HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 2 - HIST-0337-2019 (1013 Ella)CULTURAL HERITAGE COMMITTEE REPORT
FROM: Brian Leveille, Senior Planner BY: Walter Oetzell, Assistant Planner
PROJECT ADDRESS: 1013 Ella St; 2028 Jennifer St FILE NUMBER: HIST-0337-2019
APPLICANT: Bill Reeves, represented by Greg Wynn
For more information contact Walter Oetzell, Assistant Planner: 781-7593 (woetzell@slocity.org)
1.0 BACKGROUND
The owner of the property at 1013 Ella Street and
2028 Jennifer Street has applied for a
determination of historical significance of the
property, and requests that it be removed from
the City’s Inventory of Historic Resources. This
request is being referred to the Cultural Heritage
Committee (CHC) for a historic significance
determination and recommendation for Council
action, as provided in § 14.01.030 (B) (2) of the
City’s Historic Preservation Ordinance
2.0 SITE AND SETTING
The property is a residential parcel at the western
end of Ella Street, at its intersection with Jennifer
Street, about 225 feet south of the Jennifer
Street bridge across the Union Pacific Railroad right-of-way. It is within a Medium-Density
Residential (R-2) Zone and developed with two single-family dwellings: the primary dwelling, built
around 1920, described in City records1 as Craftsman in style, and a small dwelling at the Jennifer
Street frontage, built in 1948. It lies within the East Railroad area, a neighborhood dating back to
the 1880’s and closely related to the growth of the Southern Pacific Railroad in San Luis Obispo.
Though the area exhibits a concentration of architecturally and historically improtant homes, it
has not, to date, been established as an Historical Preservation District.
2.1 Historic Listing
Historic preservation policies are set out in the Conservation and Open Space Element (COSE) of
the City’s General Plan. Significant historic and architectural resources are to be preserved and
rehabilitated, and their demolition, or substantial change to them, is to be avoided (COSE § 3.3).
The City’s Historic Preservation Ordinance (SLOMC Ch. 14.01) implements these policies. The
1 Community Development Department historic property record (“yellow file”) for 1013 Ella (Attachment 1)
Meeting Date: September 23, 2019
Item Number: 2
Item No. 1
Figure 1: Subject Property
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City’s Inventory of Historic Resources lists historically designated resources and properties within
the City. Property may be designated as a Contributing List Resource where buildings or other
resources maintain their historic and architectural character, and contribute, by themselves or in
conjunction with other structures, to the unique or historic character of a neighborhood, district,
or to the City as a whole.2 Eligibility criteria for designation as an historic resource are set out in
§14.01.070 of the City’s Historic Preservation Ordinance.
In 2007 this property was added to the City’s
Inventory of Historic Resources as a
Contributing List Resource (Resolution 9875,
Attachment 4), part of a group of 25 properties
in the East Railroad area added to the Inventory
“due to their historical or architectural
significance to their neighborhood and to the
community.” As noted above, the East Railroad
neighborhood has not been established as an
Historical Preservation District.
3.0 EVALUATION
Two documents discussing the property’s history and historical and architectural characteristics
were submitted with this application (see Attachments 2 and 3): a “property history”3 prepared
by Betsey Bertrando; and a “significance evaluation”4 prepared by James Papp, PhD, a historian
and architectural historian. Both reports discuss the history of the property, including interesting
and notable people and times, but do not identify significant associations with singularly
important persons or events that would serve as a basis for historical listing.
The Papp report (Attachment 3) includes an architectural evaluation of the primary dwelling on
the property, for comparison against the criteria for historic listing outlined in the City’s Historic
Preservation Ordinance. In Sections 4 through 7 of the report, the defining characteristics of the
Craftsman style, both generally and as exhibited by local examples are discussed. The relationship
of 1013 Ella to the Craftsman style is discussed In Section 10, noting particular elements of the
buiding which depart from the style, along with characteristics of the style which are lacking in
this building. Among the elements discussed:
▪Characteristic broad roof gable only at west elevation
▪Lack of detail shaping of wood elements, apart from plain knee braces
▪Irregularity of window detail, placement, alignment; lack of characteristic rhythm
▪Awkward sizing of knee braces, window surrounds, and porch uprights
▪Apparent lack of artistic attention to detail; lack of variation, rhythm, interplay of forms
▪Lack of characteristic interior features
2 See Historic Preservation Ordinance § 14.01.020 for definition of Contributing List Resource or Property
3 Bertrando, Betsy (2018). The Albert Robert Fulton House.
4 Papp, James (2019). Evaluation of the Historic Architectural Significance of 1013 Ella St reet.
Figure 2: Subject Property (1013 Ella)
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▪Alterations that have diminished historical integrity
Based on that architectural evaluation, the author concludes that the primary dwelling lacks “the
attention to purity or integrated expression of the Craftsman style, either in overall conception
or detail work, that would qualify it” for inclusion in City’s Inventory of Historic Resources, and
notes the compromised historical integrity resulting from alterations over its history.5
3.1 Criteria for Historic Resource Listing
In order to be eligible for historical designation, a resource must exhibit a high level of historic
integrity and satisfy at least one of the evaluation criteria listed in § 14.01.070 of the City’s
Historic Preservation Ordinance. The Ordinance also provides that, while it is the general intent
that property not be removed from historic listing, property may be removed if it is found to no
longer meet eligibility criteria for listing (§ 14.01.060 (C)). In evaluating the historic significance
of the property, the Committee should consider whether, and to what degree, the property
satisfies these criteria, in light of the information and evaluations provided with this application.
Historic Criteria (§ 14.01.070 (B))
Person. The history of the property, including its owners and occupants over time, is described
in both submitted reports. Though several of these people were participants in the broad
patterns of local history, and likely were interesting individuals, none are shown to have been
prominent in, or to have made unique or distinctly outstanding contributions significant to, local,
state, or national history.
Event and Context. Though the property is in the East Railroad Area, an area closely associated
with the growth of the railroads in San Luis Obispo, there is no evidence that this property was
associated with any famous or “first-of-its-kind” event or with a notably important, unique, or
distinctly interesting contribution to the City. Nor does the property constitute a prime
illustration of, or intimate connection with, the growth of the railroads, rising to a level of
historical significance.
Architectural Criteria (§ 14.01.070 (A))
Style and Design. The primary dwelling on the property is described as Craftsman in style . The
Craftsman style stressed simplicity of design, hand-craftsmanship, and the relationship to the
climate and landscape. Several character-defining features of the style are described in the City’s
Historic Context Statement (see Attachment 5), and the style is fully discussed in Section 4 of the
Papp report, along with representative local examples. While the dwelling exhibits some of these
features, such as horizontal massing and a gabled roof, it does not embody6 the characteristics
of the style in a successfully integrated manner. For example, the form and dimension of the
porch, porch uprights, knee bracing, window surrounds, and similar elements depart from those
characteristic of the Craftsman style. Many much better examples of this style exist in the
5 Ibid. § 10 (B), pg. 14
6 Ibid, § 3, pg. 3 referencing the dictionary definition: “to make concrete and perceptible.”
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neighborhood and throughout the City, as shown in Sections 6 and 7 of the Papp report.
Architect. Both submitted reports include a history of the property, with no architect identified
for the dwelling, and the property owner A.R. Fulton named as the contractor. A. R. Fulton was
not known as a notable architect or builder.
Integrity
As discussed in Section 10 of the Papp evaluation, the integrity of the building has been
diminished by modifications made to it, including a utility and staircase extension, a likely
addition to the north façade, alteration of rafters and beams, and modifications to the porch
that obscure its original form and the windows within.
4.0 SUMMARY
Based on the discussion and evaluation in the two reports submitted with this application, and
as summarized in this staff report, a comparison of the subject property to the evaluation criteria
for historic listing demonstrates that the primary dwelling on the site fails to satisfy the criteria
under which the property was originally designated as an historical resource , to a degree that
qualifies the property for historical listing. It does not successfully embody the characteristics of
its Craftsman style, is not the product of a notable builder or architect, does not represent a rare
or exceptional execution of the Craftsman style, and suffers compromised historical integrity.
Because it does not satisfy the applicable listing criteria, it may be removed from historic listing,
as provided in § 14.1.060 (C) of the City’s Historic Preservation Ordinance.
5.0 ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
Consideration of continued eligibility of this property for historic listing is exempt from the
provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), as it is does not have the
potential for causing a significant effect on the environment, and so is covered by the general
rule described in CEQA Guidelines § 15061 (b) (3). The determination of continued eligibility for
historic listing is limited to review of whether the subject site remains eligible for historic
resource listing according to the criteria set forth in the City’s Historic Preservation Ordinance.
6.0 ACTION ALTERNATIVES
1.Find that the property does not meet Eligibility Criteria for listing as an historic resource,
as set out in § 14.01.060 of the City's Historic Preservation Ordinance, and recommend
to the City Council that the property be removed from historic listing
2.Continue consideration of the request with direction to the applicant and staff.
3.Recommend to the City Council that the that the property not be removed from historic
listing, based on findings describing the property’s continuing eligibility for listing.
7.0 ATTACHMENTS
1.Historical Preservation (“Yellow File”) Record
2.Property History for the Albert Robert Fulton House (Bertrando)
3.Evaluation of the Historical Architectural Significance of 1013 Ella Street (Papp)
4.Council Resolution 9875
5.Craftsman Style (Historic Context Statement)
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ATTACHMENT 1
Reference No. l
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ATTACHMENT 1
Address of Building
Location Map
Overall, these features reveal that the structure is predominantly ----------------
in style with influences/overtones/motifs.
