United States Post Office, Santa Monica Main Branch 1248 5th Street Santa Monica, California City Landmark Assessment and Evaluation Report Evaluation Report Building Permit History City Directory Research Photographs Tax Assessor Map Sanborn Map Prepared for: City of Santa Monica Planning Division Prepared by: Ostashay & Associates Consulting Long Beach, California December 2012 United States Post Office, Santa Monica Main Branch 1248 5th Street City of Santa Monica APN: 4291‐004‐900 City Landmark Assessment and Evaluation BACKGROUND INFORMATION The subject property (Santa Monica Post Office) is situated at the northwest corner of 5th Street and Arizona Avenue, and encompasses lots H, I, J, K and L of Block 120 of the Town of Santa Monica tract. Together, the five tied lots measure approximately 250 feet by 150 feet (the longer frontage faces 5th Street). The one‐story public building is located in the Central Business District of the City, and is two blocks east of the 3rd Street Promenade commercial thoroughfare and one block south of Wilshire Boulevard. The property is currently owned and operated by the United States Federal government, United States Postal Service (USPS). The subject property has been previously identified and evaluated under the City’s on‐going historic resources survey process. It was first assessed as part of the Santa Monica Historic Resources Inventory Phase Three Survey process in 1994.1 At that time the property was recognized for its distinctive architectural merit and was, therefore, assigned a National Register Status Code (now referred to as the California Historical Resource Status Codes) of 3S, which identified the property as eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (National Register). The City’s Historic Resources Inventory Update of the Central Business District and Third Street Promenade (fieldwork 1996, report 1998) reconfirmed the property’s National Register eligibility and also identified it as a contributor to the Central Business District historic district. Most recently, the City’s Citywide Historic Resources Survey Update (December 2007) once again reconfirmed the property’s National Register eligibility and contributor status to the Central Business District. PROPERTY DESCRIPTION AND CONSTRUCTION HISTORY Description. Erected in 1936, the one‐story post office building with basement and mezzanine is located at the northwest corner of 5th Street and Arizona Avenue, within the Central Business District. The massing and detailing of the Santa Monica Post Office are indicative of the PWA (Public Works Administration) Moderne style. The east‐facing post office is a poured‐in‐place concrete building with a symmetrical eight bay façade with monumental, elongated Art Deco inspired pilasters flanking the two entry portals and Art Deco decorative motifs and incised period lettering heralding the building’s form and function as a post office incorporated above and adjacent to these entry doors. 1 Phase Three: Santa Monica Historic Resources Survey, May 1994. Santa Monica Post Office, 1248 5th Street City Landmark Assessment and Evaluation Report page 1 Raised slightly above grade, the building’s two entry points are approached via granite steps and concrete walkways from the nearby sidewalks. Other features of the building include a flat roof with parapet and tri‐banded cornice lines; recessed, vertically oriented multi‐pane wood‐ frame windows; small dedication plaque on the far south bay of the east elevation wall under the window; a pronounced skirtline demarcated by a simple belt course; and a large covered loading dock area that spans the entire width of the rear of the structure off the alley (west elevation). The mezzanine level with its ribbon of fenestration is evident from this backside elevation. Placed at the southeast corner of the lot is a relatively new standalone monumental sign noting the property as the United States Post Office and listing its address. Landscaping includes small shrubs around the base of the building, raised non‐original concrete planter beds along 5th Street, a flag pole, and a raised side yard with tall palm tree to the immediate south of the building. The PWA Moderne stylistic approach of the exterior is also translated into the small interior public space of the building (the lobby). The rich marble‐work on the walls and the varied color terrazzo flooring, as well as the highly stylized geometric designs executed in wood on the walls and ceiling are indicative of the PWA Moderne idiom. The long lobby is divided into two distinct spaces by a non‐original glass wall with glazed double doors. The north half of the interior space is dedicated to rows and columns of post office rental boxes set within walls of variegated marble while the southern half contains the retail counter area and access to the basement. Both spaces also feature Art Deco inspired wood tables and glass light fixtures, while the southern lobby space includes a metal railing system with “feathered” balusters (staircase leads down to the basement) all original to