empowers the Landmarks Commission, or the City Council on appeal, to issue a certificate of appropriateness for any proposed alteration, restoration, construction, removal, relocation, demolition, in whole or in part, of or to a Landmark or Landmark Parcel, or of or to a building or structure within a Historic District.

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III. HISTORIC CONTEXT AND EVALUATION

A. HISTORIC CONTEXT The historic context developed below presents the background necessary to evaluate the historical and architectural significance of the Craftsman style bungalow located at 1129 Ashland Avenue, including the construction and alterations history, the history of the development of Santa Monica and the neighborhoods surrounding the subject property, and biographies on the architects and builder. The period of significance associated with the subject property is 1916, the date of construction. Research indicates the property is associated with the following historical and architectural themes: Single Family Residential Development of Santa Monica (1875-1977) and the Craftsman Style. Although the construction of the subject property predates the Subdivision of Sunset Park and of Tract 5217, this assessment does include a summary their subsequent development.

1. Consolidation and Growth of Santa Monica In 1875, the original town site 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 that was visited primarily by wealthy patrons. Areas located just outside of the incorporated city limits were semi-rural in setting and populated with scattered residences. Following the widespread acceptance of the automobile in the 1920s, Santa Monica experienced a significant building boom, with numerous homes constructed in the tracts north of Montana and east of Seventh Street for year-round residents.

2. Single Family Residential Development of Santa Monica (1875-1977) The dates represent the earliest sales of residential lots in what would become the City of Santa Monica, through the period ending approximately 40 years in the past. Single-family residential development in Santa Monica dominated the first two decades of the 20th century. Modest, somewhat impermanent seasonal beach bungalows reflecting Santa Monica’s early history as a recreational destination gave way to more substantive permanent residences as railway and automobile access made year around living more feasible. A growing economic base at Douglas Aircraft created steady demand for housing and Santa Monica effectively became a company town for the burgeoning aircraft industry between the mid-1920s and the 1950s. By the 1960s, residential development in Santa Monica became dominated by the construction of multi-family residences throughout the city.

While the residential development patterns in Santa Monica were driven by several common factors, each neighborhood (and the developments within) reflects patterns, trends, and characteristics specific to that neighborhood. As such, a brief overview of catalyzing events in Santa Monica history is followed by a discussion of tract/subdivision development organized by the neighborhoods identified in the Land Use & Circulation Element (LUCE, 2010).1 The LUCE organizational structure responds to how city planning efforts are organized and conducted at this time.

1 Architectural Resources Group/Historic Resources Group. Citywide Historic Resources Inventory Update Survey Report. Prepared for the City of Santa Monica Planning and Community Development. March 2018, p. 30

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3. Development of Sunset Park and Tract No. 5217 Before World War I, Sunset Park was rural in character and contained parts of Whitaker Ranch. It was mostly characterized by agricultural land and buildings. Portions of the neighborhood were subdivided as early as the 1880s, but the area did not experience substantial development until the 1920s. In 1919, Clover Field Airport was built on the Ranch. In 1923, the Pedley and Cavanaugh Company offered the 100-acre area bordered by Pico and Ocean Park Boulevards and 19th and 24th Streets as Sunset Hill of Santa Monica—a tract of oil speculation lots “in the heart of the Oil Zone.”2, 3

SOURCE: HRI update by ARG/HRG from March 2018 Figure 1 Neighborhood of Sunset Park in Eastern Santa Monica

The Southland Petroleum Company was to sink a well there with lot purchasers sharing in royalties if oil was found. However, in response to the Santa Monica building boom of the 1920s, interest in oil was subjugated by interest in real estate, resulting in the subdivision of numerous residential tracts during this period. During the 1920s. Sunset Park became a low-density, middle-class residential neighborhood consisting of mostly single-family residences and some multi-family residences including duplexes and apartment houses. The area’s direct proximity to the relocation and expansion of Douglas Aircraft made it a logical place for

2 Architectural Resources Group, Historic Resources Group, Citywide Historic Resources Inventory Update Survey Report, prepared for the City of Santa Monica Planning and Community Development, August 2018, p. 21 3 Akins Realty Co. Tract Map Scrapbook, Santa Monica History Museum, Margaret Bach Loan.

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December 2018 III. Historic Context and Evaluation residential development from the 1930s through the 1950s. The following is a discussion of the residential subdivision in Sunset Park. The narrative discussion is intended to provide a chronological overview of residential development in this area.4

4. Architectural History of Sunset Park and Tract 5217 No previous published survey focuses on the architectural development of this area in the City of Santa Monica. During its research for this landmark assessment, ESA took into consideration the fact that development of Sunset Park and Tract 5217 postdates the construction of the subject property, 1916. ESA researched online editions of the Santa Monica Evening Outlook newspaper from 1880 to 1924 available through the Santa Monica Library’s website. However, only one reference regarding the aforementioned Pedley & Cavanaugh’s development company was found, which referred to the area as Sunset Hill. However, what was known as Sunset Hill is outside the vicinity of the subject property. No other reference to Sunset Hill, or Ashland Avenue, in the years 1910-16, was found in this probe. Next, ESA attempted a visual reconnaissance of the neighborhood through Sanborn Fire Insurance maps from 1895, 1902, 1909, and 1918. However, the block where 1129 Ashland Avenue is located was not recorded in these maps. The first appearance of the subject property in Sanborn maps is 1950. ESA then researched properties in neighboring blocks in the maps, and they showed scattered 1-story residences, but no information was ascertained as to their styles. ESA considered doing another type of visual reconnaissance with historic aerials photographs from the University of California-Santa Barbara Library’s website. However, these aerials begin in 1927, a decade after to the construction of 1129 Ashland Avenue.