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ATTACHMENT 2' ( ( THE ALBERT ROBERT FULTON HOUSE 1013 ELLA STREET SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA APN 003-663-001 Prepared for: Greg Wynn, AJA, NCARB PO Box 14345 San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 Prepared by: Betsy Bertrando 267 East Foothill Boulevard San Luis Obispo, CA 93405 RECEIVED CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO MAY 2 3 2019 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT February 2019 Packet Page 10
ATTACHMENT 2TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................... 1 RESEARCH METHODS ................................................................................................................ 1 RAILROAD CON'fEXTU AL SETTING ....................................................................................... 1 Getting to Market .............................................................. : .............................................................. 1 Southern Pacific ............................................................................................................................... 2 LAND OWNERSHJP ...................................................................................................................... 3 La Vena/R.ancho Buena Vista .......................................................................................................... 3 The Goodall Additions ..................................................................................................................... 4 Edwin Goodall and Captain Charles Goodall ...................................................................... 5 TERRACE HILL .............................................................................................................................. 6 PROJECT PROPERTY OWNERS -2013 Ella Street (2024 Osos Street) ....................................... 6 Albert Robert Fulton .... _ ....... -· ................................................................................................................ 7 Nelson Herbert Russell .................................................................................................................... 9 George E. and Ethel Ritchie ........................................................................................................... 11 Manuel and Augusta Simas ............................................................................................................ 11 NEIGHBORHOOD SEITING ...................................................................................................... 12 CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................................. 12 REFERENCES .............................................................................................................................. 14 Bibliography .................................................................................................................................. 14 San Luis Obispo Newspapers Cited .............................................................................................. ..15 Census Records and Directories for San Luis Obispo ................................................................... 16 Online Resources ........................................................................................................................... 16 Maps .......................................................................................................................... '.!. ................... 16 Building Permits ............................................................................................................................ 16 Packet Page 11
ATTACHMENT 2r THE FULTON RESIDENCE 1013 Ella (2024 Osos Street) Property History Prepared for Greg Wynn -February 2019 INTRODUCTION A request was made by the current owner through the architect, Greg Wynn, to obtain a history and any historic photographs that could be located for the property located at 1013 Ella Street (APN 003-663-001). The new owners are interested in restoring the house back to its original appearance if possible. The house, constructed by Albert Robert Fulton in 1921, is currently on the City of San Luis Obispo's Contributing List of Historic Resources as part of the unofficial East Railroad District. RESEARCH :METHODS The Fulton House history research has been complicated because it has had several addresses and the street names have been changed over the years. The Buena Vista Addition Map was the start of the process so that the permits could be located initially as on Block 10 lots 7, 8 and 9. Subsequent changes took place when Osos Street was renamed Jennifer and High Street became Rachael Court. Street number for the Fulton House was originally 2024 Osos, then 1015 Ella and after the lot was split, 1013 Ella. Lot 9 was addressed as 1001 Ella, 1001 Osos, and 1992 Swazey over time. The lots, 9, 8 and a portion of 7, form a triangular parcel where Ella and Jennifer Streets meet. The subject of this report is currently addressed as 1013 Ella Street. A walk of the perimeter of the property was on conducted with Luther Bertrando on December 8, 2018. Notes and photographs of the exterior were made at that time. The investigation included a walk of the surrounding-area to view properties with houses remaining from the period of the railroad's impact to San Luis Obispo. The Railroad Museum Archive was also visited for additional background of the area. A followup with gathering information on the property from the Community Development Department took place on January 4, 2019. The Railroad Museum Archives with Glen Matteson, Archivist, were made available January 5, 2019. RAILROAD CONTEXTUAL SETTING Getting to Market During most of the latter half of the 19th century, transporting agricultural products was undertaken with much difficulty, with poor roads and only occasional shipping to markets. An early account written by Walter Murray in 1870 tried to give a glowing account of the local prosperity and gives a description of this process. 1013 Ella St., San Luis Obispo - 1 Packet Page 12
ATTACHMENT 2"The county has two ports, San Luis Obispo and San Simeon, forty-five miles apart, of equal merit, each having a wharf and each being perfectly safe for shipping nine months of the year. The North Pacific Stearn Transportation Company's steamers stop at both ports tri-monthly, San Luis Obispo being the terminus of the route." (Murray 1979) There was obviously a great need for the introduction of rails to access markets. In the 1870s, talk of rails to the San Luis Obispo from Port Harford became more serious. The narrow gauge Pacific Coast Railway from Port Harford to San Luis Obispo was completed in 1876. An office and station for the PCR was located on the southeast comer of Higuera a~d South Streets. By 1888, The Pacific Coast Railway had expanded all the way to Los Olivos. Later the narrow gauge rails continued up South Street to the Southern Pacific Station. The first timetable giving connection information to the Southern Pacific Railroad from the Pacific Coast Railway was published November 2, 1894 (Best 1964). By the 1930s, the little narrow gauge railroad was seeing the end of its existence as business dropped significantly. Finally, in 1941 its abandonment was approved, with much of the rolling stock being used as steel scrap for the World War II war effort. Southern Pacific At the end of 1865, the Southern Pacific Railroad Company was organized. In 1868 the "Big Four" -Leland Stanford, Collis Huntington, Charles Crocker and Timothy Hopkins -took over the company and all of its rights (Nicholson 1993). They then began the slow process of determining routes and building the rails heading south. By 1886, the Southern Pacific crossed the county line into San Miguel. Halted for years in Santa Margarita, the rails finally reached San Luis Obispo in 1894 after the expensive and arduous task of building tunnels leading down from the Cuesta Grade. The Stenner Bridge and the tunnels were engineering accomplishments of their day. In anticipation of the arrival of the Southern Pacific, a grand hotel -the Ramona -had already opened in 1888. High drama and much celebration accompanied the last 10,000 feet of track that was laid in one day to finally reach San Luis Obispo. Townspeople lined the track to cheer the workers (Tognazzini 1994 ). The Southern Pacific finally arrived in Los Angeles in 1901. Markets for local grain, dairy products, beans and sugar beets were quickly available. Soon passenger travel brought tourism to the central coast and Hollywood personalities to Hearst Castle. The 1940s were a boom period for the Southern Pacific as traffic had more than doubled over the previous highs in 1929. Much of the traffic was due to the war effort and the shuttling I back and forth of equipment and troops to Camp San Luis Obispo (Signor 1994). f\fter the war the railroad slowly declined as the freeways were constructed and trucking goods and the family auto took over transportation needs. The area began to suffer from neglect by the city. Finally after over 100 years of service to the central coast, the Southern Pacific ended its long run in 1997 selling its line to Union Pacific. The city slowly began to realize opportunities for growth and tourism in the railroad district and began studies to revitalize the area. Still last to be considered was the Terrace Hill area. When the historic Railroad District Boundaries were 1013 Ella St., San Luis Obispo - 2 Packet Page 13
ATTACHMENT 2drawn, it curiously only included the west side of the tracks. As an example, Emily Street was drawn on the west side of the tracks where it ended at the Round House. Emily Street on the east side was omitted even through it contained housing for the railroad workers. Historic railroad history on the east side is only remembered with the restoration of the water tower. Other features can be found on the sketch map (Signor 1994:218 -Figure 1). It was the construction of the Jennifer Street bridge in 1998 over the tracks that opened up the Ella Street area and brought changes to Terrace Hill allowing easy access to town. Figure 1: Railroad District Historic Features -Note Emily Street LAND OWNERSHIP La Vena/Rancho Buena Vista Two leagues ofland, known originally as La Vena, were awarded to Esteban Quintana by the Mexican government in 1842 (Bancroft 1964) at the same time Maria Concepcion Boronda was granted the Potrero de San Luis Obispo (Blomquist 2003). The Boronda grant of one square league of land was the area currently occupied by Cal Poly. Boronda and her husband, Olivier Deleissigues (Deleissegues), a Frenchman, lived in Monterey. Maria later traded her Potrero land for the La Vena property. "Shortly after Maria Conception sold the ranch to Pedro Quintana of New Mexico and she received as part payment the Muiioz ranch in San Luis Obispo between the present Southern Pacific railroad tracks an the present County Hospital. However, after she and her family moved there, they discovered that Quintana did not have title to it. As a consequence her new husband, Jose Maria Mufi oz, filed a claim on the property and later received a clear title from the U.S. Government." (Dana 1966:36) The two-story La Loma Adobe, still existing on Lizzie Street, became the home of Maria Concepcion Boronda Deleissigues and her second husband Jose Maria Mufioz. Jose M. Mufioz 1013 Ella St, San Luis Obispo - 3 Packet Page 14
