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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-14-2016 Item 16 Addition of the property at 535 Higuera to the Master List of Historic Resources at the "Robert Pollard House" Meeting Date: 6/14/2016 FROM: Michael Codron, Director of Community Development Prepared By: Walter Oetzell, Assistant Planner SUBJECT: ADDITION OF THE PROPERTY AT 535 HIGUERA TO THE MASTER LIST OF HISTORIC RESOURCES AS “THE ROBERT POLLARD HOUSE” RECOMMENDATION As recommended by the Cultural Heritage Committee, adopt a resolution (Attachment A) adding the property at 535 Higuera Street to the Master List of Historic Resources as “The Robert Pollard House.” DISCUSSION Background The property owner has requested that the property located at 535 Higuera Street be included in the City’s Master List of Historic Resources as The Robert Pollard House. The property is not currently included in the City’s Inventory of Historic Resources, nor is it located within an historic district. On April 25, 2016 the Cultural Heritage Committee considered this request. The Committee found that the property meets eligibility criteria for historic listing and recommended that the City Council add the property to the Master List of Historic Resources. Site and Setting The site is located just beyond the western edge of the downtown area, on the south side of Higuera Street, between Carmel and Nipomo Streets, in a Retail Commercial (C-R) Zone. The immediate surroundings are characterized by small-scale commercial development mixed with older single-family homes. Many of the residential structures are older buildings with historical character, particularly along the westerly end of Higuera. However, only a few properties in the immediate area are listed historic resources, including: the Norcross House (546 Higuera), the Creamery (570 Higuera), and the Jack House (536 Marsh), all Master List Historic Resources; and the Wilkenson House (412 Marsh), a Contributing List Resource. The property is a rectangular parcel, 10,430 square feet in area, developed with a single-family residence estimated to have been built around 1876, a detached garage and a small cottage constructed later. The applicant and James Papp have prepared a narrative description of history of the property (Attachment C), the house, and the people associated with them. This report 16 Packet Pg. 438 summarizes relevant information from the applicant’s narrative. Building Architecture As described in the applicant’s narrative, the residence is “a single story in plain ranch house style” sheathed in wood shiplap siding, with gabled roof forms and a covered porch. The architect is not identified, but the builder was Robert Pollard, an early resident of San Luis Obispo who as further described in this report, was active in local civic affairs. The Pollard Family Robert Pollard, born in Virginia and educated in New Orleans, came to San Luis Obispo in 1852. He was the brother of Samuel Pollard, of Cambria, who was himself, as detailed in the applicant’s historical narrative, an influential local figure active in the civic affairs of 19th Century San Luis Obispo County. After his arrival in San Luis Obispo, Robert Pollard held several important public posts, including Assistant Postmaster, Deputy Assessor, and Deputy Recorder. He was later elected County Coroner and appointed San Luis Obispo City Clerk. His personal life was similarly active: he was elected secretary of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church and appointed to the committee soliciting building funds to build the church; installed as Noble Grand of the Odd Fellow’s Chorro Lodge; and elected Secretary of the San Luis Obispo Society of Pioneers. Robert Pollard married Jane Chesney in 1874, and together they had three children: Harr y, Mary Frances, and Josephine. Mary Frances Pollard worked for the San Luis Obispo Tribune as a compositor (typesetter) and was a signatory to the charter of the local International Typographical Union Chapel 576. Josephine Pollard owned a millinery store in the Charles Johnson Building on Chorro Street. The Pollard family lived in the house since its construction, until Robert Pollard’s death in 1911. The family relocated to Los Angeles, but all are now buried in the San Luis Cemetery. E.D. Bray and Pauline Bray Martin Egbert Delaney “E.D” Bray was a prominent Central Coast architect and builder. He arrived in Cambria with his family from Missouri in 1877, started business in Santa Maria, and relocated the business to San Luis Obispo in 1909. The applicant’s historical narrative describes the distinctive nature of E.D. Bray’s buildings, which include, among many listed historic resources, the Crossett House and Righetti Apartments, both Master List Historic Resources. He lived in the house at 535 Higuera since 1916, leaving it in 1935 to live with his daughter Leola on Peach Street until his death in 1946. Pauline Bray, E.D. Bray’s daughter was the first woman to work in a bank in San Luis Obispo, hired by the Commercial Bank in 1917. She also sang, played piano, performed radio theater and comedy, and entertained in prominent homes throughout the City. In 1935, after her father moved to Peach Street, she moved into the house at 535 Higuera with her husband, Gene Martin, and her daughter, Jean Martin, who continues to occupy the house to this day, carrying on the memories of its builder and former occupants. 16 Packet Pg. 439 Evaluation of Eligibility for Listing Inclusion in the City’s Master List of Historic Resources is limited to the most unique and important historic properties and resources in terms of age, architectural or historical significance, rarity, or association with important persons or evens in the City’s past. To be eligible for such listing, an historic resource must exhibit a high level of historic integrity, be at least 50 years old, and meet one or more of the eligibility criteria described in § 14.01.070 of the Historic Preservation Ordinance (see Attachment D). Architectural Criteria The house satisfies criteria under § 14.01.070 A (1) (b) related to architectural style. The simple rectangular plan, unadorned wood frame construction, simple window pattern and detail, and gabled roof of the house exhibits a vernacular architectural style representative of the period of San Luis Obispo’s establishment as a City in the last decades of the 19th Century. The architect of the building is unknown, as is common with such early vernacular structures, but the house is one of the few remaining examples of residential development from this early period of the City’s history. Historic Criteria The house is closely associated with the lives of several persons important to local history, as summarized in this report and detailed in the applicant’s historical narrative, satisfying criteria under § 14.01.070 (B) (1) and (B) (3) related to historical persons and context. Robert Pollard was the builder of the house, and lived in it for the remainder of his life, about 35 years. He was particularly significant to the community as a public servant, having conducted a multitude of important functions in San Luis Obispo County and City government during its earliest days, and through his involvement in the development of the local Episcopal Church, and in the Odd Fellows Lodge and San Luis Obispo Society of Pioneers. Its subsequent owner, E.D. Bray, designed many signature buildings that continue to reflect the patterns of early 20th Century residential development in the City, and occupied the house for almost 20 years. These accomplishments are echoed by the participation of Mary Frances Pollard in the establishment of a local labor organization