California State Historical Resources Commission To Consider 25 Properties for Action
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – (RealEstateRama) — The California State Historical Resources Commission (Commission) will consider 24 nominations for federal historic designation and one nomination for state historic designation Friday, October 28. The Commission meeting will be held at 9 a.m. in the City of Redlands Civic Center City Council Chambers, located on 35 Cajon Street, Suite 2, Redlands.
Properties being considered at this meeting include historic places worthy of preservation, such as the Egan House located in San Juan Capistrano, Orange County. This nomination is an 1883 Renaissance Revival building constructed by William English for judge, county supervisor and philanthropist Richard Egan. Known as “Harmony Hall”, this building was Egan’s primary residence and principal office until his death in 1923. As a justice of the peace, “Judge Egan” donated fees paid for his judicial services to the poor, and spearheaded the restoration of Mission San Juan Capistrano.
All properties being considered at the meeting include:
National Register of Historic Places Nominations
Architecture of E. Stewart Williams Multiple Property Submission (MPS)
Imperial, Riverside and San Bernardino Counties
The submission documents Williams’ design philosophy and contribution to desert modernism in the Coachella Valley: Williams successfully united the warmth of natural materials with the precision of International Style Modernism in designing buildings devoted to client needs while tailored to the local setting. At this time, 12 buildings are nominated in association with the MPS under the context “Architecture as environmental expression in the greater Coachella Valley, 1946-1976”. Property types include single family residence, commercial building, cultural institution and educational institution.
Beckman Instruments Building
Fullerton, Orange County
A mid-century modern administrative office building built in 1954. It is significant for Beckman Instruments’ role as the first high-tech industry in Fullerton, association with inventor and industrialist Arnold O. Beckman, and for its design by master architect Lawrence Whitney Davidson.
Coachella Valley Savings #1
Palm Springs, Riverside County
A two-story with mezzanine International Style steel-framed, reinforced concrete building that was clearly influenced by Le Corbusier’s Villa Savoye in France. The building appears as a rectangular box of painted white stucco floating above a wide driveway and a small lobby.
Coachella Valley Savings #2
Palm Springs, Riverside County
The building is a blend of International Style Modernism, classical symmetry and sculptural monumentality. It is of steel and concrete construction engineered for both seismic safety and to provide a single enormous banking space without interior columns.
Creighton Residence Model A-3-R
Palm Springs, Riverside County
The property exemplifies architect William Krisel’s unusual premise: that it is possible to reconceive the common mass-produced tract house as an opportunity for outstanding design, serving a growing post-war population for whom custom home design was unattainable.
Edris Residence
Palm Springs, Riverside County
Set amidst a boulder-strewn alluvial fan of Mount San Jacinto in Palm Springs, the goal of this home was to integrate as much of the natural environment into the modern design as possible. Williams employed a triangular steel truss so that the living room roof would slope upward to celebrate the magnificent view.
Egan House
San Juan Capistrano, Orange County
An 1883 Renaissance Revival building constructed by William English for judge, county supervisor and philanthropist Richard Egan. Known as “Harmony Hall”, this building was Egan’s primary residence and principal office until his death in 1923. As a justice of the peace, “Judge Egan” donated fees paid for his judicial services to the poor, and spearheaded the restoration of Mission San Juan Capistrano.
Kenaston Residence
Rancho Mirage, Riverside County
The home is u-shaped in plan, with a swimming pool within the “U” where a natural rock wall continues below the pool surface to several feet beneath the water level. This same natural rock, which clads a portion of the exterior north elevation, softens the strict rectilinear geometry of the flat-roofed house.
Koerner Residence
Palm Springs, Riverside County
The home is placed on a flat parcel with a panoramic view of Mount San Jacinto to the west, sharing the upswept roof of Williams’ earlier Edris Residence. Floor to ceiling windows bring abundant light into the wood post-and-beam dwelling.
La Laguna de San Gabriel
San Gabriel, Los Angeles County
The property is a park consisting of fourteen concrete play sculptures created by master architect Benjamin Dominguez. The property is nominated under cover of the Latinos in 20th Century California Multiple Property Submission, as an example of the murals and artwork property type.
Latinos in 20th Century California Multiple Property Submission Amendment Multiple Counties
The nomination would amend the existing Multiple Property Documentation Form by changing the Murals property type to “Murals and Artwork”, allowing nomination of artwork including statues, structures and other forms of artwork in addition to murals, under the cover of the existing document.
Mitchell Camera Corporation Factory
West Hollywood, Los Angeles County
Also known as The Factory and Studio One, this 1929 industrial building was originally used by the Mitchell Camera Corporation to manufacture movie cameras that revolutionized the film industry. In 1974, the property opened as Studio One, a nightclub that became a cornerstone of southern California’s LGBTQ community. This nightclub marked the transition from gay bars and clubs that were secretive and hidden, to avoid prosecution, to clubs that were public and popular. The Factory and other nightclubs based in this building attracted Hollywood celebrities and became a focal point for the growing LGBTQ community of West Hollywood.
Oasis Commercial Building
Palm Springs, Riverside County
An International Style two-story, steel-framed reinforced concrete building that was clearly influenced by Le Corbusier’s Villa Savoye in France. Ground floor shops are deeply recessed beneath the projecting second story, which is supported by piloti. The upper floor contains offices and a full-width loggia facing the busy street.
