2701-05 main street landmark 12.7 - santa monica...2011/12/12 · 1 m. agelasto and p. gleye, main...

2701-05 Main Street Santa Monica, California City Landmark Assessment and Evaluation Report

Prepared for: City of Santa Monica Planning Division Prepared by: PCR Services Corporation Santa Monica, California December 2011

2701-05 Main Street City Landmark Assessment and Evaluation Report

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2701-2705 Main Street City of Santa Monica APN: 4288-003-043 City Landmark Assessment and Evaluation

ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING

The subject property, 2701-2705 Main Street, is situated on the southeast corner of Main and Hill Streets between 2nd Street to the east, Main Street to the west, Hill Street to the north, and Ashland Avenue to the south. The one-story brick commercial building is located in the Main Street Historic District. The property is located in the Santa Monica Tract on Lots 48, 49, and 50, Block A.

REGULATORY SETTING

The subject property has been identified and assessed under the City’s ongoing survey process on two previous occasions. The commercial building was first identified and recorded as part of a 1983 survey of Main Street.1 The subject property was recommended eligible for the National Register as a contributor to the “Main Street District” and given a National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) status code of 5.

The commercial building was identified and recorded again as part of the 2010 “Santa Monica Citywide Historic Resources Inventory Update.”2 The subject property was identified “as a contributor to a district that appears eligible for local listing or designation through a survey evaluation” and given a NRHP status code of 5D3. The building remained eligible as a contributor to the Main Street District.

ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION

The subject property consists of four commercial spaces located in one building. The building is an excellent example of a single-story brick commercial building, which were constructed all over Southern California during, roughly, from 1910 through the 1920s. Specifically, the building is architecturally significant as it anchors the block with the slightly heightened and architecturally distinguished corner unit that steps down to the southern two units. Historically, the property set the scale for the block and now serves as a visual and spatial connection to the past commercial streetscape that once encompassed much of the Main Street streetscape.

The brick commercial building has many character-defining features of the early twentieth-century commercial Renaissance Revival-`style including a brick parapet, white glazed brick trim, tall storefront windows, and modest applied architectural ornamentation. The corner unit has a recessed entranceway with black and white square and hexagonal tile flooring

1 M. Agelasto and P. Gleye, Main Street Historic Resources Inventory, March 30, 1983. 2 IFC International, Santa Monica Citywide Historic Resources Inventory Update Final Report, prepared for

the City of Santa Monica, 2010.


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(Plate 1). Low brick walls are topped by tall storefront glazing that rises to a horizontal black painted wood lintel. Above the lintel, translucent glass panels rise to the ceiling. The walls are brick and use the white glazed brick to form borders around windows, at the ground level, and for decorative patterns on the walls bellow the parapet. Italian Mediterranean Revival themed red clay tile awnings are surface attached to the parapet with decorative metal brackets and span the entire western façade and wrap around the entrance to the north. A smaller awning in the same style is at the rear of the corner unit (Plate 2). The rear, east elevation of the entire building, has roughly ten double-hung sash windows set into the brick wall and one door is set into the corner unit.

Left to Right: Plate 1. 2701 Main Street corner storefront, view to southeast (PCR 2011); Plate 2. North elevation, view to south (PCR 2011) Just south of the corner unit, there are two central units and one southern unit (Plate 3). The middle and southern commercial units have highly altered storefronts, which is not uncommon in commercial buildings of this period and style. In fact, it appears that the single-story brick commercial building property type was designed to allow changes to the storefronts, as variety of storefront designs could be placed between the vertical walls, the floor, and the horizontally lined brick at the roof line. The middle and southern commercial units are identical in design. Each unit has a recessed entrance on its north side with square and hexagonal tile flooring. A low brick wall framed with glazed white brick supports the storefront windows (on the northern central unit, it appears the Art Nouveau style inspired storefront paneling covers the original wall). A thin strip of brick wall dividing the spaces has a vertical row of glazed white brick that rises to a slightly higher section of the parapet where there is a white plaster cartouche. Additional current photos of the subject property are included in the appendix.


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Plate 3. West elevation, view to east (PCR 2011)

CONSTRUCTION HISTORY AND ALTERATIONS

There are few building permits on record with the City of Santa Monica for the subject property. On November 23, 1922, the designer/contractor, Joseph F. Rhodes, filed for a building permit (No. B356) to construct a one-story commercial building located at 2701-07 Main Street. Originally, the 75 foot by 100 foot building was valued at $12,000. The building permit stated the walls were constructed of brick and the materials of the front were brick and terra cotta. Nineteen days prior, there was a demolition permit issued to remove a one-story, two-room building.

After the building was constructed, the building permits on file involved interior modifications, and storefront signs. In 1967, building permits were issued to construct two interior wall partitions and erect two non-illuminated signs. The following table lists the completed building permits filed for the property from 1922 to 1967.3

Permit# Date Address Owner Leasee Designer Contractor Description

B285 11/4/1922 2701 Main Street

Whiting Wrecking Co

Demolish &remove from lot 1‐story frame building (2 rooms)

B356 11/23/1922 2701‐07 Main Street

Geo Beidler

Joseph F. Rhodes

Joseph F. Rhodes

Construct 4‐rm, 1‐story store building for $12,000

B38936 1/21/1967 2701 Main Street

Ernest Jefferson

2 wall partitions for pool room snack bar

B38988 3/10/1967 2701 Main Street

Mr. Palmer

Southern California Signs

2 Signs (5' x 18")

3 City of Santa Monica, Department of Building and Safety.


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HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

Santa Monica

In 1875, the original townsite of Santa Monica was surveyed, including all the land extending from Colorado Street on the south to Montana on the north, and from 26th Street on the east to the Pacific Ocean on the west. Between 1893 and the 1920s, the community operated as a tourist attraction, visited mostly by wealthy patrons. Those areas located just outside of the incorporated city limits were semi-rural in setting and populated with scattered residences. The City’s commercial district was established between Wilshire and Colorado, at Second, Third, and Fourth Streets. A deep arroyo south of the commercial district divided north and south Santa Monica. The southern section of Santa Monica remained fairly undeveloped during the late and early nineteenth century, while northern Santa Monica burgeoned.