ATTACHMENT 2( ,._..,, owned eighty acres that extended east of the Murray and Church Addition down to Broad Street near High Street. In 1869, Munoz was drowned off the central coast and the property went to his wife Maria Concepcion. The Rancho Buena Vista was part of the property holdings of Jose M. Mufioz. The rancho, containing just over 129 acres was put on the market to settle his estate in 1874. The land was to be sold in a single tract or in lots to suit the purchasers. Nothing happened until it went up for auction in 1876. Early farmers and dairymen purchasing tracts of Mufloz land in the area were Cocke, Loomis and Barrett (Bertrando 2018). The early Munoz land later became additions to the City of San Luis Obispo. They included the Ingleside Homestead 1887, Loomis 1887, Deleissigues and Buena Vista 1887 Tracts. One thing the additions had in common was the anticipation of the coming Southern Pacific Railroad heading south from San Francisco. It was a time of planning the route and the railroad right-of-way. Speculation was rampant with developers that were following the route of the train. The Goodall Additions One of those following the planned Southern Pacific route through San Luis Obispo was Edwin Goodall. Goodall started to carve up the old Mufioz rancho, adding land to the town as the Buena Vista Tract in 1885. Early owners of land in the area on the east side of the tracks by Terrace Hill were George Cocke, Thomas Barrett, Nancy Abbott and the banker J. P. Andrews. In 1887, the Map of the Buena Vista Addition was laid out for Edwin Goodall representing the Goodall, Perkins & Company in June Some of the original investors were represented by street names in the tract. Besides Edwin's daughter, Ella, other names from the Goodall Syndicate that can be connected to street names on the Buena Vista Addition were "Leland" Stanford, Gov. "George" Perkins, and J. Millard "Fillmore." Also in 1887, Goodall established two other additions following the rail track through town in 1887. Promotion for sales was carried out through a Broadside whh tract map and description of the Goodall three tracts bordering the land that was established as the route of the coming railroad. Proclaiming "The City and the County of San Luis Obispo Are Attracting Greater Attention than Ever Before, The Great Natural Advantages Of This Beautiful Section Are Becoming More Widely Known." (San Luis Obispo Railroad Museum Archive) The Central Addition promoted its convenient location, graded streets -"Sewered, and macadamized with gravel, and rolled, making them beautiful driveways and promenades." The new hotel "Ramona" was under construction and expected to be completed in 1888. The "street railroad runs directly to, and through the centre, of this property." The Subdivision of the Phillip's Addition advertised its magnificent view, excellent drainage, sheltered location and accessibility to the town center. "The property fronts on Grand Avenue, (100 feet wide and the widest street in the city,) on which the Street Railway Co. has a franchise, which they expect soon to utilize." 1013 Ella St., San Luis Obispo - 4 Packet Page 15
ATTACHMENT 2( Son lo ·, The Buena Vista Addition promoted that the surveyed line of the Southern Pacific Company is nearby and the new Ramona Hotel but a few blocks away. "Strangers will recognize it by 'The Terraced Hill' in the southern part of the city which affords a sufficient elevation to give a magnificent view and drainage." (Figure 2) ~ ~-• , ... f ~ : ) , ,, i/ ~! 'I i I j /' ' ," I I SAN ~UIS OBISPO CA LI t 'OIIN Ii\ Figure 2: 1887 Buena Vista Addition Edwin Goodall and Captain Charles Goodall ~·· --~"''' ,• _, o' I Edwin (1842-1909) and his brother, Captain Charles Goodall ( c.1835-1899) were originally from England. Captain Charles was founder of the Pacific Coast Steamship Company in the 1870s. The Goodall, Nelson and Perkins Steamship Company was organized in 1873. Nelson left the company in 1876 and his place was taken by Edwin Goodall. Now principle owner of the Pacific Coast Steamship and Railroad Company, Edwin came to San Luis Obispo to set up tracks for a horse drawn streetcar system that would bring people to his planned hotel, the 1013 Ella St., San Luis Obispo - 5 Packet Page 16
ATTACHMENT 2( "Ramona," and the future route of the Southern Pacific Railroad (Rafferty n.d.). Edwin was a San Francisco ship owner in 1880 and George Perkins, the Governor. Throughout his life, Edwin was well connected with the people who ran California including Senator Leland Stanford. He was still involved with the steamship business in 1900. Although Edwin lived in San Francisco with his wife Helen, he was responsible for the promotion and development of three additions to San Luis Obispo that followed the route of the Southern Pacific through town. They had a son, Arthur ( l 872-1956) and a daughter, Ella ( 1870-195 l ). TERRACE HILL Lot sales in the Buena Vista Addition did not take off as planned. The train took another seven years to finally arrive in 1894. In the early 1890s, the economic climate of the county took a downturn. Suffering from a draught in 1894, the city water system was running low and they turned to the Southern Pacific Railroad for help. The railroad had developed its own water system from well to storage tanks on Terrace Hill. The city was able to reach an agreement with the railroad to tap into their lines so that water supply and pressure could be maintained for the city. Slowly, around 1900, railroad workers began building cottages on the lower reaches of Terrace Hill on the east side of the tracks. The lots on streets at the top of the hill were never developed. By 1914, most of the overnight workers for Southern Pacific stayed around the Southern Pacific Rail yard (Jordan 2011). Management occupied parts ofBuchon Street away from the soot and grime of the coal fired steam engines. The east side of the tracks in the railroad district were isolated and cut of from town. For a brief period in an effort to remedy the situation, a subway was proposed for Terrace Hill neighborhood. Designed to go under the track and come out on Jennifer Street (formerly Osos) it was never built (Black 1988). During World War II, a lookout for enemy aircraft was situated at the top of Terrace Hill. Later in 1948, CalTrans removed fill from the top during the construction of Highway 101. Throughout the first half of the 20th Century, dairy cows roamed the hillside. The Mazza family ran a dairy operation until c. 1950 when part of Terrace Hill was sold to a gravel company (Terrace Hill Open Space Conservation Plan 2015). Pacifico Mazza also worked for the Southern Pacific and built houses along Rachel Street. In 1972, the top of Terrace Hill was further disturbed when fill was taken for the French Hospital parking lot. The remaining 22.06 hilltop acres were dedicated to the city',as Open Space in 1986. PROJECT PROPERTY OWNERS -2013 Ella Street (2024 Osos Street) Collins Park and his wife Elizabeth were the first to purchase the lots 7, 8 and 9 in Block 10 on Ella Street. Collins was born c. 1826 in Ohio and working as a brick mason, he had arrived in San Luis Obispo by 1888. The family lived in town through 1904. 1013 Ella St, San Luis Obispo - 6 Packet Page 17
ATTACHMENT 2In 1893, Southern Pacific principal engineers visited San Luis Obispo. One of them was William F. Marsh, a division engineer who was born in 1865. Collins Park sold the same parcel to William Marsh for $850 at the beginning of 1898. The lots remained vacant until 1921 when Albert Fulton bought and developed the property. Albert Robert Fulton Albert Fulton was born in Pajaro, Santa Cruz County, in 1877. He was the grandson of Varnum Westcott, a sea captain. Twenty years later, Albert was living in San Luis Obispo. In 1899, the following announcement of his marriage to Miss Emily Musick was in the local newspaper. Emily was the daughter of Arroyo Grande pioneer, Riley Musick, who farmed the upper reaches of the Arroyo Grande drainage alongside Hasbrouck and Ditmas, who had the first vineyards in the south county. "Mr. Fulton is a trusted employee on the Pacific Coast Railway trains and is popular with all who know him. The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. R. B. Musick and she is a great favorite in the social circles in Arroyo Grande. For several years she was a compositor of the Herald and later of the Oracle." (San Luis Obispo Telegram-Tribune Oct 25, 1899) Albert Fulton was working as a Baggagemaster for the Pacific Coast Railway in Arroyo Grande and his brother was a Brakeman prior to 1900 (Norris n.d.). After the Southern Pacific Railroad arrived in San Luis Obispo in 1894, the work load of carrying freight dropped for the Pacific Coast Railway as local producers switched over to the Southern Pacific (Rafferty n.d.). It appears that was also true for Albert Fulton as he began working as a Brakeman for the Southern Pacific. In 1908, A. Blaine built a house for Albert and Emily at 2027 (formerly 977) Swazey. It was a one-story, 28 ft. by 34 ft. deep house of frame construction for $1000 on lot 7 in Block 187B (Building Permit #75). The 1920 census has the address 2033 Swazey (formerly 973) for Fulton living in another home he owned on Swazey. The houses are on a street where at one time everyone living on it worked for the railroad. Albert worked as a Freight Conductor. He and Emily had one daughter, Kathryn who was born in 1911. In 1910, Charles S. Williams sold Albert Fulton the south 1/2 oflot 6 in Block 187B that faced Emily Street. Fulton accumulated lots 5 through 10 in Block 187B and hacf!railroad worker housing constructed on them (Sanborn Map 1926 -Figure 3). The lots ran from Swazey through to Emily Street or the railroad tracks. As the owner of those parcels, Fulton probably named Emily Street named after his wife, Emily. The street is depicted on a sketch map that also shows location of various Southern Pacific installations on the east side of the tracks (Signor l_ 1994) (Figure 1). The street has been discontinued on current maps and now only runs along the west side of the tracks to the site of the old roundhouse. Emily Street led to the railroad loading spur and dock that is described in the City's Railroad District Plan. 1013 Ella St., San Luis Obispo - 7 Packet Page 18