and by Pauline Bray Martin’s pioneering entry into the financial sector. Mary Frances Pollard lived in the house with her father until his death in 1911. After the death of E.D. Bra y, Pauline Bray Martin continued to own and occupy the house with her husband, Gene Martin, and their children. Her daughter, Jean Martin, owns and continues to occupy the house to this day. Integrity The house also satisfies criteria under § 14.01.070 (C), related to historical integrity: as it sits on the site on which it was built in the late 19th Century and occupies its original foundation. Minor additions have been made to the structure, but its residential character and vernacular style have been preserved by retention of the basic elements of its simple design: the unadorned wood 16 Packet Pg. 440 frame construction, shiplap siding, gable roof forms, and simple window pattern and detail. Smaller structures have been added to the property, but the residential setting and the feeling and association with early 19th Century residential development in the City have been retained, as the structures are small and located in the rear of the lot, inconspicuous to the viewer. Conclusion According to the information in the applicant’s narrative documenting the historical significance and architectural character of the house, the property is eligible for designation as a Master List Historic Resource because of the rarity of the late 19th Century residential vernacular style o f the house, (§ 14.01.070 (A) (1) (b) – Architectural Criteria: Style), its association with the lives of historically important people and major patterns of local history (§ 14.01.070 (B) – Historic Criteria), and the authenticity of its physical identity (§ 14.01.070 (C) - Integrity). ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW This project is categorically exempt from the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). It is limited to preservation of historical resources, as described in § 15331 of the CEQA Guidelines. FISCAL IMPACT Listing of the property as a Master List Historic Resource will have no fiscal impacts. ALTERNATIVES 1. Do not add the property to the City’s Master List of Historic Resources, based on finding that the property does not satisfy the criteria for designation as a listed Historic Resource. 2. Continue the item for additional information or discussion Attachments: 16.a a - Draft Resolution 16.b b - Vicinity Map 16.c c - Applicant Narrative 16.d d - Historic Criteria (Historic Preservation Ordinance) 16 Packet Pg. 441 R ______ RESOLUTION NO. _______ (2016 SERIES) A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO, CALIFORNIA, ADDING THE PROPERTY AT 535 HIGUERA STREET TO THE MASTER LIST OF HISTORIC RESOURCES AS “THE ROBERT POLLARD HOUSE” (HIST-2793-2016) WHEREAS, applicant Jean Martin filed an application on February 23, 2016, for review of the inclusion of the property at 535 Higuera Street (“the Property”) on the City’s Master List of Historic Resources; and WHEREAS, the Cultural Heritage Committee of the City of San Luis Obispo conducted a public hearing in the Council Hearing Room of City Hall, 990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo, California, on April 25, 2016, and recommended that the City Council add the Property to the Master List of Historic Resources; and WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of San Luis Obispo conducted a public hearing on June 14, 2016, for the purpose of considering the request to add the Property to the Master List of Historic Resources; and WHEREAS, the City Council has duly considered all evidence, including the record of the Cultural Heritage Committee hearing and recommendation, testimony of the applicant and interested parties, and the evaluation and recommendation by staff, presented at said hearing. NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the City Council of the City of San Luis Obispo as follows: SECTION 1. Findings. Based upon all the evidence, the City Council makes the following findings: 1. The house is eligible for the Master List of Historic Resources because it satisfies more than one of the evaluation criteria for historic resource listing described in the Historic Preservation Ordinance, exhibits a high level of historic integrity, and, being depicted on a Sanborn Map prepared in 1903, is more than 50 years old. 2. The house satisfies evaluation criteria for historic resources listing related to architectural style (§14.01.070 A). It is a rare remaining example of an owner-built residence exhibiting a vernacular style representative of the period of San Luis Obispo’s establishment as a City in the last decades of the 19th Century. 3. The house satisfies evaluation criteria for historic resources listing related to histor ical persons and with predominant patterns the City’s history (§14.01.070 B(1) and B(3)). It is closely associated with Robert Pollard, who held many important public posts and made important contributions to local institutions during the City’s early hist ory, and E.D. Bray, a noted local architect with several works included in the City’s Inventory of Historic Resources. It is also associated with Mary Frances Pollard, who participated in 16.a Packet Pg. 442 At t a c h m e n t 1 6 . a : a - D r a f t R e s o l u t i o n ( 1 3 7 1 : M a s t e r L i s t i n g : R o b e r t P o l l a r d H o u s e ( 5 3 5 H i g u e r a ) ) Resolution No. _____ (2016 Series) Page 2 the establishment of a local labor organization, and with Pauline Bray Martin, the first woman to work in the local banking sector. 4. The house exhibits a high level of historic integrity and satisfies evaluation criteria for historic resources listing related to historic integrity (§14.01.070 C). The structure occupies its original site and the extent of its original foundation. The residential character and vernacular style of the house have been preserved, despite subsequent additions, by retention of the basic elements of its simple design: the unadorned wood frame construction, shiplap siding, gable roof forms, and simple window pattern and detail. The residential setting and the feeling and association with early 19th Century residential development in the City have been retained with the location of additional structures to the property, as the added structures are small and located in the rear of the lot, inconspicuous to the viewer. SECTION 2. Environmental Determination. The project is categorically exempt from the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), as it is limited to the designation of a historical resource, an action taken to preserve a historical resource, as described in §15331 of the CEQA Guidelines. SECTION 3. Action. The City Council of the City of San Luis Obispo does hereby determine that the property located at 535 Higuera Street does qualify for listing as a Historic Resources and hereby approves the addition of the property to the Master List of Historic Resources as "The Robert Pollard House.” Upon motion of Council Member ________, seconded by Council Member ________, and on the following roll call vote: AYES: NOES: ABSENT: The foregoing resolution was passed and adopted this 14th day of June, 2016. ___________________________________________ Mayor Jan Marx ATTEST: __________________________________________ Lee Price, MMC Interim City Clerk APPROVED AS TO FORM: 16.a Packet Pg. 443 At t a c h m e n t 1 6 . a : a - D r a f t R e s o l u t i o n ( 1 3 7 1 : M a s t e r L i s t i n g : R o b e r t P o l l a r d H o u s e ( 5 3 5 H i g u e r a ) ) Resolution No. _____ (2016 Series) Page 3 ____________________________________ J. Christine Dietrick City Attorney IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the official seal of the City of San Luis Obispo, California, this ______ day of ______________, _________. ______________________________ Lee Price, MMC Interim City Clerk 16.a Packet Pg. 444 At t a c h m e n t 1 6 . a : a - D r a f t R e s o l u t i o n ( 1 3 7 1 : M a s t e r L i s t i n g : R o b e r t P o l l a r d H o u s e ( 5 3 5 H i g u e r a ) ) C-R C-R C-D C-D C-R HI G U E R A VIC INITY MAP HIST-2793-2016535 Higu era St ¯ 16.b Packet Pg. 445 At t a c h m e n t 1 6 . b : b - V i c i n i t y M a p ( 1 3 7 1 : M a s t e r L i s t i n g : R o b e r t P o l l a r d H o u s e ( 5 3 5 H i g u e r a ) )  1   The  Robert  Pollard  House,  535  Higuera  Street   Application  for  Master  List  Status   Owner  and  Applicant:  Jean  A.  