Palm Springs Aerial Tramway Mountain Station
Palm Springs, Riverside County
The station is located at an elevation of 8,516 feet within the boundaries of Mount San Jacinto State Park. It is the upper portion of a tram system inaugurated in 1963. The mountain station is based on a Swiss chalet, with angled wings with sloping roofs and large windows to take in views.
Palm Springs Desert Museum
Palm Springs, Riverside County
The museum houses art galleries, natural history exhibits, and a performing arts center. A tranquil sunken garden imparts a sense of visual lightness to the overall composition. The building’s design embraces the New Brutalism in its massive scale and reinforced concrete construction.
Palm Springs Unified School District Administrative Center
Palm Springs, Riverside County
The school is strongly influenced by the International Style. Prominent steel dogleg I-beams on the primary (east) elevation and exterior steel posts on the other elevations frame the building and support the flat roof. Aluminum-framed windows and enamel spandrels are recessed beneath the roof’s deep overhangs.
Santa Fe Federal Savings
Palm Springs, Riverside County
Now the Palm Springs Art Museum Architecture & Design Center, this is a Miesian pavilion of steel frame construction on a raised concrete pad. Full height glazing on three sides creates a delicate “jewel box” effect, especially when illuminated at night.
Frank Sinatra House
Palm Springs, Riverside County
The house was E. Stewart Williams’ first residential commission in Palm Springs. The single-family desert vacation house was commissioned by Sinatra in the summer of 1946. Williams’ design for a modern ranch style house won out over the Georgian Revival mansion that Sinatra had initially requested.
St. Joseph’s Home for the Aged
Oakland, Alameda County
A group of Georgian Revival style buildings constructed between 1912 and 1948. The Little Sisters of the Poor operated this property as a social services facility and home for male senior citizens of limited means. It is one of the best examples of Georgian Revival style architecture in the East Bay region, designed by architects Leo Devlin and John Donovan.
Rattlesnake Canyon Bridge
Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara County
A closed spandrel arch bridge, a significant example of masonry bridge engineering, constructed in 1919 and designed by master engineer Owen Hugh O’Neill Jr., who designed the majority of the masonry arch bridges built in Santa Barbara County.
Wiipuk Uun’Yaw Trail
Location Restricted, San Diego County
A cultural landscape associated with the Kwaaymii people, adjacent to the existing Kwaaymii Homeland historic district.
E. Stewart and Mari Williams Residence
Palm Springs, Riverside County
Fully realize the architect’s design philosophy of bringing the natural environment into the living space. A butterfly roof cantilevered out over three rows of side beams eliminated walls so that the landscape could flow through floor-to-ceiling glazing in each room. The house is essentially a roof over a garden, a shelter for a very hard climate.
Woman’s Club of Hollywood
Los Angeles, Los Angeles County
The club is one of Hollywood’s oldest civic organizations, founded in 1905 by a small group of women, many of whom were the wives, daughters and sisters of Hollywood pioneers. The 1946 clubhouse was constructed on the grounds of the former Hollywood School for Girls. The private college preparatory school was a significant educational institution for the children of Hollywood’s famous families.
Zumbrota
Marina del Rey, Los Angeles County
A shallow range, twin-screw fantail yacht approximately 95 feet long, constructed for Charles Ringling in 1918. With her narrow bean, plumb bow, and luxurious joinery, Zumbrota embodies the distinct characteristics of Classic motor yachts of the early twentieth century.
California Register of Historical Resources
Rancho Minerva
Vista, San Diego County
The Rancho is associated with the Greek-American experience and agricultural development history in Vista. The Spanish Colonial Revival style house also embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type and method of adobe construction.
The commission will also be considering the following resolutions: City of Redlands (California’s 67th Certified Local Government) and 2016 National History Day in California Special Commendation Recipients.
All nominations and photographs of properties under consideration are available at www.ohp.parks.ca.gov/pending.
The public may present oral statements at the hearing at the appropriate time. Written comments about any subject on the agenda may be submitted to Julianne Polanco, State Historic Preservation Officer, Office of Historic Preservation, Post Office Box 942896, Sacramento, California 94296-0001. Inquiries may be directed to Recording Secretary Twila Willis-Hunter by phone at (916) 445-7052, by fax at (916) 445-7053 or by mail to the State Historical Resources Commission, Post Office Box 942896, Sacramento, California 94296-0001. Notices and agendas for the Commission’s workshop and meeting are available at ten days before the meeting.
The National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program that coordinates and supports public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archaeological resources. The California Register of Historical Resources includes buildings, sites, structures, objects and districts significant in the architectural, engineering, scientific, economic, agricultural, educational, social, political, military or cultural annals of California.
Notices and agendas for California State Historical Commission meetings can be found online at www.parks.ca.gov/commissions.
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California State Parks Mission
To provide for the health, inspiration and education of the people of California by helping to preserve the state’s extraordinary biological diversity, protecting its most valued natural and cultural resources, and creating opportunities for high quality outdoor recreation.
Contact:
Jay Correia
Jay.Correia (at) parks.ca (dot) gov
(916) 445-7008