ATTACHMENT 2( "Just north of the historic Southern Pacific Freight Warehouse is a ramped loading platform, approximately 10 feet by 45 feet, which was one of several long loading platforms near the warehouse used for freight operations. Its construction date is unknown, but probably dates to the early 1900s. 1bis and the platform along the track side of the warehouse are all that remains of once extensive freight loading facilities." (Railroad District Plan, City of San Luis Obispo 1998: 16) In 1921, Albert Fulton purchased lots 7, 8 and 9 in Block 10 on Ella Stre~t. Building Pennit #1207 was issued to Fulton for two frame cottages on lots 7 and 8 in Block 10 both under the 1015 Ella Street address (Figures 3 & 4). Total costs on the permit for a four room cottage on lot 7 and a five room house on lot 8 were estimated to be $3500. L 1i'il (t n~ CJ ? Li] . ___ .......__,__ st:J~Lj a GJ {) =--Figure 3: 1926 Sanborn Map, Fulton's Properties Shaded Albert purchased more property in 1928 from C. F. Colmar, lot 3 in Block 19 of the Buena Vista Addition. He extended his property up the hill on Ella adjoining his residence and purchased lots 3, 4, 5, & 6 from F. A. Carpenter. It appears by 1930 that Fulton had overextended his debts. The newspaper listed delinquent costs for Albert and Emily's property; -Buena Vista lots 5 and 6, Block 10; Ingleside lots 6 and 7 Block 187B (improvements $1665); A. R. Buena Vista lots 7 ,8 and 9 Block 10 (improvements $1425); A. R. Ingleside lot 8 Block 187B (improvements $380); Ingleside lot 5 Block l 87B (Improvements $380); Buena Vista lot 4 Block 1 O; Ingleside lot 10 Block l 87B less SPRR right of way; and Buena Vista lot 3 Block 10. Later, a notice of Trustee's Sale was placed in the newspaper in 1932 for default to payments due August 1930. The properties in default by Albert and Emily Fulton were lots 5, 6, 7, & 8 in Block 187B in the Ingleside Homestead Tract. These were the properties between Rachel and Emily Streets that Fulton first acquired. Others listed were lots 7, 8, & 9 in Block 10 of the Buena Vista Addition where Fulton had built the two houses (1013 and 1015 Ella Street). 1013 Ella St., San Luis Obispo - 8 Packet Page 19
ATTACHMENT 2( ( Figure 4: Early Rear View of Fulton's Two Houses c. 1920s. Looking Down From Jennifer Street Detail from Panoramic Map at the Railroad Museum Other transactions took place when Emily in 1931 deeded to Albert lots 5, 6, 7, 8 & 10 in Block 187B, Ingleside Homestead Tract; lots 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, & 10, Buena Vista; and 1/5 interest in lots 15 and 16 Block 10 in El Pizmo. The Fultons with their daughter Kathleen lived in the house at 1013 Ella Street. Albert continued working as Baggage Conductor for the Southern Pacific Railroad until they left town. A listing in 1932 gave the name of Albert's brother, John as living at the house with the occupation as faith healer. By 1935, the Fultons were living in Watsonville. The property still with two residences at the address 1015 Ella was deeded to Nelson Russell. Later widowed and retired Albert died in 1941 in Crescent City, California. Nelson Herbert Russell In the 1930s, Nelson Herbert Russell had relocated to San Luis Obispo and was working as a case worker for the Welfare Department. In 1936, Nelson Russell took out a Building Permit #4030 to build a temporary garage. The 10 ft by 18 ft garage was constructed for $42 and located on lot 9 at the very bottom comer of the triangle. The following year Russell's address was noted in the newspaper as 1015 Ella Street. Nelson and his wife, Vera were socially active 1013 Ella St., San Luis Obispo - 9 Packet Page 20
ATTACHMENT 2( in the community and the Terrace Hill neighborhood. In 193 8, Lt. Russell received his commission in the Ordinance Department in San Luis Obispo. Nelson Russell represented the residents of Terrace Hill asking the city for improvements to be made on Ella Street in 1940. Another notice in the newspaper announced that Russell was given a raise by the Board of Supervisors. " ... employed in the welfare department a number of years and does other business for the department and should be priced at a higher rate from $110 to $125 per month." (San Luis Obispo Telegram-Tribune March 19, 1940) However, his success was short lived and his life went in another direction. · The newspaper noted that in 1941, "2nd Lieutenant Nelson H. Russell, Ordinance Department, of San Luis Obispo arrived for duty at Will Rogers Air Bas.e in Oklahoma City. He graduated from the University of Washington at Seattle in 1926 with a degree of Bachelor of Science and will be serving as ordinance property officer of the 721 st Ordinance Company." (San Luis Obispo Telegram-Tribune July 8, 1941). World War II soon brought drastic changes to Nelson's life. Headlines in the local paper proclaimed the following in 1943. "First Lt. Nelson Herbert Russell of San Luis Obispo is a prisoner of the Japanese in the Philippine Islands, it was announced yesterday by the War Department. Lieutenant Russell is one of 49 California officers who were listed among 336 American soldiers being held by the Japanese in the Philippines." (San Luis Obispo Telegram-Tribune Jan. 7, 1943) Russell was taken in Batan when Corregidor fell and later moved to a prison camp in Tokyo. Letters to him had all been returned His family had followed him to Oklahoma and had moved after he was sent overseas. He did not know that his wife and daughter, Allison had moved back to San Luis Obispo and were living at 673 Santa Rosa when he tried to contact them. Finally through his aunt in San Francisco, contact was made and the family learned he was still alive. "From a prison camp in Tokyo came the voice of 1st Lt. Russell the first news except for one letter since he left for the Philippines Oct 26, 1941." (San Luis Obispo Telegram-Tribune Nov. 18, 1943). After four and one half years, Vera Russell received a telegram from the War Department that her husband will be returned home in the near future (San Luis Obispo Telegr'am-Tribune Sept. 24-, 1945} In a couple of months Nelson was able to visit his family in San Luis Obispo before returning to the hospital in Menlo Park to make a full recovery. When he returned to San Luis Obispo, Russell spoke often to local groups about his prisoner of war experiences. In 1946 the Russell family was living at 676 1h Toro Street and on July 6 deeded to George G. Sr. and Ellen E. Ross the portion of lot 7 Blk 10, Buena Vista Addition, that contains the house at 1015 Ella Street. In 19 51, George and Ellen Ross and Ray Dee Sr. and Pauline Hull 1013 Ella St., San Luis Obispo -10 Packet Page 21
ATTACHMENT 2( transferred the property to Mary Rosa (Roza). Ray Hull Sr. worked as a mechanic. Ray D. and Pauline Hull were living there at the time with son Ray Dee Jr. George E. and Ethel Ritchie In 1932, George E. Ritchie was renting on Alphonso Street and working as a Brakeman for the Southern Pacific Railroad. His wife, Ethel was Secretary for the Ladies' Auxillary, Brotherhood ofRailway Trainmen. By 1935, now a Conductor, George E. and Ethel Ritchie with their young son George J. purchased the house at 1013 Ella Street (2024 Osos) from Russell. For several years, the Ritchies' were involved in the community in Boy Scout and social activities as reported in the newspapers of the time. Unfortunately, a series of events changed everything in 1943. It started with a report in the newspaper. "George E. Ritchie charges his wife, Ethel C. Ritchie, with cruelty in a divorce complaint, filed during the weekend. The plaintiff asserts that he and Mrs. Ritchie were married Nov 24, 1924 in Cook County, Illinois. They have a son, 17. (San Luis Obispo Telegram-Tribune Jan 25, 1943) . In May of 1944, son George J. had completed basic training at the Armored Replacement Center at Fort Knox, Kentucky. By September of the following year, the newspaper reported that Ethel Ritchie's brother Donald J. Girton was killed in action in France. Her younger brother Francis was just recovering from war wounds received in France. After the war, son George J. Ritchie returned home and was married to Janet Ainsworth. He began working for the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1946. Tragedy still followed the family with an announcement of; "Funeral services for George J. Ritchie, 21, who died yesterday morning when crushed between two freight cars while at work as a yardman in the Southern Pacific yards, ... " (San Luis Obispo Telegram-Tribune Jan 8, 1947) In 1947, Ethel still the owner, briefly shared the house with Herbert T. and Katherine N. Franklin. Herbert was a mechanic, and Katherine worked at General HospitaL Ethel was employed as a liquor store clerk. The Franklins' purchased a home on Fixlini Street and moved out of the house. Ethel's family members Richard R. and Frances Girton, also from Cook County, Illinois joined Ethel on the property in 1949 and became the owners. Transactions also reflected the fact the Ethel had remarried Lloyd W. Tuley and they prepared to sell the property. The property sold in May 1951 to Manuel F. and Augusta Simas. ', Manuel and Augusta Simas Richard Girton and Frances Girton deeded to Manuel F. and Augusta T. Simas, lots 8 and 9 and portions of lot 7 in Bl 10. The address for the project property was still 2024 Osos Street. The previous year, Manuel Francisco Simas Sr. had died. He was a native of the Azores and a pioneer Los Osos Valley dairy rancher. Son Manuel and his wife Augusta, moved into the house 1013 Ella St., San Luis Obispo -11 Packet Page 22
ATTACHMENT 2., ( with their three children, Laurence, Gary and Jeanette. In April 195 5, an elaborate description of the wedding at the Old Mission of daughter Jeanette Darlene Simas to Ray Dee Hull Jr. was written up in the newspaper. Ray Dee Hull Jr. parents had lived next door at 1015 Ella when Simas purchased the house. Three months later the Simas family suffered a terrible tragedy. "Laurence Lavern Simas 17, was killed when he was thrown from an automobile as it rolled over several times and crashed into an embankment at 10:30 last night. The junior class student was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Manuel F. Simas, 2024 Osos Street. The accident occurred as the car driven by Kenneth M. Runyon 17, went out of control as it reached the bottom of the Cuesta grade near the Fremont court. Runyon suffered a fractured ankle. Runyon and Simas, both hotrod enthusiasts, had been to Atascadero to view the car races on the track here." San Luis Obispo Telegram-Tribune June 11, 1955. This was in the days before seat belts. The Simas family remained at 1013 Ella Street throughout the 1950s. In 1959, Manuel took out Building Permit #2766 for stair work. At some time later the property was purchased by Milton Farbstein and used as a rental. Various permits were issued to Farbstein during the 1970s. These were for electrical work, concrete and stucco work and repairs to the basement floor. By 1981, the landlord owner was Jay Farbstein. Both Jay and Milton Farbste.in were out of town owners. The last permit was to owner Dale E. Williams for a floor furnace in 2009. The address for the property was changed in 1981 from 2024 Osos Street to its current listing as 1013 Ella Street. NEIGHBORHOOD SETTING In 2007, the house was photographed and included with a group of evaluated properties that were placed on the City of San Luis Obispo's Contributing List of Historic Resources (Figure 5). Six properties on Ella Street came on the list at that time as part of the East Railroad District. The City historical file form for 2013 Ella Street was not completed. It only recorded that Dale E. Williams was the property owner and that it was a two-story single family bungalow with a gabled composite shingle roof It was placed on the Contributing List for its architectural significance_ There is a small cottage on the parcel that faces Jennifer Street and is located between 1013 and 1015 Ella Street. It doesn't appear on the last Sanborn Map dated 1957 and no information was uncovered regarding the small structure. The San Luis Obispo County Assessors Office has the date of 1948 for the cottage on its web site. CONCLUSION Although there are twenty-five addresses listed as Contributing Historic Resources east of the Railroad District, the district has not been officially recognized, Once Swazey Street and 1013 Ella St, San Luis Obispo -12 Packet Page 23