Using the LA County Assessor’s Office online portal, ESA conducted a survey of 33 properties in Block 32, the subject property’s block, as well as properties in Block 31, south of the subject property. ESA documented the date of construction and, through the visual portal, the property’s style. The survey breaks down thusly:

TABLE 1 PARTIAL ARCHITECTURAL SURVEY OF TRACT 5217

Year Style Total Houses

1913, 1916 Craftsman 2 1921, 1923, 1928 Craftsman, Spanish Colonial Revival 3 1940-1956; 2013 Minimal Traditional, Ranch, Contemporary 28

Douglas Aircraft arrived in Santa Monica in 1922 and began using the future site of Clover Field as a test site for its production of aircraft. Douglas then moved operations in 1929 to the Santa Monica Airport, at a distance of 1.5 miles from 1129 Ashland Avenue. The company’s success created a steady demand for housing for its workers between the mid-1920s and the 1950s. This demand is reflected in this chart, where the bulk of the residences in the area postdate 1940 (World War II) and continue through 1956. ESA then concludes that prior to the arrival of the 1919 creation of Clover Field and the arrival of Douglas Aircraft in 1922 to the area of Sunset Park, there was scant and limited speculative housing construction by a few builders, such as Charles W. Brown, builder of 1129 Ashland Avenue. These builders felt confident in their investment, not only that they would be able to find a buyer for their house, but that the type of house they were putting up would also

4 Architectural Resources Group, Citywide Historic Resources Inventory Update Survey Report, prepared for the City of Santa Monica Planning and Community Development, March 2018, p. 78.

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December 2018 III. Historic Context and Evaluation be suitable as well in the 1910s, the apogee of the American Craftsman style before the advent of the Spanish Colonial Revival in 1915.

In summary, the architectural development of Tract 5217 follows the trends and taste of the times. Beginning with the few houses built in the area on speculation during the 1910s, these were one-story Craftsman bungalows, built during the style’s most popular years before the end of World War I. Spanish Mission Revival style is manifested in the neighborhood post 1915 and through 1928. There is the obvious lull in construction during the years of the Great Depression, 1929-1939. Beginning in 1940 and through the war years, an increasing number of Minimal Traditional style residences go up, primarily to house aircraft industry workers at Douglas Aircraft, and then returning veterans, and young families during the prosperity and affluence of 1950s America. These houses were built in great number in the years immediately preceding and following the war, and commonly dominated large tract-housing developments of the period. Generally, they are small one-story buildings with a lower pitch roof, eaves with no overhang, front-facing gable, and its façade is simplified by skipping most of the decorative details of popular eclectic styles like the Colonial Revival or Spanish Revival. Finally, the ranch beginning in 1956, a house type which dominated American domestic architecture through the 1960s.

Tract 5217 is one of the earliest subdivisions in this part of Santa Monica (1924). It was subdivided by realtor W.V. Harris, who was simultaneously subdividing Tract 7993 in the Pico neighborhood. Tract 5217 is an irregularly-shaped tract bounded by the south side of Oak Avenue and Ocean Park on the north, Ashland Avenue on the south, 14th Street on the east, and 11th Street on the west. The neighborhood of single-family residences evolved during periods when demand for housing by workers at nearby Douglas Aircraft was high. The 1940 U.S. Census reveals the area was densely populated and shows the neighborhood was home to many assembly workers (painters, welders, machinists) at Douglas Aircraft. By the time the 1950 Sanborn Maps were issued, most of the parcels had multiple dwellings on them. The network of rear alleyways mapped during subdivision facilitated access to these structures.5 The subject property is located in a group of four lots surrounded by Tract 5217 but were not included in the tract when it was subdivided in 1924 and is not located within any tract. It was developed in 1915, nine years before the subdivision of Tract 5217, during the more agricultural period of Sunset Park. This makes it one of the earliest existing developments in this area of Sunset Park. However, historical sources needed to create a narrative regarding this period were not found during the course of this investigation.

5. Occupancy History City of Santa Monica building permits, historical Santa Monica Telephone Directories, historical Santa Monica City Directories, and the Image Archives at the Santa Monica Public Library were used prepare an occupancy history for the subject property at 1129 Ashland Avenue. The original building permits from 1915 lists Ruth Peterson, as the owner. Occupancy changes quickly after the date of construction. Ruth and her husband, Enoch Pearson, a contractor, lived at the subject property through 1925. Enoch Pearson was born in 1890 in Sweden and emigrated to the United States in 1910. He worked as a cement contractor. Ruth was born in 1898 in Sweden and immigrated to the United States in 1911. Her maiden name was Peterson. They had one daughter, Viola, who was born in 1917. Ruth’s mother, Augusta Peterson, lived on the subject property in

5 Architectural Resources Group, Citywide Historic Resources Inventory Update Survey Report, prepared for the City of Santa Monica Planning and Community Development, March 2018, p. 82.

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1920.6 In 1930, Hubert G. Staples, Maude M. Staples, and Herbert G. Staples lived on the subject property Hubert G. Staples Sr. was born in 1888 in Canada and moved to the United States in 1910. He worked as a Meat Cutter at a market. Maud was born in 1890 in Ohio and their son was born in 1913 in California.7 In 1933, city directories list Ralph T. Gill as living on the subject property and his occupation was listed as a salesman. No further information was found about him. In 1936, Charles E. Kernan and his wife, Marjorie Kernan lived on the subject property. Charles was born in 1901 in Massachusetts and worked as a salesman and Marjorie was born in 1902 in Nebraska.8 In 1938, city directories list Donald Ware, a chauffeur, as living on the subject property. It is unclear if he is related to the Wares that lived on the subject property in 1940. In 1940, Alfred K. Ware, Margaret Ware, Dorothy Ware, Louise Ware, and Marie Ware lived on the subject property. Alfred was born in 1896 in Kentucky and worked as a bus driver. His wife, Margaret, was born in 1902 in Scotland. Their daughter, Dorothy worked as a Saleswoman, Louise worked as a nursemaid, and Marie was a student.9 Mario Berry lived on the subject property from 1965- 1968. Henry W. Bishop lived on the subject property from 1968-1973. Richard Griebe lived on the subject property from 1973-1977. Arnold I. Kisch was listed as an owner of the property in a 1978 building permit. Kay Mills lived on the subject property from roughly 1979 to 2011. No further information was found about these occupants.