The close proximity to the ocean was no doubt a strong attraction to prospective year-round residents. As early as 1896, a reliable interurban rail line had made it possible to commute to Los Angeles, but it was the dominance of the automobile which gave significant momentum to the building boom which Santa Monica experienced in the 1920s. Following the widespread acceptance of the automobile in the 1920s, Santa Monica experienced a significant building boom, with homes being constructed in the tracts north of Montana and east of Seventh Street for year-round residents.

A postwar building boom began in 1946, with the construction of whole residential tracts of single family residences. Multi-family housing became a major factor in planning and zoning issues as the City's population continued to grow. Within the past decades, the area north of the Santa Monica freeway, constructed in 1966, has been transformed as many of the modest single-family houses have been replaced by larger homes or modern condominium units. Neighborhoods south of the freeway have also experienced a construction growth of multiple housing types, ranging from high-rise towers to the two- and three-story townhouses, which continue to be developed today.

Ocean Park Area

Ocean Park’s early history developed somewhat independently from the rest of Santa Monica due, in part, to the separation of the areas by an arroyo now occupied by the Santa Monica Freeway. A neighborhood of the City of Santa Monica, Ocean Park is bounded by downtown Santa Monica on the north and Venice, a neighborhood of the City of Los Angeles, on the South. Separated from the City of Santa Monica’s commercial core by an arroyo, travel between downtown Santa Monica and Ocean Park was very difficult. The sketch of Santa Monica below (Plate 4) from 1877 shows the arroyo and the commercial core of Santa Monica to the north, while the land to the south of the arroyo is sparsely developed. In the late 19th century, the arroyo functioned as a track bed for the Southern Pacific Railroad (SPRR) and the Pacific Electric Railway.

Ocean Park was initially oriented toward the beach and the neighborhood’s history is closely tied with its early twentieth-century development as an amusement and recreation


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destination, as a result of the construction of pleasure piers, amusement parks, bathhouses, tourist attractions, and recreational facilities.

Plate 4. Sketch of Santa Monica showing the railroad in the arroyo, 1877 (Santa Monica Public Library (SMPL) Images) The initial residential development of what would become Ocean Park occurred in the mid-1880s when land owned by the Lucas and Vawter families was subdivided into residential tracts clustered on streets between the ocean and the 4th Street hill, a natural inland boundary.4 The settlers found the “land was fertile and water was easily obtained by putting down wells and some prosperous little ranches were established here.”5 The housing boom in Southern Santa Monica continued with considerable force until the sudden rise in values in 1887 and 1888 and later the depression abruptly halted this areas development progress. In the early 1890s, Abbott Kinney, who would later create Venice of America, formed a partnership with Francis Ryan to purchase and develop over one mile of land south of Front Avenue (now Pico Boulevard) along the Pacific Ocean. Recognizing that a rail link to Los Angeles would be the key to development of the area, in 1893 Kinney donated land for the right of way and a depot to the Santa Fe railroad. Because the railroad ran down Lucus Street, a block west of 2nd Street (Main Street), the west side of the street was the railroad right-of-way and remained undeveloped.6 A passenger depot was constructed at the northwest corner of Lucus Street and Hill Street.

Upon completion of the rail line, the partners began subdividing and selling small parcels. Abbott Kinney and Francis Ryan persuaded the Railroad to construct an amusement pier to enhance the area’s resort potential. A 500-foot concrete pier was constructed approximately 200 feet south of Hill Street, by 1895 the Railroad began running seven trains daily to the new resort during the summer season. The community was given the name Ocean Park in 1895, and the Santa Fe depot station name was changed from South Santa Monica to Ocean Park.7 By 1901 Ocean Park contained approximately 200 dwellings (Plate 5), an auditorium

4 Luther A. Ingersoll, Ingersoll's century history, Santa Monica Bay cities (Santa Monica: L. A. Ingersoll,

1908), p. 246. 5 Luther A. Ingersoll, p. 245. 6 Sanborn Maps, 1902. 7 “The Southside Depot Changed,” Los Angeles Times, May 26, 1895, p. 11.


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(Plate 6), a bathhouse, a racetrack, the Ocean Park amusement pier, a casino (restaurant), and some agricultural plots of land. The adjacent Pier Street became one of the area’s early commercial streets.8

Left to Right: Plate 5. First houses constructed along the boardwalk in Ocean Park, circa 1900 (SMPL Images); Plate 6. Ocean Park Auditorium and the Casino Cafe, Santa Monica, Calif. 1900 (SMPL Images) With new business partners Alexander Fraser and several others, Kinney formed the Ocean Park Improvement Company in 1902. The partners invested in a sewer system for the community, extended the boardwalk south to the end of their tract, increased the development of the Company’s land south of Rose Avenue, and, finally, made plans for the construction of a large bathhouse. Due to disagreements with his associates, however, Abbott Kinney quit the partnership in January 1904, taking the swampy southern portion of the Company’s land for his imagined and soon to be conceived Venice project. Prior to relocating his business interests further south, however, Kinney had set in motion the incorporation of the partnership’s property south of Marine Avenue (now Marine Street). On February 12, 1904 a successful vote created a new 6th class city called Ocean Park.

Without Abbott Kinney, Alexander Fraser and the remaining partners invested $185,000 in a colossal Ocean Park Bath House (Plate 7) located near Navy Street south of the existing, but relatively modest, Ocean Park Pier. The Ocean Park Bath House opened on July 4, 1905, the same weekend as Kinney’s Venice of America. Access to Ocean Park from Los Angeles and other southern California communities via the Pacific Electric Railway soon became a key element of the area’s success, its growth promoted by the influx of newcomers from the mid-western states, and a boom in home construction.