ATTACHMENT 2( Figure 5: Photographs From the City 2007 Survey the surrounding area was entirely populated by railroad workers. Swazey currently has only two houses left on the Contributing Historic Resources List The area that developed with the coming of the Southern Pacific has only one residence on the Master List-the Edward Bushnell House c. 1906 at 1105 George and the restored 1940 Water Tower at 1100 Iris. There is no memory of the boxcars that once contained housing for the laborers from Mexico that were working for the railroad nor the boxcars that contained housing for the Japanese laborers who were the engine wipers at the Round House. The housing, on the east side 1013 Ella St., San Luis Obispo -13 Packet Page 24
ATTACHMENT 2,. •, \1 ( of the tracks, once modest, is quickly being changed with new housing projects, apartments and dense infill that, unless attention is given to it.s past, the history of that community will be lost. During the early days of the railroad serving San Luis Obispo, the railroad workers who lived on the east side of the tracks led lives spent doing dangerous and hard work. They need to be remembered. REFERENCES Bibliography Bancroft, Hubert Howe 1964 "California Pioneer Index 1542-1842." Extracted from History of California. Regional Publishing Company, Baltimore, Md. Bertrando, Betsy 2018 The George Chastain Cocke Homestead (P-40-041330). Historic Resource Evaluation prepared for Karen and Dave Rucker. Bertrando, Ethan and Bertrando, Betsy 1997 Proposed Multi-Modal Transportation Center in the Railroad District for theCity of San Luis Obispo -Phase I Archaeological and Historical Survey. Report prepared for the Department of Engineering, City of San Luis Obispo. Best, Gerald M. 1964 Ships and Narrow Gauge Rails. Howell-North, Berkeley, CA Black, Mary Gail 1988 Profile of the Daily Telegram. Tabula Rasa Press. Blomquist, Leonard Rudolph 2003 California in Transition, The San Luis Obispo District 1830-1850. San Luis Obispo County Historical Society. City of San Luis Obispo 1998 Railroad District Plan. Produced by the Community Development Department. 2015 Terrace Hill Open Space Conservation Plan. Produced by the Community Development Department. Dana, Alonzo P. 1966 The Dana, Carrillo, Boronda, Deleissigues and Munoz Families in California. 1013 Ella St., San Luis Obispo -14 Packet Page 25
ATTACHMENT 2( ( Jordan, Adriana L. 2011 The Historical Influence of Railroads on Urban Development and Future Economic Potential in San Luis Obispo. Cal Poly Degree Requirement for City and Regional Planning. Murray, Walter 1870 "Our County in 1870." In the March 5, 1870 issue of The Tribune.. Republished in La Vista Vol 1, No 4. Published in 1979 by the San Luis Obispo County Historical Society, San Luis Obispo, CA. Nicholson, Loren 1993 Rails Across the Ranchos. California Heritage Publishing Associates1 San Luis Obispo, California. Norris, Jim n.d. Workin 'on the Railroad. Olive Press Publications, Los Olivos, California Pavlik, Robert C. 1994 Historic Architectural Survey Report, San Luis Obispo Southern Pacific Railroad Historic District 05-633901. Report prepared for District 05, San Luis Obispo Department of Transportation. Rafferty, Tod -Editor n.d. The Achievers, Central California s Engineering Pioneers. Produced by the Central Coast History Foundation. Signor, John R. 1994 Pacifzc :S Coast Line. Signature Press, Wilton, California Tognazzini, Wilmar N. 1994 JOO Years Ago -Excerpts from the San Luis Obispo Morning Tribune. Compiled by Wilmar N. Tognazzini. San Luis Obispo Newspapers Cited 1899 Telegram-Tribune, October 25 1940 Telegram-Tribune, March 19 194 l Telegram-Tribune, July 8 1943 Telegram-Tribune, January 7 1943 Telegram-Tribune, January 25 1943 Telegram-Tribune, November 18 1945 Telegram-Tribune, September 24 1013 Ella St, San Luis Obispo -15 Packet Page 26
ATTACHMENT 2( 1947 Telegram-Tribune, January 8 1955 Telegram-Tribune~ June 11 Census Records and Directories for San Luis Obispo Online Resources including ancestzy,com and genealogybank.com/newspapers Maps 1887 Map of the Buena Vista Addition 1926 Sanborn Map 1957 SanbomMap Building Permits #75 2027 Swazey Street for Fulton # 1207 Houses Located at 1013 and 1015 Ella Street for Fulton #4030 Temporary Garage at 1013 Ella Street for Russell 1013 Ella St., San Luis Obispo -16 '• Packet Page 27
ATTACHMENT 3Evaluation of the Historic Architectural Significance of 1013 Ella Street 1. Introduction 2. Timeline 3. Standards for Master List, Contributing List, and Non-Contributing Buildings 4. Defining Characteristics of Craftsman Buildings 5. Craftsman Buildings in San Luis Obispo 6. Characteristics of San Luis Obispo's Master List Craftsman Buildings 7. Characteristics of San Luis Obispo's Contributing List Craftsman Buildings 8. History of 1013 Ella Street 9. Initial Evaluation of 1013 Ella Street in 1985 and Con.....,~"""'ff"l"'"""'~'l"':"':!:-,,ilTl"I".,, 10. Architectural Evaluation of 1013 Ella Street CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO A. Original Features B. Integrity MAY 2 3 2019 11. Conclusion COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT 1. Introduction This analysis of the architecture 1013 Ella Street, in the proposed but undesignated East Railroad Historic District, concludes that the building does not qualify for the Contributing List of Historic Resources for two reasons: A. In its original design and construction, it did not embody the Craftsman style in either purity, artistic merit, craftsmanship, or expressive detail, as mandated by the city's Historic Preservation Ordinance B. Such Craftsman references that it did exhibit have been substantially erased by subsequent changes, in particular to the symmetry of the entrance fa~ade, consistency of the north fa~ade, and fenestration, and therefore it lacks the integrity mandated by the ordinance 1013 Ella Street, west (entrance) and north facades, 2019 Documentation shows the building at 1013 Ella Street was built in 1921 or 1922, well after the creative peak of the Craftsman era, mimicking some easily reproducible aspects of the style, such as roof pitch, knee braces, and part-mun tined windows, without the rhythmic repetition and variation of forms, juxtaposition of traditional materials, and artful and expressive details that embody the style. The joint permit for 1013 and 1015 Ella Street 1 Packet Page 28
ATTACHMENT 3shows Albert and Emily Fulton employing neither an architect nor a builder. The unimaginative and often careless arrangement of structural features and near absence of traditional materials and workmanship both inside and out, as well as the diminution of the Craftsman aesthetic by minimalism or streamlining, places this building well outside the coherent group of Craftsman houses on San Luis Obispo's Contributing List. Adding buildings to and removing them from historic listing is essential to maintaining, refining, and reasonably enforcing an inventory of historic resources. Reevaluation of historic resource surveys is recommended by the State Historic Preservation Officer every five years, for as well as buildings that are not listed but should be, there are always buildings that are listed and should not be, or are listed in the wrong category and for the wrong reason. There is no documented evaluation as to why 1013 Ella Street "embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, region, or method of construction" or why it was judged to have retained its integrity, apart from the single word "Craftsman" and the contradictory "post 40?" entered under "Architectural style( s )" by a nonprofessional volunteer on a 1985 form. Substantial character-defining enacted since the building's construction, as well as atypical features that may or may not be original, make it impractical to restore 1013 Ella Street to its original appearance or even establish what that appearance might have been. Though the Cultural Heritage Committee would be following its precedent by allowing even more alterations, it makes more sense for the integrity of the historic listing process to remove a fundamentally noncontributing building from the Contributing List rather than undermine the meaning and force of the Historic Preservation Ordinance. 2. Timeline 1908-Albert Fulton, a Southern Pacific Railroad conductor, and his wife Emily Fulton (nee 1928 Musick) purchase as many as fourteen lots on Swazey and Ella Streets in the Ingleside and Buena Vista Additions (East Railroad District). 1917 The Fultons purchase the two lots for 1013 and one lot for 1015 Ella Street from Walter C. Carpenter. 1921 Albert Fulton applies for a building permit for houses at 1013 and 1015 Ella Street. 1923-The Fultons are documented as living at 1013 Ella/2024 Osos Street. 1931 1925-From 1925 the Fultons advertise a four-room cottage for rent and from 1927 to 1931 1931 three cottages. 1930 Albert Fulton applies for permits to build as many as three cottages and one duplex on Swazey Street. 1932 Albert Fulton is declared bankrupt. 1941 Albert Fulton, last recorded unemployed and living at an auto camp in Crescent City, Del Norte County, Northern California, dies and is buried in Crescent City. 1985 Evaluation of 1013 Ella Street in Historic Resources Survey of 1985. 2 Packet Page 29
ATTACHMENT 32007 Addition of 1013 Ella Street to the Contributing List with twenty-four other East Railroad District Properties. 3. Standards for Master List, Contributing List, and Non-Contributing Buildings 1013 Ella Street's eligibility or lack of eligibility for its current Contributing List status depends on the building's place in the universe of Craftsman buildings in San Luis Obispo. The city's Historic Preservation Ordinance divides our built environment into Master List and Contributing List resources and resources that qualify for neither list. The ordinance defines the Master List as the most unique and important resources and properties in terms of age, architectural or historical significance, rarity, or association with important persons or events in the City's past (14.01.050.A.) The ordinance defines the Contributing List as those resources that maintain their original or attained historic and architectural character and contribute, either by themselves or in conjunction with other structures, to the unique or historic character of a neighborhood, district, or to the City as a whole (14.01.050.8.) The misfortune of the latter definition is that it functionally qualifies every extant structure over fifty years old for the Contributing List, since every structure in the city contributes to the city's unique character, and "original or attained" architectural character dismisses architectural integrity as a criterion. However, section 14.01.070, to which both the Master and Contributing definitions refer, tightens up this loose standard, mandating that "when determining if any property should be designated as a listed historic or cultural resource" the resource shall exhibit a high level of historic integrity ... and satisfy at least one of the following criteria These criteria are from the National Register of Historic Places, and the criterion relevant to 1013 Ella Street is based on NRHP Criterion C, that the resource 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 (14.01.070.A.) The crux is the word embody. Webster's suggests "to make concrete and perceptible." Synonyms in various dictionary definitions include personify and exemplify. Neither the NRHP nor the Secretary of the Interior defines the word, but it places it in parallel with "the work of a master" and "high artistic values," which implies that embody in this context does not mean the concretization of ordinary, partial, or superficial characteristics but of a fully articulated and integrated aesthetic. In other words, Taco Bell does not embody Mission Revival architecture in the way Los Angeles Union Station does. San Luis Obispo's ordinance helpfully explicates the architecture criterion with relative purity of a traditional style uniqueness of hybrid styles 3 • Packet Page 30
