HISTORICAL NOMINATION of the Robert and Climena O'brien House 3920 Adams Avenue - Normal Heights Neighborhood San Diego, California

HISTORICAL NOMINATION of the Robert and Climena O'Brien House 3920 Adams Avenue - Normal Heights Neighborhood San Diego, California

Ronald V. May, RPA Kiley Wallace Legacy 106, Inc. P.O. Box 15967 San Diego, CA 92175 (619) 269-3924 www.legacy106.com March 2016 1

HISTORIC HOUSE RESEARCH Ronald V. May, RPA, President and Principal Investigator Kiley Wallace, Vice President and Architectural Historian P.O. Box 15967 • San Diego, CA 92175 Phone (619) 269-3924 • http://www.legacy106.com

State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # ______DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ______PRIMARY RECORD Trinomial ______NRHP Status Code 3S Other Listings ______Review Code _____ Reviewer ______Date ______

Page 3 of 24 *Resource Name or #: The Robert and Climena O'Brien House

P1. Other Identifier: 3920 Adams Avenue, San Diego, CA 92116 *P2. Location: Not for Publication Unrestricted *a. County: San Diego and (P2b and P2c or P2d. Attach a Location Map as necessary.) *b. USGS 7.5' Quad: La Mesa Date: 1997 Maptech, Inc.T ; R ; ¼ of ¼ of Sec ; M.D. B.M. c. Address: 3920 Adams Avenue City: San Diego Zip: 92116 d. UTM: Zone: 11 ; mE/ mN (G.P.S.)

e. Other Locational Data: (e.g., parcel #, directions to resource, elevation, etc.) Elevation: 380 feet Legal Description: Villa Lot One Hundred Ninety-four (194) of Normal Heights according to map thereof No. 985, filed in the office of the County Recorder of said San Diego County May 9, 1906.

*P3a. Description: (Describe resource and its major elements. Include design, materials, condition, alterations, size, setting, and boundaries). This home, built in 1926, is an excellent and rare example of the Mission Revival architectural style utilizing native canyon cobblestones. The home also displays Spanish colonial influences. It is a single-family residence in the Normal Heights community of San Diego. The south (front) elevation faces Adams Ave. The house displays an unusual flat and stepped up shaped parapet with clay tile shed roof covering the flat portion with concrete capped corner crenulations. This home's less common flat and stepped up shaped parapet is different than the curvilinear parapet usually seen on Mission style homes. The home features a balanced front façade with two extending wings and a central inset half walled front porch sheltered by a clay tile shed roof. A large arched focal window grouping is seen on the end of the western wing extension. This large arched window grouping utilizes a central fixed window flaked by matching 14 part original wooden arched window groupings (See Continuation Sheet.)

*P3b. Resource Attributes: (List attributes and codes) (HP2) Single family property *P4. Resources Present: Building Structure Object Site District Element of District P5b. Description of Photo: (View, date, accession #) View of south (front) elevation. Photo by Dan Soderberg, February 2016.

*P6. Date Constructed/Age and Sources: Historic Prehistoric Both No Notice of Completion was found. No original water or sewer records were found. County Lot and Block Book first assessed in 1926. First directory occupant listings in 1927. Residential Building Record, estimated date 1926.

*P7. Owner and Address: Bill Godsey and Richard Seghers 3920 Adams Ave. San Diego, CA 92116

*P8. Recorded by: (Name, affiliation, and address) Ronald V. May, RPA, and Kiley Wallace, Legacy 106, Inc., P.O. Box 15967, San Diego, CA 92175 *P9. Date Recorded: March 2016 *P10. Survey Type: (Describe) Intensive *P11. Report Citation: (Cite survey report and other sources, or enter "none.") Historical Nomination of the Robert and Climena O'Brien House, San Diego, California for the City of San Diego, Historical Resources Board, by Ronald V. May, RPA and Kiley Wallace, Legacy 106, Inc., March 2016. Legacy 106, Inc. is indebted to Alexandra Wallace and Dan Soderberg for extensive research, and other assistance with the preparation of this report.

*Attachments: NONE Location Map Sketch Map Continuation Sheet Building, Structure, and Object Record Archaeological Record District Record Linear Feature Record Milling Station Record Rock Art Record Artifact Record Photograph Record Other (List):

DPR 523A *Required Information 4 State of California The Resources Agency Primary # DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI#

CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial

Page 4 of 24 *Resource Name or #: The Robert and Climena O'Brien House

*Recorded by: Ronald V. May, RPA and Kiley Wallace *Date: March 2016 Continuation Update

*P3a. Description: (Describe resource and its major elements. Include design, materials, condition, alterations, size, setting, and boundaries) (Continued): (See Attachment D, Photographs)

The most dominant features of the subject home are the exposed natural exterior cobblestone walls and the flat and stepped decorative parapet. Although the home can be seen as a fanciful mixture of Spanish and mission styles the unique step up shaped parapet is an important and dominant feature which classifies the home as Mission style with Spanish colonial influences. The home at 3920 Adams Ave. is a single-story example of the Mission Revival style with a balanced dual wing symmetrical front façade and large triple arch window grouping. The home, built in 1926, utilizes a distinctive natural cobblestone exterior wall material which showcases the use of this natural indigenous material. The use of these natural elements as the visible primary wall material makes this home significant for its method of construction and rare use of stone craftsmanship as well as its eclectic and unique architectural style.

The house features the character defining features indicative of the Mission Revival style. The home utilizes a flat roof with stepped corner shaped parapet and red clay tile shed roof covering. The home has other identifying features of the Mission style, including the repeating red pan clay tiles supporting the entry porch and also seen along the upper parapet edge.

Although a break from the more traditional Mission style with curving parapet, seen in Santa Fe train depots and elsewhere, the home is grounded in the Mission style vocabulary much in the same way many Irvin Gill structures are classified as mission revival although they also lack the more typical curvilinear shaped parapet. San Diego HRB Site #843, the David E. and Jennie McCracken House, is another comparative example. The McCracken House at 3694 Pershing Ave. in North Park utilizes an uncommon for the style brick surfacing, however the home was also clearly influenced and derived from the Mission style. Finally, the three part arched focal window grouping also reflects the home's Mission and Spanish design influences. The triple arched main front focal window on the subject home creates a repeating arched colonnade-like rhythm on the front façade with a large arched central fixed wood window flanked by original smaller arched 14 pane true divided light windows which are all enclosed in an overarching cobblestone framework design. All windows are inset with deep wooden reveal due to the thick stone wall design. Matching arched cobblestone work is seen on the garage opening, matching cobblestone chimney and use of larger stones at the corners creating a quoin like wall affect.

The home has a forward facing U-shaped plan design. The central inset covered entry porch utilizes a single 15 light wooden French access door with matching 10 light sidelights on both sides. The raised front concrete porch is partiality enclosed with matching thick cobblestone half walls caped with flat concrete tops. Downward angled round clay tile attic vents are seen in a triangular configuration just below the parapet.

The home's setting is an early streetcar suburban residential street along Adams Ave. The home is in excellent condition and features the original unpainted cobblestone exterior wall surfacing throughout with ocher red painted wood windows and detailing throughout. This is an excellent surviving example of a Mission Revival home utilizing a unique cobblestone wall material design which exemplifies the eclectic 1920's design period.

State of California The Resources Agency Primary # DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI# CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial

Page 5 of 24 *Resource Name or #: The Robert and Climena O'Brien House

*Recorded by: Ronald V. May, RPA and Kiley Wallace *Date: March 2016 Continuation Update

*P3a. Description (continued):

Mission (Revival) Style. The Mission Revival architectural style reflected a reinterpretation and loose adaptation of features found on old California Spanish Colonial Mission buildings. The style began in California and the American Southwest but would eventually spread east and was utilized across America and eventually even outside of the U.S. Some historians describe the style as the western counterpart to the eastern Colonial Revival style. The style was seen as both original and traditional and did not start becoming popular until the late 1880 and 1890's. It would grow to have even wider acceptance and influence in the early 1900's as the style spread through national building and architectural magazines. The basic simplicity of the Mission Revival style lent itself to many uses and was adopted commercially nationwide for the Santa Fe and Southern Pacific railway station, depots and hotels.

The style is characterized firstly by curvilinear roof parapets usually with raised copings at the parapet edge, arched entrees and sometimes repeating arched entry porches with square columns/piers. Pyramidal roofs with open overhanging eaves and exposed roof rafters were also popular design features. The Mission Revival style usually features a smooth stucco exterior and balanced sometimes symmetrical façade and can also incorporate tile roofs and quatrefoil windows/openings. The Mission Revival style faded after World War I and was eventually subsumed by the larger Spanish Eclectic style as architectural fashions changed in the 1920's and favored more varied and elaborate designs over the original simplified adaptations of the style.

South (Front) Elevation – Starting from the top, the highest point on the house, is its decorative step shaped mission style parapet seen topping the flat roofed home with central cobblestone end chimney which matches the walls on the rest of the home. This four-sided simple shaped parapet curves upward in a flattened U-shape with a simple single tile row shed roof covering the lower flattened portion. The design steps up before the corner edge to form the flat parapet raised corner edges that continue around the sides and rear of the home. Flat concrete toppers are seen at the higher corners.

Two extending wings extend on this elevation with a central raised porch. The flat roof and U-shaped parapet with shed tile roof covering tops all the walls on this elevation. This mixture of tile and flat roof with parapet roof styles is in keeping with the home's Mission Revival and Spanish Eclectic aesthetic and design. Below this decorative parapet, triple clay tile vents are seen angled down projecting from the wall planes.

The central entryway utilizes a pan clay tile shed roof. These interlocking clay tiles match the other original tiles seen around the home, although they may have been painted at some point in the past. This detail shows the home's Mission and Mediterranean Revival influences and these repeating roof tiles are often seen on Mission and Mediterranean derived styles. These parapet roof tiles repeats around the other façades of the home. The matching cobblestone end chimney is visible along this raised concrete rectangular entry courtyard.

Below, directly in the center, is an original single fifteen light French divided light wooden door provides access to the front patio and entryway. This original rectangular wooden French door with five rows of three, is flanked on each side by matching rectangular divided light sidelights with five rows of two rectangular glass panes. A matching cobblestone half wall surrounds the raised inset front porch.

To the right side on the extending wing face, matching triple clay tile vents are seen on the parapet just above a large rectangular focal window. This fixed wooden window has a recessed wooden frame and a wood and concrete sill matching the other original windows seen on the home. To the right, a side facing double hung wooden window is seen facing the driveway.

6 State of California The Resources Agency Primary # DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI# divided light pattern of similar sized rectangular casement windows seen on other elevations. This CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial

Page 6 of 24 *Resource Name or #: The Robert and Climena O'Brien House

*Recorded by: Ronald V. May, RPA and Kiley Wallace *Date: March 2016 Continuation Update

*P3a. Description (continued):

Set back to the right (east) the arching garage opening is seen with matching stepped up shaped parapet. The rock arch opening is very original but the opening has been squared off from above to create a rectangular garage door opening with newer garage door. This driveway area may have originally had swinging arched top barn style garage doors been or alternately an open porte-cochère style opening that was enclosed soon after construction. It is shown as a garage (A - Auto) on the earliest 1950 Sanborn map and in the 1953 historical photo. The cobblestone surfacing carries around the side of the garage along near the property line.