TABLE 2 OCCUPANCY HISTORY OF 1129 ASHLAND AVENUE

Year Owner/Occupant Occupation Source

1915-1925 Enoch Peterson Contractor Santa Monica City Ruth Peterson Directory 1927-1930 Herbert W. Staples Meat Cutter US Federal Census; City Maude M. Staples - Directories Herbert G. Staples - 1933 Ralph T. Gill Salesman LA City Directory 1936 Charles E. Kernan Salesman Santa Monica City Marjorie Kernan - Directory 1938 Donald Ware Chauffer LA City Directory 1940-1961 Alfred K. Ware Bus Driver US Federal Census; City Margaret Ware - Directories Dorothy Ware Saleswoman Louise Ware Nursemaid Marie Ware - 1965-1968 Mario Barry 1968-1973 Henry W. Bishop Building Permit; City Directories 1974-1977 Richard Griebe General Telephone Co. 1978 Arnold I. Kisch Building Permit 1979-2011 Kay Mills Journalist Building Permit; City Directories

6 United States Federal Census, 1920. 7 United States Federal Census, 1930. 8 United States Federal Census, 1940. 9 United States Federal Census, 1940.

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5a. Kay Mills, journalist Notable journalist Kay Mills lived at the subject property from 1979 until her death in 2011. Born in 1941 in Washington DC to Morris H. and Mary S. Mills, she was encouraged to follow her dreams “without limits.” Mills graduated from Pennsylvania State University with a BA in Political Science in 1963. She worked at the school’s newspaper, the Daily Collegian, and during the summer she worked for United Press International (UPI). In 1965. Mills received an MA in African history from Northwestern University.10

After college Mills worked at UPI in Chicago as broadcast writer and editor covering the civil rights movement. She then went to the Baltimore Evening Sun where she became the first woman to cover hard news since World War II. She covered issues such as civil rights, education, and welfare. She briefly worked as an assistant press secretary for the U.S. Senator Edmund S. Muskie from 1970-1971 before joining the Washington bureau of the Newhouse News Service where she covered federal regulatory agencies and wrote about women in politics.11

She was a Knight Journalism Fellow at Stanford in 1977. She then moved to Los Angeles in 1978 to become an editorial writer for the Los Angeles Times where she was one of the first female editorialists and the only one for many years.12 It was at this time that Mills moved to the subject property in Santa Monica.

In the mid-1980s, Mills became involved with the Journalism and Women Symposium (JAWS) where she served as a member of the board of directors and edited the newsletter. She attended annual camps and was a mentor to many of the other women in JAWS. She attended many business meetings where she would make a salient point in group discussions but was also there for tennis matches and hikes.13

The author of several books, Mills wrote about the history of women in Journalism in A Place in the News: From the Women’s Pages to the Front Page in 1987. The book was a response to the bias and discrimination against women she found in the journalism world. She left the Los Angeles Times in 1991 to write books and freelance full-time. In 1993, she published This Little Light of Mine: The Life of Fannie Lou Hamer which was the winner of the 1993 Cristopher Award and the Julia Spruill Prize for the best book on Southern women’s history. Throughout her career, Mills wrote regularly on issues such as civil rights and women and is considered by many as a civil rights advocate. Mills other books include, From Pocahontas to Power Suits: Everything You Need to Know About Women’s History in America published in 1995 and Something Better for My Children: The History and People of Head Start from 1998, as well as numerous freelance projects for multiple publications.14 All these books Mills wrote while she was residing at the subject property. Mills’ house on Ashland Avenue became the site of gatherings of prominent Southern California biographers and literary figures as the meeting place of a monthly meeting of PEN USA's Biographers' Group and other literary events.15

10 Elizabeth Engel, “Mary Katherine “Kay” Mills (1941-2011),” The State Historical Society of Missouri, accessed December 12, 2018, https://shsmo.org/manuscripts/descriptions/womenmedia/essays/names/m/mills/. 11 Elaine Woo, “Kay Mills dies at 69; journalist and award-winning author,” The Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, CA), January 15, 2011. 12 Elizabeth Engel, “Mary Katherine “Kay” Mills (1941-2011),” The State Historical Society of Missouri, accessed December 12, 2018, https://shsmo.org/manuscripts/descriptions/womenmedia/essays/names/m/mills/. 13 “In Memory: Kay Mills, 1941-2011,” Journalism and Women Symposium, January 16, 2011. 14 Elizabeth Engel, “Mary Katherine “Kay” Mills (1941-2011),” The State Historical Society of Missouri, accessed December 12, 2018, https://shsmo.org/manuscripts/descriptions/womenmedia/essays/names/m/mills/. 15 City of Santa Monica Planning & Community Development (personal communication, December 12, 2018) discussing resident Kay Mills.

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She passed away suddenly in 2011 of a heart attack at the age of 69 in Santa Monica.

As the National Register Bulletin notes, properties may be eligible if they are associated with the lives of persons significant in our past. Persons "significant in our past" refers to individuals whose activities are demonstrably important within a local, State, or national historic context. In this analysis, Kay Mills and her work as a journalist qualifies her as a historic personage for bringing to light two eminent social issues of the 20th-century for which she felt fully committed: women’s equality and the Civil Rights Movement.

Mills felt women journalists in particular were not fully appreciated and had not being considered for important assignments as men were in the profession she loved and cared so much about. In addition, she believed that broadening newspaper staffs beyond "the same old interchangeable races running America's newsrooms"16 would make for better and diverse journalism.

After having worked for United Press International in Chicago from 1964 to 1967, Mills then moved to the Washington, D.C area for reporting assignments at the Baltimore Evening Sun and the Newhouse News Service in the 1970s. She famously failed getting a job at Newsweek’s Chicago bureau in 1966 when the bureau chief informed her he needed someone he could send to cover riots, as well as follow someone she was covering into the men’s room. Mills went on to work on the staffs of several major news organizations over the next three decades. Fittingly in 1977, Mills won the John S. Knight Journalism Fellowship at Stanford University, which supports journalists who are deeply engaged in exploring solutions to journalism’s biggest problems. It was after her work at Stanford that Mills bought the property at 1129 Ashland Avenue in Santa Monica and began work at the Los Angeles Times, where she was an editorial writer from 1978 to 1991. She was one of the first women on The Times editorial board and remained the only woman there for many years.

