CITY LANDMARK ASSESSMENT REPORT

CITY LANDMARK ASSESSMENT REPORT

633 21st Street SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA

Prepared for: City of Santa Monica City Planning Division 1685 Main Street, Room 212 Santa Monica, CA 90401 Prepared by: Jan Ostashay Principal Ostashay & Associates Consulting PO BOX 542 Long Beach, CA 90801 JANUARY 2020

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CITY LANDMARK ASSESSMENT REPORT

SINGLE-FAMILY RESIDENCE 633 21st Street Santa Monica, CA 90402

APN: 4278-029-024

INTRODUCTION This landmark assessment and evaluation report, completed by Ostashay & Associates Consulting (OAC) for the City of Santa Monica, Planning & Community Development Department, documents and evaluates the local landmark eligibility of the property located at 633 21st Street, Santa Monica, Los Angeles County. This assessment report was prepared at the request of the City as an application for landmark designation was submitted to the City of Santa Monica City Planning Division in October 2019. The assessment report herein includes a discussion of the survey methodology utilized, a concise description of the property, a summarized historical context of the property and related themes, evaluation for significance under the City of Santa Monica landmark criteria, and an appendix (photographs, and any applicable supporting materials).

OAC evaluated the subject property to determine whether it appears to satisfy one or more of the statutory criteria associated with City of Santa Monica Landmark eligibility, pursuant to Chapter 9.56 (Landmarks and Historic Districts Ordinance) of the Santa Monica Municipal Code. The evaluation assessment and this report were prepared by Jan Ostashay, principal with OAC, who satisfies the U.S. Secretary of the Interior's Professional Qualifications Standards for Architectural History and History.

In summary, OAC finds that the single-family property located at 633 21st Street appears ineligible for local individual listing as a City Landmark under any of the City of Santa Monica Landmark Criteria. The property does not appear to possess any historic significance or sufficient architectural merit to render it eligible for such landmark recognition. Further, the property does not appear to be associated with any significant personages important in our past history. The following sections of the report provide a contextual basis for the assessment analysis and a discussion of how this evaluation determination was made.

METHODOLOGY To help identify and evaluate the subject property as a potential local landmark, an intensivelevel survey of the site was conducted. In order to determine if any previous evaluations or survey assessments of the property had been performed the assessment included a review of the National Register of Historic Places (National Register) and its annual updates, the California

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Register of Historical Resources (California Register), the California Historic Resources Inventory System (CHRIS) maintained by the State Office of Historic Preservation (OHP), and the City's Historic Resources Inventory (HRI).

For this current assessment a site inspection and a review of building permits and tax assessor records were performed to document the property's existing condition and assist in evaluating it for historical significance. The City of Santa Monica landmark criteria were employed to evaluate the local significance of the property and its eligibility for designation by the City's Landmark Commission. In addition, the following tasks were performed for the study:

? Searched records of the National Register, California Register, Library of Congress archives, U.S. Census records, OHP CHRIS, and the local City of Santa Monica HRI.

? Conducted a site inspection of the subject property and its associated features; photographed the property, features, and adjacent area from the public right-ofway.

? Conducted site-specific and contextual research on the subject property utilizing Sanborn fire insurance maps, city directories, newspaper articles, historical photographs, aerial photographs, title search information, and associated archival, historical references and repositories.

? Reviewed and analyzed ordinances, statutes, regulations, bulletins, and technical materials relating to federal, state, and local historic preservation, designation assessment procedures, and related programs.

? Evaluated the property based upon landmark criteria established by the City of Santa Monica and utilized the OHP survey methodology for conducting surveys. The property was not evaluated for National Register or California Register eligibility.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION The property recognized as 633 21st Street is located at the northeast corner of 21st Street and Alta Avenue. It is sited on a flat rectangular shape parcel that measures roughly 60 feet wide and 149 feet long. The legal description of the 633 21st Street property is the Gillette's Regent Square tract, lot 24 of block B.

The subject property is in an established residential neighborhood composed of modest singlefamily residences, small-scale multi-family properties from the 1920s to the 1940s, and twoand three-story postwar apartment buildings interspersed with newer infill improvements. The neighborhood adheres to Santa Monica's skewed orthogonal street network and is divided into a series of rectilinear blocks that are roughly uniform in size and shape. The area's parcel lots are fairly consistent in size and shape (some of the buildings span two lots) as they were subdivided as part of one tract in 1906.

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The subject property was previously identified as part of the 2018 citywide reconnaissance level Historic Resources Inventory (HRI) Update survey conducted by the consulting firms of Architectural Resources Group (ARG) and Historic Resources Group (HRG). Under that survey effort, the property was identified as a Ranch style structure and found to a contributor to a potential City of Santa Monica historic district, the "Gillette's Regent Square Historic District." The subject property was then assigned a California Register historic status code of "5D3," meaning "appears to be a contributor to a district that appears eligible for local listing or designation through survey evaluation."