West (Side) Elevation – This elevation is very close (approx. 4-5 feet) to the neighboring property line and neighboring commercial business. The west elevation continues the flat roof and shed tile capped parapet with concrete corner caps, however the elevation drops down at the rear with two flat terraced drops seen along the top below the parapet wall. The interlocking pan clay tile parapet roof matches the front and other elevations. This elevation is all on one wall plane, just a few feet from the property line and concrete wall, and it is difficult to photograph the wall fenestration well. Three original window openings along this elevation contain rectangular double hung wooden windows, each with a deep cobblestone inset and boxed frame. Larger oversized rocks are used at the corner edges matching the other elevations.

North (Rear) Elevation – The rear elevation of the home is topped by a flat roof with no parapet with extending eaves and rafters. It appears the almost flat roof all sheds to the rear with no front or side scuppers designed for to water sheet out away from the house at this rear elevation in into the canyon at the rear. This rear roof overhang appears entirely original and is reflected in the lowered cobblestone parapet. This rear elevation is slightly higher due to the slightly dropping topography at the rear of the home.

From left to right, is a small raised wooden rear porch with a rectangular wooden window and solid wooden service door with three panels including a glazed upper panel. This doorway has the original deep boxed reveal inset into the cobblestone wall. Four steps and a small landing with another three steps connects this rear porch with the rear yard area. Basement storm doors are seen at the foundation. A small one-over-one double hung window is seen near the center with a larger small one over one double hung rectangular window seen to the right.

East (Side) Elevation – The east elevation continues the flat roof and simple U-shaped raised corner Mission style parapet with flat concrete corner caps at the front, as seen on the other side elevation. The interlocking pan style clay tile parapet roof cover also matches the front and other elevations and extends down the entire side of the home with one step down in the parapet. This elevation displays the attached garage and side driveway which extends out along the side of the home. The three sided garage is open at the rear. Behind the attached garage, two rectangular window openings are seen. Both windows are within the original opening inset cobblestone opening. The one on the left appears very original with double hung wooden window, while the one on the right appears to have been partially modified with the original upper sash retained but the lower sash replaced with a wooden panel and small window box. This small alteration may have been done as part of a kitchen remodel. This side rear window area is at the rear behind the attached garage and outside of the public view. Again larger rocks are used at the corner edges creating a quoin like effect matching the other elevations.

Interior Architectural Features – (original cobblestone fireplace included in the designation). The Mission style home retains some intact interior features including the cobblestone fireplace. Fireplace side bookshelves are also original and intact. Also, the original wood floors, interior columns and decorative boxed beam ceiling, and solid wooden doors are extant and photos are provided for reference.

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Page 7 of 24 *Resource Name or #: The Robert and Climena O'Brien House

*Recorded by: Ronald V. May, RPA and Kiley Wallace *Date: March 2016 Continuation Update

*P3a. Description (continued):

Detached Rear (Second) Garage - As seen on Sanborn maps and the Residential Building Record, a detached single level garage was seen on Sanborn maps, however, the rear detached garage appears to have been built after the period of significance and is recommended excluded from the historic designation.

Landscaping / Yard Setting – The front yard consists of open yard with drought tolerant landscaping and newer curving concrete walkway. The front walkway connects the sidewalk to the driveway, front porch and entryway door. Medium sized palms and bushes make up the outside front landscaping. The open landscape yard design somewhat matches the circa 1953 historic photo showing some turf grass with bushes and landscaping planted near the house.

State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # ______DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ______BUILDING, STRUCTURE, AND OBJECT RECORD

Page 8 of 24 *Resource Name or #: The Robert and Climena O'Brien House

*Recorded by: Ronald V. May, RPA and Kiley Wallace *Date: March 2016 Continuation Update

B1. Historic Name: 3920 Adams Avenue B2. Common Name: 3920 Adams Avenue B3. Original Use: Single Family Property B4. Present Use: Single Family Property *B5. Architectural Style: Mission Revival with Spanish Colonial Influences *B6. Construction History: (Construction date, alterations, and date of alterations) No Notice of Completion or original water or sewer records were found for the home. However, the Residential Building Record date of construction is 1926. The County Lot and Block Book first assessed in 1926 and the first Directory occupant listings are in 1927 confirming a 1926 date of construction. Although no notice of completion was found for the property, the Robert and Climena O'Brien House name was chosen because they owned the property until July 1926 and the home was assessed for taxes that same year. That usually indicates a home that was finished earlier in the year since houses are often not assessed until the year after construction.

The City of San Diego has only one building permits on record: Permit E501957-96 is for a kitchen remodel which was done in 1996 and dated April 25, 1996. The rear detached garage is newer and recommended excluded from historic designation. Although not clear from building records, site examination reveals the east side rear kitchen window bottom window sash was likely removed (possibly during this permitted 1996 remodel) and a wood panel and wooden planter box replaced this lower single light sash. Please see attached current east elevation photos. The original window opening is unaltered, the window is behind the attached garage and outside of the public view and finally this is an easily reversible modification.

*B7. Moved? No Yes Unknown Date: Original Location: *B8. Related Features: B9a. Architect: Unknown b. Builder: Unknown (Please see Criterion D discussion) *B10. Significance: Theme: Residential architecture Area: Normal Heights (San Diego)

Period of Significance: 1926 Property Type: Single-Family Property Applicable Criteria: C (Discuss importance in terms of historical or architectural context as defined by theme, period, and geographic scope. Also address integrity.) The Robert and Climena O'Brien House at 3920 Adams Ave. is significant under Criterion "C” as an excellent example of Mission Revival and Spanish Colonial style architecture utilizing native "Kensington" cobblestone walls. The 1926 builders of this home designed one of the most recognizable and best surviving examples of a Mission Revival residential homes in Normal Heights. The period of significance, 1926, encompasses the date of construction of the home. This house has been well maintained and has excellent integrity. (See Continuation Sheet.)

B11. Additional Resource Attributes: (List attributes and codes) none

*B12. References: (See Continuation Sheet) N

B13. Remarks: None *B14. Evaluator: Ronald V. May, RPA and Kiley Wallace *Date of Evaluation: March 2016

(This space reserved for official comments.)

9 State of California The Resources Agency Primary # DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI#

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Page 9 of 24 *Resource Name or #: The Robert and Climena O'Brien House

*Recorded by: Ronald V. May, RPA and Kiley Wallace *Date: March 2016 Continuation Update

*B10. Significance - Criterion A:

Criterion A: Exemplifies or reflects special elements of the City’s, a community’s or a neighborhood’s historical, archaeological, cultural, social, economic, political, aesthetic, engineering, landscaping or architectural development.

In July 1926, a widowed Raymond Sharpless purchased the newly completed subject resource from Robert and Climena O'Brien. It does not appear that the O'Briens were affiliated with the construction of the nearby home at 3805 Merivale Avenue, the Brenkert / Thorpe House (HRB #363), an older nearby Craftsman style residence built of similar cobblestones in 1914.

Historic Context of Normal Heights Community -Through the 1800's, the area that would later become known as Normal Heights was sparsely populated farmland, dotted with very few homes. Several investment companies incorporated in 1887 and speculated in real estate on the mesa above Mission Valley. They also delivered water to the mesa. The local real estate market collapsed shortly thereafter, bankrupting the majority of the companies. However, four of them survived: the Teralta Land and Water Company, the College Hill Land Association, the Combination Land Company, and the South-Western Investment Company (Ledeboer 2006:20).

Real estate developers George M. Hawley and his business partner David C. Collier, Jr. recognized the development potential of the area that later became known as Normal Heights. The pair also developed or contributed to the development of University Heights, East San Diego, Teralta Heights, Ramona, Point Loma, Ocean Beach, and Encanto.

On August 22, 1905, the University Heights Syndicate incorporated with $500.00 cash raised from its five shareholders. George M. Hawley was President and Carl O. Reinbold served as Secretary-Treasurer. The surveying and mapping of the Normal Heights tract was completed in January 1906, and the Syndicate filed their Subdivision Map No. 985 of Normal Heights with the San Diego County Recorder on May 9, 1906. The San Diego County Board of Supervisors accepted the map the same day, and Normal Heights became an official subdivision (Ledeboer 2006:22).

According to a January 11, 1906 article in the San Diego Union, the contract for the construction of the Adams Avenue streetcar line extension from University Heights to Normal Heights was signed by the San Diego Electric Railway Company. The article quoted W. Clayton, the Railway Company's vice president and managing director, who stated:

"I am pleased to confirm to you my advice that the San Diego Electric Railway Company will construct and operate an electric car line on Adams Avenue, University Heights, starting at the point of junction with the present Fifth Street line at the ostrich farm, and extending easterly about two miles.

Mr. Spreckels for the railway company has signed agreements with the University Heights Syndicate, the College Hill Land Association and yourselves, which provide for the construction of this new line, and the work is to commence just as soon as Adams Avenue is ready for the rails, and to be completed within five months thereafter."

On March 15, 1906, the Ralston Realty Company held a parade to celebrate the hauling of several tons of steel rails from the Pacific Coast Steamship Company's wharf downtown to Normal Heights. The rails were to be used in the grading and preparation of Adams Avenue for the extension of the streetcar line to Normal Heights.

State of California The Resources Agency Primary # DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI# CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial

Page 10 of 24 *Resource Name or #: The Robert and Climena O'Brien House

*Recorded by: Ronald V. May, RPA and Kiley Wallace *Date: March 2016 Continuation Update

*B10. Significance - Criterion A (continued):

The four block long procession was headed by three cars, a carriage carrying the City Guard band, and was directed by D.C. Collier, a prominent real estate developer. The procession left the steamship company's warehouses at the end of Fifth Ave. downtown and made its way to the newly opened Normal Heights tract (San Diego Union, March 16, 1906). The parade featured a blacksmith shop on wheels which was pulled by a mule team. During the journey from the wharf to Normal Heights, the blacksmiths made plow points at the forge.

On November 30, 1907, the Western Investment Company of San Diego was incorporated, and by February 1908, the company had absorbed the College Hill Land Association and the University Heights Syndicate (San Diego Union, February 2, 1908). The consolidation meant that Western Investment acquired all unsold parcels in the College Hill and Normal Heights tracts.

According to the 1910 U.S. Census, the Normal Heights area was still sparsely populated, with only 810 residents (Ledeboer 2006:24). There were a handful of professionals, including doctors, nurses, and teachers, while most other residents worked in blue-collar occupations. Most were originally from elsewhere in the United States, and there were also a few residents from Germany, Sweden, Japan and China. The roads at that time were still dirt and there were few services in the area.

In 1910, a group of area residents formed the Normal Heights Improvement Association. A clubhouse was erected at 3465 Adams Avenue, at the southwest corner of Adams Ave. and 40th Street. The association also petitioned the County Board of Supervisors for the establishment of a free branch library, and on August 31, 1914, the library was opened inside the Normal Heights Central School at 4011 Adams Avenue.

In 1913, Normal Heights became part of a County Road Improvement District, and streets were paved shortly thereafter. Concrete contractor George H. Oswald also installed curbs, concrete gutters and sidewalks throughout Normal Heights. Several of Oswald's original sidewalks exist in the neighborhood to this day.

Bertram J. Carteri and Normal Heights. After the conclusion of World War I, Southern California experienced an expanding real estate market, and San Diego's population was growing rapidly. The need for housing meant that residential development was expanding to areas outside of San Diego's downtown. Carteri speculated that the Normal Heights area would be the next part of San Diego to experience a boom. In 1920, the neighborhood was still rather remote, with only a few homes and even fewer amenities such as doctors, grocery stores, and service stations. However, it had close proximity to trolley lines, was accessible by automobile, and land could still be purchased inexpensively.