Martin   1.  Introduction   2.  Timeline   3.  The  Genealogy  of  535  Higuera  Street   4.  Early  Images  of  the  Norcross,  Pollard,  and  Jack  Houses   5.  The  Evolution  of  the  House   6.  Occupants   The  Builder:  Robert  Pollard   Union  Founder  Franky  Pollard  and  Businesswoman  Jo  Pollard   Architect-­‐Builder  E.  D.  Bray   Banker  Pauline  Bray  Martin   Introduction   The  Robert  Pollard  House,  which  dates  from  1876,  is  one  of  a  cluster  of  three  of  San  Luis   Obispo’s  oldest  surviving  residential  wooden  structures  in  the  city’s  West  End  district.       Figure  1:  Pollard  House  façade,  2015   The  other  two,  the  Norcross  House,  dating  from  1873  or  1874  (San  Luis  Obispo  Tribune,  25   April  1874),  and  the  Jack  House,  from  1878  (San  Luis  Obispo  Tribune,  27  July  1878),  are   both  in  the  Master  List  and  the  latter,  with  its  gardens,  in  the  National  Register  of  Historic   Places.  All  three  were  built  by  significant  San  Luis  Obispo  pioneers;  occupy  their  original   locations;  and  are,  in  their  street  appearance,  little  changed  from  the  time  of  their   construction.  A  passerby  of  1876  would  instantly  recognize  the  Pollard  House  today,  with   its  roof  sloping  toward  the  street,  a  separate  front  porch  roof  running  the  width  of  the   façade,  and  twinned  front  windows.  A  visitor  of  1876  would  find  the  same  doors,  door   hardware,  window  glass,  and  interior  arrangements  in  the  front  section  of  the  house.     16.c Packet Pg. 446 At t a c h m e n t 1 6 . c : c - A p p l i c a n t N a r r a t i v e ( 1 3 7 1 : M a s t e r L i s t i n g : R o b e r t P o l l a r d H o u s e ( 5 3 5 H i g u e r a ) )  2   The  Pollard  House  appears  in  the  iconic  1877  engraving  Bird’s-­‐Eye  View  of  San  Luis   Obispo.  Its  absence  from  the  earliest  photographic  panoramas  of  the  city,  by  Thomas   Houseworth  and  Carleton  Watkins,  helps  us  date  both  of  those  works  to  1873–76.     In  contrast  to  the  Italianate  Jack  House  and  carpenter  Gothic  Norcross  House,  both   two  stories,  the  Pollard  is  a  single  story  in  plain  ranch  house  style.  It  rivals  the  Jack  House,   however,  for  primary  and  secondary  documentation.  Only  two  families  have  owned  the   Pollard  House,  and  the  second  remained  in  close  communication  with  the  first.   Not  only  did  County  Coroner  and  City  Clerk  Robert  Pollard  build  and,  for  the   remaining  thirty-­‐five  years  of  his  life,  occupy  the  house,  but  it  was  the  birthplace  and   residence  of  compositor  and  early  union  local  founder  Mary  Frances  “Franky”  Pollard  and   independent  businesswoman  Josephine  “Jo”  Pollard;  the  prominent  Central  Coast  architect-­‐ builder  E.  D.  Bray  during  his  most  productive  San  Luis  Obispo  period;  and  Pauline  Bray   Martin  while  she  worked  as  the  first  woman  banker  in  San  Luis  Obispo.     In  addition,  the  Pollard  House  and  property  are  a  physical  reminder  of  the  social  and   business  network  of  gentiles  and  Jews  in  late-­‐nineteenth-­‐century  San  Luis,  maintained  to  a   large  extent  through  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows.       16.c Packet Pg. 447 At t a c h m e n t 1 6 . c : c - A p p l i c a n t N a r r a t i v e ( 1 3 7 1 : M a s t e r L i s t i n g : R o b e r t P o l l a r d H o u s e ( 5 3 5 H i g u e r a ) )  3   Timeline     1832  Robert  Pollard  born  in  Richmond,  Virginia  August  16   1850–52  Merchant  Samuel  Adams  Pollard,  who  came  West  for  the  Mexican-­‐American   War,  serves  as  postmaster,  county  recorder,  clerk,  deputy  treasurer,  district   attorney,  and  first  chair  of  the  board  of  supervisors  in  San  Luis  Obispo   1852  Robert  Pollard  moves  to  the  county  at  his  brother  Samuel’s  urging;  sets  up  in   business  in  Cambria   1861–65  Robert  Pollard  returns  to  Virginia  to  fight  in  the  Civil  War   1869  Tomas  Higuera  grants  deed  for  lots  on  Higuera  Street  to  John  Allan  July  17   1873  Robert  Pollard  elected  secretary  of  St.  Stephen’s  Episcopal  Church  in  San  Luis   Obispo  and  appointed  to  committee  to  solicit  building  funds   1874  Robert  Pollard  marries  Jane  Chesney   1875  John  Allan  grants  deed  for  lot  on  Higuera  to  Max  Pepperman  September  15   1875  Robert  Pollard  installed  as  Noble  Grand  of  IOOF  Chorro  Lodge  (SLO)   1876  Mary  Frances  Pollard  born  in  April;  Max  Pepperman  grants  deed  for  Higuera   Street  lot  to  Robert  Pollard  May  1   1877  Robert  Pollard  elected  county  coroner   1879  Robert  Pollard  elected  secretary  of  San  Luis  Obispo  Society  of  Pioneers;   appointed  city  clerk  of  San  Luis  Obispo  March  3,  serving  till  March  21,  1881   1894  Mary  Frances  Pollard  hired  by  San  Luis  Obispo  Tribune.  Her  first  paycheck  pays   for  a  dining  room  extension  to  the  house   1898  Pauline  Bray  born   1902  Mary  Frances  Pollard  co-­‐founds  International  Typographical  Union  Chapel  576   1909  E.  D.  Bray  moves  his  design  and  construction  business  from  Santa  Maria  to  the   City  of  San  Luis  Obispo   1911–30  E.  D.  Bray  designs  and  constructs  commercial  and  residential  buildings  in  San   Luis  Obispo,  including  nine  in  the  Master  and  Contributing  Lists   1911  Death  of  Robert  Pollard     1912  Pollard  family  moves  to  Los  Angeles   1912–13  The  Joseph  Green  family  of  Green  Brothers  rents  the  Pollard  House  till  E.  D.  Bray   builds  them  a  house   1913–16  The  Euer  family  rents  the  Pollard  House   1916  E.  D.  Bray  purchases  the  Pollard  House   1917  Pauline  Bray  graduates  from  high  school,  works  briefly  for  District  Attorney   Charles  A.  Palmer,  and  at  his  recommendation  is  hired  by  Commercial  Bank   as  first  woman  in  banking  in  San  Luis  Obispo   1918  Pauline  Bray  becomes  the  legal  owner  of  the  Robert  Pollard  House   1927  Pauline  Bray  marries  Gene  Martin   1933  Pauline  Bray  Martin  retires  from  banking   1934  Jean  A.  Martin  born   1935  E.  D.  Bray  leaves  the  Pollard  House  and  Pauline  Bray  Martin,  Gene  Martin,  and   Jean  Martin  move  into  it   1956  Jean  Martin  admitted  to  first  class  of  women  at  Cal  Poly  since  1930     1972  Death  of  Gene  Martin     1988  Death  of  Pauline  Bray  Martin   16.c Packet Pg. 448 At t a c h m e n t 1 6 . c : c - A p p l i c a n t N a r r a t i v e ( 1 3 7 1 : M a s t e r L i s t i n g : R o b e r t P o l l a r d H o u s e ( 5 3 5 H i g u e r a ) )  4   The  Genealogy  of  535  Higuera  Street     The  land  that  would  eventually  hold  the  Norcross,  Pollard,  and  Jack  Houses  was  known  as   the  Fields  of  Carrasco  and  acquired  by  Tomas  Higuera,  descendant  of  a  De  Anza  Expedition   family  who  came  to  San  Luis  in  1855  (Betsy  Bertrando,  “Information,  as  requested,  for  the   house  located  at  546  Higuera  Street,”  no  date:  1).  