8 Fred E. Basten, Santa Monica Bay: Paradise by the Sea: a Pictorial History of Santa Monica, Venice,

Marina del Rey, Ocean Park, Pacific Palisades, Topanga & Malibu (Hennessey + Ingalls: Los Angeles, 1997).


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Plate 7. Ocean Park Bath House, circa 1905 (SMPL Images) The driving factors behind Ocean Park’s growth and development as a beach community were the large piers, bathhouses, boardwalks, plunges, and various pier amusements that were constructed along the beach and into the Pacific Ocean in the first few decades of the twentieth century. Abbott Kinney’s Pier in Venice erected in 1908 was so successful that Alexander Fraser formed the Fraser Million Dollar Pier Company with the intent of building the world’s largest amusement pier. Located between Pier and Marine Streets at the foot of the Ocean Park Bath House, the Million Dollar Pier (Plate 8) with its dance hall, Vaudeville Theater, roller coaster, sideshows, and exhibits extended 1000 feet into the ocean when it opened in 1911. Fire, which would prove to be the most destructive of the natural forces that would afflict the piers in the coming decades, destroyed Fraser’s Pier and all of the surrounding amusement buildings in 1912, only 15 months after the Piers opening. The pier was rebuilt on a smaller scale at the same location in 1913 under the management of Ernest Pickering and was soon known as the Pickering Pier (Plate 9). Another large amusement pier constructed during the decade was the Looff Pier located south of and adjacent to the Santa Monica Municipal Fishing Pier at the west end of Colorado Avenue.

Left to Right: Plate 8. Fraser's "Million Dollar Pier," 1910 (SMPL Images); Plate 9. Pickering Pleasure Pier and Dome Theater, 1916 (SMPL Images) The rapid growth of Santa Monica during the 1920s generated an increased need for transportation connectivity and the Main Street Bridge, circa 1926, created a link, via Main Street, between the city’s growing commercial core and Ocean Park. Upon completion, the Main Street Bridge extended Main Street across the arroyo. Traveling south, Main Street bisected the mostly vacant area owned by the SPRR until it reached the former Santa Fe Railroad’s right of way and a small residential pocket that occupied the southeast corner of


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the quadrant. From there, Main Street turned diagonally southwest to connect with the existing segment of Main Street in Ocean Park.9 The Pickering Pier was destroyed by fire in 1924 (Plate 10) and rebuilt in 1926.

Plate 10. Ocean Park Pier Fire, Ocean Park, Calif. 1924 (SMPL Images)

Ocean Park assumed its modern identity during the 1930s as a year-round community.10 This change shifted the focus of commercial centers from Pier Avenue to Main Street; and commercial establishments of the period appear to have catered to Ocean Park residents, rather than tourists.11 Main Street became the commercial corridor of the developing Ocean Park community, servicing both permanent residents and visitors who lived in the cottages, bungalows, and courts that sprang up as far east as Lincoln and beyond. By the close of the teens, a substantial portion of Ocean Park was improved. By the 1930s, buildings occupied most of the available parcels in the area and older improvements were removed to provide space for newer development. Following World War II, few new amusement piers were constructed. Soon the familiar cycle of destruction by fire in conjunction with changing economics and new recreation choices led to the demise of the great amusement piers. A short-lived exception to this trend was Pacific Ocean Park (formerly the Lick Pier) which opened in 1958 as a competitor to Anaheim’s Disneyland but closed eleven years later in 1967 (Plates 11 and 12). During the early 1970s, local surfers utilized the graveyard pier structure for their daring surfing maneuvers. When Pacific Ocean Park Pier was demolished in 1973/1974, the Santa Monica Municipal Pier became the last remaining amusement pier along the southern California

9 Portions of this section were adapted from the “Historic Resources Technical Report Santa Monica Civic

Center Specific Plan: Historic Resources Survey, Evaluation, and Analysis of Project Impacts,” prepared by PCR Services Corporation for the City of Santa Monica, March 2004.

James W. Lunsford, The Ocean and the Sunset, The Hills and the Clouds: Looking at Santa Monica, 1983. Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, City of Santa Monica. Paula A. Scott, Santa Monica: A History on the Edge, Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2004. 10 Myers, William A., and Ira L. Swett, Trolleys to the Surf; The Story of the Los Angeles Pacific Railway

(Glendale: Interurban Publications, Inc., 1976). 11 Leslie Heumann, “Department of Parks and Recreation series 523 form, 2000-2100 Blocks of Third Street

District.”


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Coast.12 A reason for the failure of Pacific Ocean Park was because the neighborhood was in decline. During this period, Santa Monica began its urban renewal project and identified the southwest corner of Ocean Park as its first redevelopment district.13 By 1966, Santa Monica demolished an urban district between Ocean Park Boulevard and the Venice Border. However, also during this period, Ocean Park became a center for bohemian culture and political activism.

Left to Right: Plate 11. Aerial of Pacific Ocean Park Pier, 1967 (SMPL Images); Plate 12. Entrance to POP Pier, 1965 (SMPL Images) In the early 1970s, fire destroyed the remaining remnants of the Pacific Ocean Park Pier erasing the last physical evidence of what had been one of the defining features of the Ocean Park community and the catalyst for its early growth. By this time, however, the importance of the piers to filling vacancies in apartment courts, had long past as occupancy by seasonal tourists was replaced by tenants attracted to beach areas for retirement, employment, or other reasons. Today, Ocean Park boasts a broad mix of turn-of-the-century cottages, various styles of single-family bungalows, revival-style apartment courts, multi-story postwar apartment buildings, and contemporary condominiums. The Development of Main Street and the Subject Property (2701-2705 Main Street)

Early 20th Century 2nd Street (Main Street)

During the early twentieth century, 2nd Street (Main Street) was scattered with residential development with interspersed commercial businesses. The earliest map available of Main Street is from 1902, which shows the portion of Main Street from Front Street (Pico Boulevard) to the south city limits. The Southern California Railroad tracks ran down the center of 2nd Street (Main Street) from Front to Hollister, and then veered west towards running south towards Neilson Way. In 1902, 2nd Street (Main Street) was sparsely developed and residential in character. However, there was a small commercial district

12 Earnest Marquez, Santa Monica Beach: A Collector’s Pictorial History (Santa Monica: Angel City Press,

2004). 13 Historic Resources Group, Historic Resources Survey Update Ocean Park, Prepared for City of Santa

Monica, June 2004, 26.