Beginning in 1920, Carteri purchased lots in north of Adams Avenue, between 33rd and 34th Streets in Normal Heights, and constructed approximately twenty single-family homes between 1920 and 1924. Only about a dozen are still extant. He then purchased the entire block between Felton St. and 33rd St. and improved these lots as well.

Carteri Center. In late 1922, Carteri purchased lots on the south side of Adams Avenue, between 33rd and 34th Streets. He proceeded to construct several commercial buildings in the Spanish Colonial

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Page 11 of 24 *Resource Name or #: The Robert and Climena O'Brien House

*Recorded by: Ronald V. May, RPA and Kiley Wallace *Date: March 2016 Continuation Update

*B10. Significance - Criterion A (continued):

Revival style, most of them designed by Master Architect Louis J. Gill (the nephew of Master Architect Irving J. Gill). The Carteri opened in 1923 and was a two-story movie theater. A San Diego Union article from April 4, 1926 stated:

"All this [development of Carteri Center] has happened because Bertram J. Carteri - who came to San Diego nine years ago with $400 in his jeans - had vision, backbone, and ambition and has invested in four years more than $400,000 in development of the Normal Heights section."

El Sueño Bungalow Court. In 1926, the same year the subject resource was completed, Bertram J. Carteri constructed the El Sueño bungalow court, designed by Louis J. Gill, nearby at 3316 Adams Avenue in Normal Heights. The bungalow court is extant and houses businesses in the front. Behind the commercial portion are several detached bungalows, which were constructed so that they could eventually be moved and sold as individual dwellings (Ibid). Behind the detached bungalows are several attached one-story units, and a large two-story structure stands at the rear. Carteri had originally envisioned that the entirety of El Sueño would eventually become businesses, however, that plan did not come to fruition.

Although the Robert and Climena O'Brien House is a prominent house along the former Adams Avenue streetcar line and contributes to our understanding of the early development of Normal Heights as a street car suburb, no special elements about this house were found in the course of research for this study to determine it qualifies for designation under Criterion A.

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Page 12 of 24 *Resource Name or #: The Robert and Climena O'Brien House

*Recorded by: Ronald V. May, RPA and Kiley Wallace *Date: March 2016 Continuation Update

*B10. Significance - Criterion B:

Criterion B: Is identified with persons or events significant in local, state, or national history. A summary of the individuals associated with this property is provided along with a conclusion regarding their significance under Criterion B.

Robert M. O'Brien and Climena L. O'Brien Owners, 1920 to 1926

Robert Miller O'Brien was born in Missouri in April 1848 and grew up in Dolan, Missouri. On January 19, 1887, Robert married Climena L. Nocks. She was born around 1853, but records differ as to her birth place, with some showing it as Iowa, while others show Indiana. In 1900, Robert and Climena lived in Fulton, Oregon with their two sons, Arthur (born in May 1889), and Clarence (born in January 1891). The 1900 U.S. Census indicates that the O'Briens were farmers.

Around 1916, the O'Briens moved to San Diego. The 1916 San Diego city directory shows that they worked as farmers and resided at 4321 Adams Avenue. Due to readdressing of houses in the 1920's, this address now corresponds to 3621 Adams Avenue.

The 1920 U.S. Census shows that the O'Briens lived at 4720 Adams Avenue. It has since been readdressed as 3912 Adams Avenue - one lot west of the subject resource. The home at 3912 Adams Avenue has since been demolished and a newer commercial structure exists in its place.

In December 1920, Robert M. O'Brien and Climena L. O'Brien purchased Villa Lot 194 of Normal Heights, which was still a vacant lot. Although a Notice of Completion for the subject resource could not be located, the County Lot and Block Book shows that the home at 3920 Adams Avenue was first assessed to R.M. O'Brien (Robert M. O'Brien) in 1926. In July of 1926, he and Climena sold the home to Raymond F. Sharpless, a widower. The O'Briens continued to live next door to the subject resource for the next few years. Robert passed away in San Diego on July 27, 1929. Climena eventually moved to 3886 Swift Ave. and died in San Diego on January 3, 1944. According to her obituary, she wrote poetry and was active in the Townsend Movement (San Diego Union, January 6, 1944). The Townsend Movement or Townsend Plan was a precursor to what is now known as the Social Security system.

Insufficient information was found about Robert M. O'Brien and Climena L. O'Brien to determine they were historically significant for their association with 3920 Adams Avenue under Criterion B.

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Page 13 of 24 *Resource Name or #: The Robert and Climena O'Brien House

*Recorded by: Ronald V. May, RPA and Kiley Wallace *Date: March 2016 Continuation Update

*B10. Significance - Criterion B (continued):

Raymond F. Sharpless and Lula Sharpless Owners and Residents, 1926 to 1928

Harold H. Sharpless Resident, 1926 to 1928

In July 1926, Raymond F. Sharpless, a widower, purchased Villa Lot 194 of Normal Heights and either had the subject resource constructed, or built it himself. Shortly thereafter, he married Lula, and lived in the newly completed home with her and his adult son Harold. Raymond and Lula sold the home in 1928.

Raymond Foster Sharpless was born in Pennsylvania on July 23, 1877. Little information about his early life could be found. He married his first wife, Florence, around 1905. She passed away ten days after the birth of their son Harold Harvey Sharpless in August 1906.

Around 1908, Raymond married Nettie B. Jones. In 1910, the couple lived at 3420 E Street in San Diego, along with Raymond’s three-year old son Harold. That year’s census indicates that Raymond was the proprietor of a grocery store.

By 1917, the Sharpless family lived on Benton Place in Normal Heights, and operated a plant nursery (1917 San Diego city directory). Nettie passed away in San Diego in September 1925. In July 1926, a widowed Raymond purchased Villa Lot 194 of Normal Heights and either had the subject resource constructed, or built it himself. It does not appear that Raymond was affiliated in any way with the construction of the home at 3805 Merivale Avenue, a nearby Craftsman style residence built of cobblestones in 1914.

Around 1927, Raymond married Lula Vindetha Hamilton (some records refer to her as “Lulu”). She was a West Virginia native born on November 2, 1870, and married her first husband, Waitman Newcome, when she was twenty years old. Lula moved to California after becoming a widow at age twenty-eight.

Raymond and Lula, along with Raymond’s adult son Harold, are listed as residents of 3920 Adams Avenue in the 1927 and 1928 San Diego city directories. During that time, Raymond worked as a carpenter, and his son Harold worked as an electrician and as an auto mechanic. Raymond and Lula sold the home in June 1928, and according to the 1930 U.S. Census, the couple lived in El Cajon, where they operated a poultry farm.

Raymond died on March 22, 1932 in a rather unusual manner. On January 15th of that year, he “prayed that a certain wish be granted” and “to have vowed that he would eat nothing until his prayer was answered” (San Diego Union, March 23, 1932). Despite the pleas of his wife and son, Raymond did not eat for 67 days, and ultimately starved to death. The nature of his wish was not divulged. Lula never remarried and died in 1970 at the age of 100. Harold passed away in Julian on July 12, 1987.

Insufficient information was found about Raymond F. Sharpless and Lula Sharpless to determine they were historically significant for their association with 3920 Adams Avenue under Criterion B.

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*B10. Significance - Criterion B (continued):

William E. McDonald Owner, June 1928 to July 1928

From June 1928 to July 1928, William E. McDonald owned 3920 Adams Avenue. There is no evidence to suggest that he ever lived in the home. William was a real estate agent.

William Elliott McDonald was born in the Rural Municipality of Strathclair, Manitoba, Canada on May 4, 1894. His mother Christina (McLennan) McDonald was originally from Scotland, while his father Hugh was Canadian of Scotch ancestry. William came from a large family, and census information indicates that he had approximately twelve siblings. He spent the first decade or so of his life in Shoal Lake, Marquette, Manitoba, Canada. By 1913 he appears in the San Diego city directory, as a student of San Diego Commercial College residing at 3320 F Street.

According to the 1930 U.S. Census, William lived with his widowed mother and his aunt Nellie at 2420 F Street and continued to work in real estate. By the mid-1930’s, William had relocated to San Mateo, California. He passed away in Santa Clara, California on April 16, 1967.

Insufficient information was found about William E. McDonald to determine he was historically significant for his association with 3920 Adams Avenue under Criterion B.

Daniel C. Pikelhaupt and Susanna “Susie” Pikelhaupt Owners and Residents, 1928 to 1943

From 1928 to 1943, Daniel C. Piklehaupt and Susanna “Susie” Piklehaupt owned and resided at 3920 Adams Avenue. Also living in the home with them was their adult son John. Before purchasing the home, Daniel worked as a butcher and owned a hotel in Michigan. His son John worked at a billiard room in San Diego and later as an instructor at an athletic club. Various records show different spellings of the surname, including “Picklehaupt”, “Piklehaupt”, and “Pikelhaupt”.

On April 13, 1865, Daniel C. Pikelhaupt was born in Hungary. His wife Susanna was born in the same town in 1869. In August 1899, Daniel and Susanna arrived in Baltimore, Maryland via Bremen, Germany with their three youngest children: Elizabeth, Adam, and Annie. The family briefly lived in Wisconsin before moving to Steelton, Pennsylvania, where Daniel worked as a butcher.

By 1915, the Pikelhaupts lived in Wyandotte, Michigan where Daniel was the proprietor of a hotel. Daniel and Susanna moved to San Diego around 1925, and they appear in that year’s San Diego city directory as residents of 4654 Hawley Blvd. They purchased 3920 Adams Avenue in 1928, and according to the 1930 U.S. Census, they lived in the home with their 25 year old son John. City directory and census information indicates that John worked at Palomar Billiards and later was an instructor at an athletic club.

Daniel passed away in San Diego on February 14, 1942, and Susanna passed away in 1952. Further information about the Pikelhaupts could not be located.

Insufficient information was found about Daniel C. Pikelhaupt and Susanna “Susie” Pikelhaupt to determine they were historically significant for their association with 3920 Adams Avenue under Criterion B.

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*B10. Significance - Criterion B (continued):

Theodore Logan and Margaret A. Logan Owners and Residents, 1943 to 1950

From 1943 to 1950, Theodore Logan and his wife Margaret owned and resided at 3920 Adams Avenue. During that time, Theodore was serving in the Navy and Margaret worked as a clerk and librarian at the Naval Hospital and at Mercy Hospital.

Very little information about the Logans could be found. San Diego city directory searches indicate that in the late 1930’s and early 1940’s, the couple resided at 2244 Imperial Ave. and 2279 Imperial Ave. in the Sherman Heights neighborhood. From 1943 to 1950, they owned and lived at 3920 Adams Ave. Further information about the Logans could not be located.

Insufficient information was found about Theodore Logan and Margaret A. Logan to determine they were historically significant for their association with 3920 Adams Avenue under Criterion B.

William G. Gibbons and Delia Gibbons Residents, 1943 to 1945

According to the 1943 and 1944-1945 San Diego city directories, William G. Gibbons and Delia Gibbons resided at 3920 Adams Avenue along with the homeowners, Theodore and Margaret Logan. They were the parents of Margaret. The directory does not list an occupation for William or Delia. However, census information indicates that they previously worked as farmers.