The  1870  Harris  and  Ward  map  of  San   Luis  shows  a  large  section  on  the  north  of  Higuera  Street  sold  off  to  Calvin  Mills  (via  David   Mallagh),  but  Tomas  Higuera  retains  the  south  side  of  the  street  almost  to  Pacific,  with  M.   Henderson  and  one  Haley  owning  the  Pacific  Street  frontages.  Marsh  Street  has  yet  to   continue  beyond  Nipomo.  The  1874  Harris  map  of  San  Luis  shows  Norcross  in  possession   of  his  now  smaller  lot,  Higuera  owning  the  central  part  of  the  block  where  Marsh  would   eventually  run,  and  Higuera,  J.  Allan,  A.  Godoy,  H.  M.  Warden,  and  E.  M.  Day  owning  the   Higuera  Street  frontages,  with  Allan  owning  three  lots,  on  one  of  which  the  Pollard  House   was  to  be  built.  Max  Pepperman  bought  the  lot  from  John  Allan  15  September  1875.     The  current  owner  of  the  Pollard  House,  Jean  Martin,  has   the  deed  transferring  ownership  of  the  50’-­‐wide,  300’-­‐ deep  lot  from  Max  Pepperman  to  Robert  Pollard  for  $450,   signed  1  May  1876  and  recorded  8  May  at  twenty-­‐five   minutes  past  10  a.m.  by  County  Clerk  and  Recorder   Nathan  King.  Pollard’s  daughter  Franky  attested  to  its   being  in  the  hand  of  her  father,  who  was  deputy  county   clerk  at  the  time  (Frances  Pollard,  letter  to  Pauline  Bray   Martin,  17  July  1957).  Pepperman,  along  with  the   Sinsheimers  and  Goldtrees,  was  one  of  San  Luis  Obispo’s   thriving  community  of  Jewish  merchants  and  bankers  in   the  second  half  of  the  nineteenth  century,  being  the  first   businessman  on  record  in  the  city  to  merchandise  such   holidays  as  Valentine’s  Day  and  Christmas  with  San  Luis   Obispo  Tribune  advertisements.  From  1872  to  1877  he     bought  six  lots  in  the  city  from  various  owners.   Figure  2:  Deed,  Max  Pepperman  to  Robert  Pollard,  1876.  Courtesy  of  Jean  Martin.   In  1878  Pollard  and  Pepperman  were  both  elected  trustees  of  the  Chorro  Lodge  of  the   Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  or  IOOF,  a  fraternal  organization  that  welcomed  both   Christians  and  Jews.       Figure  3:  Pepperman’s  Valentine  advertisement,  San  Luis  Obispo  Tribune,  5  February  1870.   Courtesy  of  the  History  Center  of  San  Luis  Obispo  County.   Pollard  bought  a  further  20-­‐foot  frontage  on  the  west  of  his  lot  running  from  Higuera  to   Marsh  Street  from  Isaac  Goldtree  on  27  January  1882  for  $100.  The  lot  extended  to  Marsh   16.c Packet Pg. 449 At t a c h m e n t 1 6 . c : c - A p p l i c a n t N a r r a t i v e ( 1 3 7 1 : M a s t e r L i s t i n g : R o b e r t P o l l a r d H o u s e ( 5 3 5 H i g u e r a ) )  5   Street,  and  Pollard  farmed  it.  Franky  Pollard  told  the  house’s  second  owner,  Pauline  Bray   Martin,  that  she  and  her  sister  Josephine  had  a  burial  for  one  of  their  dolls  on  the  property,   which  bordered  the  Catholic  Cemetery;  their  father  continued  to  plow  around  the  site,   thinking  it  was  a  real  grave;  and  they  never  told  him  for  fear  of  a  spanking  (Pauline  Bray   Martin,  letter  to  Louisiana  Clayton  Dart,  26  June  1969:  2).  On  February  24  ,  1879  the  San   Luis  Obispo  city  council  resolved  that  R.  E.  Jack  and  Robert  Pollard  be  granted  “the   privilege  to  tap  the  sewer  on  Marsh  Street,  for  the  purpose  of  irrigation,”  in  Jack’s  case   presumably  for  his  wife  Nellie  Hollister  Jack’s  famous  garden  (the  1880  census  lists  a   gardener  as  their  only  live-­‐in  servant)  and  in  Pollard’s  case  presumably  for  his  crops.     According  to  Pauline  Bray  Martin’s  account  from  Franky  Pollard,  the  Marsh-­‐facing   section  was  sold  in  1902  to  Mrs.  A.  M.  Lilley,  shown  in  the  May  1903  Sanborn  map  of  San   Luis  Obispo.       Figure  4:  535  Higuera  Street,  San  Luis  Obispo  Sanborn  map,  May  1903.  Courtesy  of  the   History  Center  of  San  Luis  Obispo  County.   Robert  Pollard  died  in  1911,  and  in  1912  his  family  left  San  Luis  Obispo  for  Los  Angeles,   renting  the  house  to  the  Jewish  merchant  Joseph  Green  (who  had  been  one  of  Pollard’s   pallbearers),  his  wife  Nell,  and  their  children  Kenneth  (“Pinky”)  and  Alva  (Pauline  Bray   Martin,  op.  cit.:1).  Joseph  and  Kenneth  were  both  principles  in  Green  Brothers  men’s   clothing  store,  a  longtime  San  Luis  Obispo  establishment  on  Monterey  and  later  Higuera   Streets.  They  moved  in  1913  when  E.  D.  Bray  completed  their  house  at  1042  Palm  Street   (since  demolished)  (Dan  Krieger,  “First-­‐Rate  Clothiers  Outfit  County’s  Men,”  Times  Past,   Tribune,  11  Dec.  2010;  Jean  Martin,  “E.  D.  Bray:  Architect  and  Builder  of  the  Central  Coast,”   La  Vista  2015:  92.).  The  family  of  a  railroad  man  named  Euer  lived  at  535  Higuera  till  1916,   when  Bray  purchased  the  house  and  moved  there  with  his  wife,  Bertie  Belle  Barnett,  and   children.  His  daughter  Pauline  Bray  soon  graduated  from  high  school,  went  to  work,  and   took  over  payments,  and  in  1918  ownership  was  transferred  to  her  name.  Her  mother  died   in  1934,  and  from  1935  until  his  death  in  1946,  E.  D.  Bray  lived  with  his  daughter  Leola  at   1027  Peach  Street,  while  the  Pollard  House  was  occupied  by  Pauline  Bray  Martin,  her   husband  Eugene  Martin,  and  their  one-­‐year-­‐old  daughter  Jean  Martin,  who  in  2016   continues  to  make  it  her  home.   Early  Images  of  the  Norcross,  Pollard,  and  Jack  Houses   The  two  earliest  known  panoramic  photographs  of  San  Luis  Obispo,  the  Carleton  Watkins   view  from  early  1876  (Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art  1986.1189.79)  and  the  Thomas   Houseworth  view  from  slightly  before—both  taken  from  the  rise  near  the  western  end  of   16.c Packet Pg. 450 At t a c h m e n t 1 6 . c : c - A p p l i c a n t N a r r a t i v e ( 1 3 7 1 : M a s t e r L i s t i n g : R o b e r t P o l l a r d H o u s e ( 5 3 5 H i g u e r a ) )  6   Higuera—show  the  Norcross  House  on  the  north  side  of  Higuera  and  nothing  to  the  west  of   it  on  the  other  side  of  the  street,  where  the  Allan  lots  were  in  1874  and  the  Pollard  House   would  later  be  built.     In  the  1877  Bird’s-­‐Eye  View  of  San  Luis  Obispo  engraved  by  E.  S.  Glover  and   published  by  A.  L.  Bancroft  and  Company,  San  Francisco,  the  Robert  Pollard  House  appears   in  its  current  location  and  with  its  current  configuration  and  façade:  the  gables   perpendicular  to  the  street  and  the  roof  slope  descending  to  a  columned  porch.       Figure  5:  E.  S.  Glover,  Bird’s-­‐Eye  View  of  San  Luis  Obispo,  1877  (detail).  The  old  Jack  House  is   on  the  left,  the  Norcross  House  in  the  center,  and  the  Pollard  House,  with  an  outbuilding   behind,  on  the  right.  Courtesy  of  the  History  Center  of  San  Luis  Obispo  County.   The  current  Jack  House  has  yet  to  be  built,  although  the  earlier  one  stands  directly  behind  it   on  Higuera.     