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forming at the corner of 2nd (Main Street) and Hill Street. Located on the subject property on the southeast corner of 2nd Street (Main Street) and Hill Street there was a grocery store (Plate 13), meat market, restaurant, and bank. And adjacent to these properties on the same block were dwellings and a drugstore, and directly behind the subject property on Hill Street was a boarding and lodging house. Across 2nd Street (Main Street) to the west of the subject property there were produce and home furnishings stores. At the northwest corner of 2nd Street (Main Street) and Hill Street there was a Christian Church and behind the church along the railroad right-of-way there was a Southern California Railroad passenger depot. At the northeast corner of 2nd Street (Main Street) and Hill Street there was freight office, two sheds, and car storage for the railroad. Along Pier Avenue, there was a bowling alley, grocery store, two commercial building being built, and the Holborow hotel.

Plate 13. James R. Snow's Grocery at Second (Main) and Hill Streets, circa 1902 (SMPL Images) The 1909 Sanborn map shows that 2nd Street was renamed to Main Street and the railroad tracks were relocated. The previous buildings located on the subject property were removed and replaced with a large grocery store, and a school room moved into the adjacent restaurant. Both the Christian church and passenger depot at the northwest corner of Main and Hill Streets was converted into functions for freight services. A dwelling and the large Ocean Park Steam Laundry replaced the previous buildings at the northeast corner of Main and Hill Streets. Overall, the density along Main Street had increased by 1909 with primarily residential dwellings. The southwest corner of Main and Hill Streets still had a grocery store, barber, grocery and fruit store, office, and furniture and home goods store. Overall, the commercial development along Main Street increased slowly, with the remainder of the infill being residential. The center of commerce in Ocean Park was centered along Pier Avenue (Plate 14) during the period due to the pleasure pier and attractions located along the waterfront at Pier Avenue. The lots facing Pier Avenue between the Ocean Front and Main Street with developed with a variety of commercial businesses related to amusement and basic household needs.


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Plate 14. View of Pier Avenue, 1905 (SMPL Images) This pattern of development continued for the next decade. The commercial core of the Main Street district continued to be anchored at the intersection of Main Street and Hill Street. The east side of Main Street between Hill and Ashland continued to be residential until the early 1920s, when the residences gradually became replaced by brick vernacular commercial structures. By 1920, a large portion of Ocean Park had been improved with residential and commercial buildings. The Douglas Aircraft located in the southeastern portion of the city opened in 1923, and became a primary contractor for manufacturing aircraft during World War II. Sanborn maps of the 1920s and 1930s illustrate the infill of remaining parcels in the area with significant residential improvements and the upgrade of some older properties with newer improvements. The majority of the vernacular commercial buildings constructed during this period now still comprises roughly half of Main Street.14 The Spanish Colonial Revival style Parkhurst Building, 2942 Main Street (listed on the National Register), was constructed in 1927. Beidler Building, 2701-05 Main Street (1922-23) The subject property at 2701-05 Main Street (Plate 15) was constructed during this period of “renaissance” on Main Street. On November 4, 1922, an application to demolish two-room, one-story wood frame building was filed.15 Nineteen days later, George Beidler applied for a permit to construct a four-room, one-story commercial building valued at $12,000.16 The front façade materials were described as brick and terra cotta, and the building had a composition roof, tile and wood 14 Data based on the Santa Monica Citywide Survey Historic Resources, December 16, 2010. 15 City of Santa Monica Application to Alter, Repair or Demolish, Permit# B285, November 4, 1922. 16 City of Santa Monica Application for Erection of “Class B & C” Buildings, Permit# B356, November 23,

1922.

Plate 15. 2701-05 Main Street, date unknown (Lenore Lambert Collection)


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cornices, and concrete floors. The owner George Beidler was listed as living at 160 N Madison in Pasadena, California. The subject property was designed and constructed by Joseph F. Rhodes. Main Street and Ocean Park, from the mid-1920s Also, during the mid to late 1920s there were a number of transportation and infrastructure improvements in the Ocean Park Area and Main Street became the primary commercial artery, servicing permanent residents and visitors. The Main Street Bridge was constructed in 1926 and bridged the central commercial district to Ocean Park creating greater connectivity between the City. Also in 1926, the west side of Main Street was widened and the buildings on the west side of the Main Street were moved several feet to the west (Plate 16). Banners were stretching the width of Main Street were hung to advertise the transportation improvement, “Greater Main Street 80 ft. Blvd. Leading Business Street.” Interestingly, the majority of the buildings constructed between 1926 and 1930 were constructed on the west side of Main Street. There are thirteen extant vernacular commercial buildings from this period along the west side of Main Street.17 Additionally, Neilson Way also known as Trolley-way, one block west of Main Street, served as the Pacific Electric right of way until it became a vehicular street in the 1930s.

Plate 16. View of the intersection of Main Street and Hill Street, looking south, the subject property is to the right, September 8, 1926 (SMPL Images) Ocean Park assumed its modern identity during the 1930s as a year-round community.18 This change shifted the focus of commercial centers from Pier Avenue to Main Street. These commercial establishments along Main Street catered to Ocean Park residents, rather than tourists.19 The Merle Norman Cosmetics Company, founded in the 1920s, had its headquarters on Main Street in Ocean Park. In 1936, the Streamline Moderne style Merle Norman building was constructed at 2525 Main Street. Two years later, the Streamline Moderne style Santa Monica City Hall was constructed at 1685 Main Street. 17 Data based on the Santa Monica Citywide Survey Historic Resources, December 16, 2010. 18 Myers and Swett, Trolleys to the Surf. 19 Myers and Swett, Trolleys to the Surf.


