The Bay Builders Exchange 1503-1509 4th Street Santa Monica, California City Landmark Assessment and Evaluation Report Evaluation Report Photographs Parcel Map Sanborn Maps Prepared for: City of Santa Monica Planning Division Prepared by: PCR Services Corporation Santa Monica, California May 2009 The Bay Builders Exchange 1503-1509 4th Street City of Santa Monica APN: 4291-023-23 City Landmark Assessment and Evaluation BACKGROUND INFORMATION Description of site or structure, note any major alterations and dates of alterations The subject property, the Bay Builders Exchange Building, is situated on the southeast corner of 4th Street and Broadway between 4th Street to the west, 5th Street to the east, Broadway to the north, and Colorado to the south. The two- and three-story brick masonry commercial building is located in the Central Business District. The property encompasses Santa Monica Lot X and W, Block 195, which is approximately 110 feet by 150 feet. The Bay Builders Exchange Building has an L-shaped footprint and occupies roughly half of Lot X and the entire lot W. The subject property has been identified and assessed under the City’s ongoing survey process on three previous occasions. The commercial building was first identified and recorded as part of the 1985-1986 Phase I survey process.1 The subject property was recommended eligible for the National Register as a contributor to the “Third Street District” and given a National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) status code of 5*/5D. The subject property was later reassessed during the City’s 1994 Historic Resources Inventory Update following the 1994 Northridge earthquake.2 As a result of the earthquake, there was substantial damage to the entire building that affected the integrity. The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) status code changed from 5*/5D to 5B1. The 1994 City of Santa Monica Historic Resources Update noted the building was undergoing repairs to the structure, terra cotta and stucco finish. The subject property was assessed again as part of the Historic Resources Inventory Update for the City of Santa Monica, Central Business District and Third Street Promenade in 1996.3 After the seismic repairs and facade restoration were completed in 1995, the NRHP status code remained the same at 5B1; the building remained an eligible local landmark and a contributor to the Central Business District. Constructed in 1927, the commercial Bay Builders Exchange is designed in the Churrigueresque style. The L-shaped building is comprised of a three-story corner wing at the intersection of Broadway and 4th Street, and a two-story wing fronting 4th Street. The Bay Builders Exchange was constructed with brick masonry, veneered with stucco and embellished with decorative art stone. The building has a flat roof and the principal facades 1 Phase I: Santa Monica Historic Resources Inventory, 1983. 2 Historic Resources Inventory Update for the City of Santa Monica, September 30, 1995. 3 Historic Resources Inventory Update for the City of Santa Monica, Central Business District and Third Street Promenade, April 12, 1998. The Bay Builders Exchange City Landmark Assessment and Evaluation Report page 1 have tapered mission tiles along the raised parapet. The north and west elevations retain the original eight-light metal casement windows topped by four-light transoms. The window bays are divided by upwardly-projecting pilasters with stylized capitals that terminate below the roofline; and decorative Churrigueresque-style cast stone spandrels are located between the pilasters, above and below the window openings and on the parapet. The first-story store fronts are framed by decorative cast-iron grillework. The original store front windows have been replaced with plate glass, but the cast-iron store fronts have been retained and “in-kind” window replacements are compatible in design with the overall architectural character of the building and retain the black-tiled store front base. The rear (east) elevation has a loading dock with a roll-up door and two windows enclosed with brick on the rear façade. The primary (west) elevation of the two-story wing facing 4th Street has sixteen casement windows. Above each window is a square decorative art stone spandrel flanked by pilasters that terminate below the roof line. The main entrance is recessed beneath a highly ornamented cast stone arch that features putti and carp in the design in addition to continuing the vegetal motifs employed in the decorative panels. The three-story corner wing has four bays of paired casement windows on the second and third floors of the north elevation and three bays of single casement windows on the west elevation. A decorative Churrigueresque-style cast stone frieze runs around the