In  a  panoramic  photograph  taken  from  Cerro  San  Luis  circa  1885  from  about  the   same  angle  as  the  Bird’s-­‐Eye  View,  the  Jack  House  and  the  Robert  Pollard  House  are  both   visible,  with  the  Norcross  House  between  them  behind  trees.  The  one-­‐story  Pollard  House,   with  its  roof  sloping  toward  the  street,  covering  a  porch  along  the  full  front  of  the  house,   matches  both  the  appearance  in  the  Bird’s-­‐Eye  View  and  its  appearance  today.     Figure  6:  Panoramic  photograph  of  San  Luis  Obispo  from  Cerro  San  Luis,  circa  1885  (detail).   The  Jack  House  is  on  the  left  amid  trees,  the  Norcross  House  obscured  behind  trees  in  the   middle,  and  the  Pollard  House  surrounded  by  a  white  picket  fence  and  shaded  by  two  or  three   tall  trees  on  the  right.  Courtesy  of  the  History  Center  of  San  Luis  Obispo  County.       16.c Packet Pg. 451 At t a c h m e n t 1 6 . c : c - A p p l i c a n t N a r r a t i v e ( 1 3 7 1 : M a s t e r L i s t i n g : R o b e r t P o l l a r d H o u s e ( 5 3 5 H i g u e r a ) )  7   The  Evolution  of  the  House   The  Pollard  House  today  consists  of  a  front  section  whose  roofline  runs  parallel  to  Higuera,   with  a  gable  at  each  end,  and  a  rear  one  whose  roofline  runs  perpendicular  to  Higuera,  with   a  gable  facing  Marsh.  This  arrangement  is  similar  to  the  Norcross  House,  though  there  the   front  section  is  two  stories  and  back  section  was  originally  one  story,  and,  as  attested  by   the  Watkins  and  Houseworth  photographs  circa  1876  and  Glover  Bird’s-­‐Eye  View  of  1877,   both  sections  were  built  at  the  same  time.  In  the  Bird’s-­‐Eye  View,  only  the  front  section  of   the  Pollard  House  appears.  In  the  1903  Sanborn  map—absent  two  later     east  and  west  pushouts—the  house’s   footprint  is  largely  as  it  is  today,  a   structure,  twice  as  long  as  wide,  its   narrow  end  facing  the  street.  The  rear   section  was  added  in  parts  from  1894,  the   first  with  Franky  Pollard’s  first  Tribune   paycheck  of  twenty  dollars  (Pauline  Bray   Martin,  letter  responding  to  Telegram-­‐ Tribune  Centennial  Edition,  7  August   1969).  The  exterior  wood  of  this   extension  is  visible  inside  the  cabinets  of   the  adjoining  kitchen  wall.   Figure  7:  The  Pollard  House  east  front   from  the  rear,  early  1900s,  with  a  bay   window  since  superseded  by  the  east   pushout  and  the  rear  dining  room   extension  built  1894.   The  front  door  is  at  the  east  end  of  the   façade,  under  the  porch;  paired  four-­‐light   sash  windows  with  original  panes  and   muntins  are  set  to  right.  The  interior  of   the  façade  is  occupied  by  a  parlor,  with  no   separate  entry.  A  hallway  facing  the  door   runs  from  the  parlor  along  the  original   east  wall  past  a  bedroom  on  the  west  to  a   doorway  in  what  was  the  original  south   wall,  and  into  what  is  now  a  dining  room.   The  parlor,  front  bedroom,  and  hallway   comprise  the  house  seen  in  the  1877   engraving.  Comments  by  Franky  Pollard   suggest  part  of  the  hallway  was  a  kitchen.   In  the  rear  addition  to  the  house,  behind   the  front  bedroom,  is  an  additional     Figure  8:  1894  exterior  wall  inside  kitchen   cabinet. bedroom  that  was  once  a  storeroom  with  an  external  entrance,  and  east  of  that  the  dining   room.  A  bathroom  was  added  behind  the  second  bedroom  and  new  kitchen  behind  the   dining  room  shortly  before  the  1903  Sanborn  map.     16.c Packet Pg. 452 At t a c h m e n t 1 6 . c : c - A p p l i c a n t N a r r a t i v e ( 1 3 7 1 : M a s t e r L i s t i n g : R o b e r t P o l l a r d H o u s e ( 5 3 5 H i g u e r a ) )  8   The  original  house  is  20’  wide  and  24’  deep,  for  480  square  feet.  The   storeroom/bedroom  and  dining  room  addition  added  10  feet  to  the  rear  and  the  bathroom   and  kitchen  addition  a  further  10  feet,  for  400  square  feet,  and  the  east  pushout  247  square   feet.  The  original  house  has  10’4”  ceilings,  the  dining  room  9’10”  and  the   storeroom/bedroom  9’7”  ceilings  (suggesting  they  might  have  been  added  separately).   The  History  Center’s  next  Sanborn  map  from  April  1926  shows  a  pushout  on  the  east  wall;   this  includes  a  small  bedroom  in  front,  and  behind  it  extends  the  dining  room  east.  It  was   built  before  the  tenure  of  the  Brays,  probably  while  the  Pollards  still  lived  there.  For  his   daughter  Pauline,  E.  D.  Bray  built  a  china  cabinet  separating  these  two  rooms  circa  1918;  he   also  added  wainscot  paneling  to  the  dining  room  and  pilastered  wainscot  paneling  to  the   parlor,  as  well  as  extending  the  front  porch  columns  and  rafters  into  a  pergola,  the  only   change  to  the  façade  in  140  years.  A  closet  pushout  on  the  west  wall  between  the  bedrooms   was  also  added  during  the  Bray  period,  when  Pauline  Bray  was  earning  money  as  a  bank   employee.         Figure  9:  West  front,  2015,  the  parlor  window  in  front,  the  original  bedroom’s  twin  windows,   behind,  with  a  twentieth-­‐century  closet  pushout  shared  by  the  front  and  rear  bedroom   (originally  a  storeroom)  joining  the  original  house  with  the  rear  extension.     16.c Packet Pg. 453 At t a c h m e n t 1 6 . c : c - A p p l i c a n t N a r r a t i v e ( 1 3 7 1 : M a s t e r L i s t i n g : R o b e r t P o l l a r d H o u s e ( 5 3 5 H i g u e r a ) )  9               Figure  10:  Parlor,  looking  west,  with  E.  D.  Bray’s  pilastered  paneling.  Owner  Jean  Martin   stands  between  portraits  of  her  mother,  Pauline  Bray  Martin,  the  owner  from  1918,  and   father  Eugene  Martin.  Figure  11:  Hall,  in  a  straight  line  to  the  original  rear  wall  and  probable   rear  entrance,  now  the  door  to  the  dining  room,  added  in  1894.     Figure  12:  Dining  room,  with  E.  D.  Bray’s  wainscot  paneling  and  built-­‐in  china  cabinet.   The  house  retains  many  original  windows  and  other  early  features,  such  as  button   light  switches.  Much  original  front  door  hardware  remains;  such  as  was  replaced  has  been   accessioned  into  the  collection  of  the  History  Center  of  San  Luis  Obispo  County.  In  1955– 16.c Packet Pg. 454 At t a c h m e n t 1 6 . c : c - A p p l i c a n t N a r r a t i v e ( 1 3 7 1 : M a s t e r L i s t i n g : R o b e r t P o l l a r d H o u s e ( 5 3 5 H i g u e r a ) )  10   56,  the  Martin  family  repapered  the  house  and  removed  eight  layers  of  paper  from  the   parlor  ceiling,  most  in  shades  of  red,  and  including  a  newspaper  reporting  on  President   Chester  Alan  Arthur’s  visit  to  San  Francisco  in  the  early  1880s.  Outlets  for  gas  lamps  were   discovered  at  that  time.   Outbuildings  at  the  southwest  corner  of  the  Pollard  House  appear  on  the  1903   Sanborn  map  and  are  gone  by  1926,  replaced  by  a  garage  at  the  southeast  corner.  A  later   pasteover  on  the  map,  possibly  from  1930,  includes  a  cottage  near  the  southwest  corner  of   the  house,  which  remains  today.     Pauline  Bray  Martin  writes,  “When  I  first  moved  here  in  1916,  the  street  out  front   was  just  a  dirt  road,  and  cattle  were  driven  by.  There  were  no  sidewalks,  and  there  was  a   little  picket  fence  across  the  front  of  the  lot.  