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During the 1950s, Main Street became the primary commercial artery, servicing permanent residents and visitors. The 1950 Sanborn map demonstrates the lots along Main Street were developed with commercial structures. At the intersection of Hill and Main Streets there was a new auto parking garage on the southwest corner, on the north east corner the steam laundry remained extant and a new commercial building was constructed on the corner, at the southeast corner there was the subject property, and at the southwest there was a commercial building. Other major improvements along Main Street include the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium at 1855 Main Street was constructed in 1958. The neighborhood between Main and Fourth Streets known as the “Belmar Triangle” was demolished to build the modern auditorium. Ocean Park’s established pattern of small-scale development continued in the post-World War II era. In 1977, the First Roy Jones House constructed in 1894 was moved from 1007 Ocean Avenue to its current located at 2612 Main Street. Subsequently, the house became a museum and a hub of culture on Main Street. Today, a multi-layered and diverse historical legacy in terms of age, styles, and building types characterizes Ocean Park.20 The diversity of tenants and various storefront improvements to the subject property illustrates this diversity, as discussed further in the section below about the storefronts of 2703 and 2705 Main Street (Plate 17).

Plate 17. The subject property at the intersection of Main and Hill Streets, February 22, 1996 (SMPL Images) 2701 and 2703 Main Street (1981 to Present)

In 1981, the storefront of 2705 Main Street was redesigned by Parke Meek and Roger Johnson into an Art Nouveau style storefront (Plate 18). The redesign was inspired by an original Art Nouveau style storefront of a flower shop located at 13 Rue Royale in Brussels, Belgium. The organic design was completed by Paul Hanker in 1896 (Plate 19).21

20 Fred E. Basten, Santa Monica Bay: Paradise by the Sea: a Pictorial History of Santa Monica, Venice,

Marina del Rey, Ocean Park, Pacific Palisades, Topanga & Malibu (Hennessey + Ingalls: Los Angeles, 1997).

2113 Rue Royale, Brussels, Belgium, http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fichier:Bruxelles_rue_Royale_13.jpg, accessed November 9, 2011.


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Left to Right: Plate 18. Subject Property Storefront, 2703 Main Street (PCR 2011); Plate 19. Art Nouveau Storefront, 13 Rue Royals, Brussels, Belgium (13 Rue Royale, Brussels, Belgium, http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fichier:Bruxelles_rue_Royale_13.jpg, accessed November 9, 2011.) The designer of the storefront at 2703 Main Street, Parke Meek (1924-2010), was a cabinet maker in the United States Marine Corps who later worked as a designer in the Eames office.22 After working in the Eames office for thirty years, Parke Meek opened Jadis, a movie prop house, at 2701 Main Street in 1976.23 His partner Susan Lieberman opened the store Paris 1900 at 2703 Main Street the same year.24 Five years later, Parke Meek redesigned the storefront into the Art Nouveau style. According to a biography about Parke Meek, there are only two handcrafted Art Nouveau storefronts in America, one in Harvard Square (1804 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts) constructed in the early 1900s (Plate 20) and the other at the subject property on Main Street in Santa Monica.25 Both stores, Jadis and Paris 1900, are presently open and are fixtures of the streetscape of Main Street.

Plate 20. Art Nouveau Storefront, 1804 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts (Mark Favermann, “Rare Art Nouveau Shopfront Survives in Harvard Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts,” November 23, 2008, http://www.berkshirefinearts.com/11-23-2008_rare-art-nouveau-shopfront-survives-in-harvard-square-cambridge-massachusetts.htm accessed November 9, 2011.) 22 Kevin Herrera, “Famed Eames design team member dies” Santa Monica Daily Press, January 6, 2010. PASSINGS: Don Kott, Parke Meek, J.C. Gipson,” Los Angeles Times, January 09, 2010, accessed

http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jan/09/local/la-me-passings9-2010jan09, November 9, 2011. 23 History, Jadis, http://jadisprops.com/moderne/history, accessed November 9, 2011. 24“Store History,” Paris 1900, http://www.paris1900.com/Store_History_D.html, accessed November 9, 2011. 25 Biography information on Parke Meek provided by the City of Santa Monica, November 2011.


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2701-05 Main Street Occupancy and Ownership History Occupancy History

City Directory research over a thirty-seven year period indicated numerous tenants have occupied the storefronts located at 2701, 2703 and 2705 Main Street. The subject property remained vacant after construction. In 1925, Spellmire & Iverson Dry Goods occupied 2703 and 2705 Main Street, who later vacated the spaces, and Seemen Jacob Grocery occupied 2705 Main Street in 1927. In 1927, the Ocean Park Branch of Bank of America occupied 2701 Main Street and one year later Bank of Italy National Trust & Savings Association took over the space. Following the stock market crash of 1929, the subject property remained vacant until 1938; Dixon John Coffee moved into 2703 Main Street and Heuer Samuel Paints moved into 2705 Main Street. In 1940, Heuer Samuel Paints moved into 2701 Main Street and Dierdorf Beauty Shop moved into 2703 Main Street. Heuer Samuel Paints was a tenant of 2701 Main Street until Bay Cities Paint and Wallpaper Co. was listed in 1952. There were a variety of tenants in 2703 and 2705 for ten years, including a clothes cleaner, beauty ship, electronic repair ship, and plumber. The directory results are provided below.