In her book, A Place in the News: From the Women's Pages to the Front Page" (1988), a studious historic research combined with in-person interviews of male and female reporters, editors and publishers, Mills presents the remarkable history of women working in the newspaper field as reporters, writers, editors, publishers, and photographers, from colonial times to the 1980s. The book examines the evolution of the women's section, coverage of social issues, minority women in the field, and marriage, child care, and mobility. Mills’ analysis of this history paints a picture of great struggles and changes in the industry. However, in the book, Mills stresses that although women have made dramatic progress, they still encountered discrimination, earned lower wages, and held fewer top positions than men.

Early in her career, Mills became fascinated by Fannie Lou Hamer, a former sharecropper and Mississippi civil rights activist who gained national attention with a stirring speech about racism at the 1964 Democratic National Convention. In 1965, Mills had earned a master’s degree in African history form Northwestern. In an interview in 1993 for the Wisconsin State Journal, Mills recounts she was captivated by Hamer's testimony about losing her plantation job and her home in Mississippi after trying to register to vote, of her being jailed and beaten for her civil rights advocacy work in the South. While working in Baltimore, Mills began reporting on civil rights at the local level, focusing on the city’s school district and inequality for African Americans.

Mills followed Hamer in the news for several years before she finally meeting her in the 1970s. In 1993 she wrote, This Little Light of Mine: The Life of Fannie Lou Hamer. In the biography, Mills reported on Hamer’s deprived upbringing and how she overcame many challenges during the 1960s working for civil rights in her community in Mississippi and her close link to the movement as a fulltime Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) staffer. Hamer went on to speak at the Democratic National Convention in 1964, the

16 Elaine Wood, op. cit.

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Congressional Challenge in 1965, and the Democratic National Convention in 1968. Mills paints a picture of a principled person who refused to compromise her belief in people and her unending fight to bring justice to Mississippi blacks and to open up connections with white Mississippi whatever the price. In Mills depiction, Hamer comes across not just as a civil rights activist who tirelessly fought through the courts, but more as a humanitarian who constantly fought to improve the lives of her fellow Mississippians, both black and white. The biography won the 1993-94 Julia Spruill Book prize for the best book on Southern women's history from the Southern Association of Women's Historians, with a second edition published in 2007.

Both these books Mills published while residing in her Santa Monica home, as well as her subsequent books: From Pocahontas to Power Suits: Everything You Need to Know about Women's History in America (1995), Something Better for My Children: The History and People of Head Start (1998), and Changing Channels: The Civil Rights Case That Transformed Television (2004). As outlined in the National Register Bulletin, properties eligible under Criterion B are usually those associated with a person's productive life, reflecting the time period when he or she achieved significance.17 In this regard and as described above, the property at 1129 Ashland Avenue appears to meet this threshold at the local level of significance.

6. Construction History There are seven building permits on file at the Santa Monica Department of Building and Safety for the subject property, as listed Table 2 below (Appendix B). Recorded in the Santa Monica ledger book, a building permit was issued to Ruth Peterson on August 30, 1915 for a new six room residence to be built by C.W. Brown and valued at $2,000. The first building permit on record after the construction was issued on August 16, 1973 to owner, Henry W. Bishop for enlarging the rear detached garage. A permit was issued to owner Arnold I. Kisch on January 18, 1977 for an addition to the rear of the residence to include two bedrooms and one bathroom (Figure #2). However, later floorplans of the house indicate that this addition was never constructed. On January 10, 1985, a permit was issued to do interior work on a bathroom. On July 20, 2001, permits were issued to Kay Mills to demolish the existing two-car garage and to build a new detached garage with an office and a porch at the rear of the property (Figure #3). In the Fall of 2011, the new owners, the Necci-Akazawa Family, undertook seismic retrofitting of the house foundations, a six-foot extension of the building’s rear, and interior alterations.

TABLE 3 BUILDING PERMITS FOR 1129 ASHLAND AVENUE

Issued Permit # Owner Architect Contractor Valuation Description

8/30/1915 3111 Ruth Peterson None C.W. Brown $2,000 New 6 room residence 8/17/1973 B46115 Henry W. Bishop None Owner $1,000 Garage enlargement to include work shop 1/18/1977 B50513 Arnold I. Kisch None None $20,000 Add two bedrooms and one bathroom to rear façade of house - unrealized 1/10/1985 B57194 Kay Mills None Richard Chapman $8,200 Bathroom interior alteration 7/20/2001 D01-046 Kay Mills None Pandro Sokolow - Demolition of two-car garage at rear 7/20/2001 C09303 Kay Mills James Pandro Sokolow $40,000 Construction of new detached garage Dufourd with office and porch at rear 11/6/2011 N/A Grace Akazawa Hallo Construction N/A Foundation seismic retrofit; six foot extension to rear of house with new decking

17 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, 1990.

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SOURCE: Santa Monica Department of Building and Safety Figure 2 1973 sketch showing original footprint, original garage structure at rear, and unrealized rear addition

SOURCE: Santa Monica Department of Building and Safety Figure 3 2001 new detached garage and office with porch

7. Contractor Charles W. Brown Charles W. Brown was a carpenter and contractor in Santa Monica. He was born in Pennsylvania in 1864 and was married to Emma E. Brown. They lived with their daughter and son-in-law, James and Felicia Rogers, and their granddaughter, Eileen Rogers.18 Brown was a councilman from the Second Ward in the Santa Monica City Council in 1912.19 No further information was found about Charles W. Brown.

18 United States Federal Census, 1910, 1920. 19 “Dan Baker Resigns: Santa Monica Councilman who was Arrested on Bribery Charges and Later Released Quits Body,” The Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, CA), December 10, 1912, pg. 26.

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8. Craftsman Style (1905-1930) The Craftsman style had its genesis in Southern California and was widely used in the region, particularly in the 1910s and 1920s. The house shares many qualities with Craftsman style residences common throughout the City of Santa Monica. An emphasis on horizontality expressed by low-pitched gables with deep eaves, extended rafter tails, and elongated bargeboards are all characteristic Craftsman elements exhibited by the subject property. Other emblematic Craftsman features such as wood shingle siding, extended lintels, horizontal window arrangements, and battered front porch piers all contribute to the dwelling’s presentation as a good example of the style.20

Character-defining features include:  Horizontal massing  Low-pitched gable roof with rolled or composition shingle roofing  Wide overhanging eaves with exposed rafter tails, outriggers, or knee braces  Exterior walls clad in wood shingle, shake, or clapboard siding  Projecting partial- or full-width, or wrap-around front porch  Heavy porch piers, often of river stone or masonry  Wood sash casement or double-hung windows, often grouped in multiples  Wide front doors, often with a beveled light  Wide, plain window and door surrounds, often with extended lintels  Extensive use of natural materials (wood, brick or river stone)21

During the first three decades of the 20th century, the Craftsman style bungalow was common in Los Angeles and the residential neighborhoods of Santa Monica, Ocean Park and Venice. The Craftsman style has a generally recognized national period of significance of 1905 to 1930 during the time when this style was most common.22 They illustrate the broad influence of the Arts and Crafts Movement on the local architects, designers, and builders working in Los Angeles during the first few decades of the 20th century.