In 2007, a demolition permit application was filed for the subject property. The Landmarks Commission reviewed the property at its public meeting on December 10, 2007 to consider whether there was credible evidence in the record to proceed with a further public hearing to determine if the building met the criteria for a City Landmark or Structure of Merit. The Commission took no action on it for further review and the issuance of a demolition permit was ultimately approved. The 2007 demolition permit eventually expired and no demolition of the property has since been undertaken.

PROPERTY DESCRIPTION

Description. The corner parcel contains a one-story, wood-frame single-family dwelling, detached garage, and an enclosed backyard with in-ground swimming pool. Despite the identification of the property as a Ranch style dwelling it also shares strong design characteristics of the Minimal Traditional style. Built in 1949, it was one of roughly three dozen such homes constructed in the Gillette's Regent Square neighborhood following the post-World War II period.

The house with 2,213 square feet of space has a square shape plan with the front fa?ade facing west towards 21st Street. A low-pitched, complex hipped roof covered with compositional shingles, slightly overhanging eaves, narrow fascia boards, and brick chimney caps the house. Exterior walls of the building are sheathed in smooth stucco with wide shiplap siding trim boards wrapping the upper half of the front wall and portions of the side walls (north/south). A paved curving concrete walkway stemming from the southwest corner of the parcel leads to the centrally placed recessed front concrete porch and entry door to the house via concrete steps. Within the porch space is a large wood-frame fixed-pane tripartite picture window and a flush type wood door that is tucked into its northern wall. Fenestration of varying size and shape punctuates all four elevations and includes wood-frame sash, some set in pairs with multi-pane stacked horizontal muntins along primary elevations. A small diamond shaped accent window consisting of four glass blocks offset on the northern bay of the front fa?ade adds further detail to the wall cladding. Other features of the house include raised foundation vents; a utility door with concrete stoop off the south (side) elevation; access to the paved backyard and swimming pool from the rear of the house; and a detached garage with hipped roof, stucco clad exterior walls, pedestrian door, and concrete driveway apron. Landscaping around the property consists of a front yard, low-growing shrubs in brick retaining planters

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abutting the house, fuller bushes anchoring the base of the front porch and walkway as well as some corners of the structure, and a variety of overgrown shrubs along the perimeter of the backyard.

Permit History, Alterations. The recorded permit history on file with the City of Santa Monica includes the following improvements.

YEAR

1949 1949 1958 1958 1959 2019

DESCRIPTION OF WORK

Residence, $17,300 Garage, $1,000 Swimming pool, $3,600 Add fiberglass patio cover to rear of house, $384 Add storage room attached to garage, $1,500 Re-roof with compositional shingles

Overall, the property has undergone only limited alterations since its construction in 1949. A visual inspection of the exterior of the house and grounds (from the public right-of-way) confirms that no major alterations have been made to the property to compromise its overall historical integrity. Therefore, its seven qualities of historical integrity (location, design, workmanship, materials, setting, feeling, and association) are still intact.

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. A number of annexations occurred in later years that further expanded the City of Santa Monica.

Early Residential Development of North Santa Monica.1 Early residential development in Santa Monica tended to be concentrated in sites nearest the ocean and around the present-day commercial core. Small communities of beach cottages, many of which were built as vacation homes for affluent out-of-towners, arose in those areas proximate to the shoreline, and several large residences were constructed on parcels atop the palisades that overlooked the ocean.2

1 Adapted from the "City of Santa Monica Historic Resources Inventory Update, Historic Context Statement" by ARG/HRG, 2018. 2 City of Santa Monica General Plan, "Historic Preservation Element," prepared by PCR Services Corporation and Historic Resources Group, September 2002, p.12-13.

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Prior to 1900, Santa Monica's growth was primarily clustered between Washington Avenue to the north, Railroad Avenue (now Colorado Avenue) to the south, 7th Street to the east, and Ocean Avenue to the west. The area of the city north of Nevada Avenue (now Wilshire Boulevard) and east of 6th Street was left largely unimproved in this early development period.3 Residential development expanded outward toward the city's periphery as Santa Monica began to come of age as a residential enclave in the early 20th century. Subdivisions of small bungalows and cottages began to pop up in portions east of the city center. Residential development beyond the city's core was aided by the proliferation of electric streetcar lines, increasing accessibility to areas that had previously been impractical to subdivide and develop.