William was born in Missouri in 1855, and Delia (Cook) Gibbons was born in Tennessee around 1859. They married in Illinois on January 20, 1891, and it was William’s second marriage and Delia’s first. The 1910 and 1920 U.S. Census shows that the couple lived in Hoehne, Colorado where they worked as farmers. By 1943 they lived at 3920 Adams Avenue with their daughter Margaret Logan and her husband Theodore. William passed away in San Diego in November 1955, and further information about Delia could not be located.

Insufficient information was found about William G. Gibbons and Delia Gibbons to determine they were historically significant for their association with 3920 Adams Avenue under Criterion B.

Frank Biscak and Royetta Biscak Owners and Residents, 1950 to 2008

A native of Missouri, Frank Lewis Biscak was born on November 25, 1917. His parents, Frank Sr. and Rose, were immigrants from Austria. According to the 1920 U.S. Census, the Biscak family lived in St. Louis, where Frank Sr. worked as a tool maker. In the late 1930’s, Frank Jr. moved to San Diego with his brother Edward. According to the 1940 U.S. Census, the brothers lived at 4220 40th St. near the City Heights neighborhood, and Frank worked as a clerk in a grocery store.

On December 1, 1940, Frank married Royetta Johnson in San Diego. She was born on May 7, 1921 to Grace and Roy Johnson. After the wedding, the couple settled at 1915 Monroe Avenue, and Frank switched careers, becoming an aircraft worker for Consolidated-Vultee. The couple eventually had two

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*B10. Significance - Criterion B (continued):

children, Russell and Linda. Sadly, Linda passed away in a traffic accident in Northern California on July 31, 1970.

The Biscaks purchased 3920 Adams Avenue in 1950 and owned the home until 2008. During that time, Frank continued to work in the aircraft industry, eventually becoming a supervisor at Convair and an analyst for General Dynamics. Frank passed away on April 16, 2001, and Royetta passed away in San Diego on October 15, 2008.

Insufficient information was found about Frank Biscak and Royetta Biscak to determine they were historically significant for their association with 3920 Adams Avenue under Criterion B.

Conclusion: Insufficient information was found about the owners and residents of 3920 Adams Avenue to determine that any of them were historically significant for their association under Criterion B.

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*B10. Significance - Criterion C:

Criterion “C” Embodies distinctive characteristics of a style, type, period, or method of construction or is a valuable example of the use of indigenous materials or craftsmanship.

The Robert and Climena O'Brien House is an excellent example of a Mission Revival home with Spanish Colonial influences built in 1926. The home demonstrates the use of indigenous material and shows the builder's unique design incorporating elements of Mission and Spanish Revival/Eclectic styles.

Mission (Revival) Style (1890-1920). The Mission Revival architectural style reflected a reinterpretation and loose adaptation of features found on old California Spanish Colonial Mission buildings. The style began in California and the American Southwest but eventually spread east and was utilized across America and eventually even outside of the U.S. Some historians describe the Mission Revival style as the western counterpart to the eastern Colonial Revival style. Mission Revival was seen as both original and traditional and did not start becoming popular until the late 1880's and 1890's. It grew to have even wider acceptance and influence in the early 1900's as it spread through national building and architectural magazines. The basic simplicity of the Mission Revival style lent itself to many uses and it was adopted nationwide for the Santa Fe and Southern Pacific railway station, depots and hotels.

The style is characterized firstly by curvilinear roof parapets with raised copings at parapet edge, arched entrees and sometimes repeating arched entry porches with square columns/piers. Pyramidal roofs with open overhanging eaves and exposed roof rafters were also popular design features of the style. The Mission Revival style usually features a smooth stucco exterior and balanced sometimes symmetrical façade and can also incorporate tile roofs and quatrefoil windows/openings. The Mission Revival style faded after World War I and was eventually subsumed by the larger Spanish Eclectic style as architectural fashions changed in the 1920's and favored more varied and elaborate designs over the original simplified adaptations of the style.

Spanish Eclectic Popularity Shifts (1915-1940). The shift from Mission Revival to Spanish style is pretty well established with the design and completion of the Panama California Exposition and public debut in 1915. Newspaper announcements of “Spanish” style buildings in the 1913-1915 period more closely resemble Italian Renaissance architecture (e.g.: Katherine Redding Stadler House, Landmark # 861). But there are very few residential examples of non-Mission Revival, Spanish style residential architecture before World War I. Master Architect Bertram Goodhue changed the public definition of Spanish style with the completion of the Panama California Exposition in 1915. But the style really gained momentum in the 1920's and it continues to be a favorite style, well suited to the climate and lifestyle of Southern California.

McAlester and McAlester use the term Spanish Revival/Eclectic for the fanciful mix of Moorish, Byzantine, Gothic, and/or Renaissance architectural motifs on buildings that have no counterpart in the historical world. Although Master Architect Richard Requa promoted accuracy in creating Spanish Colonial Revival architecture, he also encouraged designers and builders borrow a mix of motifs from his photographs of buildings in Spain, North Africa, and the Mediterranean to create what he called “The Southern California Style.” Builders with and without formal training took design concepts from popular magazines, plan books, and professional architectural journals to dream up their designs. One of the best neighborhoods of Spanish Eclectic style houses to illustrate this concept would be the 1920s Kensington Manor and Kensington Heights neighborhoods of San Diego. Most of the Spanish Eclectic style died out by 1940s.

History of Cobblestone homes in Southern California. Although native stone structures have been used around the Southwestern United States for thousands of years by native Americans and others in

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*B10. Significance - Criterion C (continued): places like Chaco canyon and elsewhere, the use of the natural indigenous material is often credited to one important figure in the modern era.

Charles Fletcher Lummis is often credited with promoting the use of native stones in the modern era. Lummis walked with much fanfare from Ohio to Los Angeles in 1885 where he settled and promoted the appreciation of the original California Missions, historic preservation and particularly the beginning of the Mission Revival style in Southern California until his death in 1928. The forward thinking Lummis was a writer, collector, scholar and an editor of the Los Angeles Times from 1885-1887. He promoted the development of a native California architectural style based on examples of the California missions. Among Lummis' other accomplishments, he was a founder of the Southwest Museum of Los Angeles and led one of the earliest and most important early preservation organizations, the Landmarks Club, after 1897 and was instrumental in the emergency preservation of many of the missions of Southern California.

Chales Lummis built his own home, El Alisal, just west of Pasadena. The home, named in Spanish after an ancient sycamore tree that grew on its site he bought in 1897, on the edge of the Arroyo Seco near Los Angeles, was built of native river rocks in a fanciful mixture of Mission, Spanish Colonial, Arts and Crafts and Pueblo style architecture. The 4,000 square foot home had a mission styled stone parapet and large tower and took 13 years to build. The home was highly influential and hosted notable guests like John Muir, Will Rodgers, Clarence Darrow, Maynard Dixon and others during Lummis' life. Please see attached photos of El Alisal, also known as the Lummis House, which is now on the National Register of Historic Places, in Attachment E.3. Although influential, the sheer difficulty and manpower needed to create a complete stone house meant that very few others stone houses were built.

Cobblestones were also a favored building material of the Arts and Crafts and Craftsman eras and are seen around San Diego in native cobblestone walls, pillars and piers as seen at the former Mission Cliffs Gardens entrance in University Heights. Cobblestones were also utilized in Craftsman home chimneys and oversized porch piers around Southern California by architects Greene and Greene and others, but it is very rare in Southern California for a home to have all the walls be built from cobblestones. This is in no small part due to the vary labor intensive and difficult nature of organizing, utilizing and carefully arranging the heavy boulder and cobblestone in an artful and pleasing design.

However, another one of these rare homes was built in 1914 right around the corner from the subject resource at 3805 Merivale Ave. The Brenkert / Thorpe House (HRB #363) on Merivale Ave. was also built of native "Kensington" cobblestones (please see photos in attachment E.3). Although no direct connection was discovered during the research for this report, the nearby Craftsman style Brenkert / Thorpe House, built in 1914, no doubt influenced the architect and builders of the subject resource which was built only 12 years later in 1926. It is difficult to imagine the combination of these two intact cobblestone homes in different styles so close together being merely a coincidence.

Most likely the subject home, the proposed Robert and Climena O'Brien House, was influenced by the earlier nearby Brenkert / Thorpe House and may have even been built by the same stone mason or taught by the stone mason of the Brenkert / Thorpe House. However, no definitive historical record was shown to connect these two similar homes. The stone work on both homes is similar, however the Brenkert / Thorpe House has a slightly different pattern utilizing more varied combinations of stone sizes while the subject home at 3920 Adams Ave. appears to have a more uniform stone pattern with larger stones seen mainly at the corners. Also, the framing of windows is somewhat different with the arrangement of stones along the implied window lintel being more uniform on the subject home. The windows are inset on the subject home as opposed to the windows on the Brenkert / Thorpe House.

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*B10. Significance - Criterion C (continued):

It is unclear based on extensive research if these slight differences in cobblestone laying work between the Brenkert / Thorpe House and the subject home's were due to different builders, the homes' differing architectural styles or due to an evolution of the construction methods and materials utilized and lessons learned from the earlier 1914 house. Hopefully, future research will uncover any possible connections between these two outstanding Normal Heights examples of the use of this indigenous natural material.

Integrity. The City of San Diego uses the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historical Properties to evaluate integrity for Criterion “C” landmarking. Part VIII of the National Register Bulletin provides guidance on how to evaluate the integrity of a property by outlining seven values or tests: Location, Design, Setting, Materials, Workmanship, Feeling, and Association. To have high integrity, all seven aspects must be met. To have good integrity, most or four to five aspects must be met. Less than four would be poor integrity.

The architecturally defining features that are supportive of historic landmarking are:

1. The hand laid original native "Kensington" cobblestone walls seen around the home; 2. The simple shaped Mission parapet with flat and upturned corner design sheltered with red clay tile shed roof parapet top cover; 3. The segmented arch shaped window and door openings; 4. The large three part arched focal window groupings seen on the front of the home; 5. The raised corner square piers with larger cobblestone supports creating a quoin like effect that continue around the sides and rear of the home; 6. The low pitched original pan tile covered shed roof above the central entryway; 7. The exterior cobblestone arching design seen above the three part focal window and garage openings; 8. The original true divided light single wooden French door with matching divided light sidelights; 9. The original attached garage / porte-cochère with arched opening and long side driveway; 10. The inset raised concrete front porch with flanking wings and half cobblestone front wall; 11. The original cobblestone chimney and matching interior fireplace; 12. The balanced almost symmetrical front façade with repeating arched openings; 13. The deep inset arched focal window and other window groupings with boxed inset wood casings; 14. The original wood one-over-one double hung windows; 15. The original decorative triple round clay tile attic vents seen on the front parapet; 16. The original interior woodwork columns, arched window surrounds, original built-in bookshelves and original lighting fixtures; 17. The rear extending shed roof channeling all the roof water to the rear yard and canyon below; 18. The solid wood rear service door with upper glazing.

The following are architectural integrity issues:

• The east side facing rear side window behind the attached garage with unfilled bottom sash filled with a solid wooden lower panel in place of the original lower glazed sash (this sits at the rear behind the garage and outside of the public view). • The newer garage door. This newer garage door does not look greatly different than the 1953 historic photo.