9. The Craftsman Style Bungalow The Craftsman bungalow had its genesis in Southern California and was a very popular building type in Los Angeles’ newly developing suburban areas, including Santa Monica, Ocean Park, and Venice during the first three decades of the 20th-century. Because of their relative economy, bungalows answered a growing need for affordable housing at the time. However, ornate examples were commissioned for wealthy residents of suburban enclaves such as Pasadena.

20 PCR Services, “E.C. Japs/Crossland Residence, 2511 Beverly Avenue, Santa Monica, California,” City Landmark Assessment Report, prepared for the City of Santa Monica Planning Division, January 30, 2004, p 3. 21 Architectural Resources Group, Citywide Historic Resources Inventory Update Survey Report, prepared for the City of Santa Monica Planning and Community Development, March 2018, pp 337-338. 22 Virginia McAlester and Lee McAlester, A Field Guide to American Houses (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1990).

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The typical bungalow is a one-story house with low pitched broad gables. A lower gable usually covers an open or screened porch and a larger gable covers the main portion of the house. In larger bungalows the gable is steeper, with interesting cross gable or dormers. Rafters, ridge beams and purlins extend beyond the wall and roof. Chimneys are of rubble, cobblestone or rough-faced brick. Porch pedestals are often battered. Wood shingles and/or horizontal wood boards are the favorite exterior finish although many also use stucco or brick. Exposed structural members and trim work usually are painted but the shingles are left in a natural state or treated with earth-tone stains (although many of these shingles have since been painted). The wood windows are either sash or casement with many lights or single panes of glass.

10. High-Style Craftsman Bungalow In its 2016 Los Angeles Citywide Historic Context Statement, SurveyLA uses the term “bungalow” to refer to 1 to 1½ story Craftsman dwellings, whereas, the term “ultimate bungalow” is more commonly used in scholarly and popular literature on the Arts and Crafts to refer to large, often custom-designed Craftsman house.

The ultimate bungalow is generally considered a high-style variation of the Craftsman aesthetic. The most well-known precedent is the Lucy Wheeler House by Greene & Greene constructed in 1905. The building is one of the earliest examples of Craftsman architecture in Los Angeles and a precursor of the two-story Craftsman house, or ultimate bungalow.

As opposed to smaller, developer-built or prefabricated bungalows, two-story Craftsman houses were often commissioned for wealthy residents and designed specifically with the homeowner’s needs and the physical site in mind. A high-style Craftsman house is distinguished by the quality of the materials and complexity of design and may feature custom-designed, elaborate woodwork, stained glass, and other fixtures. They generally feature a low-pitched, gabled roof, oversized eaves with massive exposed rafter tails, and windows placed in groups or bands, not singly, as is common with simpler bungalows.

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IV. EVALUATION

A. PREVIOUS EVALUATIONS The subject property has been identified and assessed under the City of Santa Monica’s ongoing survey process. It was identified as potentially eligible for local designation in the Santa Monica Citywide Historic Resources Inventory Update Final Report, prepared for the City of Santa Monica by ICF Intl. in 2010 and given a NRHP Status Code of 5S3; and subsequently in the Santa Monica Citywide Historic Resources Inventory Update Survey Report – Appendix B, prepared for the City of Santa Monica by Architectural Resources Group, August 2018 and in an HRI Update of Individual Resources in September 2018.

B. ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION, INTEGRITY ANALYSIS, AND SIGNIFICANCE EVALUATION 1. Architectural Description 1129 Ashland Avenue is a wood high-style Craftsman bungalow, a one-story building with a cross-gable roof, low pitched gables, with its larger gable covering the front open porch. The building sits on a concrete foundation. In 2001 an existing 2-car garage and storage room were demolished and replaced with a new 2- car garage and an office with an enclosed front porch. The new structures were designed to complement the historic house with low pitched gables, and exposed rafters, ridge beams and purlins, which extend beyond the walls and roof. However, these additions at the rear are not visible from a public thoroughfare. In 2012 a new synthetic shingles roof was installed and a new six feet extension was added to the rear of the building, its new cladding rabbeted to match the historic wood cladding.

Figure 4. Aerial View of 1129 Ashland Avenue from the Southwest (Google Earth) South (front) façade The primary façade of the subject property is emblematic of the architectural style. Off center and to the west, the low pitched front gable is supported by two high concrete pyramidal stuccoed pedestals on each end, with a low concrete wall serving as an enclosure for the scored concrete porch. Two lower concrete newel posts flank the entrance steps. The posts and pedestals are inlaid with a decorative row of brick headers and footers and topped with rectangular capitals. The low pitched gable roof has a wide unenclosed eave overhang featuring an intricate crisscrossing of wood elements: above the pylons are wedge-shaped beam sections

1129 Ashland Avenue City Landmark Assessment and Evaluation Report . 17 December 2018 IV. Evaluation supporting a long wedge-shaped beam, six decorative purlins sit atop the beam perpendicularly supporting the drop siding wall segment flanked by more purlins, topped by a decorative lattice vent and a ridge beam. All rafters, ridge beams and purlins extend beyond the wall and roof.

The front wall is clad in wood drop siding characterized by overlapping boards with either tongue and groove, or rabbeted top and bottom edges. The siding is painted white. Both the main door and picture window feature heavy, wide wood surrounds typical of the style. The fixed pane window has a decorative leaded glass transom at top and with a projecting wood sill. The front door is a simple flushed and glazed wood door with four vertical upper lights and original wrought-iron hardware. To the east, three one-over-one, double-hung wood windows feature heavy, wide wood surround with projecting wood sills. The upper sash feature decorative curved brackets.