Whereas small bungalows accounted for much of the development in the central and southern sections of the city at this time, the area north of Montana Avenue emerged as one of the city's premier and most coveted residential districts. Large swaths of undeveloped land along San Vicente Boulevard were subdivided into generously-sized residential lots, many of which were developed with large single-family residences designed in a variety of popular early 20th century architectural styles. This area assumed an upper-middle class character similar to the adjacent communities of Brentwood and Pacific Palisades.4

Gillette's Regent Square.5 One of the new residential subdivisions to open in the City north of Montana Avenue was Gillette's Regent Square, encompassing approximately 153 acres bounded by 17th Street, San Vicente Boulevard, 21st Place, and Montana Avenue. Razor magnate King C. Gillette purchased the land in 1911, and subdivided it a year later, creating 570 lots with an average size of 60 feet by 150 feet. Gillette's sales agent, the L.D. Loomis Company, marketed the new Gillette's Regent Square tract as a "masterpiece subdivision" with the latest modern features, from paved streets to city sewer lines.6

Sanborn maps and tax assessor records; however, show that few of the parcels were improved until the 1920s, suggesting that speculators were the subdivision's initial buyers. Contractor/developers purchased multiple lots in Gillette's Regent Square building one house at a time for new owners, usually using in-house designers rather than professional architects. Confirming this was a Los Angeles Times piece that appeared in 1920 announcing "excellent progress in the improvements of Gillette's Regent Square subdivision" including the completion of paved streets, sewers, cement sidewalks and curbs, fire hydrants, landscaped parkways with ornamental shrubbery, and large lots at least 18 inches above street level.7 The article concluded, "Contracts have been let for the construction of a number of residences and work

3 Santa Monica Citywide Historic Resources Inventory Update Final Report, prepared by ICF Jones & Stokes, 2010. 4 "444 21st Street, Santa Monica: Landmark and Structure of Merit Preliminary Assessment Report," prepared by Architectural Resources Group, Inc., February 2015, p.6. 5 Adapted from the "City of Santa Monica Historic Resources Inventory Update, Historic Context Statement" by ARG/HRG, 2018. 6 "444 21st Street, Santa Monica: Landmark and Structure of Merit Preliminary Assessment Report," prepared by Architectural Resources Group, Inc., February 2015, p.6. 7 "At Regent Square." Los Angeles Times, June 6, 1920, p.V2.

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will be commenced immediately," suggesting that not much in the way of new home building had occurred prior to that time.

Gillette's Regent Square was a popular subdivision among professionals and white collar workers, providing the middle- and upper-income housing that was in high demand during the Santa Monica building boom in the 1920s. Most of its residences were designed in Period Revival styles, with Spanish Colonial Revival and Tudor Revival most prominently represented, in a range of scales from modest one-story homes to large two-story mansions. Even the designs of the smaller residences were well articulated examples of Period Revival architecture, reflecting the relative wealth and status of the area's residents. Gillette's Regent Square was well served by the streetcar lines that ran along San Vicente Boulevard and Montana Avenue, and boasted larger lots than many other neighborhoods in Santa Monica.8

Because of the weak economy during the Great Depression, building activity in the area and throughout Santa Monica slowed dramatically. During this time of hardship, Santa Monica actively attempted to attract investors to the area in an effort to improve the city's prospects.9 Advertisements of the time also prominently described available and convenient local transportation in efforts to attract commuters from Los Angeles. While some of the remaining open parcels in the area were sold at that time and developed with new homes, much of the overall tract was developed by 1940. Historical photographs and tax assessor records indicate that the area's remaining available parcels were improved in the decade after World War II. The subject property located 633 21st Street was a post-World War era home that was also part of the speculative development trend.

Single-Family Residence, 633 21st Street. The single-family house at 633 21st Street was developed within the Gillette's Regent Square tract at the northeast corner of 21st Street and Alta Avenue in 1949. It was one of dozens of postwar homes built in the neighborhood that reflected the ubiquitous styles of Minimal Traditional and Ranch popular at that time.

According to the building permit dating from 1949, the house was built (and owned) by Ludlow and Owens of Santa Monica at a cost of $17,300. A detached garage was also built on site at a cost value of $1,000. The original permits did not include the listing of an architect for the design the house or garage. Lawrence H. Ludlow, a plastering contractor, and Richard L. Owens, a carpenter, teamed up together to develop the parcel as a speculative investment. As such, the design of the structure was probably based upon illustrated plans and styles provided in available design books of the period.

It appears the house took around six months to build. Upon completion it was immediately put up for sale and advertised in the Los Angeles Times classified section from February 1950. The Los Angeles Times real estate listing from February 17, 1950, described the property as a

8 Ibid, p.7. 9 Paula A. Scott. Santa Monica: A History on the Edge (Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2004), p.105-113.

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