Year Address Occupant 1923‐24 2701‐05 Main Street Vacant 1925 2701 Main Street Vacant 2703‐05 Main Street Spellmire & Iverson Dry Goods 1927 2701 Main Street Bank of America (OP br) 2703 Main Street Vacant 2705 Main Street Seemen Jacob Gro. 1928 2701 Main Street Bank of Italy Natl Tr & Sav Assn 2703‐05 Main Street Vacant 1930‐31 2701‐05 Main Street Vacant 1933 2701‐05 Main Street Vacant 1936 2701‐05 Main Street Vacant 1938 2701 Main Street Vacant 2703 Main Street Dixon John Coffee 2705 Main Street Heuer Saml Paints 1940 2701 Main Street Heuer Saml Paints 2703 Main Street Dierdorf Beauty Shop 2705 Main Street Vacant 1947‐48 2701 Main Street Heuer Saml Paints 2703 Main Street Marcoe DF Mrs. Beauty Shop 2705 Main Street Abrams Lillian Mrs. Clo Clnr 1952‐53 2701 Main Street Bay Cities Paint and Wallpaper Co. 2703 Main Street Curlette Beauty Shop 2705 Main Street Smittys Elec Repairs


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Year Address Occupant 1954 2701 Main Street Bay Cities Paint and Wallpaper Co. 2703 Main Street Curlette Beauty Shop 2705 Main Street Rosenthal Hyman Plmb. 1958‐59 2701 Main Street Bay Cities Paint and Wallpaper Co. 2703 Main Street Curlette Beauty Shop 2705 Main Street Rosenthal Hyman Plmb. 1960‐61 2701 Main Street Bay Cities Paint and Wallpaper Co. 2703 Main Street Curlette Beauty Shop 2705 Main Street Rosenthal Hyman Plmb.

Ownership History The first owner of the subject property was George Beidler who commissioned the construction of the subject property in 1923. Samuel Heuer and Evelyn Heuer purchased the property on April 17, 1946 for $27,500.00 from George Beidler and remain the current owners in 2011.26

Plate 21. Couple outside of 2701 Main Street, date unknown (Lenore Lambert Collection) Designer and Contractor Joseph F. Rhodes (1881-1948)

The designer of the subject property, Joseph F. Rhodes, was a prolific Southern California designer and contractor in Santa Monica and Los Angeles during the 1920s and early twentieth century. He was born on November 18, 1881 in Chicago, Illinois, and received his Bachelor of Science degree in 1903 at Yale.27 After completing his education, he worked at George A. Fuller Construction Company in New York City in the estimating department. Later, he moved to Pasadena, California where he worked in the credit department of Baker Iron Works in Los Angeles. Two years later he started his own contracting business and constructed many business blocks, apartments, hotels, and residences in Southern California throughout his career. His office was located at 411-415 Central Building in Los Angeles

26 Email correspondence from Lenore Lambert regarding 2701-2705 Main Street, November 24, 2011. 27 Biography information on Parke Meek provided by the City of Santa Monica, November 2011.


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(Plate 22).28 He married Louise Bond on February 14, 1906 and had four children. He was a member of the California Club, Annandale Country Club, Valley Hunt Club, and Bolsa Chica Gun Club.29 Mr. Rhodes was an active contractor and designed until his death in Los Angeles on March 21, 1948.30

Plate 22. Advertisement for Joseph F. Rhodes, 1914 (California Outlook, Volume 15, 1913, p. 14) Mr. Rhodes designed many buildings throughout Southern California and the majority of his designs later in his career were brick commercial buildings. Some of his projects in Los Angeles included: brick apartment-house, 5th Street and Bixel Streets (1911); three-story brick building, 5th Street and Ruth Avenue (1911); residential tract, Gramecy Park Tract, West Jefferson and Gramercy Place (1913)(Plate 23); three-story brick hotel and store, 1012 east 7th street (1914); brick commercial building, Pacific Coast Biscuit Company (1924)(Plate 24); commercial building, 48th Street and 9th Avenue (1925); commercial building, 71st Street and Western Avenue (1925); Piggly Wiggly, 37th and West Boulevard (1925); Piggly Wiggly, 109 South Spadra, Fullerton (1925); and one-story brick commercial building, corner of Western Avenue and 68th Street (1925).31 In Santa Monica, Mr. Rhodes is on record for designing the brick commercial building at 1401-1405 Montana Avenue (Plate 25) in 1926 (originally owner M.B. Rapp).

28 California Outlook, Volume 15, 1913, p. 14. 29 “Joseph Rhodes, Contractor, Dies,” Los Angeles Times, March 23, 1948, p. 22. 30 Ancestry.com. California Death Index, 1940-1997 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com

Operations Inc, 2000. 31 “Huge Outlay for Building,” Los Angeles Times, February 11, 1911, p. V112; “This, Busiest Summer of

All,” Los Angeles Times, July 23, 1911, p. VII; “Display Ad,” Los Angeles Times, March 23, 1913, p. V11; “Apartments and Flat Projects,” Los Angeles Times, September 20, 1914, p. V1; “Complete Construction,” Los Angeles Times, January 25, 1925, p. E6; “Rhodes Starts Construction on Two Structures,” Los Angeles Times, May 17, 1925, p. F5; “Market Structure,” Los Angeles Times, January 25, 1925, p. E14; “Western Block,” Los Angeles Times, February 8, 1925, p. F3.


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Plate 23. Gramecy Park Tract, designed and constructed by Joseph T. Rhodes, circa 1913 (“Display Ad,” Los Angeles Times, March 23, 1913, p. V11.)

Left to Right: Plate 24. Pacific Coast Biscuit Company, circa 1924 (Los Angeles Public Library Images); Plate 25. 1401-1405 Montana Avenue, circa 2011 (Google Street View) Based upon research of buildings attributed to Mr. Rhodes and his philosophy of design, it appears that he was a skilled Southern California architect who was influential in the design and promotion of brick commercial buildings. He adapted his architectural designs to the changing needs of his clients, local culture, and the economy. Mr. Rhodes researched and analyzed the prevailing trends in commercial construction and his research was published in the Los Angeles Times.