In  1918,  1919,  or  1920,  I  do  not  know  which,   the  original  101  Highway  was  built  up  the  middle  of  Higuera  Street,  and  we  the  property   owners  had  to  pave  from  that  little  strip  to  our  sidewalk,  which  we  built”  (Pauline  Bray   Martin,  “Ye  Old  House  at  535  Higuera  Street,”  no  date).   The  Builder:  Robert  Pollard   Robert  Pollard  was  born  in  Richmond,  Virginia  on  16  August  1832  and  moved  with  his   parents  to  New  Orleans,  where  he  was  educated  (“The  Passing  of  Robert  Pollard,”  San  Luis   Obispo  Tribune,  27  Jan.  1911:  4).  In  1852,  at  the  urging  of  his  elder  brother  Samuel,  he  came   to  California  via  Nicaragua.             Figures  13,  14,  and  15:  Robert  Pollard  as  a  young  man,  after  the  Civil  War,  and  as  an  old  man.   Courtesy  History  Center  of  San  Luis  Obispo  County.   Samuel  Pollard,  who  had  taken  part  in  a  four-­‐thousand-­‐mile  march  from  Missouri  to   Monterrey  for  the  Mexican-­‐American  War  (Daily  Republic,  22  March  1888),  was  a   16.c Packet Pg. 455 At t a c h m e n t 1 6 . c : c - A p p l i c a n t N a r r a t i v e ( 1 3 7 1 : M a s t e r L i s t i n g : R o b e r t P o l l a r d H o u s e ( 5 3 5 H i g u e r a ) )  11     ubiquitous  presence  in  local  government  in  the  early   American  years  of  San  Luis  Obispo,  serving  in  the  1850s   and  ’60s  as  the  first  chair  of  the  county  board  of   supervisors,  county  clerk  and  recorder  and  treasurer,   school  superintendent,  justice  of  the  peace,  district   attorney,  and  (as  owner  of  the  only  store  in  the  City  of  San   Luis  Obispo)  postmaster.  He  married,  firstly,  Captain   William  Dana’s  daughter  Josepha  Dana  de  Tefft  and,   secondly,  Maria  Antonia  Robbins,  widow  of  Leandro   Roman  Branch,  thus  allying  himself  with  three  of  the   major  pioneer  families  (“Samuel  Pollard,”  Cambria  History   Exchange,  http://cambriahistory.org/?p=252  [accessed  2   Feb.  2016]).   Figure  16:  Samuel  Pollard.  Courtesy  of  the  History  Center  of  San  Luis  Obispo  County.   Samuel  Pollard  in  his  late  years  became  a  source  for  local  history  of  the  early   American  period,  writing  dramatic  newspaper  accounts  of  the  events  he  had  witnessed,   including  the  first  American  trial,  where,  since  there  was  “only  one  other  man  in  town   besides  the  judge  and  myself  who  could  read  English[,  …  c]onsequently,  the  first  pleading   before  a  court  of  law  in  this  county  was  done  by  the  aforementioned  county  recorder– merchant–postmaster–deputy  treasurer–district  attorney.  I  had  never  opened  a  law  book   in  my  life”  (Joseph  Carotenuti,  “Samuel  Adams  Pollard,”  Journal  Plus,  Aug.  2011:  32).   After  Robert  Pollard  arrival  in  the  county,  he  spent  some  years  at  Cambria  in   business.  During  the  Civil  War,  he  went  back  to  the  South  via  Panama  and  served  in  the   Washington  Artillery.  After  the  war  he  returned  to  San  Luis  Obispo  and  served  as  deputy   county  clerk  under  Charles  W.  Dana  and  Nathan  King,  assistant  postmaster  with  Jacob   Simmler,  then  as  deputy  assessor  and  deputy  recorder  (“The  Passing  of  Robert  Pollard”;   Pauline  Bray  Martin,  letter  to  Louisiana  Clayton  Dart:  1).  He  was  also  the  city  clerk  of  San   Luis  Obispo  1879–81  under  Mayor  W.  A.  Henderson.  Myron  Angel  writes  of  Pollard’s   election  as  county  coroner  in  1877,  the  year  after  he  built  the  house  on  Higuera,  beating  the   Republican  candidate  1,027  to  931.  Angel  also  notes  his  election  as  secretary  of  St.   Stephen’s  Episcopal  Church  in  1873  (land  developer  Chauncey  Phillips  was  treasurer)  and   his  presence  on  the  committee  of  three  (with  Judge  McD.  R.  Venable  and  M.  Henderson)  to   solicit  funds  to  build  the  church.     16.c Packet Pg. 456 At t a c h m e n t 1 6 . c : c - A p p l i c a n t N a r r a t i v e ( 1 3 7 1 : M a s t e r L i s t i n g : R o b e r t P o l l a r d H o u s e ( 5 3 5 H i g u e r a ) )  12     Figure  17:  Robert  Pollard  (right)  with  “Uncle  Henry  Loobliner”  (as  described  by  Frances   Pollard  on  the  back  of  the  photo),  Jewish  merchant  who  became  IOOF  noble  grand  two  years   after  Pollard’s  term  finished,  in  front  of  Loobliner’s  store  in  San  Luis  Obispo,  circa  1890.   Courtesy  of  the  History  Center  of  San  Luis  Obispo  County.   Angel  includes  Robert  Pollard’s  installation  as  Noble  Grand,  the  highest  office  of  the  IOOF’s   Chorro  Lodge,  in  1875  and  his  election  as  founding  secretary  of  San  Luis  Obispo’s  Society  of   Pioneers  in  1879  (Myron  Angel,  History  of  San  Luis  Obispo  County  [Oakland:  Thompson  and   West,  1882]:  160,  282,  197,  209).  Pollard  was  also  involved  in  the  crude  oil  and  asphalt   business  in  Edna  Valley  (Pauline  Bray  Martin,  letter  to  Louisiana  Clayton  Dart:  2).  There   was  previous  evidence  of  an  asphalt  drive  leading  to  a  carriage  house  on  the  property.  He   also  appears,  from  a  photograph  inscription  in  the  History  Center,  to  have  had  a  ranch  in   the  area  of  Arroyo  Grande.  A  brand  for  Robert  Pollard  is  registered  in  1877.   In  1874  Pollard  married  Jane  Chesney  of  Somerset,  Kentucky,  then  thirty-­‐four,  in   Paso  Robles.     16.c Packet Pg. 457 At t a c h m e n t 1 6 . c : c - A p p l i c a n t N a r r a t i v e ( 1 3 7 1 : M a s t e r L i s t i n g : R o b e r t P o l l a r d H o u s e ( 5 3 5 H i g u e r a ) )  13               Figure  18:  Robert  Pollard’s  brand.  Courtesy  of  Jean  Martin.  Figure  19:  Jane  Chesney  Pollard   about  the  time  of  her  marriage.  Courtesy  of  the  History  Center  of  San  Luis  Obispo  County.           Figure  20:  Frances  Pollard  on  ground  on  left,  Robert  (standing)  and  Jane  Pollard  (seated  in   chair)  in  the  center,  behind  535  Higuera  (at  left)  looking  toward  Cerro  San  Luis.  Figure  21:   Siblings  Harry  (seated  left)  and  Frances  and  Josephine  (standing),  circa  1920s.  Courtesy  of  the   History  Center  of  San  Luis  Obispo  County.   They  had  three  children:  Harry,  Frances  (Franky),  and  Josephine  (Jo).  Franky  was  born  the   month  before  Robert  Pollard  purchased  the  property  on  Higuera.  After  thirty-­‐five  years  of   residence  in  the  house,  Robert  Pollard  died  and  received  his  obsequies  there,  and  was   16.c Packet Pg. 458 At t a c h m e n t 1 6 . c : c - A p p l i c a n t N a r r a t i v e ( 1 3 7 1 : M a s t e r L i s t i n g : R o b e r t P o l l a r d H o u s e ( 5 3 5 H i g u e r a ) )  14   buried  in  the  IOOF  cemetery,  his  pallbearers  including  such  notables  as  George  McCabe  and   August  Vollmer,  as  well  as  Joseph  Green,  who  would  be  the  next  occupant  of  his  house  (“A   Pioneer’s  Funeral,”  Tribune,  [?]  Jan.  1911).  Jane  Chesney  Pollard’s  remains  were  returned   to  San  Luis  Obispo  for  burial  in  1920,  when  her  pallbearers  included  George  McCabe  and   Morris  Green,  another  principle  in  Green  Brothers.  Robert  Pollard  and  his  wife  and  three   children  are  all  buried  in  the  IOOF  cemetery,  also  known  as  San  Luis  Cemetery.             Figures  22  and  23:  Pollard  family  markers,  San  Luis  Cemetery   Franky  and  Jo  Pollard   Mary  Frances  Pollard  was  born  in  April  1876,  her  sister  Josephine  in  January  1878.   