404 San Vicente Boulevard Santa Monica, California City Landmark Assessment and Evaluation Report
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404 San Vicente Boulevard Santa Monica, California City Landmark Assessment and Evaluation Report Evaluation Report Assessor’s Parcel Map Sanborn Maps Photographs Prepared for: City of Santa Monica Planning Division September 8, 2010 404 San Vicente Boulevard Santa Monica, California City Landmark Assessment and Evaluation Report Environmental Setting The subject property, 404 San Vicente Boulevard, is a large rectangular multifamily residential property. The three-story 1970s apartment complex consists of a tall vertically aligned stucco building adorned with French-themed ornamentation. The subject property is located on the southeast corner of 4th Street and San Vicente Boulevard. Building permits indicate that construction of the property began in 1970 and was completed in 1971. The property is located in a multi-family residential neighborhood consisting primarily of two-story garden apartment complexes situated on large lots on both sides of San Vicente Boulevard. The subject property was developed by Ernest Auerbach Company, a prolific Los Angeles and Santa Monica developer. Actress June Lockhart is a resident of the property. Based on a site survey, available building permits, Los Angeles County Tax Assessor records, and Sanborn Maps, it appears that the original improvements to the subject property were made between 1918 and 1950, but were later demolished for the construction of the existing apartment complex. The original improvements appear to have been an L-shaped multifamily residential building with a detached row of garages on the south alley. The legal description of the subject property is Condominium Tract 35122 Lot 1. Regulatory Setting This property has not been previously identified as a historic resource under the City’s on-going survey process. The subject property was initially surveyed during Phase I (1982-1983) of the Santa Monica Historic Resources Inventory Survey and was found ineligible for local listing. The subject property was again assessed as part of the Historic Resources Inventory Update for the City of Santa Monica and again found ineligible for listing as a historic resource. Finally, the property was found ineligible for listing as a historic resource during the recent city-wide survey update. Architectural Description The three-story stucco multifamily residential building sits above a partially subterranean parking garage. The concrete parking garage is accessible by the alley that borders the property on the south and spans close to the entire building footprint. The rear elevation and the east facades have little ornamentation as they are secondary elevations fronting the alley (south elevation), and the multifamily building to the east (east elevation). The west elevation fronting 4th Street rises vertically above the visible parking garage and the north elevation is set back from San Vicente by a small garden with trees, turf, flowers, and hedges. The architecture of the façade is similar to the ubiquitous stucco box multifamily residential buildings constructed throughout Santa Monica during the postwar era. Lightly textured stucco walls with functionally identifiable aluminum slider windows signify bedrooms, bathrooms and kitchens, and sliding glass doors open onto the balconies. The architecture of 404 San Vicente is a good example of the stucco box’s transition from modern decoration (dingbat style) to historicist ornamentation of the stucco box which began in the 1970s and continued through the 1980s. The 404 San Vicente apartment complex is a provincial French- 233 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 130, Santa Monica, CA 90401 INTERNET www.pcrnet.com TEL 310.451.4488 FAX 310.451.5279 404 San Vicente Boulevard Santa Monica, California City Landmark Assessment and Evaluation Report Page 2 themed stucco box with a wood shingle Mansard parapet meant to convey a Mansard roof, faux shutters, and a series of three-story surface-mounted arches. Slightly recessed balconies with ornate cast-iron balusters front 4th Street and San Vicente Boulevard. A brick walkway and stair leads to the centrally located wood door with sidelights on San Vicente Boulevard. Historical Background Based upon tax assessor records and Sanborn map research, it appears that a substantial number of multi-family dwellings situated along San Vicente Boulevard and Montana Avenue had been constructed by 1950. Many more were erected between 1950 and 1970s, such as the subject property. The commercial development and population growth responsible for the increase in apartment complexes in the area was largely caused by the pre-World War II defense build-up and the post-World War II boom years after 1945 when the demand for housing exceeded supply. The Douglas Aircraft manufacturing plant in the southeast part of Santa Monica employed large numbers of local residents during the 1940s and into the postwar years. Similarly, the RAND Corporation provided employment to a large number of researchers and support staff after World War II. Multi- family dwellings in the area such as those within the tract’s boundaries were built to house the many professional and blue-collar workers requiring housing in Santa Monica at that time. In addition, city directories indicate that retirees and widows also lived in Santa Monica following World War II in apartment buildings. Many of the multi-family residences erected along San Vicente Boulevard between Ocean Avenue and 7th Street are two-story, set back from the street, and are arranged around landscaped courtyards. Some of the Garden Apartments on San Vicente between Ocean Avenue and 7th Street have open courts with a continuous unbroken landscape that connects to the front yard, while others have the second story bridging over a ground floor entranceway that connects to the open courtyard. These plan and layout types are characteristic of the many garden apartment complexes that appeared in Santa Monica and throughout Southern California from the Depression-era 1930s through the 1960s. These Garden Apartments tend to have modern detailing, with the postwar examples often incorporating architectural elements similar to post-war Dingbat Housing. Post-War Multi-Family Residential Architecture (Dingbat Housing) Although influenced by the materials and aesthetics of post-war Modern Architecture, post- war multi-family residential architecture (the stucco box with Modern detailing) is generally less formal in its expression of Modern design features and materials. The common features of post-war apartment complexes in Southern California included rectilinear massing; flat or low-pitched hipped roofs; overhanging eaves; stucco finish and/or wood siding; natural rock veneers; metal-framed fixed, sliding and/or casement windows; cantilevered balconies or exterior walkways; and custom signage or themed imagery on the primary façade. Garden courts, landscaping, and swimming pools were often integrated into the site plan. Parking garages were either incorporated into the ground level of the apartment buildings or provided in a separate ancillary building. The post-war multi- family residences were largely constructed quickly for low costs to provide for the immediate housing needs during the post-war era. The design rational for these ubiquitous post-war multi- family residences was to provide inexpensive housing using mass-produced building materials. 404 San Vicente Boulevard Santa Monica, California City Landmark Assessment and Evaluation Report Page 3 Although some post-war multi-family residences have Modern-style open floor plans, functionally- organized façades, and glazed walls or ribbon windows, most do not. Historicist Stucco Box As the public acceptance of Modern design ebbed beginning in the late 1960s, architects, developers, and builders adapted to appeal to a growing interest in historic precedents in architecture. During the late 1960s and early 1970s the transition from the hegemony of Modern design to a period of historical revival in architecture created many hybrid forms where the two design strategies were conjoined. The historicist stucco box is an excellent example of the architecture of this transitional time. Many developers and builders, simply continued with the construction of the stucco box, but instead of adding Modern detailing, forms and detailing referencing earlier revival styles were applied to the primary elevations. Common Historicist Stucco Box styles were the Tudor, American Colonial Revival, and the French Provincial. Although this type and its associated styles were constructed over a short period (late 1960s-late 1980s), it is one of the most ubiquitous and common multifamily residential property types in Santa Monica, and examples are located throughout the City. The subject property exhibits many of the character defining features of the Historicist Stucco Box. With its monolithic rectangular form, stucco walls, aluminum slider windows, sliding glass doors, and French Provincial ornamentation it is a common example of a highly common type. Evaluation of Significance Person(s) of Historical Importance The property is associated with two persons of historical importance: Developer Ernest Auerbach and Actress June Lockhart. Ernest Auerbach launched his real estate development and construction firm 1946. According to Auerbach, he built thousands of homes and commercial buildings throughout Santa Monica and Southern California. While Auerbach is important in the history of Construction and Real Estate development in Santa Monica, 404 San Vicente Boulevard