top of the three-story corner building. Construction History and Alterations There are several building permits on record with the City of Santa Monica for the Bay Builders Exchange. On June 16, 1927, the contractor, Albert M. Eaton, filed for a building permit (Building Permit No. 154) to construct a two- and three-story building for the addresses of 402-406 Broadway and 1503-1509 4th Street. Originally, the 60 feet by 100 feet building was planned to cost $40,000 to erect. Five months later, on November 8, 1927, the contractor filed for another new building permit (Building Permit No. 637) to construct a two-story, 50 feet by 149 feet building for the addresses 1511-1515 4th Street. Both building permits listed Arthur P. Creel as the owner and Eugene Durfee as the architect. After the building was constructed, the building permits on file involved interior modifications. A mezzanine floor was constructed in 1511 4th Street in November 1928 valued at $300 (Building Permit No. 1895). Alterations in the sum of $500 were completed in 1937 for the addresses 1501-1505 4th Street (Building Permit No. 8668) and other alterations valued at $50 in January 1939 for 1509 4th Street (Building Permit No. B526). During the 1950’s various permits were recorded for interior alterations. At 1515 4th Street the lessee, Rand Corporation, installed non-bearing partitions (Building Permit No. B14356) in September 1953; converted ramps to level floor and install partitions (Building Permit No. B15517) in April 1954; installed new stairs from ground floor to second floor (Building Permit No. B21562) in April 1957; and closed off the top stairway (Building Permit No. B22989) in December 1957. Interior partitions were installed at 1507 4th Street in April 1956 (Building Permit No. B19493); and temporary partitions and a new opening at existing knock out panel were installed at 1507-1509 4th Street in September 1959 (Building Permit No. B26771). The Bay Builders Exchange City Landmark Assessment and Evaluation Report page 2 The Bay Builders Exchange underwent seismic rehabilitation in July and September 1993 (Building Permit Nos. B45653 and B45653). Roughly one year later, the earthquake damage was repaired in September 1994 (Building Permit No. EOR1424). The repairs included the reconstruction of the northwest corner, art stone, and infill of wall cracks. SURVEY EVALUATION Statement of Architectural Significance The Bay Builders Exchange is an excellent example of the Spanish Colonial Revival style, specifically the Churrigueresque style, as interpreted for commercial buildings of the early twentieth century period in Santa Monica. The beginnings of this style date to 1915, when it was introduced at the Panama-California Exposition in San Diego. The period revival styles grew in popularity just after World War I, and were patterned after buildings of earlier historic periods. The most common style in the Southwest was the Spanish Colonial Revival. Inspired by the Panama-California Exposition, many architects found Southern California the ideal setting for this architectural style. Numerous publications argued in favor of this period revival style for the “Mediterranean environment” of California, including W. Sexton's Spanish Influence on American Architecture and Decoration (1926) and Rexford Newcomb's The Spanish House for America Its Design, Furnishing, and Garden (1927). Architect Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue’s comprehensive set of Spanish Colonial Revival structures for the Panama-California Exposition catalyzed a region-wide building trend whose Spanish and Moorish influences incorporated and even supplanted the previously popular Mission Revival style. The many Spanish Colonial Revival and Mediterranean Revival commercial, civic and residential structures became a key component in the forging of regional identity and quest for legitimacy, since the style helped perpetuate powerful myths about California’s origins tied to New Spain. Decorative elements that were appropriated from indigenous American cultures (Native American, Mayan, Aztec) were sometimes incorporated into these eclectic designs to infuse exoticism, along with a certain brand of perceived cultural authenticity. The Spanish Colonial Revival style and its variants were widely used throughout southern California for both commercial and residential properties. The unique features of the Spanish Colonial Revival style are ornate low-relief carvings highlighting arches, columns, window surrounds, cornices, and parapets. Other features that characterize the style include stuccoed exterior walls; low-pitched, multi-level tile roofs; arched shaped window and door openings; iron railings and window grilles. The facades of large buildings are often enriched with curvilinear and