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*B10. Significance - Criterion C (continued):

Architectural Integrity. The primary concern for historical designation in the City of San Diego is whether or not a house retains good architectural integrity. Legacy 106, Inc. evaluates this question by applying a test of the seven aspects of architectural integrity listed by the federal Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historical Properties. The architecturally defining features of 3920 Adams Avenue are the truly important motifs and design elements that contribute to interpretation of this house as an architectural style. The exterior features are critical to historical designation. The interior features are significant to interpretation, but are not required for City of San Diego historical designation.

Architectural Integrity Analysis. The following is an analysis of the Integrity of the home's architecture.

ASPECTS OF INTEGRITY

Location. Location is the place where the historic property was constructed or the place where the historic event occurred

Based on comparison with historic photos, Sanborn fire insurance maps and other research, the house is shown to be in its original location at 3920 Adams Ave. in Normal Heights. In addition, this cobblestone walled house would be terribly difficult to move intact to another location, confirming its original integrity of location. The House has excellent integrity of Location.

Design. Design is the combination of elements that create the form, plan, space, structure, and style of a property. Changes that create a false sense of historical development, such as adding conjectural features or elements from other historic properties, will not be undertaken.

Analysis of the Sanborn maps, building records, plans and examination of the resource at 3920 Adams Ave. reveals all elevations match the original design of the house. This is an excellent example of a Mission Revival style home built in 1926 with Spanish Colonial influences. As seen in comparisons between the historic photos and current photos, the home is in excellent original condition and retains all of the character defining features of the Mission Revival and Spanish Colonial styles.

As seen in the historic 1953 photo, the cobblestone patterned walls, flat shaped parapet with raised capped corners, fenestration, extending flanking wings around a central walled courtyard, three part arched focal window and attached garage are all original and exactly match the historical photo. No additions exist likely partially due to the difficulty in punching openings into the solid stone walls. The two minor design changes to a rear side window and garage door do not affect character defining features of the home and have a minimal impact on the home's overall design integrity. The original balanced symmetry with C-shaped plan with inset walled courtyard patio is retained. The home retains all character defining features and original defining features of this particular unique style.

Specifically, the home maintains its original arched window grouping with fourteen part divided light arched flanking windows and fixed arched central window. Original thick rectangular mullions separate the arched window groupings and an upper cobblestone patterned arch further defines the window grouping.

The home also retains the original interlocking pan style clay roof tiles and decorative clay tile vents on the front façade. The original inset covered balcony with divided light rectangular French door and matching sidelights is preserved. The unusual and unique home design also retains the original one-over- one wooden windows with deep inset boxed wooden surround. The home maintains an unchanged

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*B10. Significance - Criterion C (continued): original building footprint preserving the original symmetrical Mission style design and simple C-shaped rectangular design plan.

The home is in remarkably unaltered and untouched original condition and not only retains the key character defining features of the Mission style, but also the key architectural elements that make this home a unique example of the style utilizing indigenous natural canyon cobblestones. More specifically, the home retains the shaped Mission style raised corner parapet around it and on both extending side wings around the original central shed roof covered porch and walled patio. The home maintains the original flat roof with U-shaped parapet and tile roof parapet cover, and also retains the original extending clay tile shed roof. The resource is very intact from the 1926 date of construction with only these minor modifications to the home which do not detract from the home's original design. The house represents an excellent and unique example of a Mission Revival home with Spanish Eclectic influences built in 1926. The home is instantly recognizable in historic photos due to its unique design and retention of its essential character defining features. In addition, the home continues to convey its historic design and is an iconic residence in the Normal Heights community of San Diego. The Design element of this home is excellent.

Setting. Setting is the physical environment of a historic property. The setting is the larger area or environment in which a historic property is located. It may be an urban, suburban, or rural neighborhood or a natural landscape in which buildings have been constructed. The relationship of buildings to each other, setbacks, fence patterns, views, driveways and walkways, and street trees together create the character of a district or neighborhood.

As seen in the historic photos, Sanborn maps and other records, the street and side setback of the house matches the setbacks of the historic Normal Heights neighborhood. The original early streetcar suburban setting is retained and the home's design still directly relates to the front street. The open yard and early suburban setting of its Normal Heights neighborhood is also retained. The house has excellent integrity of Setting.

Materials. Materials are the physical elements that were combined or deposited during a particular period of time and in a particular pattern or configuration to form a historic property. The Standards state that deteriorated historic features shall be repaired rather than replaced. Where the severity of deterioration requires replacement of a distinctive feature, the new feature shall match the old in design, color, texture, and other visual qualities and, where possible, materials. Replacement of missing features shall be substantiated by documentary, physical, or pictorial evidence.

Particularly important in this example of the style, the home retains the original natural hand laid cobblestone walls on all elevations. These native stones were most likely hauled up the nearby Ward grade road which linked to the Ward Canyon valley below and no longer exists. These stones also exist within the soil of the area. The home also features original arched and rectangular wood divided light windows on all visible elevations. The original multi-light wooden three-part focal window set is intact as is the original wooden French style divided light front door with matching divided light sidelights. The thick cobblestone walls with deep inset windows and interlocking pan style clay roof tiles are also intact and original. Roof tiles have been painted in a color similar to the natural finish. The interior fireplace and exterior cobblestone chimney is also retained and intact. There are no significant changes to the materials within the public view other than the newer side garage door which is inset and reveals the original arched vehicle opening. This is the only change to the home's exterior in the public view. As noted throughout this analysis, the Materials aspect of Integrity of this home is excellent.

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*B10. Significance - Criterion C (continued):

Workmanship. Workmanship is the physical evidence of the crafts of a particular culture or people during any given period in history or prehistory.

The craftsmanship exhibited in this house represents skilled construction techniques. In particular, the skills in hand laying the natural cobblestone walls is very high quality. As noted, the sculpting of the natural stone walls with extending U-shaped parapet corners and enlarged corner stones shows high quality workmanship. The decorative overlapping pan tiles and round clay tile vents also show excellent workmanship. The multi-light arched wooden focal windows and front French front door with multi-light matching sidelights showcases considerable woodworking skill. The interior matching stone fireplace is included in the nomination. Exceptional craftsmanship is shown throughout.

The open arched great room ceiling with large arched window grouping is the centerpiece of the home’s interior architecture. The original and intact natural unpainted cobblestone fireplace is excellent and is an expression of the architectural design of the home. Therefore, Legacy 106, Inc. believes the original fireplace is a character defining elements of the Spanish Eclectic and Mission Revival design and worthy of inclusion in the designation so this feature can be saved and enjoyed for future generations. The Workmanship aspect of Integrity is excellent.

Feeling. Feeling is a property's expression of the aesthetic or historic sense of a particular period of time.

This 1926 Mission Revival style residence in its present excellent original condition is well preserved and imparts the visitor with a realistic sense and feeling for the early historical Normal Heights neighborhood. The home is unique in its expression of the Mission design utilizing native San Diego canyon stones. The home blends in well with historic older neighboring properties in Normal Heights along the original Adams Avenue street car line. The feeling of a Mission Revival home in the early era of streetcar suburban development in San Diego is retained. The Feeling aspect of Integrity is excellent.

Association. Association is the direct link between an important historic event or person and a historic property.

In July 1926, a widowed Raymond Sharpless purchased the subject resource from Robert and Climena O'Brien. It does not appear that the O'Briens were affiliated in any way with the construction of the home at 3805 Merivale Avenue, an older nearby Craftsman style residence built of cobblestones in 1914. However, research for this nomination did not find a substantial enough direct link or association with important events or persons with this property.

Conclusion: The Robert and Climena O'Brien House meets six of seven aspects of integrity and can be said to have excellent architectural integrity for historical designation. Legacy 106, Inc. recommends the house for historical designation under Criterion C.

State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # ______DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ______

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Criterion “D” Is representative of a notable work of a master builder, designer, architect, engineer, landscape architect, interior designer, artist or craftsman.

After extensive research, the builder and architect are unknown.

Please see the Criterion C significance evaluation, history of cobblestone homes in Southern California, for detailed analysis of likely influences, use and evolutions of the building material and method of construction of the homes in Southern California and San Diego.

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*B10. Significance - Criteria E and F:

HRB Criterion E National Register of Historic Places listing or eligibility.

Criterion E does not apply to this property.

HRB Criterion F as a contributing resource to the _____ Historical District.

Criterion F does not apply to this property.

A.1 Assessor’s Building Record

A.2 Notice of Completion

After an extensive search, the Notice of Completion could not be located.

A.3 Water Record

After an extensive search, the Water Record could not be located.

A.3 Sewer Record

After an extensive search, the Sewer Record could not be located.

A.4 Building / Construction Permits

A.5 Site Plan with Footprint Taken from the Residential Building Record.

A.6 County Lot and Block Book Page First assessed to R.M. O'Brien in 1926.

A.7 Previous Survey Form

None found

Attachment B Ownership and Occupant Information

B.1 – Chain of Title B.2 – Directory Search of Occupants B.3 – Deed from the Date of Construction

B.1 Chain of Title 3920 Adams Avenue, San Diego, CA 92116 APN # 440-520-12-00

Instrument Date Grantor to Grantee, Date Recorded, Book Number, Page Number

May 17, 1912 Western Investment Company of San Diego to Climena O’Brien, recorded May 21, 1912, Deed Book 562, Page 255.

December 3, 1920 Climena L. O’Brien and R.M. O’Brien to Jesse George, recorded December 4, 1920, Document # 3944, Deed Book 835, Page 373.

December 4, 1920 Jesse George and Anna L. George to Climena L. O’Brien and R.M. O’Brien, recorded December 4, 1920, Document # 33945, Deed Book 835, Page 374.

July 13, 1926 Climena L. O’Brien and R.M. O’Brien to Raymond F. Sharpless, recorded August 3, 1926, Deed Book 1266, Page 1.

June 16, 1928 Raymond F. Sharpless and Lula V. Sharpless to William E. McDonald, recorded July 5, 1928, File # 38646, Deed Book 1498, Page 143.

July 27, 1928 William E. McDonald to Daniel Pikelhaupt and Susanna Pikelhaupt, recorded August 8, 1928, File # 45636, Deed Book 1501, Page 487.

September 27, 1943 Susanna Pikelhaupt (a widow) to Theodore Logan and Margaret A. Logan, recorded October 14, 1943, File # 66612, Official Records Book 1576, Page 70.

July 14, 1950 Theodore Logan and Margaret A. Logan to Frank Biscak and Royetta Biscak, recorded August 9, 1950, Book 3729, Page 295.

February 10, 2002 Affidavit – Death of Joint Tenant (Frank Louis Biscak, deceased), recorded June 4, 2002, Document # 2002-0473793.

September 27, 2010 Order Settling Account on Waiver of Accounting; Waiver of Statutory Fees for Executor; Waiver of Statutory Fees for Attorney; and for Final Distribution of Entire Estate to Sole Beneficiary, recorded November 24, 2010, Document # 2010-0650086.

April 10, 2014 Richard E. Brakefield (spouse of grantee) to F. Russell Biscak (a married man as his sole and separate property), recorded April 21, 2014, Document # 2014-0158288.

April 10, 2014 F. Russell Biscak (a married man as his sole and separate property) to LVSD, LLC (a California Limited Liability Company), recorded April 21, 2014, Document # 2014-0158289.

B.1 Chain of Title - Continued

January 28, 2015 LVSD, LLC (a California Limited Liability Company) to Richard E. Seghers, Jr. and William J. Godsey (a married couple as community property with right of survivorship), recorded February 23, 2015, Document # 2015-0080238.