Fig. 5 South (front) façade. Fig. 6 South (front) façade. Detail of concrete porch pedestals with decorative brick detailing, and stained-glass at picture window

Fig. 7 South (front) façade. Detail of pedestal, gable, Fig. 8 South (front). Interior view of stained-glass at eave junction featuring rafter tails, beams, and front porch picture window purlins

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Fig. 9 South (front) façade. Detail of lattice attic vent Fig. 10 South (front) façade. Band of windows with at front gable heavy wood surrounds

West façade There are two crossing volumes running east-west and perpendicular to the front façade, with a recessed side porch. Both have low pitched gable roofs and wide unenclosed eaves with rafters, ridge beams and purlins extending beyond the wall and roofs. All walls are clad in drop siding painted white. The southern-most volume features a basement vent and a center stucco chimney flue which pierces the gable roof. The flue is flanked by two fixed-pane, leaded glass windows with heavy, wide wood surrounds with projecting wood sills. The recessed side porch is of scored concrete. Modern wood French doors at the center feature multi-light glazing, and these are flanked by two double-hung wood windows with heavy, wide wood surrounds, with projecting wood sills. The upper sash feature decorative curved brackets. The northern-most volume was extended six feet to the north by the current owner in 2012, and the new clapboard was rabbeted to match the historic drop wood siding. The northern-most eave was also extended to meet eave of new rear extension at the rear.

Fig. 11 West façade. View twin gable wings at private Fig. 12 West façade. View of 2012 rear extension at porch northern-most gable wing

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Fig. 13 West façade. View of original drop siding Fig. 14 West façade. View of setback private porch (right) and matching rabbeted new rear extension cladding (left)

Fig. 15 West façade. Detail stained-glass fixed pane window with heavy wood surround

East façade This façade is long and flat, and runs north to the rear garden. It features the same drop wood siding painted white and includes four wood windows with heavy, wide wood surrounds with projecting wood sills: a one- over-one, double hung wood window with decorative sash brackets, a small fixed pane window, a smaller a one-over-one, double hung wood window with decorative sash brackets, and a modern vinyl one-over-one replacement window.

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Fig. 16 East façade looking north Fig. 17 East façade. Detail of new vinyl window at bathroom

Rear (north) façade From the original rear wall, two new volumes project six feet to the north. Both have low pitched gable roofs and wide unenclosed eaves with rafters, ridge beams and purlins extending beyond the wall and roofs. This portion of the home was consciously designed to match the original wood elements of the house. The western- most volume features a modern multi-light wood door with heavy, wide wood surround; the eastern-most volumes features a modern multi-light set of French doors with heavy, wide wood surround. The central portion is now recessed with a set of French doors with multi-light glazing and heavy, wide wood surround. A modern metal goose-neck light fixture is above each door. The interior return walls feature a small single pane hopper window with heavy, wide wood surround and projecting wood sill. A new wood deck was installed in 2012, and under it an original door to the cellar or half basement.

The rear yard contains the new garage, office, and enclosed porch built by the previous owner Kay Mills in 2001.

Fig. 18 North (rear) façade with 2012 extension Fig. 19 North (rear) façade with 2012 extension and new deck

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Fig. 20 2001 new garage, office, and porch

2. Integrity Analysis The overall appearance of the residence at 1129 Ashland Avenue indicates that the integrity is good in terms of location, design, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association. Besides interior alterations, there have been only two major structural alterations dating from 2012: a 6-feet extension at the rear of the building and the structural retrofit of foundations to increase earthquake stability. Four original windows and the rear façade were removed with the 2012 extension. These windows were re-used in another historic home in Santa Monica.23 Also, one original set of French doors at the secondary West façade and one original window at the East façade have been replaced due to their severe deteriorated state. However, the new doors and windows are compatible with the historic character of the residence and appears to meet the Secretary of the Interior Standards for Rehabilitation. Furthermore, 1129 Ashland Avenue retains all major character-defining features of the high-style Craftsman style. As a result, the subject property continues to convey its historical association with the early settlement and development of Santa Monica and Track 5217 in the Sunset Park neighborhood of Santa Monica, and continues to be a highly intact example of the Craftsman high-style.

Location – The building located at 1129 Ashland Avenue remains in its original location.

Design – The structure maintains integrity of design as a single-family high-style Craftsman residence. While some of the elements of the original building have been altered, like the 2012 rear extension, the building retains most of the character defining features associated with its original style and function.

Setting – The subject property remains in a residential setting, as are all of its neighboring structures. There are very few lots where buildings have been replaced with more contemporary residential buildings. Therefore, the setting of 1129 Ashland Avenue remains largely intact.

Materials – The majority of the exterior materials appear to be original to the building’s 1916 date of construction (Heavy, exposed roof wood beams, rafter tails, and purlins, wood drop siding cladding, stucco porch pedestals, scored concrete steps and porches, wood double-hung windows with heavy, wide surrounds, heavy, flush front door with multi-lights, and leaded-glass windows). Although the building’s secondary west and north (rear) facades have been altered with a new extension, it has been complementary to the original house by featuring rabbeted drop siding, matching exposed roof wood beams, rafter tails, and purlins, and

23 G. Akazawa (personal communication, December 12, 2018) discussing the windows removed at the rear facade.

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December 2018 IV. Evaluation wood double-hung windows with heavy, wide surrounds, heavy, and doors and French doors with multi-lights and heavy, wide surrounds, thereby, these do not significantly detract from the architectural integrity of this high-style Craftsman bungalow.

Workmanship – The workmanship of the original building is primarily evident in the materials and design of the main south façade and the secondary east façade. The building’s main façade retains un-altered design elements from its original date of construction including the characteristic off-center porch, the cross-gabled roofs, the stucco pedestals supporting the front gable, the low-pitch front gable, which features exposed roof wood beams, rafter tails, and purlins, wood drop siding clad walls, the wood double-hung windows with heavy, wide surrounds, a heavy, flush front door with multi-lights, and large picture window with top fixed transom and leaded-glass, and original scored concrete steps and porch.