According  to  Pauline  Bray  Martin,  Franky  Pollard  worked  as  a  “printer”  for  the  San  Luis   Obispo  Tribune  and  claimed  to  have  earned  her  first  paycheck  from  the  newspaper  in  1894   (Pauline  Bray  Martin,  letter  responding  to  Telegram-­‐Tribune  Centennial  Edition,  7  August   1969).  In  the  1900  census  of  the  Pollard  House,  however,  both  she  and  her  sister  are  listed   as  milliners,  along  with  a  twenty-­‐eight-­‐year-­‐old  lodger  in  the  house,  Anne  Fairbanks.   Perhaps  this  was  because  of  a  break  in  Franky’s  Tribune  work.  The  San  Luis  Obispo  City   and  County  Directory  of  1901  (J.  M.  Deeds)  lists  Josephine  as  a  milliner  and  her  sister  as  a   compositor,  and  on  27  December  1902  Mary  F.  Pollard  was  the  only  woman  with  six  men   who  was  a  signer  of  the  charter  of  one  of  San  Luis  Obispo’s  earliest  union  locals,  Chapel  576   of  the  International  Typographical  Union.  The  charter  still  hung  in  the  newpaper’s   composing  room  in  1969  (San  Luis  Obispo  County  Telegram-­‐Tribune,  7  August  1969).   Pollard  worked  for  the  Tribune  under  Benjamin  Brooks,  who,  from  1886  to  1922,  was  the   longest  serving  editor  and  owner  of  the  newspaper  (David  Middlecamp,  “The  Storied  Life  of   a  Tribune  Owner,”  Photos  from  the  Vault,  Tribune,  13  May  2012).     16.c Packet Pg. 459 At t a c h m e n t 1 6 . c : c - A p p l i c a n t N a r r a t i v e ( 1 3 7 1 : M a s t e r L i s t i n g : R o b e r t P o l l a r d H o u s e ( 5 3 5 H i g u e r a ) )  15                 Figures  24  and  25:  Mary  Frances  Pollard  circa  1900  and  Jo  Pollard  circa  1920s.  Courtesy  of   the  History  Center  of  San  Luis  Obispo  County.   Leaving  San  Luis  for  Los  Angeles  with  her  mother  and  sister  in  1912,  Franky  worked   for  the  Germaine  Seed  Company  for  twenty  years  and  moved  to  Santa  Barbara  in  1961,   dying  in  1967  at  the  age  of  ninety.  She  contributed  to  the  Telegram-­‐Tribune’s  Centurama   feature,  celebrating  the  hundredth  anniversary  of  San  Luis  Obispo  cityhood,  in  May  of  1956   (“Frances  Pollard  Reminisces  over  Old  Times,”  Telegram-­‐Tribune,  Apr.–May  1956).     Franky’s  younger  sister  Jo  owned  a  millinery  store  in  the  Charles  Johnson  Building   on  Chorro  Street  between  Monterey  and  Higuera,  “the  handsome  display  in  the  windows   inevitably  arresting  the  attention  of  every  passerby[,  …]  the  fabrics  choice  and  the  fashions   of  the  very  latest,”  according  to  an  article  in  the  Tribune  (“The  New  Millinery  Store,”  San   Luis  Obispo  Tribune,  no  date).  Both  sisters  continued  to  visit  San  Luis  Obispo  and  the   Pollard  House  during  summers  while  the  Martins  were  in  residence.  “I  know  you  love  the   old  home  as  I  do,”  Frances  Pollard  wrote  to  Pauline  Bray  Martin  in  1957  (Mary  Frances   Pollard,  letter  to  Pauline  Bray  Martin,  17  July  1957).   Architect-­‐Builder  E.  D.  Bray   “Egbert  Delaney  Bray  was  among  the  prominent  self-­‐made  architects,  engineers,  and   contractors  who  made  the  towns  of  the  Central  Coast  in  the  early  twentieth  century”  (Jean   Martin:  83–94).  Bray  was  born  in  Crawford  County,  Missouri  in  1868.  His  family  was   associated  with  the  Hearsts  and  moved  to  Cambria  when  he  was  nine.  They  also  lived  in   Arroyo  Grande.  E.  D.  Bray’s  father  was  a  carpenter,  and  E.  D.  trained  with  relations  who   were  carpenters  in  the  Los  Angeles  area,  including  for  the  movie  studios  (ibid.).     After  his  1893  marriage  he  moved  first  to  San  Luis,  where  Pauline  Bray  was  born  in   1898,  and  then  Santa  Maria,  where  he  started  his  business  as  a  builder,  contractor,   engineer,  and  architect.  His  late  Arts  and  Craft–style  buildings  were  noted  for  fine  detail,   and  he  had  numerous  wealthy  families  among  his  clients.  Bray  studied  with  the  San  Jose   16.c Packet Pg. 460 At t a c h m e n t 1 6 . c : c - A p p l i c a n t N a r r a t i v e ( 1 3 7 1 : M a s t e r L i s t i n g : R o b e r t P o l l a r d H o u s e ( 5 3 5 H i g u e r a ) )  16   architects  Frank  Delos  Wolfe  and  Charles  McKenzie,  a  number  of  whose  buildings  are  in  the   National  Register  of  Historic  Places.  McKenzie  designed  the  Master  List  Barneberg  House.   Annie  L.  Morrison  and  John  H.  Haydon’s  1917  History  of  San  Luis  Obispo  County  and   Environs  credits  Bray  with  fifty-­‐seven  buildings  in  Santa  Maria,  including  prominent   houses,  four  business  blocks,  the  Christian  Church,  and  Masonic  Temple.  In  1909  he  moved   his  business  to  San  Luis  Obispo,  where  he  specialized  in  residential  architecture,  including   mansions,  apartment  buildings,  and  modest  bungalows.       Figure  26:  E.  D.  Bray  (in  suit)  and  his  construction  crew  in  front  of  the  Wilkinson  House,  412   Marsh  Street,  1915  (detail).  Courtesy  of  the  History  Center  of  San  Luis  Obispo  County.   Bray’s  buildings  are  instantly  recognizable  for  their  interior  craftsmanship,  exterior   touches  like  cut-­‐outs  in  exposed  rafters  under  eaves,  and  their  gracious  proportions.   Prominent  Bray  buildings  in  San  Luis  Obispo  include  the  Crossett  House  and  Righetti   Apartments  (both  in  the  Master  List);  1346  Morro,  the  Robasciotti  Houses  (862  and  872   Toro),  the  Wilkinson  House  (412  Marsh),  and  the  Emery  House  and  Todd  House  (1176  and   1190  Pismo),  all  in  the  Contributing  List;  and  the  Wickenden  House  at  Johnson  and  Higuera   (now  Matt  Kokkonen’s  office)  and  the  Easton  Mills  House  at  Johnson  and  Pacific  (now  the   Dorothy  D.  Rupe  Center  Hospice).  He  did  not,  however,  live  in  one  of  his  own  buildings.  He   purchased  the  Pollard  House,  made  minimal  changes  to  it  (mostly  inside),  and  transferred   ownership  of  it  to  his  daughter  Pauline  Bray  while  continuing  to  live  in  it  till  1935.   Banker  Pauline  Bray  Martin   Pauline  Marguerite  Bray  married  Alford  Eugene  “Gene”  Martin,  the  son  of  Robert  Franklin   and  Henrietta  Newlove  Martin,  for  whom  Bray  built  a  grand  house  at  800  South  Broadway   in  Santa  Maria  that  later  served  as  the  Santa  Maria  Club  and  Landmark  Square.  (The   Newloves  had  discovered  oil  on  their  property  on  Mount  Solomon.)  Pauline,  graduating   from  San  Luis  Obispo  High  School  in  1917,  went  to  work  for  a  lawyer,  then  for  District   Attorney  Charles  A.  Palmer,  and  then  (when  Palmer  decided  not  to  run  again)  for  the   16.c Packet Pg. 461 At t a c h m e n t 1 6 . c : c - A p p l i c a n t N a r r a t i v e ( 1 3 7 1 : M a s t e r L i s t i n g : R o b e r t P o l l a r d H o u s e ( 5 3 5 H i g u e r a ) )  17   Commercial  Bank,  one  of  two  banks  in  the  city.  Palmer,  president  of  the  Board  of  Education,   convinced  Mr.  Kemper,  a  member  of  the  board  and  cashier  of  the  bank,  who  had  decided  to   try  employing  a  woman,  to  hire  Pauline  Bray.     Pauline  Bray  was  the  first  woman  to  work  in  any  bank  in  San  Luis  Obispo.  She  took   care  of  correspondence  and  remittances  from  other  banks,  made  up  the  deposits  for   Atascadero  founder  E.  G.  Lewis,  inspected  and  filed  checks,  managed  the  safe  deposit  vault   and  customers,  and  proved  all  transactions  at  the  end  of  the  day  before  the  other   employees  could  leave.  Her  salary  rose  from  $50  to  $140  per  month,  and  by  the  time  of  her   retirement  in  1933,  there  were  seven  women  working  at  what  had  become  the  Security   First  National  Bank.  