B.2 Directory Search of Occupants 1926 No listing 1927 Sharpless R.F. Sharpless Harold electrician r 3920 Adams Av

Sharpless Ray F (Lula) carpenter h 3920 Adams Av 1928 Sharpless R.F. Sharpless Harold auto mechanic r 3920 Adams Av

Sharpless Raymond F (Lulu V) h 3920 Adams Av 1929 Piklehaupt Danl C. Pickelhaupt Daniel (Susanna) h 3920 Adams Av

Pickelhaupt John r 3920 Adams Av 1930 Picklehaupt Danl C. Pickelhaupt Daniel (Susie) h 3920 Adams Av

Pickelhaupt John r 3920 Adams Av 1931 Piklehaupt Danl C. Piklehaupt Danl (Susanna) h 3920 Adams Av

Piklehaupt John salesman r 3920 Adams Av 1932 Piklehaupt Danl C. Piklehaupt Daniel (Susan) h 3920 Adams Av

Piklehaupt John gardener r 3920 Adams Av 1933 Piklehaupt Danl C. Piklehaupt Daniel (Susan) h 3920 Adams Av

Piklehaupt John gardener r 3920 Adams Av 1934 Piklehaupt Danl C. Pikelhaupt Daniel (Susanna) h 3920 Adams Av (spelled Pikelhaupt in alpha directory) Pikelhaupt John clerk r 3920 Adams Av 1935 Piklehaupt Danl C. Pikelhaupt Daniel (Susanna) h 3920 Adams Av

Pikelhaupt John r 3920 Adams Av 1936 Pikelhaupt, Danl C. (note Pikelhaupt Daniel (Susie) h 3920 Adams Av spelling change in reverse and alpha) Pikelhaupt John clerk r 3920 Adams Av 1937 Pikelhaupt, Danl C. Pikelhaupt Daniel (Susie) h 3920 Adams Av

Pikelhaupt John clerk r 3920 Adams Av 1938 Pikelhaupt Danl C Pikelhaupt Daniel (Susie) h 3920 Adams Av

Pikelhaupt John billiard instructor SD Club r 3920 Adams Av 1939 Pikelhaupt Danl C. Pikelhaupt Daniel (Susie) h3920 Adams Av

Pikelhaupt John r 3920 Adams Av 1940 Pikelhaupt Danl C. Pikelhaupt Daniel (Susan) h3920 Adams Av

Pikelhaupt John instructor SD Club h3920 Adams Av

1941 Pikelhaupt Danl C. Pikelhaupt Daniel (Susan) h3920 Adams Av

Pikelhaupt John (Palomar Billiards) r 3920 Adams Av 1942 Pikelhaupt Susanna Mrs Pickelhaupt Susanna (wid Daniel) h 3920 Adams Av

Pikelhaupt John (Palomar Billiards) r 3920 Adams Av 1943 Pikelhaupt Susanna Mrs Pickelhaupt Susanna (wid Daniel) h 3920 Adams Av Pikelhaupt John (Palomar Billiards) r 3920 Adams Av

1944- Logan Theo Gibbons William G (Delia) r 3920 Adams Av 1945

Logan Margaret A clerk US Naval Hospital r 3920 Adams Av

Logan Theo (Margaret A) USN h 3920 Adams Av 1946 Directory not published this year. 1947- Logan Theo Logan Margaret A Mrs employee Mercy Hospital r 3920 Adams Av 1948 Logan Theo (Margaret A) US Navy h 3920 Adams Av 1949 Directory not published this year. 1950 Logan Theo Logan Theodore (Margaret A) laborer h 3920 Adams Ave

Logan Margaret A librarian Mercy Hospital r 3920 Adams Av 1951 Directory not published this year. 1952 Biscak, F.L. Biscak Frank L (Royetta G) employee Consolidated Vultee h 3920 Adams Av 1953- Biscak, Frank L. Biscak Frank L (Royetta G) dispatcher Convair h 3920 Adams Av 1954 1955 Biscak, Frank L. Biscak Frank L (Royetta G) store keeper Convair h 3920 Adams Av 1956 Biscak, Frank L. Biscak Frank L (Royetta G) dispatcher Convair h 3920 Adams Av 1957 Biscak, Frank L. Biscak Frank L (Royetta G) supervisor Convair h 3920 Adams Av 1958 Biscak, Frank L. Biscak Frank L (Royetta G) supervisor Convair h 3920 Adams Av 1959 Biscak, Frank L. Biscak Frank L (Royetta G) supervisor Convair h 3920 Adams Av 1960 Biscak, Frank L. Biscak Frank L (Royetta G) supervisor Convair h 3920 Adams Av 1961 Biscak, Frank L. Biscak Frank L (Royetta G) supervisor Convair h 3920 Adams Av

Biscak Linda S student r 3920 Adams Av 1962 Biscak, Frank L. Biscak Frank L (Royetta G) analyst Astronautics h 3920 Adams Av

Biscak Linda S student r 3920 Adams Av 1963- Biscak, Frank L. Biscak Frank L (Royetta G) analyst Astronautics h 3920 Adams Av 1964 Biscak Linda S student r 3920 Adams Av 1965 Biscak, Frank L. Biscak Frank L (Royetta G) analyst General Dynamics h 3920 Adams Av

Biscak Linda S student r 3920 Adams Av 1966 Biscak, Frank L. Biscak Frank L (Royetta G) analyst General Dynamics h 3920 Adams Av

Biscak Frank R student r 3920 Adams Av

Biscak Linda S student r 3920 Adams Av 1967 Biscak, Frank L. Biscak Frank L (Royetta G) analyst General Dynamics h 3920 Adams Av

Biscak Frank R student r 3920 Adams Av

Biscak Linda S student r 3920 Adams Av 1968 Biscak, Frank L. Biscak Frank L (Royetta G) analyst General Dynamics h 3920 Adams Av

Biscak Frank R student r 3920 Adams Av

Biscak Linda S student r 3920 Adams Av 1969- Biscak, Frank L. Biscak Frank L (Royetta G) analyst General Dynamics h 3920 Adams Av 1970 Biscak Frank R student r 3920 Adams Av

Biscak Linda S student r 3920 Adams Av

1971 Biscak, Frank L. Biscak Frank L (Royetta G) analyst General Dynamics h 3920 Adams Av

Biscak Frank R student r 3920 Adams Av 1972 Biscak, Frank L. Biscak Frank L (Royetta G) analyst General Dynamics h 3920 Adams Av 1973 Biscak, Frank L. Biscak Frank L (Royetta G) analyst General Dynamics h 3920 Adams Av 1974 Biscak, Frank L. Biscak Frank L (Royetta G) aircraft dispatcher General Dynamics h 3920 Adams Av

B.3 Deed from the Date of Construction Jesse George and Anna L. George to Climena L. O'Brien and R.M. O'Brien. Recorded December 4, 1920.

B.3 Deed from the Date of Construction Climena L. O'Brien and R.M. O'Brien to Raymond F. Sharpless. Recorded August 3, 1926.

B.3 Deed from the Date of Construction Raymond F. Sharpless and Lula V. Sharpless to William E. McDonald. Recorded July 5, 1928.

Attachment C Maps

C.1 — City of San Diego 800 Scale Engineering Map C.2 — Current and Historical USGS Maps C.3 — Original Subdivision Map C.4 — Sanborn Maps 1886/1887 1906 1921 1940 1950 1956

C.1 City of San Diego 800 Scale Engineering Map

Map # 218-1725

C.2 Current USGS Map - 2015 La Mesa quadrangle

C.2 Historical USGS Map - 1967 La Mesa quadrangle

C.3 Original Subdivision Map

C.3 Tax Assessor's Map

C.4 Sanborn Map – 1886/1887

None for this area

C.4 Sanborn Map – 1906

None for this area

C.4 Sanborn Map – 1921

None for this area

C.4 Sanborn Map – 1940

None for this area

C.4 Sanborn Map – May 1926, Updated in 1950 Volume 2, Map 299E

C.4 Sanborn Map – 1956 Volume 2, Map 299E

Attachment D Photographs

D.1 — Historical Photographs D.2 — Current Photographs

D.1 Historical Photograph 3920 Adams Avenue in July 1953. Photo # S-1839 courtesy of the San Diego History Center.

D.2 Current Photographs – South (front) Elevation Current photos by Dan Soderberg, February 2016

D.2 Current Photographs – South (front) Elevation

D.2 Current Photographs – East (side) Elevation

D.2 Current Photographs – North (rear) Elevation

D.2 Current Photographs – West (side) Elevation

D.2 Current Photographs – Interior Cobblestone fireplace included in proposed designation.

Interior Elements Proposed for Inclusion in Historic Designation Site plan showing location of cobblestone fireplace included in proposed designation.

Attachment E HRB Criteria Supplemental Documentation

E.1 — Criterion A E.2 — Criterion B E.3 — Criterion C E.4 — Criterion D E.5 — Criterion E E.6 — Criterion F

E.1 Criterion A – Community History

E.2 Criterion B – Historical Person Raymond F. Sharpless and Lula Sharpless Owners and Residents, 1926 to 1928

Harold H. Sharpless Resident, 1926 to 1928

E.2 Criterion B – Historical Person Frank Biscak and Royetta Biscak Owners and Residents, 1950 to 2008

E.2 Criterion B – Historical Person Daniel C. Pikelhaupt and Susanna “Susie” Pikelhaupt Owners and Residents, 1928 to 1943

E.3 Criterion C – Architecture The Charles Lummis House, also known as El Alisal, is an influential stone residence in northeast Los Angeles. Lummis began construction on the home around 1897 and it took 13 years to build. Top photo courtesy of http://www. paris-la.com/ Bottom photo courtesy of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lummis_House

E.3 Criterion C – Architecture 3805 Merivale Avenue, nearby to the subject resource. Built in 1914, it was historically designated in 1998 as the Brenkert / Thorpe Residence (HRB # 363). Photos by Kiley Wallace, March 2016

E.3 Criterion C – Architecture THE COBBLESTONE CONNECTION IN SAN DIEGO'S ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY by Barbara E. Fredrich, Department of Geography, San Diego State University

Published in the Journal of San Diego History, Winter 1989, Volume 35, Number 1 Linkages between nature and culture are often visible in earth materials and architectural form. Insight is enhanced when that form is positioned in space and time. The contribution of cobblestones to architectural history of San Diego exemplifies this. While considerable information exists for New York and Wisconsin, the subject has been largely neglected in Southern California, and ignored in San Diego. I have traced the architectural role of cobblestones form European contact to the early twentieth century. Then I have examined their distribution in portions of four San Diego communities where, as a domestic vernacular artifact, they were featured in retaining walls, piers, pillars and chimneys in the bungalow landscape. Cobblestones are broadly described as natural, and round medium-sized stones,1 and "large enough for use in paving, "according to a 1957 American College Dictionary.2 More specifically, cobbles range from 64 to 256 mm diameter (Wentworth scale). Olaf Shelgren and associates define cobble-stones in lay terms: "A pebble is a stone held by two fingers, a cobblestone is that held by one hand, and a boulder needs two hands to hold."3 The mesas of San Diego, highly stream-dissected ancient coastal terraces, are covered by a thick layer of coarse marine deposits. Cobblestones are readily observed in exposed road cuts along lower canyon walls and are typically uncovered in backyards by gardeners. Not so apparent is the position of cobblestones in San Diego's development from the beginning of European contact. Sebastián Vizcaíno, during his ten day visit in 1602, named the small peninsula on the east side of Point Loma, La Punta de Los Guijarros, or Cobblestone Point.4 By 1825 nine whaling vessels operated out of San Diego. These were owned by a Boston firm which had purchased Pueblo lot that included Cobblestone Point. Captains started using the cobblestones on the beach collecting the shingle in small boats and transferring it to the ship's hold as ballast for safe navigation. It is suggested that Water and Milk streets in Boston are two streets paved with these stones.5 The Punta today is known as Ballast Point.

