STRUCTURE of MERIT ASSESSMENT REPORT 2102 5Th STREET #B, SANTA MONICA, CA
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STRUCTURE OF MERIT ASSESSMENT REPORT 2102 5th STREET #B, SANTA MONICA, CA Prepared for: City of Santa Monica Planning & Community Development City Planning Division 1685 Main Street, Room 212 Santa Monica, CA 90401 Prepared by: Jan Ostashay Principal Ostashay & Associates Consulting PO BOX 542 Long Beach, CA 90801 SEPTEMBER 2016 THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY BLANK STRUCTURE OF MERIT ASSESSMENT REPORT Rear Bungalow 2102 5th Street #B Santa Monica, CA 90405 APN: 4289‐010‐006 INTRODUCTION At the request of the City of Santa Monica Planning & Community Development Department (PCD), City Planning Division, Ostashay & Associates Consulting (OAC) has prepared this Structure of Merit Assessment Report for the property referred to as 2102 5th Street #B in the City of Santa Monica, California. This assessment report includes a discussion of the survey methodology used, a summarized description of the property, a brief description and contextual history of the property, evaluation of significance under the City of Santa Monica Structure of Merit criteria, photographs, and any applicable supporting materials. The parcel in which the subject property is located is developed with two residential improvements with 2102 5th Street #B sited at the rear half of lot. OAC documented and evaluated the subject property to determine whether it appears to satisfy one or more of the statutory criteria associated with City of Santa Monica Structure of Merit eligibility requirements, pursuant to Chapter 9.56 (Landmarks and Historic Districts Ordinance) of the Santa Monica Municipal Code. METHODOLOGY The assessment was conducted by Jan Ostashay, principal with OAC. In order to identify and evaluate the subject property as a potential Structure of Merit candidate, an intensive‐level survey was conducted. The assessment included a review of the National Register of Historic Places (National Register) and its annual updates, the California Register of Historical Resources (California Register), the California Historic Resources Inventory (HRI) list maintained by the State Office of Historic Preservation (OHP), and the City’s Historic Resources Inventory in order to determine if any previous evaluations or survey assessments of the property had been performed. For this current assessment a site inspection and a review of building permits, permit ledger books, and tax assessor records were completed to understand and document the property’s existing condition and assist in evaluating its potential historical significance. The City of Santa Monica Structure of Merit criteria were employed to evaluate the local significance of the property and its eligibility for such designation. In addition, the following tasks were performed for the study: Rear Bungalow, 2102 5th Street #B Structure of Merit Assessment Report page 1 • Searched records of the National Register, California Register, Library of Congress archives, U.S. Census records, OHP Historic Resources Inventory, and City of Santa Monica Historic Resources Inventory. • Conducted a field inspection of the subject property from the public right‐of‐way. • Conducted site‐specific research on the subject property utilizing Sanborn fire insurance maps, city directories, newspaper articles, historical photographs, building permits, and permit ledger books. • Reviewed and analyzed ordinances, statutes, regulations, bulletins, and technical materials relating to federal, state, and local historic preservation, designation assessment procedures, and related programs. • Evaluated the potential historic resource based upon criteria established by the City of Santa Monica and utilized the OHP survey methodology for conducting surveys. FINDINGS OAC has concluded that the subject property, 2102 5th Street #B, is eligible for designation as a City of Santa Monica Structure of Merit. This finding is based on the research conducted on the residence, an intensive‐level survey of the property and a cursory windshield survey of the neighboring area, the development of relevant historic contexts, application of eligibility criteria, and an assessment of historical integrity. The following information provides a contextual basis for the analysis and eligibility finding for the subject property. BACKGROUND INFORMATION The subject property, which is one of two residential improvements sited on a single lot at 2102 5th Street, is situated in the neighborhood that was once referred to as Ocean Park. Sited along the west side of 5th Street between Bay Street and Pacific Street the small dwelling occupies the rear (west end) half of lot 6 of Block A within the Ocean Spray tract. The lot size of the parcel is roughly 40 feet by 140 feet. The subject property is located in a medium density residential neighborhood comprised of single‐family and multi‐family units of varying age and style. The residence at 2102 5th Street #B has not been previously identified or evaluated for historical significance under