Feeling – The building retains its integrity of location, design, and materials, which serve to convey its historical feeling as a 1910s era residential single-family high-style Craftsman bungalow, which embodies Santa Monica’s significant single-family residential development after 1875.

Association – The building is associated with the pre-war growth of Santa Monica. The exterior of the building is largely unchanged from the time of its construction in 1916.

3. Evaluation of Local Significance Constructed in 1916 in the 5217 Tract of Sunset Park, 1129 Ashland Avenue was evaluated against the following themes: Consolidation and Growth of Santa Monica, Single Family Residential Development of Santa Monica (1875-1977), the Subdivision and Development of Sunset Park and Tract 5217, and the Craftsman Style and its high-style bungalow subtype. 1129 Ashland Avenue maintains a high level of integrity from its period of significance, 1916, and is an exceptional example of a high-style Craftsman bungalow. The residence was constructed by local contractor Charles W. Brown. In addition, the subject property was the residence for 32 years of notable journalist, award-winning author, and journalism teacher Kay Mills. Therefore, ESA recommends that 1129 Ashland Avenue be designated a Landmark by the City of Santa Monica under local Criteria 9.36.100(a)(2), (3), and (4).

The property was evaluated according to statutory criteria, as follows:

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

The residence at 1129 Ashland Avenue is representative of an era prior to the more impactful development of Sunset Park and Tract 5217, which occurred after 1923. Before this date the area was in general rural in character and contained parts of Whitaker Ranch. Mostly characterized by agricultural lands, portions of the neighborhood began to be subdivided in the 1880s, however, the area did not experience substantial development until the 1920s. Early maps from the 1910s do show limited speculative housing consisting of simple one-story residences scattered on lots on different blocks of the area. These buildings were built by those who felt confident in their investment, not only that they would be able to find a buyer for their house, but that the type of houses they were fabricating would be suitable and attractive to a prospective buyer. These homes were designed and built in the Craftsman style, and subsequently in the Spanish Colonial Revival style. 1940 marked the beginning of the true transformation of the neighborhood manifested in an increasing number of Minimal Traditional style homes, a trend which continued through the 1950s. Factors in this development were the local industry of Douglas Aircraft and the need to house aircraft industry workers,

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December 2018 IV. Evaluation returning veterans, and subsequently, young families during the prosperity and affluence of 1950s America. Therefore, this 1916 high-style Craftsman bungalow precedes the era of eminent impact. Historical sources needed to create a narrative regarding this period were not found during the course of this investigation. The subject property does not exemplify elements of the cultural, social, economic, political or architectural history of the City. Therefore, the subject property does not appear to meet this criterion.

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

1129 Ashland Avenue is an example of a high-style, or “ultimate” Craftsman bungalow, a sub-type of the Craftsman style. A high-style Craftsman house is distinguished by the quality of the materials and complexity of design and may feature custom-designed, elaborate woodwork, stained glass, and other fixtures. Along with the distinguishing Craftsman features of a low-pitched, gabled roof, oversized eaves, 1129 Ashland Avenue also features particularly larger exposed rafter tails and windows placed in groups or bands.

Looking at the footprint of the house, it appears Charles W. Brown designed and built this house to satisfy a specific program for the original owner. In the first place, the house has been designed to have two identities, or distinct personalities: a public one facing Ashland Avenue on the south, and more private, intimate one designed for its inhabitants on the setback west façade. Therefore, the design deviates from a simple bungalow footprint: although cross-gabled, the east-west bisecting volume ends in not one, but two projecting gabled wings with a setback middle section featuring a set of French doors above a secondary and more private concrete terrace. Secondly, this ultimate bungalow features exaggerated and elaborate wood elements in the form of long, exposed roof beams and rafter tails on every façade and a front gable of intricate construction: wedge-shaped beam sections supporting a long wedge-shaped beam, six decorative purlins sitting atop the beam perpendicularly supporting the drop siding wall segment flanked by more purlins, topped by a decorative lattice vent and a ridge beam. All rafters, ridge beams and purlins extend beyond the wall and roof. Therefore, the subject property appears to meet this criterion.

9.36.100(a) (3) It is identified with historic personages or with important events in local, state or national history.

This local criterion closely mirrors the National Register Bulletin the states properties eligible under Criterion B are usually those associated with a person's productive life, reflecting the time period when he or she achieved significance.24 Notable journalist Kay Mills lived at the subject property from 1979 until her death in 2011. Before moving to the subject property, she worked for UPI, the Baltimore Evening Sun, the Washington Bureau of the Newhouse News Service, and was already establishing herself as a serious female journalist writing on issues such as the civil rights movement and women in politics. She became a John S. Knight Journalism Fellow at Stanford in 1977 and moved to the subject property in 1979. While residing at the subject property, she worked for the Los Angeles Times until 1991 and was one of the first female editorialists at the paper for many years. Mills was also heavily involved with the Journalism and Women Symposium (JAWS) where she was a member of the board of directors and editor of their newsletter.

The author of several books, Mills wrote about the history of women in journalism in A Place in the News: From the Women’s Pages to the Front Page in 1987. The book was a response to the bias and discrimination against women she found in the journalism world. She left the Los Angeles Times in 1991 to write books and work

24 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, 1990.

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December 2018 IV. Evaluation freelance full-time. In 1993, again while residing at the subject property, Mills published This Little Light of Mine: The Life of Fannie Lou Hamer which was the winner of the 1993 Christopher Award and the Julia Spruill Prize, for the best book on Southern women’s history. Throughout her career, Mills wrote regularly on issues such as civil rights and women’s rights, and is considered by many as a civil rights advocate. Mills’ other books include, From Pocahontas to Power Suits: Everything You Need to Know About Women’s History in America published in 1995 and Something Better for My Children: The History and People of Head Start from 1998. These works were accompanied by numerous freelance projects for multiple publications. As part of the historical significance of the residence, it should be emphasized that all these books were written by Mills while she was residing at the subject property. Mills’ house on Ashland Avenue became the site of gatherings of prominent Southern California biographers and literary figures as well as the site of a monthly meeting of PEN USA's Biographers' Group and other literary events. Because Kay Mills lived at 1129 Ashland Avenue during the most prolific and important period of her career, the building is identified with historic personages in local, state, and national history. Therefore, the subject property appears to meet 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 residence at 1129 Ashland Avenue represents a unique and rare example of a high style Craftsman bungalow residence with intact character-defining features, and its architectural design, detail, and type are valuable to a study of the style and method of construction. And as a distinguishable sub-type of the Craftsman style it possesses a high level of craft and architectural detailing. At the outset, the residence embodies many of the Craftsman style’s character-defining features including, its general scale and massing; wood cladding; cross-gabled roof; an off-center porch, prominent front facing gable supported by concrete pedestals with decorative brick detailing; decorative lattice gable vents; wide overhanging eaves with exposed rafter tails, ridge beams, and purlins; heavy, wide window and door surrounds and projecting wood sills; wood double- hung windows; and a flush heavy wood front door with upper multi-lights and wrought iron hardware.