During the last three years Los Angeles has had the distinction of leading all other cities except New York in this type of construction. The annual investment in store buildings construction in this city, over a period of three years, has averaged $25,000,000 annually. The rapid growth in population and the phenomenal development of residential communities, especially in the new subdivisions, is responsible for so much store building construction in Los Angeles. The only other city in the country, which has been able to keep pace with this record has been New York.32

As a result of the building boom of the 1920s, Mr. Rhodes saw the necessity for commercial buildings for specialty shops in burgeoning residential areas. In 1925, he was quoted in a Los Angeles Times article about the expansion of shopping centers in Southern California:

32 “Building of Store Units Increasing: Los Angeles Tops List of Cities on Same Class of Construction,” Los

Angeles Times, April 26, 1925, p. F4.


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Every newly developed or developing residential district must have its drug stores, its market houses, bakeries, pressing and cleaning emporiums and countless other specialty shops to meet the needs of neighborhood trading hence the steady flow of contracts for small store and shop building construction.

This type of construction is dependent of course, upon the development of new residential districts to a large extent and so consequently as long as home building continues to maintain such a high average, there will be an abundance of shop building construction.

The advance of the exclusive shopping centers westward from the central trading area, where they have been for years, has created a demand for small, artistic stores of the one and two-story type. The Westlake Park district, with its alluring studio specialty shops is a typical example of this new development in Los Angeles. Every city in the country has its specialty shops, usually located in one district, but only a few cities such as New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Cleveland, and New Orleans have developed this class of construction to such a high degree as Los Angeles.33

The subject property, constructed during the 1920s, is an example of the decentralization of commerce westward. As the Ocean Park area became a booming residential area, stores were needed to support the basic functions of the residents. This development pattern fits within the general development trends in Southern California Mr. Rhodes described. And the commercial buildings were designed to be economical and functional to serve the needs of the business owners.

George Beidler (1864-1947)

George Beidler, the owner of the subject property at the time of construction in 1923, was born in Chicago, Illinois on October 28, 1864.34 He was associated with the Beidler-Robinson Lumber Company between 1884 and 1888, Beidler Brothers Lumber Company between 1888 and 1891 and manager of his Father’s interests from 1891 to 1900.35 After moving to California, he was a financier and realtor. He owned and developed land throughout Southern California, specifically in Los Angeles, Santa Monica, and Torrance.36 The 1920 United States Census lists George Beidler living at 160 N Madison in Pasadena with his wife, five children, and two servants.37 He was a member of the Jonathan Athletic

33 “Shopping Centers Expand,” Los Angeles Times, February 1, 1925, p. E3. 34 George Beidler, California Death Index, 1940-1997 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com

Operations Inc, 2000. 35 John William Leonard, The book of Chicagoans: a biographical dictionary of leading living men of the city of

Chicago, edited by Albert Nelson Marquis, Volume 2, Chicago: A.N. Marquis & Company, 1911, p. 51. 36 Justice Brown Detwiler, Who's who in California: a biographical directory, 1928-29, Volume, 1928-29, p.

100. 37Both the 1910 and 1920 Census identifies George Beidler as Real Estate Agent living at 160 N Madison in

Pasadena. George Beidler, Year: 1910; Census Place: Pasadena Ward 1, Los Angeles, California; Roll: T624_86;

Page: 1A; Enumeration District: 0368; Image: 212; FHL Number: 1374099. George Beidler, Year: 1920;Census Place: Pasadena, Los Angeles, California; Roll: T625_117; Page: 3A;


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Club (Los Angeles) and the Brentwood Country Club. In 1911, a short biography profiled George Biedler in the Book of Chicagoans and later in 1929 he was profiled in Who’s Who in California.38 An article in the Santa Monica Outlook describing bungalows George Biedler was planning to construct on Ocean Avenue between Utah and Colorado Avenues as a place holder for a future hotel described him as:

Mr. Beidler is known as a staunch supporter of Prohibition and it was rumored that he would not have begun operations in this city of the Wets had been victorious. It was also stated that he had under consideration a site in Long Beach, but was influenced to make his investment here thru the adoption of the Dry ordinance on December 4th.39

However, information regarding George Biedler’s significant real estate accomplishments was not uncovered in the Los Angeles Times, California Index, Santa Monica Public Library databases, Pasadena’s Historic Properties database, Pasadena Digital History, and Pasadena New Index. George Beidler passed away on January 13, 1947 in Los Angeles.

COMMERCIAL ARCHITECTURE OF MAIN STREET

The commercial architecture of Main Street, constructed during the first three decades of the twentieth century, reflects national architectural trends. Architectural styles for commercial buildings include most of the revival and period styles, however the primary architectural elements are reinforced brick construction, parapets, and adaptable storefronts. Significance for these mostly utilitarian buildings should be weighed against other examples of the type within their context, Main Street within Ocean Park. Existing historic properties on Main Street that appear to be potentially individually eligible as City Landmarks are either one-story commercial storefront buildings, or multi-story buildings with the ground floor serving as commercial storefront space and the upper floor used as residences or office space. During a windshield survey of previously undesignated commercial properties along Main Street, PCR located two single-story commercial buildings that warrant further investigation, and four multi-story commercial buildings that warrant further investigation. The single-story properties located include 1929 Main Street, and 2736 Main Street. Multi-story properties located include 2663 Main Street, 2821 Main Street, 3005 Main Street, and 3008 Main Street. Furthermore, PCR determined that 2701 Main Street is eligible for Landmark designation. The photographs of these commercial buildings are included in the appendix.

Enumeration District: 520; Image: 781.

38 Justice Brown Detwiler, Who's who in California: a biographical directory, 1928-29, Volume, 1928-29, p. 100. John William Leonard, The book of Chicagoans: a biographical dictionary of leading living men of the city of

Chicago, edited by Albert Nelson Marquis, Volume 2, Chicago: A.N. Marquis & Company, 1911, p. 51. 39It remains unknown whether this project was completed. Sanborn maps from 1918 and 1950 were compared. “Building Activity Insight: Big Bungalow Court to be Constructed on Ocean Avenue Between Colorado and

Utah by Chicago Capitalist Soon,” Santa Monica Outlook, January 16, 1918, p. 1.