ATTACHMENT 3notable attractiveness ... because of its artistic merit, details, and craftsmanship an expression of interesting details and eclecticism among carpenter-builders, although the craftsmanship and artistic quality may not be superior In practice and precedent, the subset of buildings listed for architectural criteria in San Luis Obispo has been largely coherent within categories. Master Listings have almost always had a high and consistent degree of stylistic purity, artistic merit, expressive detail, craftsmanship, and interest-have been master works or close to them. The purity, merit, detail, craftsmanship, and interest of Contributing Listings largely have been somewhat less masterful and consistent, often because of less practiced or imaginative designers and builders, smaller budgets, or clients with other concerns than aesthetics, yet the stylistic characteristics they do possess have been judged rare or significant enough to be worth preserving. In absence, however, of a global historic resources survey or global reevaluation of past surveys in more than in more than thirty-five years, and with the reality that past evaluation had to be done by nonprofessionals with cursory training, there are outliers that have not been thoroughly or correctly evaluated, including some of our most iconic buildings, Jet alone our more anonymous ones. 4. Defining Characteristics of Craftsman Buildings The Craftsman style is defined, as its name suggests, by craftsmanship: the simplification of structural elements so that they can be ( A. hand shaped (or appear to be), rather than machine manufactured, B. built out of traditional materials such as river rock, old or clinker brick, and substantial cuts of wood C. assembled in such a way as to expose the craft of their construction and the minds of the craftsmen To the substantial extent that the Craftsman style intersects with the California Bungalow style and the First Bay Tradition, it also tries to achieve D. integrated spaces between the interior and the environment, such as covered entry porches, sleeping porches, pergolas, and wide eaves. The Craftsman style displaced the Queen Anne style and Neoclassicism and to some extent ran parallel to Prairie and Shingle as a more simplified and indigenous model of architecture. Its open interior and exterior structure was particularly suited to the California coastal climate, and significant influences were Irving Gill in San Diego, Charles and Henry Greene in Pasadena, and A. C. Schweinfurth and Bernard Maybeck in the Bay Area. The Craftsman style emphasized angles; linearity; and simple and muscular repetitions, variations, and contrasts. The structural elements in this interplay include gables, bargeboards, posts, beams, trusses, corbels and braces, rafter tails, window and door frames, and muntins. The fabrics are most commonly clapboard, sometimes board and batten, and shingle, with unshaped rock and old or clinker brick as a contrastive material. 4 Packet Page 31
ATTACHMENT 3The aesthetic of traditionalism is borrowed from the English Arts and Crafts movement, but the Craftsman style avoided overt or slavish historicism, apart from some structural forms like the wide and low-pitched roofs, wide eaves, and eave braces of the Swiss and German Heimatstil (Homeland Style); occasional Tudor half-timbering; and Japanese pagoda and irimoya roofs, posts and lintels, elongated corbels, and woodwork. The style instead foregrounds living craftspeople, their materials, and the environment. The character-defining features of the Craftsman style include low-pitched gables, usually artfully integrated with one another, often with the entry porch and main structure either repeating or nesting gables above and behind one another or sharing one left or right roof rake between two gables. Wide eaves are both emphasized and varied by rafter tails that are often raked or curved at their ends or feature birdsmouth cutouts, though sometimes these characteristics are less expensively limited to dominating barge boards. Trusses, as well as wood attic vents of horizontal, vertical, grid, or basket weave pattern emphasize the gable peak. Open front porches are so common as to be a sine qua non, and these are an opportunity to play with crossing beams and exposed beam ends (the latter often false). Square columns are the default, either as simple posts or tapered toward the top, more often than not supported on pedestals or a perimeter porch wall of wood, brick, or stone. Sometimes the tapering is so exaggerated as to form an elephant leg column. Pergolas and trellises also emphasize engagement with the surrounding environment. Windows tend to be framed with wide boards and be joined in twin, triplet, and quadruplet arrangements that are contrasted rhythmically with each other and with singleton windows. Common are sash or solid windows with a large pane at bottom and smaller panes-in an asymmetrically smaller plane-at top. The latter are divided by wood muntins or, less commonly, leading. Small muntined perimeter panes around a larger pane are also characteristic, as is the artful arrangement of panes in front doors. Full-, three-quarter-, half-, and quarter-length windows are arranged rhythmically with one another, their wide surrounds emphasizing them as architectural elements. Wainscoting, paneling, built-in cabinets and bookcases, inglenooks, trusses, and exposed beams bring a sense of craftsmanship, structural honesty, and traditional warmth to the interior. Large stone and brick fireplaces emphasize traditional architecture, materials, and activities. Craftsman dates as a widespread and unified style from about 1900 through the mid to late nineteen-teens. Dating from this period are the finest examples of Craftsman architecture in California, such as Maybeck's hillside chalets in Berkeley and Marin (the Flagg [1901 ], Bake [1902], Hopps, [1906], and Schneider [1907] Houses); Irving Gill's Marston House (San Diego, 1904-5); Greene and Greene's Tichenor House, Long Beach (1904-5), Gamble House, Pasadena (1907-09), and Pratt House, Ojai (1908-11); and Julia Morgan's St. John's Presbyterian Church, Berkeley (1908-10) and Hearst Social Hall at Asilomar, Pacific Grove (1913). Also dating from this period are the most important pattern books, such as Henry L. Wilson's 1910 The Bungalow Book, and the major writing, drawing, and photography on the subject, including articles in Gustav Stickley's 1901-1916 magazine The Craftsman. Of 5 Packet Page 32
ATTACHMENT 3the thirty-two examples of Craftsman architecture in A Field Guide to American Houses, only two date to 1920 and one to the 1920s; the rest are from the naughts and teens. Gamble House, Greene and Greene, 1909 Hearst Hall,Julia Morgan, 1913 By the 1920s, Craftsman was outmoded by the rise of eclectic revival styles such as Spanish, Mission, American Colonial, and French Provincial. Notably, William Randolph Hearst, in his spring 1919 meeting with Julia Morgan about building a house at San Simeon, mentioned having seen a pile of "bungalow books" in a second hand bookstore in Los Angeles, and he asked for a "Jappo-Swisso bungalow" (a la Greene and Greene), but he almost immediately switched to Mediterranean Revival cottages, a Spanish Plateresque main house, and Mission Revival outbuildings (David Nass aw, The Chief The Life of William Randolph Hearst [Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2000], pp. 287-88). The only Craftsman structure that emerged out of Hearst and Morgan's partnership was a Craftsman style playhouse that Morgan designed for the daughters of their taxi driver, Steve Zegar, in 1925 and which has occupied three locations in San Luis Obispo since then. Apart from residence buildings at Asilomar, designed for continuity with its earlier structures, this appears to be Julia Morgan's only building in the Craftsman style after the mid nineteen-teens. 5. Craftsman Buildings in San Luis Obispo There are fifteen Craftsman properties out of the 187 on San Luis Obispo's Master List. They are overwhelmingly houses; the notable exception is Orville Clark's Kindergarten School in Mitchell Park, but small school buildings and women's clubs were wont to borrow this domestic style. The Master List examples date from 1906 to 1921, but the only one from the 1920s is Adriance Court, an inexpensive stucco complex with wood trim that is superficially Craftsman in form but more notable for its embodiment of the bungalow court than of any Craftsman-inspired integration of design, workmanship, and materials. The proportion of Craftsman buildings on the Contributing List is much greater than on the Master List: the twenty-five Contributing List buildings in the East Railroad District include twelve Craftsman style houses. The city contains many unlisted Craftsman buildings, as well. A number of them would qualify for the Master List, a substantial number for the Contributing List, and a substantial number for neither. Craftsman houses are concentrated in areas that were being developed during the first and second decade of the nineteen-hundreds, where the Ramona Hotel burnt down in 1905, for example, east of Johnson and south of Higuera, and where Pierre Dallidet's vineyards, south of the Dallidet Adobe, were foreclosed on by the Commercial Bank in 1905. 6 Packet Page 33