On the other hand, a high-style Craftsman house is distinguished by the quality of the materials and complexity of design, elaborate woodwork, stained glass, and other fixtures. 1129 Ashland Avenue reflects a custom- designed layout which allows for a public and a private wing articulated by the cross-gabled volumes, which feature the “public” front porch on the south façade and the “private” side porch on the west façade; this private porch is characterized by the peculiar twin gable wings with a setback middle section featuring a set of French doors and concrete terrace. Next in order, this high-style bungalow features exaggerated and elaborate wood elements in the form of long, exposed roof beams and rafter tails on every façade and a front gable of intricate construction: wedge-shaped beam sections supporting a long wedge-shaped beam, six decorative purlins sitting atop the beam perpendicularly supporting the drop siding wall segment flanked by more purlins, topped by a decorative lattice vent and a ridge beam. All rafters, ridge beams and purlins extend beyond the wall and roof. The builder of this high style Craftsman house appears to have provided an added level of elegance and intricacy in the type of cladding using overlapping boards with either tongued and grooved, or rabbeted top and bottom edges known as drop siding. The inclusion of leaded-glass at the above the large picture window on the front porch, along with smaller stained-glass windows on fixed panes at the secondary west façade, elevate the house to higher level of sophistication. Finally, at the main south façade, there are windows placed in a group or band of three, not singly, as is common with simpler bungalows. Therefore, the subject property appears to satisfy this criterion.

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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.

The resource is not a significant or a representative example of the work or product of a notable builder, designer or architect. While research identified Charles W. Brown as the builder, the investigation failed to produce any evidence or consideration of Brown as a prolific or notable builder and designer in the City of Santa Monica. Therefore, the subject 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.

1129 Ashland Avenue is located in the middle of a residential block on the north side of Ashland Avenue. It blends into the single-family residential streetscape, as the other adjacent residences have similar front yard setbacks and are one-story in scale. The predominant architectural styles on the block and the neighboring streets is Minimal Traditional. 1129 Ashland Avenue is the only high-style Craftsman bungalow on the block and one out of three Craftsman style houses in the neighborhood, consequently, it stylistically stands out amongst all the other residences lining both sides of Ashland Avenue. While the subject residence is a distinctive example of Craftsman style, it does not stand out amongst the other residences lining Ashland Avenue. Therefore, the subject residence does not have a unique location, singular physical characteristic, or is an established feature of the neighborhood and does not appear to meet this criterion.

4. Conclusion ESA recommends the single-family residence located at 1129 Ashland Avenue be designated a Landmark by the City of Santa Monica under Landmark Criteria 2, 3, and 4. The period of significance identified for the property is 1916, the date of the building’s construction. The subject property retains a high level of integrity exemplifying the unique design elements and workmanship of the high-style Craftsman bungalow and the building’s association with Single Family Residential Development of Santa Monica. However, its construction predates the early Subdivision and Development of Sunset Park and Tract 5217. Moreover, the property is associated with Kay Mills, a prominent journalist, author, and activist who lived at the subject property from 1979 until her death in 2011. She was an award-winning author and journalism teacher, and served on the editorial board of the LA Times for 23 years, one of the few women in the United States to attain such an accomplishment.

Although 1129 Ashland Avenue appears eligible as a local landmark, it does not appear to meet the threshold of significance to be eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places or on the California Register of Historic Resources.

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V. BIBLIOGRAPHY

“1129 Ashland Avenue.” 34° 0'24.79"N and 118°28'14.39"W. Google Earth. Accessed November 7, 2018.

Akazawa, Grace, Michael Necci. Maintenance and Restoration Plan for 1129 Ashland Avenue, Santa Monica, CA 904055. 2012.

Akazawa, Grace. Remodeling work for 1129 Ashland Avenue, 2011-2012. Personal Communication (electronic) October 26, 2018.

Akazawa, Grace. Interior alterations for 1129 Ashland Avenue, 2011-2012. Personal Communication (electronic) October 31, 2018.

Architectural Resources Group & Historic Resources Group. Citywide Historic Resources Inventory Update Survey Report. Prepared for the City of Santa Monica Planning and Community Development. March 2018.

Akins Realty Co. Tract Map Scrapbook. Santa Monica History Museum. Margaret Bach Loan.

Blumenson, John J. “Identifying American Architecture: A Pictorial Guide to Styles and Terms, 1600-1945”; 2nd Revised & enlarged Edition, New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1981.

California Historical Resource Status Codes.

Census. Santa Monica Township, Los Angeles County, California. 1920, 1930, 1940.

City of Santa Monica, Planning & Community Development. “Historic Resources Inventory.” 2008-2010. http://www.smgov.net/Departments/PCD/Historic-Resources-Inventory/.

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1129 Ashland Avenue City Landmark Assessment and Evaluation Report . 28

VI. APPENDIX

A. Tract 5217 Map

B. 1915 Santa Monica Building Permit Ledger Pages

C. Historic Aerials of 1129 Ashland Avenue

D. Professional Qualifications

A. Tract 5217 Map

Source: Architectural Resources Group & Historic Resources Group. Citywide Historic Resources Inventory Update Survey Report. Prepared for the City of Santa Monica Planning and Community Development. March 2018, p. 39

B. 1915 Santa Monica Building Permit Ledger Pages

C. Historic Aerials of 1129 Ashland Avenue

1937

1941

1952

1971

D. Professional Qualifications