The events surrounding the construction of the first jail in Old Town in 1850 provide another interesting linkage. The cobblestones in the structure were set without benefit of cement, the building was damaged by rainfall prior to completion, and the first prisoner dug his way out with a pocket knife. Historian William Smythe commented, "The only prisoner ever successfully confined within the walls is a fine pepper tree cheerfully growing in one of the cells."6 The San Diego River presented a challenge to those who attempted to alter its course. One author describes how the Padres in 1803 started to build a dam across San Diego River bed about three miles east of the Mission: They also built an aqueduct. It was constructed of tiles placed on cobblestones. . .and carried on a stream of water one foot deep and two feet wide for domestic use and also for irrigation.7 Flooding during 1811, 1839, and 1855 sometimes caused the San Diego River to alter its channel course from False Bay to the San Diego harbor. During 1855, Lieutenant George Derby completed a dam which was to turn the river back into false Bay. However there were freshets in 1857 and 1862. Not until 1877 was channel completed. Some 70 white men and 75 Chinese were employed to scoop out a channel into Mission Bay and create a 7,735 feet long levee which was positioned east on the base of Presidio Hill and west on the base of Point Loma: It was twenty-five feet wide at the top and forty-one feet wide at the base, and rested on a bed of stones three feet deep. It was laced and topped with stones.8 Descriptions of the San Diego townscape during the 1870s provide ample socioeconomic information to include a building count of 800, and a population of 2300,9 or 3000.10 The landscape north and east of town, that is, north of B and east of 16th Street, was a brush-covered mesa. I found no references to the use of cobblestones.

The late nineteenth century witnessed a boom and bust economic cycle associated with Santa Fe rail service to Los Angeles and the connecting line to San Diego. Residential expansion was impressive. For example University Heights was opened in 1887 by the College Hill Land Association. East San Diego, also founded in 1887, was incorporated in 1912 and consolidated with San Diego in 1923.11 Recognizing a relationship between transport nets and population flow, John D. Spreckels continued to extend his street railway to the new subdivisions of Hillcrest, Normal Heights, and East San Diego. The fervent promotion of land development by speculators was another factor in landscape change. Major streets were paved. The road via University Avenue to La Mesa was graded. A sole

E.3 Criterion C – Architecture

Article continued from previous page. building stood in Normal Heights in January 1906; at the end of that year, there were forty-the incremental change, in part, attributed to the presence of the University Heights Reservoir. Normal Heights and Hillcrest were platted after 1910. While Smythe in 1907 addresses the issue of the use of native materials to create a natural harmony with the landscape, he does not document usage of cobblestones as street pavement, and there are no references to cobblestone homes in San Diego. Nevertheless, I suspect there were cobblestone retaining walls not unlike the one in University Heights. The concept and methods of stone masonry likely diffused from the east coast, primarily New England, to San Diego prior to 1900. The construction of the Erie Canal, completed in 1825, and following that, the appearance of the first cobblestone building in upstate New York helps show that cobblestone masonry came to western New York via English masons who helped build the stone works for the Erie Canal.12 The setting of the architectural form, in the landscape was important:

The beauty of cobblestone buildings depends on light. Without this particularly sunlight, the texture of the stones and mortar joints are minimized, and the fascinating patterns recede. Sunlight, raking across the textured surface, gives a vibrancy to the building that is unique. Perhaps the most harmonious manifestation of man and nature in upstate New York is the rural cobblestone building dappled by sunlight and surrounded by open fields.13 The use of stone masonry as a folk art tradition diffused 60 to 75 miles from an epicenter near Rochester, New York, an area which includes about 90 percent of all the 600 stone buildings constructed between 1825 and 1865. Cobblestone homes are justified: These houses were very efficient in that they had fireproof walls, resisted the elements, needed no painting, and provided a use for the luxuriant crop of stones which had to be removed because they interfered with hoeing and plowing. These houses were also colorful and full of interest. Little wonder that the art of cobblestone construction spread so rapidly through the region. It filled a need.14 Cobblestones were collected in stone boats, hauled to the construction site, and sorted for size and color at a "cobble bee." Occasionally a cobblestone veneer was applied to wood plank structures. The variation in masonry techniques may be the consequence of professional rivalry among the masons. The use of Data stones, often incorporated in the walls above the entrance door, was common. Later, the mid-western states of Wisconsin and Illinois contributed to the population and the perpetuation of cobblestones as a vernacular architectural form. Richard Perrin, surveying pioneer architecture in Wisconsin from 1835 to 1870, concurs that the southern Wisconsin cobblestone houses were built by masons from New York state. He notes also that the cobblestone mode was in short duration and did not constitute an architectural movement in Wisconsin.15

In the late nineteenth century an architectural form appeared that facilitated and almost demanded treatment with cobblestones; this was the bungalow. Its origin and diffusion in a global context, has been carefully traced to the single-story, wide-spreading, thatched- roofed homes of Bengal India. Under British colonial rule the bungalow came to be identified as a unique country home, primarily associated with the aristocracy. The architectural form emerged in England as an estate cottage, then a second home, or seaside resort, and later symbolized a Bohemian retreat from the physical and cultural confines of urban society during the early twentieth century. From England, the concept of the bungalow was transferred to the American South, 16 as well as plantations in Assam, Ceylon, and Brazil.17 Considered by some a socialist response to capitalism, the bungalow form connoted a lifestyle of simplicity, individuality, harmony with nature, craftsmanship, and perhaps early post-Victorian suburbia. According to architectural historian Robert Winter, it was "not strongly affected by urbanization and thus without inflated property values. It was only in such streetcar suburbs and auto suburbs that the bungalow could be built and the dreams fulfilled. "He adds Warfield Webb suggestion that bungalows were popular because the new urban dweller enjoyed urban amenities but missed the rural environment. At the same time they longed for the detached, single-family dwelling historically affirmed by individualist democracy-the rural small town America of the nineteenth century. The bungalow was thus ideal is adapting the older America to the new.18 Cobblestones artifacts, symbolizing a personal experiment, and an aesthetic and resource statement, found their architectural forum in Southern California and elsewhere. Architects Charles and Henry Greene, considered by some,19 but not Rubin20 or Winter,21 as the original designers of the bungalow form, identified the word, bungalow, with living in California, a stylistic closeness to nature. In fact, cobblestone chimney pieces were featured in the 1908 Bandini Bungalow. Cobblestones and boulders in retaining walls and piers decorate The Theodore Irwin House in Pasadena.22 Finally, a cobblestone chimney is pictured in the Charles Pratt House, Ojai.23 Irving Gill, in 1899 purchased a two-acre tract near Hillcrest where he tested new construction techniques. A section of photos published in The Journal of San Diego History in 1979, shows a 1908 canyon home in Hillcrest with a cobblestone retaining wall. A

E.3 Criterion C – Architecture

Article continued from previous page. photo of the Russel Allen house in Bonita also shows a low cobblestone retaining wall. The 1915-1916 Scripps House for Ellen Browning Scripps also has a cobblestone retaining wall. While Gustav Stickley was not a proponent of a cobblestone decor to Craftsman homes, he did concede cobblestones were appropriate materials especially when combined with brick and linked to Japanese architecture in Southern California.24 Apart from a feature in the Homes section of the San Diego Tribune,25 attention given to the San Diego bungalow tradition is minimal. Perhaps Clay Lancaster dissuaded a few researchers with his preface to his discussion on San Diego dwellings.

In contrast to the sophisticated examples...that we have examined...there were other bungalows that were less pretentious.... Builders of the first group were more or less familiar with the ideals of the movement, and they were inspired accordingly. Builders of the second tended more to take features from the first and incorporate them without real understanding. Most...started with the handicap of a dull, flat little lot hemmed in by neighbors. . .26 Nevertheless, I suspected that examples of both bungalows and associated cobblestone artifacts existed in the city, and that these would be spatially related to residential history and transportation lines. Consequently, I surveyed cobblestone architectural artifacts in a portion of San Diego encompassing an approximate ten square mile area south of Interstate 8, west of College Avenue, east of Highway 163, and north of Landis Avenue, including the communities of University Heights, Normal Heights, North Park and East San Diego. This survey was conducted by car primarily; wherever a density of cobblestone artifacts occurred, I used public sidewalks. Later I returned to examine and photograph exemplary artifacts. Although some cobblestone walls were observed across canyons, only structures observable from the street were counted. Occasionally, interested homeowners provided additional information. The four general categories of cobblestone artifacts surveyed include: 1) retaining walls, 2) piers or porch pillars, 3) chimneys, and 4) anomalies.

Retaining walls were the most prevalent form of cobblestone usage; some 322 were found in the area studied, 98 of which occurred in the University Heights-North Park area, 82 in Normal Heights, and 92 in East San Diego. Their distribution along canyon rims and old transport lines is evident. The rock used for terrace walls typically was described as "dug out of the hillside." Their height depended upon the slope of the terrain; generally they average one meter high. Cobblestone piers, indicated by open triangles, are less numerous. Some 42 are found in University Heights and North Park west of Highway 805, and 16 are found in Normal Heights and East San Diego. Some may frame a wooden base and support a wooden beam to the roof; others appear with a buttressed base for additional structural support. Many are comprised of a naturally colorful collection of cobblestones. Rarely are cobblestones painted. Cobblestone chimneys are least in number, 27 in University Heights and North Park, 24 in Normal Heights and East San Diego. There is a decorativeness to chimneys with set patterns and designs. The design is especially striking in a two-story structure. Sometimes the masonry combines cobblestones and brick. Several cobblestone artifacts are unique and impressive. For example, there are two cobblestone homes located within two blocks of each other in Normal Heights. The one more easily observed is a single story structure with attached garage, facing Adams Avenue but extending to the rear down the canyon lot. Excluding the porch awning and the decorative roof tiles, the entire edifice is constructed of cobblestones. Nearby is two-story cobblestone-boulder bungalow constructed in 1912, complete with cobblestone garage, chimney and retaining walls. The sidewalk is dated 1913. While most cobblestone walls, including the one surrounding the Aztec Bowl at San Diego State University, are constructed to retain earth, a few are free-standing. One such example in domestic architecture is located on 44th Street. Another, in University Heights, features a stone-filled archway as well. Cobblestone pillars and a block-long cobblestone-boulder wall mark the entrance and perimeter of the former Mission Cliffs gardens in University Heights. Researcher Beverly Potter noted that cable car service brought a considerable number of people to the end-of-the-line five-acre amusement park known as "the Bluffs"-the ownership of which was the San Diego Cable Railway Company until 1892 when the company went bankrupt. John Spreckels chose to develop it as a quiet, garden-like public park. A Scottish landscape designer, John Davidson constructed a stone wall around the park. 27 Inside, a cobblestone wall retained a circular pond. Unfortunately, the gardens were closed in 1929; all that remains today is the long wall and a few pillars. Three sets of pillars are discerned in the Normal Heights-Kensington area; one wide-spread set, situated on Terrace Drive, is readily observed at the end of Madison Street facing East, across Highway 15. The second is located near Kensington Drive and Madison Avenue. The third pair consists of pillars on the north corners of Madison Avenue and Edgeware Road. However, these are not the only cobblestone pillars in the study area. In-deed, in East San Diego, I found a single pillar at the southeast corner of Landis Street and Chamoune Avenue; the sidewalk was dated 1915 and Chamoune was called Castle Street; there was another nearby at 46th and Landis Street. Smaller pillars appear at Estrella Avenue and Reno Drive.