any of the City’s past survey efforts. Therefore, it is not included in the City’s Historic Resources Inventory. Currently, it is not a designated City of Santa Monica Landmark or Structure of Merit. The property was preliminarily assessed by OAC for potential City Landmark designation in July 2016, and was found not to meet the required significance criteria for such recognition. As a result, the subject property is being assessed for Structure of Merit eligibility, as requested by the City’s Landmarks Commission. PROPERTY DESCRIPTION AND CONSTRUCTION HISTORY Description. The rear structure with 516 square feet of space was built as a wood‐frame structure with Craftsman bungalow tendencies. This is the older of the two dwellings on site Rear Bungalow, 2102 5th Street #B Structure of Merit Assessment Report page 2 having been constructed in 1912. The smaller, cottage‐like residence, referred to as 2102 5th Street #B, has a rectangular plan with a front‐facing gable roof with minimal eave overhang, fascia boards at the gable ends, and exposed rafter tails. A low‐pitch, front‐facing gable porch roof is also set below the apex of the front gable end to shelter the front entry door and open porch space. The porch roof is supported by two large square shape wood posts set at the porch ends with two thinner square shaped wood posts set on wood piers adjacent the centrally located porch steps. Other porch features include a picket wood railing system, a wood panel with glazed window main entry door, and flanking elongated wood‐frame sash windows with flat wood surrounds and sills. The house is sheathed with narrow wood clapboard siding with corner boards and a louvered wood slatted attic vent pierces the front gable end. Fenestration elsewhere on the structure is primarily 1/1 sash frame windows. As a note, the existing window frames appear to be non‐original as they do not have the extended “Ogee lugs” at the bottom of the upper sash (or meeting rail). The property was initially improved without a garage and the early Sanborn Map from 1918 confirms the non‐existence of such a structure at that time. A garage was later erected on the parcel in 1928, when the front bungalow was built. Building Permit History. The authorization for the construction of the rear dwelling is listed in the City’s permit ledger book from 1912. The initial improvement of the site is listed in the ledger book under the property owner George Pearson and is dated from September 27, 1912. Listed without an address the dwelling is noted as being on Lot 6, Block A of the Ocean Spray tract. According to the ledger booking listing the dwelling was an owner/builder improvement that cost $350 to erect at the time. The Southwest Contractor and Manufacturer publication from October 5, 1912 confirms this improvement, associated cost, and initial insert ownership. There are no other permits on file with the City for this particular structure. HISTORICAL CONTEXT Santa Monica.1 In 1875, the original townsite of Santa Monica was surveyed, including all the land extending from Colorado Street on the south to Montana on the north, and from 26th Street on the east to the Pacific Ocean on the west. Between 1893 and the 1920s, the community operated as a tourist attraction, visited by mostly wealthy patrons. Those areas just outside of the incorporated city limits were semi‐rural in setting and were populated with scattered residences. After the advent of the automobile in the 1920s, Santa Monica experienced a significant building boom, with homes being constructed in the tracts north of Montana Avenue and east of Seventh Street for year‐round residents. Commercial buildings, primarily one‐ or two‐story in height, initially concentrated along 2nd and 3rd Streets between Colorado Avenue and Santa Monica Boulevard also began to expand north and eastward at this time. The impetus for this change occurred as a result of the continuing resident and tourist population growth of the City overall and their demand for consumer goods. 1 Adapted from City of Santa Monica, “Santa Monica Historical Resources Inventory,” 1988‐1986. Rear Bungalow, 2102 5th Street #B Structure of Merit Assessment Report page 3 While tourism has always been the primary industry of the city, other factors also contributed to the community’s economic base. A brick, terra cotta and pottery facility was located in the southern portion of the town. The Merle Norman Cosmetics Company had its initial headquarters on Main Street for many years. The Douglas Aircraft Company, begun in 1923, was also located in Santa Monica near the airport and went on to become a primary contractor for the manufacture of aircraft. In later years, the Rand Corporation, a nationally known “think tank” established its operations along Main Street across from the City Hall. With the expansion of the Douglas Aircraft Company during World War II, a boom in population and building occurred once again with the construction of whole residential tracts of single‐ family dwellings. Multi‐family housing was also in demand as the City’s population continued to grow.