the date of building’s construction. Building Permit History. Only the initial building permit to erect the building is on file with the City of Santa Monica (this is not unusual for federally owned properties). Dated September 20, 1937, the permit application (building permit number 475) lists the owner as the U.S. Government. Other information on the permit application includes the type of construction (Type 1); the valuation of the proposed building of $172,400 (which ultimately cost more than that indicated on the permit); exterior wall material as concrete; and the roofing material as composition. Upon visual inspection, the building has undergone only minor changes. Such evident changes include the replacement of the double wood doors with aluminum frame glazed double doors, the replacement of the original post office rental boxes in the lobby, the tinting of the windows, and the reorganization and design of the front landscaped areas along Arizona Avenue. Construction History. Constructed of poured‐in‐place concrete with steel frame reinforcement, the structure is a product of the federal government’s Public Works Administration (PWA) program. In respect to the Moderne design of the post office, the plans were prepared under the auspices of supervising architect Louis A. Simon with Neal A. Melick acting as the supervising engineer and Los Angeles based designer Robert Dennis Murray serving as the local Santa Monica Post Office, 1248 5th Street City Landmark Assessment and Evaluation Report page 2 architect. A number of local contractors were also involved with the construction of the project. HISTORICAL CONTEXT Santa Monica. In 1875, the original townsite of Santa Monica was surveyed, including all the land extending from Colorado Street on the south to Montana on the north, and from 26th Street on the east to the Pacific Ocean on the west. Between 1893 and the 1920s, the community operated as a tourist attraction, visited by mostly wealthy patrons. Those areas just outside of the incorporated city limits were semi‐rural in setting and were populated with scattered residences. After the advent of the automobile in the 1920s, Santa Monica experienced a significant building boom, with homes being constructed in the tracts north of Montana and east of Seventh Street for year‐round residents. Commercial buildings, primarily one‐ or two‐story in height, initially concentrated along 2nd and 3rd Streets between Colorado Avenue and Wilshire Boulevard also began to expand eastward at this time. Central Business District. The Santa Monica Post Office is located on the west side of 5th Street at the northwest corner of Arizona Avenue within the boundaries of the City’s Central Business District. This commercial area is roughly bounded by Wilshire Boulevard to the north, 2nd Street to the west, Colorado Avenue/Santa Monica Freeway to the south, and 4th Street (south of Santa Monica Boulevard) and 7th Street (north of Santa Monica Boulevard) to the east. Most buildings are commercial in form and function, with a small scattering of residential properties and churches. The Central Business District developed early in the history of Santa Monica as the location of commercial businesses catering to both local residents and the City’s many visitors. Second Street, the oldest commercial street in Santa Monica, was supplanted by 3rd Street as the City’s principal commercial street in the early twentieth century. A three‐block stretch of 3rd Street was eventually closed to vehicular traffic and became a pedestrian shopping mall in 1965. Fourth and Fifth streets between Wilshire Boulevard and Colorado Avenue evolved from a primarily residential neighborhood at the turn‐of‐the‐century to a predominantly commercial area by the early 1920s. The impetus for this change occurred as a result of the continuing resident and tourist population growth of the City overall and their demand for consumer goods. Buildings of each period of development, from 1875 through to the present day, stand in this highly commercial area, their styling and historic associations providing a physical document of the commercial history of the city.2 The most prevalent styles in the area are those associated with the 1920s and 1930s, which included Spanish Colonial Revival, Art Deco, Streamline Moderne, and classically influenced vernacular structures. The PWA Moderne designed post office building also lends an additional and unique variation to the typical architectural styles found in the Central Business District. Improvements located within this commercial area range from one to twelve stories in height and are clad in a variety of materials, including stucco, brick, terracotta, and concrete. 2 Santa Monica Historic Resources Inventory, 1985‐1986: Final Report, p.28. Santa Monica Post Office, 1248 5th Street City Landmark Assessment and Evaluation Report page 3 United States Postal Service. The United States Postal Service (USPS) has its roots to 1775 during the Second Continental Congress where Benjamin Franklin was appointed the first postmaster general.