Pauline  Bray’s  portrait  hangs  in  San  Luis  Obispo’s  City  Hall  as  a   founding  mother,  representing  a  generation  who  pioneered  work  for  women  in  the   financial  sector.  Bray  also  sang,  played  the  piano,  and  performed  in  radio  theater  on  KVEC.   She  also  sang  in  the  different  choral  societies  and  churches  and  entertained  in  prominent   homes  throughout  the  city,  singing,  playing  the  piano,  and  performing  clean  comedy.   In  1927  Pauline  Bray  married  Eugene  Martin  of  Santa  Maria,  who  became  plant   superintendent  for  Shell  Oil.  Their  daughter  Jean  Martin  was  born  in  1934,  and  in  1935  the   family  moved  to  535  Higuera  Street.                   Figure  27:  Pauline  Bray  and  two  nieces  in  front  of  the  Pollard  House  looking  toward  the   Norcross  House,  early  1920s.  Courtesy  of  Jean  Martin.  Figure  28:  Gene  and  Jean  Martin  in   front  of  the  Pollard  House,  the  Henry  House  visible  at  the  left,  1937.  Courtesy  of  the  History   Center  of  San  Luis  Obispo  County.   Eugene  Martin  continued  to  live  in  the  house  till  his  passing  in  1972  and  Pauline   Bray  Martin  till  her  passing  in  1988.  Jean  Martin—member  of  the  first  women’s  class  at  Cal   Poly,  local  teacher  for  thirty-­‐nine  years,  and  prominent  local  historian—continues  to  live  in   the  house  and  maintain  its  historic  features.   Application  prepared  by  Jean  Martin  and  James  Papp   16.c Packet Pg. 462 At t a c h m e n t 1 6 . c : c - A p p l i c a n t N a r r a t i v e ( 1 3 7 1 : M a s t e r L i s t i n g : R o b e r t P o l l a r d H o u s e ( 5 3 5 H i g u e r a ) ) 12 14.01.070. Evaluation Criteria for Historic Resource Listing When determining if a property should be designated as a listed Historic or Cultural Resource, the CHC and City Council shall consider this ordinance and State Historic Preservation Office (“SHPO”) standards. In order to be eligible for designation, the resource shall exhibit a high level of historic integrity, be at least fifty (50) years old (less than 50 if it can be demonstrated that enough time has passed to understand its historical importance) and satisfy at least one of the following criteria: A. Architectural Criteria: Embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, region, or method of construction, or represents the work of a master, or possesses high artistic values. (1) Style: Describes the form of a building, such as size, structural shape and details within that form (e.g. arrangement of windows and doors, ornamentation, etc.). Building style will be evaluated as a measure of: a.The relative purity of a traditional style; b.Rarity of existence at any time in the locale; and/or current rarity although the structure reflects a once popular style; c.Traditional, vernacular and/or eclectic influences that represent a particular social milieu and period of the community; and/or the uniqueness of hybrid styles and how these styles are put together. (2) Design: Describes the architectural concept of a structure and the quality of artistic merit and craftsmanship of the individual parts. Reflects how well a particular style or combination of styles are expressed through compatibility and detailing of elements. Also, suggests degree to which the designer (e.g., carpenter-builder) accurately interpreted and conveyed the style(s). Building design will be evaluated as a measure of: a.Notable attractiveness with aesthetic appeal because of its artistic merit, details and craftsmanship (even if not necessarily unique); b.An expression of interesting details and eclecticism among carpenter-builders, although the craftsmanship and artistic quality may not be superior. (3) Architect: Describes the professional (an individual or firm) directly responsible for the building design and plans of the structure. The architect will be evaluated as a reference to: 16.d Packet Pg. 463 At t a c h m e n t 1 6 . d : d - H i s t o r i c C r i t e r i a ( H i s t o r i c P r e s e r v a t i o n O r d i n a n c e ) ( 1 3 7 1 : M a s t e r L i s t i n g : R o b e r t P o l l a r d H o u s e ( 5 3 5 H i g u e r a ) ) 13 a.A notable architect (e.g., Wright, Morgan), including architects who made significant contributions to the state or region, or an architect whose work influenced development of the city, state or nation. b.An architect who, in terms of craftsmanship, made significant contributions to San Luis Obispo (e.g., Abrahams who, according to local sources, designed the house at 810 Osos - Frank Avila's father's home - built between 1927 – 30). B. Historic Criteria (1) History – Person: Associated with the lives of persons important to local, California, or national history. Historic person will be evaluated as a measure of the degree to which a person or group was: a.Significant to the community as a public leader (e.g., mayor, congress member, etc.) or for his or her fame and outstanding recognition - locally, regionally, or nationally. b.Significant to the community as a public servant or person who made early, unique, or outstanding contributions to the community, important local affairs or institutions (e.g., council members, educators, medical professionals, clergymen, railroad officials). (2) History – Event: Associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of local or regional history or the cultural heritage of California or the United States. Historic event will be evaluated as a measure of: (i) A landmark, famous, or first-of-its-kind event for the city - regardless of whether the impact of the event spread beyond the city. (ii) A relatively unique, important or interesting contribution to the city (e.g., the Ah Louis Store as the center for Chinese-American cultural activities in early San Luis Obispo history). (3) History-Context: Associated with and also a prime illustration of predominant patterns of political, social, economic, cultural, medical, educational, governmental, military, industrial, or religious history. Historic context will be evaluated as a measure of the degree to which it reflects: a.Early, first, or major patterns of local history, regardless of whether the historic effects go beyond the city level, that are intimately connected with the building (e.g., County Museum). b.Secondary patterns of local history, but closely associated with the building (e.g., Park Hotel). 16.d Packet Pg. 464 At t a c h m e n t 1 6 . d : d - H i s t o r i c C r i t e r i a ( H i s t o r i c P r e s e r v a t i o n O r d i n a n c e ) ( 1 3 7 1 : M a s t e r L i s t i n g : R o b e r t P o l l a r d H o u s e ( 5 3 5 H i g u e r a ) ) 14 C. Integrity: Authenticity of an historical resource’s physical identity evidenced by the survival of characteristics that existed during the resource’s period of significance. Integrity will be evaluated by a measure of: (1) Whether or not a structure occupies its original site and/or whether or not the original foundation has been changed, if known. (2) The degree to which the structure has maintained enough of its historic character or appearance to be recognizable as an historic resource and to convey the reason(s) for its significance. (3) The degree to which the resource has retained its design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling and association. 16.d Packet Pg. 465 At t a c h m e n t 1 6 . d : d - H i s t o r i c C r i t e r i a ( H i s t o r i c P r e s e r v a t i o n O r d i n a n c e ) ( 1 3 7 1 : M a s t e r L i s t i n g : R o b e r t P o l l a r d H o u s e ( 5 3 5 H i g u e r a ) )