ATTACHMENT 3( 6. Characteristics of San Luis Obispo's Master List Craftsman Buildings Several of San Luis Obispo's Master List Craftsman buildings are by notable regional or local architects, such as Charles McKenzie (the Vollmer House [1912] and Payne House [1913]), Harry Lyman (the Harry Lyman House [1912] and Martha Dunlap House [1916], and E. D. Bray (the Crossett House [circa 1914-18]). All the Master List Craftsman buildings exhibit a high degree of individual architectural creativity, craftsmanship, and attention to detail ( except for the Faulkner House, which should probably be on the Contributing List). The clapboard Leroy and Louisiana Clayton Dart House, for instance, has splayed side gables recreated in miniature in the splayed gable of its front-facing dormer window. Side gable and dormer have knee braces, and the full-width front porch has four square wood columns symmetrically but irregularly placed on the clapboard porch enclosure to emphasize the entrance. The column form, with base and crown, is repeated in stair posts, while curved corbels transition from porch columns to soffit. A horizontally asymmetrical line of leaded panes tops the vertically symmetrical porch windows. Quadruplet twelve-light windows with mun tins front the dormer. Singleton, twin, and triplet windows in full-and three-quarter length line up evenly and create asymmetric rhythm on the side wall, which is topped with a framed attic vent of horizontal boards. Dart House, 1912 On Lyman's Martha Dunlap House, wood elephant leg columns-with base, capitals, and astragals on clapboard pedestals-support carved Heimatstil knee braces whose purlins have pyramidal ends. Birdsmouth bargeboards are repeated by false birdsmouth purlins along the porch soffit. The elephant leg columns repeat in a classic Lyman interior, where they top a half-height bookcase and support a beam to create an entryway between living and dining room. 7 Packet Page 34
ATTACHMENT 3Dunlap House, Harry Lyman, 1916 The Crossett House, whose horizontality is emphasized with clapboard of alternating widths and an extravagantly low roof pitch with wide eaves, symmetrically repeats the first story gable with a second story gable of reduced width. Bray intersected a side gable with the first floor entry-facing gable to form an entry porch with a Japanese effect, emphasized by unusually slim rafter tails above crossing beams, plain posts, and elongated corbels. Bray, who learned the building trade with relatives who were Hollywood set carpenters, also studied with Charles McKenzie and his partner Frank Delos Wolfe in San Jose (Jean Martin, "E. D. Bray, Architect and Builder of the Central Coast," La Vista 2015). Crossett House, circa 1914-18 7. Characteristics of San Luis Obispo's Contributing List Craftsman Buildings Craftsman buildings on the Contributing List are not so articulate in their detail, careful in their craftsmanship, authentic in their materials, or creative or consistent in their architectural vision as those on the Master List. The clapboard house at 885 Buchan Street is a good example. Built on a shallow lot, its entry of shared-rake porch and main gables faces the side rather than the street, a flaw in its appearance. Atypically, the large gable is over the entry_and supplemented by an awkward flat canopy. The corbels are stepped with raked ends, but they don't have the elegance of the curved, elongated, and Japanese-inspired corbels of some of the Master List houses. The fenestration, consisting of singleton, twin, and quadruplet windows, is effective on what should have been the side but is in fact the street fac;:ade, where the triplet windows form a counterbalancing rhythm in the recesses between pushouts. Raked 8 Packet Page 35
ATTACHMENT 3bargeboard ends and carefully aligned six-, ten-and twelve-light windows complete an effect that, though it solidly embodies the Craftsman attention to materials, detail, and interplay of angles, does not achieve the extravagance of the Crossett House or complex and careful interplay of the Dart House. 885 Buchan Street A late Craftsman duplex at 1511-13 Broad Street, circa 1919, of stucco with wood trim, would be a superficial property were it not for trusswork of twin posts and twin beams with raked ends supporting the entry canopy, plus an unusual arrangement of a short pedestal between the duplexes with tall pedestals flanking their entries. A matching single-family house next to it repeats and varies the effect and qualifies them both for the Contributing List. 1511-13 Broad Street Contributing List buildings within the East Railroad District include 1205 George Street, with its diamond window motifs made up of four diamond panes, repeated in ground floor triplet and dormer quadruplet windows, and full-width covered porch with square columns and square balusters, as well as 1043 George, with its full-width porch with 9 Packet Page 36
ATTACHMENT 3(· integrated clapboard columns at each end and square posts between, curved corbels, and square oriel window. These embody the general form of the Craftsman style and a number of its expressive details without being fully thought out and executed as master works. The stucco duplex at 2020-2022 Ruth Street, with its nested fa~ade gables, integrated attic vent, powerful columns bearing a slightly curved arch, rhythmically aligned windows, and midline banding would qualify for the Contributing List, as might the unlisted 1121 Iris Street, with its square columns and balusters, curved rafter tails, and pagoda roof, though it has lost the integrity of its rafter tail bulb ends to dry rot. This last detail is retained on the pagoda-roofed 1408 Johnson Avenue, which is on the Contributing List. 1205 George Street 1043 George Street 2020-22 Ruth Street 1121 Iris Street 8. History of 1013 Ella Street The builder of 1013 Ella Street was Albert Robert Fulton (1877-1941 ), by the 1900 US Census a brakeman on the Pacific Coast Railway and by 1915 a conductor on the Southern Pacific ("Has Ankle Sprained," San Luis Obispo Daily Telegram, 6 Aug. 1915, p. 5). He also seems to have been bitten by the property development bug. In 1907 Fulton purchased lots in the Sunnyside Addition, and in 1908 he took out a permit to build a residence, possibly his and his wife Emily's, possibly a rental, on Swazey Street (Telegram 4 Oct. 1907 and 6 Oct. 1908). They lived on Swazey until building 1013 Ella Street nearby. Both streets were just above the Southern Pacific tracks and a short walk to the station. Albert and Emily Fulton bought the lot next door to the Swazey Street house in 1910 and in 1911 mortgaged the 1908 house, a week before a judgment against the San Luis Land and Improvement Company, in which Albert Fulton was one of eight partners (Telegram 31 Jan., 14 June, and 2 7 Dec. 1911). In December 1911 the superior court ordered the sale of San Luis Land and Improvement's property in the Beebee and Philips' Addition (below 10 Packet Page 37
ATTACHMENT 3South Street, where Exposition park would be built). Eighteen months after the sheriff's sale, however, Fulton and Emily bought four lots down the coast in "El Pizmo" (Telegram 19 Aug.1913). In November 1917, Walter C. Carpenter, "the hustling lawyer-real estate-insurance man," sold Fulton a house on Los Osos Street (now Jennifer) east of the tracks, as well as three contiguous lots on Ella Street, which would become the site for 1013 and 1015 (Telegram, 5 Nov. and 13 Nov. 1917). Eventually the Fultons would own seven contiguous lots on this block. Four years later, in November 1921, A. R. Fulton applied for a permit to build two frame cottages, five and four rooms (San Luis Obispo Historic Building Permit File, Cal Poly Special Collections). These would be 1013 (on two lots) and 1015 Ella Street, though 1013 Ella Street was for subsequent decades numbered 2024 Osos Street. Fulton did not employ an architect and listed himself as the contractor. The Fultons lived with their daughters in 1013 Ella/2024 Osos and rented out 1015 Ella. A social column in the Daily Telegram recorded them living there in 1923. By 1927, Telegram advertisements showed them renting out as many as three furnished and unfurnished houses at any given time. In 1927 they also appeared to briefly rent out their own house, when a fellow railroad worker was reported as dying at his residence there, although it is possible the Fultons were merely renting out rooms downstairs, as a later owner did in the 1940s ("F. P. Brackett Is Summoned," Telegram 3 Mar. 1927). In 1928 Albert and Emily Fulton acquired his seventh contiguous lot on Ella Street and took out a trust deed on all four undeveloped ones (Telegram 8 Feb. 1928). In 1929 the Telegram reported on Emily giving a twenty-first birthday party at their house for their daughter Dorothy ("Mrs. Fulton Gives a Party," 23 Jan.). The 1930 US Census listed the house as worth $5,500 (property values had yet to fall to Great Depression levels) and recorded Albert as still employed as a conductor. In February 1931, Emily deeded to Albert seven lots on Swazey and the seven lots on Ella, developed and undeveloped, as well as additional lots in Pismo (Telegram 7 Feb.). Through 14 September they were still advertising three cottages for rent. Advertisements from 28 September through October offered young eating rabbits. On 1 December Albert declared himself, in the Telegram, not responsible for any bills except those contracted by himself. In February 1932 he was declared bankrupt, and the four unbuilt lots on Ella were offered by the holder of the trust deed later that year (Telegram, 19 Feb. and 11 Aug. 1932). They were still being offered at auction in early 1935. By November 1931, 2024 Osos/1013 Ella appeared to be occupied by Agnes Pearman, offering herself for domestic work, though she may have been living downstairs. The property was sold to Mr. and Mrs. G. E. Ritchie in 1938 ("Home Buying on Increase," Telegram, 11 Jul. 1938). In 1950 it was for sale again with a rental cottage, presumably 1015. It was purchased by Mr. and Mrs. Manuel Simas. The Ritchies and Simases occasionally appeared in the local social news. In contrast, the 1940 census found A. R. Fulton, at age sixty-two, a widower, and unemployed, living at an auto camp largely occupied by other unemployed people, in Crescent City, Del Norte County, on the far Northern California coast. He declared that in 11 Packet Page 38
ATTACHMENT 31935 he had been living in Watsonville, which is where he grew up. Albert Fulton died in Del Norte County and was buried in Crescent City in 1941. 9. Initial Evaluation of 1013 Ella Street in 1985 and Listing in 2007 1013 Ella Street, west and north facades, circa 1985 The report for 1013 Ella Street was completed by P. Graham in October 1985, a period when the city did not have anyone with professional background writing or vetting evaluations. Of the forty-three categories of information in the form, thirteen were filled out, recording (in some cases inaccurately) that the property was a two-story, stucco, rectangular Craftsman house with a double garage below, a medium gable, composition roof, and off-center door with flat trim. The notation "post 40?" suggests either that the evaluator was not familiar with the history of the Craftsman style or that he or she sensed 12 Packet Page 39