E.3 Criterion C – Architecture

Article continued from previous page.

The concept of mass-prefabrication of homes was well-established by the early twentieth century. A plethora of articles on bungalows complete with ads for construction plans for as little as $5.00 appeared in popular magazines; these plans were easily copied. Some of these plans include cobblestones as integrated components in the designs. For example, the Plaza model in Aladdin's 1919 catalog features a cobblestone chimney and several porch pillars.28 Stevenson's and Jandl's Houses by Mail: A Guide to Houses from Sears, Roebuck and Company, contains fourteen residential designs which specifically display cobblestones. Four models feature cobblestone foundations only (No. 107, The Avoca, The Katonah, and No. 101); the remainder feature cobblestone chimneys and/or porch piers. These include in order of appearance in the text: The Dover, The Sumner, No. 241, The Ashmore, No. 140, The Arlington, No. 264, The Savoy, The Stone Ridge, and No. 138.

The earliest model dates to 1908; the latest to 1934; most were advertised between 1912-1925. Half of the models are considered bungalows. Often the descriptive phrases attempt to entice the prospective buyer, imaging land-scape harmony and economy. For example, The Ashmore with a "rugged, massive cobblestone chimney adds the final touch of stability and bungalow character, 29 or No. 140 "A cobblestone foundation, porch pillars and chimney give this bungalow a rustic beauty seldom seen in buildings at such a low price."30 Finally, a description of No. 138, a 1913 model:

Houses like this with a cobblestone foundation, porch, piers, and chimney are becoming quite popular. In many sections of the East and West, cobblestones of various tints can be procured at a nominal price (very often can be procured free of charge), and when used in a design such as our Modern Home No. 138 it adds a beautiful effect to the building.31 In addition, the Montgomery Ward's 1927 Sheridan model features two large cobblestone chimneys, but no piers or walls.32 Cobblestone decoration in accompanying the bungalow tradition, completed the vernacular architecture and fulfilled a romantic landscape taste. They were plentiful, easily accessible, of interesting colors and surface texture;33 thus, their use required only labor and patience; the reward was beauty, suitability, and permanence in a home.

Ernest Flagg, a New York architect, believed that persons of modest means could construct homes from local stone, using a mosaic rubble wall, a combination of concrete with field-stone facing, both constructed as one unit.34 Flagg's contributions were published in several professional and popular journals during the 1920's and 1930's including the Ladies Home Journal, Scientific American, and the National Weekly. However, in 1930 he found that concrete block could be cast and raised at less cost than his system of rubble walls. Flagg did not publish or advocate its use after 1930.35 In June 1919, there appeared an article entitled, "Everybody Likes a House of Stone" in Good Housekeeping by Julius Gregory in which he extolled the virtues of a stone house; however, his comments on cobblestones heralded/precipitated its decline in importance in architecture. You may occasionally have seen a house of round cobblestones and wondered why they were so ugly when most stone walls are beautiful. They are unpleasing because such stones cannot be built up naturally in a wall; they need plenty of mortar to hold them together. It is a case of taking boulders which were never intended to be used as building materials and forcing them to serve. The effect, of course, is unnatural and ugly36. The term bungalow was substituted with the word cottage by the late 1920s. Woodrow Wilson's accusation that Warren Harding had a "bungalow mind," did little to help the term, and possibly by association, cobblestone artifacts. The bungalow mania had waned, but the houses have remained. Perhaps this is why so many cobblestone walls are covered with cement. Certainly the theory of cobblestone masonry diffused into the middle class community; however, the quality of work declined from 1915 to the 1930's. The persistence of cobblestones as an architectural artifact can be attributed in part to its harmony with the early twentieth century craze for bungalows. The staying power of some of these artifacts is doubtful. As demand for housing intensifies, some neighborhoods will change in morphology from single family residences to multi-family dwellings. There may not be room for cobblestones. Apart from a faltering tradition, and where bungalow demolition does not prevail, cobblestone chimney maintenance in relation to seismic events and current building codes could constitute problems for the homeowner. The raw materials are easily unearthed; ultimately lies the question of knowledge of cobblestone masonry and the availability of manual labor. However, the historic preservation efforts in Golden Hill and other communities near Balboa Park signify that the cobblestone folk-architecture tradition will remain for some time. Other communities await further exploration.

E.3 Criterion C – Architecture Article continued from previous page.

NOTES

1. Webster's Dictionary (1928), p. 183.

2. American College Dictionary (1957), p. 231. 3. Olaf William Shelgren, Jr., Cary Lattin and Robert W. Frasch, Cobblestone Landmarks of New York State (Syracuse, New York: Syracuse University Press, 1978, p. 1. 4. Anonymous, "Historical Landmarks of San Diego County," San Diego Historical Society Quarterly, (Vol. 5) 1959, p. 6. 5. Edward J.P. Davis, Historical San Diego: The Birth Place of California; A History of Its Discovery, Settlement and Development, (1953), p. 28. 6. Willam E. Symthe, History of San Diego, 1542-1908 (San Diego: The History Company, 1908), p. 262. 7. Davis, Historical San Diego, p. 22. 8. Richard Pourade, The History of San Diego, Vol. 4 (San Diego: The Union/Tribune Publishing Co.), p. 143. 9. Richard Bigger, et. al., Metropolitan Coast: San Diego and Orange Counties, California (Los Angeles: University of California, 1958), p. 20. 10. Ibid 11. Elizabeth C. MacPhail, The Story of New San Diego and of Its Founder, Alonzo E. Horton (San Diego: Pioneer printers, 1969), p. 93. 12. Shelgren, Cobblestone Landmarks, p.20. 13. Ibid., p. 27. 14. Carl F. Schmidt, Cobblestone Architecture (1944), p. 15. 15. Richard W.E. Perrin, Historic Wisconsin Buildings: A Survey in Pioneer Architecture,1835-1870 (Milwaukee : Milwaukee Public Museum, 1981), p. 100. 16. James R. Curtis and Larry Ford, "Bungalow Courts in San Diego: Monitoring a Sense of Place," The Journal of San Diego History, Vol. 34 (Spring, 1988), p. 80 17. Anthony D. King, The Bungalow (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1984), p. 115. 18. Clay Lancaster, The American Bungalow: 1880-1930 (New York: Abbeville Press, 1985), p. 115. 19. John E. Rickert, "House Facades of the Northeastern United States: A Tool of Geographic Analysis," Annals, Association of American Geographers, Vol. 67 1977), p. 525. 20. Lancaster, American Bungalow, p. 119. 21. Alan Gowans, The Comfortable House (Cambridge: The MIT Press, 1985), p. 74. 22. Lancaster, American Bungalow, p.133. 23. Ibid. 24. G. Stickley, The Best of Craftsman Homes (New York: Dover, 1979), p. 141. 25. San Diego Tribune, October 4, 1985. 26. Lancaster, American Bungalow, p. 142. 27. MacPhail, New San Diego, p. 129. 28. Gowans, Comfortable House, p. 31. 29. Ibid., p.88.

E.3 Criterion C – Architecture Article continued from previous page.

30. Ibid., p. 110. 31. Ibid., p. 322. 32. Ibid., p. 200. 33. Lancaster, American Bungalow, p. 140. 34. Ernest Flagg, Small Houses; Their Economic Design and Construction (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1922), p. 57. 35. Helen and Scott Nearing, Living the Good Life: How to Live Sanely and Simply in a Troubled World (New York: Schocken Books, 1970), p.79. 36. Gowans, Comfortable House, p. 74.

Attachment F Works Cited

F.1 — Provide a list of works cited (bibliography)

F.1 Bibliography

Books

Baca, Elmo 1996 Romance of the Mission. Layton, Utah: Gibbs Smith

Brandes, Ray S. 1991 San Diego Architects 1868-1939. San Diego: University of San Diego

California Office of Historic Preservation 1996 The California Register of Historic Resources: Regulations for Nomination of Historic Properties. State of California, The Resources Agency, Department of Parks and Recreation

Ching, Francis D.K. 1995 A Visual Dictionary of Architecture. New York: John Wiley & Sons

Cook, III, S.F., “Jerry” and Tina Skinner 2005 Architectural Details: Spain and the Mediterranean. Reprint of the 1926 publication by Richard S. Requa, A.I.A., J.H. Hansen, The Monolith Portland Cement Company, Los Angeles. Schiffer Publishing

Crawford, Richard W. 2011 The Way We Were in San Diego. Charleston: The History Press

Gellner, Arrol and Douglas Keister 2002 Red Tile Style: America's Spanish Revival Architecture. New York: Viking Studio

Hartmann, Glenn D. 1977 Architectural Description Guide: Developed for Use in Preparing Nominations for State and National Registers of Historic Places. Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation, Washington State Parks & Recreation Commission, Olympia, Washington

McAlester, Virginia 2013 Field Guide to American Houses. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.

McGrew, Clarence Alan 1922 City of San Diego and San Diego County, the Birthplace of California. Volume I. The American Historical Society, Chicago

National Park Service 1985 Historic American Building Survey Guidelines for Preparing Written and Historical Descriptive Data. Division of National Register Programs, Western Regional Office, San Francisco, California

Newcomb, Rexford 1990 Spanish-Colonial Architecture in the United States. Dover Publications, New York

Requa, Richard S., A.I.A. 1929 Old World Inspiration for American Architecture. Originally published by the Monolith Portland Cement Company. Los Angeles, California.

Requa, Richard S., A.I.A. 1937 Inside Lights on the Building of San Diego's Exposition: 1935. Frye & Smith, Ltd., San Diego

Smith, G.E. Kidder 1996 Source Book of American Architecture. New York: Princeton Architectural Press

F.1 Bibliography - Continued

Walker, Lester 2002 American Homes - An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Domestic Architecture. New York: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers

Woods, Douglas, Melba Levick and M. Brian Tichenor 2012 The California Casa. New York: Rizzoli International Publications, Inc.

Government Documents

City of San Diego Historical Resources Board 2009 Historical Resource Research Report Guidelines and Requirements, Land Development Manual, Historical Resources Guidelines, Appendix E, Part 1.1, Adopted by the Historical Resources Board November 30, 2006, Updated January 24, 2008 and February 9, 2009.

Historic Nomination Reports

Bevil, Alexander 2001 Historic Nomination of the Young Hardware Store (3285-3287 Adams Ave.)

Internet

Ancestry.com, www.ancestry.com (U.S. Census 1880, 1890, 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, 1940; California Death Index; Social Security Death Index; genealogical files)

Journals

Ledeboer, Suzanne Winter-Spring 2006. San Diego’s Normal Heights: The Growth of a Suburban Neighborhood, 1886–1926. Journal of San Diego History, Volume 52 (Issues 1 & 2), pp. 18-43.

Newspapers

San Diego Union

San Diego Evening Tribune

San Diego Union-Tribune