ATTACHMENT 3later additions. The property was added to the Contributing List in February 2007 with 24 other properties in the proposed East Railroad District with no additional documented evaluation in the address file. 10. Architectural Evaluation of 1013 Ella Street A. Original features 1013 Ella Street's relationship to the Craftsman style is defined by what it has that it should have, what it should have but does not have, and what it should not have but does. • Built on a flatiron lot with three street fac;:ades, the building does have, on its west facing entrance fac;:ade, a broad gable of a typically Craftsman angle. Shared-rake gables at the back of the house are wasted on the only non-street fac;:ade and involve a utility and staircase extensions of uncharacteristically insubstantial size. • Substantial barge boards characteristic of the Craftsman style uncharacteristically (perhaps uniquely) rise above the roofrake rather than hanging below. • Plain knee braces do support purlins with chamfered ends, but there is no other detail shaping of wood elements and no contrasting clapboard, brick, or stone, only stucco, a material associated with late Craftsman forms rather than the integrated Craftsman aesthetic of traditional materials. • Wood muntins are employed in abbreviated upper sashes of three windows on the lower and upper levels of the north fac;:ade, two windows on the upper level of the entrance fac;:ade, and three windows on the upper level of the south fac;:ade, but these are irregularly distributed among smaller sash windows with no muntins and, in the north fac;:ade, irregularly distributed between floors, forgoing the rhythmic effects characteristic of Craftsman fenestration. • Twin windows on the lower floor are irregularly placed on the entrance fac;:ade because of the staircase, on the south fac;:ade because of the slope, and on the north fac;:ade for no discernible reason. • Windows frequently do not align with those above, below, or next to them or with other structural features. • Window surrounds and knee braces are reduced in size, a characteristic of late Craftsman buildings when parts are being manufactured, but the resulting imbalance is particularly noticeable in a two-story house. • The porch uprights, integrated into the stucco fabric, are insubstantial for even a late Craftsman building and miss the chance for vertical definition and horizontal contrast. • The absence of decorative attic vents is not unique but unusual for Craftsman buildings. The whole effect is of hasty, thoughtless, and inexperienced composition, the opposite of the Craftsman aesthetic. There is little play between lines and angles, variation in surfaces, rhythm among elements, or sense of artistic attention to details. This is consistent with the interior, which has none of the paneling, wainscoting, beams, and built-ins expected, instead consisting of plain plaster coved between wall and ceiling. 13 Packet Page 40
ATTACHMENT 3.. ~ ( B. Integrity The original house at 1013 Ella Street had no overall conception or notable features that would likely have qualified it for the Contributing List as an embodiment of the Craftsman style, but changes since then have fundamentally altered its character-defining features. Unified and symmetrical single-gable Jarade at right (with symmetrical mun tined windows obscured by porch fenestration); likely pre-1926 addition at left Irregular placement of windows on the likely pre-1926 addition (left); original mun tined window obscured by Streamline fenestration to wraparound porch (right) • Structural evidence-alteration ofrafters, addition of beams, cutting off of the garage door frame, seams, and atypical ceiling and floor board directions-suggests that the original building entrance fac;:ade was contained within the single gable and fronted by 14 Packet Page 41
ATTACHMENT 3( full-width porch; that the north fa~ade, like the south fa~ade, was continuous, and that the wraparound section of the porch on the north fa~ade was added later, though before 1926, when it appears on the Sanborn map. This addition undermined the Craftsman single-gable unity and symmetry of the entrance fa~ade with an extra window and flat eaves to the left, as well as undermining the consistency of the north fa~ade with an extraneous gable and pushout. • The anachronistic appearance of the asymmetrical wraparound is emphasized by its glazing of four-high stacks of horizontal panes from the Streamline style of the 193 Os and '40s, which, as well being antithetical to the Craftsman aesthetic, obscure the original fa~ade's symmetrical muntined windows that open onto the porch. • Uncharacteristic attic windows were added before 1985 under the main front and rear crest braces and on the side gable next to the crest brace rather than under it. • Three solid-paned windows, virtually unknown in the Craftsman era, were likely added later to the utility extension on the north fa~ade, as likely was the boarding up of the rear windows around the corner. • The triplet sash windows of the kitchen were replaced after 1985 with a garden window. • Structural evidence suggests that soffits were added to obscure rafter tails that were originally exposed. • The fact that the staircase that dominates the entry fa~ade does not appear on the Sanborn map by the map's end in 1956, and that Manuel Simas in 1959 was issued a permit for a $500 "stairway for residence," suggests that that feature was also added later. The massive concrete staircase does not embody Craftsman style in either material or design. 11. Conclusion The house at 1013 Ella Street, which is on a stunning site, was built and rebuilt for comfort and convenience, location and view, without an architect or architect-builder and without the attention to purity or integrated expression of the Craftsman style, either in overall conception or detail work, that would qualify it for the Contributing List of Historic Resources under the standards of the Historic Preservation Ordinance. It has so far lost its integrity that its original appearance is undiscernible, let alone unobtainable without major structural changes. San Luis Obispo in general, and the East Railroad District in particular, has a plethora of buildings that more purely and expressively embody the Craftsman style and retain superior integrity of character-defining features, both on the Contributing List and currently unlisted. Submitted by James Papp, PhD Historian and Architectural Historian Secretary of the Interior Professional Standards 15 Packet Page 42
ATTACHMENT 40 0
RESOLUTION NO. 9875 (2007 Series)
A RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO
ADDING PROPERTIES LOCATED AT 1342 BRECK STREET; 1013, 1015, 1240, 1255,
1265, 1345 #17 ELLA STREET; 1672 FAIRVIEW STREET; 1043, 1127, 1205, 1215, 1234,
1236 GEORGE STREET; 1136, 1139, 1140, 1204 IRIS STREET; 1985, 2105 JOHNSON
A VENUE; 907, 2056 RACHEL STREET; 1908 RUTH STREET; AND 2006, 2033
SWAZEY STREET TO THE CONTRIBUTING PROPERTIES LIST OF IDSTORIC
RESOURCES.
WHEREAS, in 1983 the City Council adopted Resolution No. 5197 establishing the
"Master List of Historic Resources" and "Contributing Properties List" (collectively referred to as
"Historic Resources''), along with procedures for adding properties to the listing; and
WHEREAS, on February 27, 2006, March 27, 2006, and November 27, 2006, following
such procedures the Cultural Heritage Committee held public hearings to consider recommending
to the City Council the addition of several properties in the City of San Luis Obispo to the
Contributing Properties List due to their historical and/or architectural significance to their
neighborhood and to the community; and
WHEREAS, at said meetings, the Cultural Heritage Committee reviewed the historical
documentation on the following properties and recommended that the City Council add these
properties to the Contributing Properties List of Historic Resources:
1. 1342 Breck Street
2. 1013, 1015, 1240, 1255, 1265, 1345 #17 Ella Street
3. 1672 Fairview Street
4. 1043, 1127, 1205, 1215, 1234, 1236 George Street
5. 1136, 1139, 1140, 1204 Iris Street
6. 1985, 2105 Johnson Avenue
7. 907, 2056 Rachel Street
8. 1908 Ruth Street
9. 2006 and 2033 Swazey Street
WHEREAS, this City Council considered this recommendation at an advertised public
hearing on February 20, 2007 pursuant to historic preservation guidelines established by Council
Resolution No. 6157 (1987 Series).
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the City of San Luis Obispo
that based on the Cultural Heritage Committee's recommendation, documentation as described in
the Historical Resource Inventory for each property, on file in the Community Development
Department, public testimony, the· staff report, and on the City's Historical Preservation Program
Guidelines the following:
R9875 Packet Page 43
ATTACHMENT 4,']
Resolution No. 9875 (2007"Sfries)
Page 2
0
SECTION 1. Addition to Contributing Properties List. The following properties have been
found to contribute to the historic and architectural character of the City and to meet the criteria for
inclusion on the Contributing Properties List, and are hereby deemed Contributing Properties:
1. 1342 Breck Street
2. 1013, 1015, 1240, 1255, 1265, 1345 #17 Ella Street
3. 1672 Fairview Street
4. 1043, 1127, 1205, 1215, 1234, 1236 George Street
5. 1136, 1139, 1140, 1204 Iris Street
6. 1985, 2105 Johnson Avenue
7. 907, 2056 Rachel Street
8. 1908 Ruth Street
9. 2006, 2033 Swazey Street
SECTION 2. Environmental Determination. The City Council hereby determines that this
action is not a "project" as defined in Article 20 of the California Environmental Quality Act
(CEQA) since it does not have the potential for resulting in a physical change in the environment,
and therefore, is not subject to environmental review requirements.
SECTION 3. Publish Revised Contributing Properties List. The Community Development
Director is hereby directed to amend the Contributing Properties List to include the properties listed
above and to publish revised historic resource listings for public distribution.
SECTION 4. Recording of Historic Properties. The City Clerk is hereby directed to record the
properties' historic designation with the County Recorder, pursuant to State Law.
On motion of Council Member Settle, seconded by Vice Mayor Mulholland and
on the following roll call vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
Council Members Carter and Settle and Vice Mayor Mulholland
Council Member Brown and Mayor Romero
None
The foregoing resolution was passed and adopted this 20th day of February 2007.
Packet Page 44
ATTACHMENT 4()
Resolution No. 9875 (200'nieries)
Page 3
ATTEST:
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
JG.5.t:;-~
City Attorney
0.,d~Td
Mayor David F. Romero
Packet Page 45
City of San Luis Obispo Architectural Character
Citywide Historic Context Statement
HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP
143
CRAFTSMAN
Craftsman architecture in America grew out of the late-19th century English Arts and Crafts
movement. It stressed simplicity of design, hand-craftsmanship, and the relationship to the climate and
landscape. Craftsman architecture was widely published in architectural journals and pattern books,
popularizing the style throughout the country. Affordable and easily constructed from local materials,
the mostly one- or one-and-a-half-story homes were often referred to as “bungalows” and dominated
middle-class residential design during the first quarter of the 20th century.
Character-defining features include:
Horizontal massing
Low-pitched gabled roof
Widely overhanging eaves with exposed rafters, beams, or braces
Wood exterior wall cladding (shingle, shake, or clapboard)
Projecting partial-, full-width or wrap-around front porch
Heavy porch piers, often of river stone or masonry
Wood-frame casement or double-hung sash windows, often grouped in multiples
Widely-proportioned front doors, often with a beveled light
Wide window and door surrounds, often with extended lintels
Extensive use of natural materials (wood, brick or river stone)
Burch House, 1333 Mill Street, 1915. Residence, 863 Islay Street, c. 1915.
1339 Higuera Street. Source: City of San Luis Obispo.
ATTACHMENT 5
Packet Page 46