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EVALUATION OF SIGNIFICANCE

Is the structure representative of a style in the City that is no longer prevalent?

The subject property, located at 2701-05 Main Street, is an excellent example of a single-story Renaissance/Mediterranean Revival brick commercial building, a property type which was constructed all over Southern California during, roughly, from 1910 through the 1920s. While the property type is found throughout the City’s commercial areas, Main Street is the primary location of the property type within Ocean Park. Most of the examples of the type in the City of Santa Monica have been altered and are no longer historically significant. Therefore the subject structure is representative of a style and building type in the City that is no longer prevalent.

Does the structure contribute to a potential historic district?

The commercial building was first identified and recorded as part of a 1983 survey of Main Street.40 The subject property was recommended eligible for the National Register as a contributor to the “Main Street District” and given a National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) status code of 5. The commercial building was identified and recorded again as part of the 2010 “Santa Monica Citywide Historic Resources Inventory Update.”41 The subject property was identified “as a contributor to a district that appears eligible for local listing or designation through a survey evaluation” and given a NRHP status code of 5D3. The building remained an eligible as a contributor to the Main Street District.

CONCLUSION

In summary, based on current research and the above assessment, the property located at 2701-05 Main Street appears to meet several City of Santa Monica Landmark criteria. The property was evaluated according to statutory criteria as follows:

LANDMARK CRITERIA

9.36.100(a)(1) It exemplifies, symbolizes, or manifests elements of the cultural, social, economic, political or architectural history of the City.

The property appears to satisfy this criterion. In applying the City’s significance criteria for individual recognition as a potential City of Santa Monica Landmark the subject property appears to possess sufficient historical importance and architectural merit to warrant such designation. The subject property is a significant example of an architecturally distinctive, one-story Renaissance/Mediterranean Revival-style brick commercial building, which was a once ubiquitous property type and is increasingly rare, constructed by the important designer and contractor Joseph F. Rhodes. Furthermore, the building is important as it anchors the block with the slightly

40 M. Agelasto and P. Gleye, Main Street Historic Resources Inventory, March 30, 1983. 41 IFC International, Santa Monica Citywide Historic Resources Inventory Update Final Report, prepared for

the City of Santa Monica, 2010.


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heightened and architecturally distinguished corner unit that steps down to the southern two units. Historically, the property set the scale for the block and now serves as a visual and spatial connection to the past commercial streetscape that once spanned much of Main Street. The subject property also manifests the economic history of Main Street; it was constructed during the 1920’s while Main Street was undergoing a building boom and infrastructure improvements. The subject property meets this criterion.

9.36.100(a)(2) It has aesthetic or artistic interest or value, or other noteworthy interest or value.

The resource does not appear to meet this criterion. This subject property is an excellent example of a Renaissance/Mediterranean Revival style one-story commercial building, but the sums of the features do not possess artistic or aesthetic value to be eligible under criterion 2.

9.36.100(a)(3) It is identified with historic personages or with important events in local, state or national history.

The subject property does not appear to meet this criterion. Current research does not indicate that the building is identified with historic personages, including previous tenants, owners, or with important events in local, state, or national history.

9.36.100(a)(4) It embodies distinguishing architectural characteristics valuable to a study of a period, style, method of construction, or the use of indigenous materials or craftsmanship, or is a unique or rare example of an architectural design, detail or historical type valuable to such a study.

The brick commercial building has many character-defining features including a brick parapet, white glazed brick trim, tall storefront windows, and modest applied architectural ornamentation. The property has recessed entranceways with black and white square and hexagonal tile flooring. Low brick walls are topped by tall storefront glazing. The walls are brick and use the white glazed brick to form borders around windows, at the ground level, and for decorative patterns on the walls bellow the parapet. Mediterranean Revival themed red clay tile awnings are surface attached to the parapet with decorative metal brackets and span the entire western façade and wrap around the entrance to the north. A thin strip of brick wall dividing the three southern spaces has a vertical row of glazed white brick that rises to a slightly higher section of the parapet where there is a white plaster cartouche. Although there have been some changes to the storefronts, particularly the 3 southern units, the single-story brick commercial building property type was designed to allow changes to the storefronts, as a variety of storefront designs could be placed between the vertical walls, the floor, and the horizontally lined brick at the roof line. The subject property is an increasingly rare and excellent intact example of a 1920s brick Renaissance/Mediterranean Revival style commercial building by the important designer and contractor Joseph F. Rhodes and is valuable to the study of early


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twentieth century commercial architecture in Santa Monica and the Los Angeles region. The subject property meets criterion 4.

9.36.100(a)(5) It is a significant or a representative example of the work or product of a notable builder, designer or architect.

Joseph F. Rhodes was a Southern California designer and contractor, who designed one other known commercial building in Santa Monica, on Montana Avenue. The designer also constructed many other buildings in Los Angeles, including the 925 Gayley Avenue Apartments, Westwood; Alician Court Theatre, Fullerton; Commercial and Savings Bank Building, Anaheim; First National Bank Building, Anaheim; Hotel Angelina, Anaheim; 202 Samuel Kreamer Building, Anaheim; and the First National Bank Building, Santa Ana. Based on existing documentation and extant buildings designed by Joseph F. Rhodes, it appears that Rhodes was a proficient regionally known designer. While, the subject property is not a significant or distinguished example of his work, it is a representative and intact example of his more modest commercial buildings and is illustrative of his design philosophy; therefore, the property satisfies this criterion.

9.36.100(a)(6) It has a unique location, a singular physical characteristic, or is an established and familiar visual feature of a neighborhood, community or the City.

The modest but architecturally distinguished corner of the subject property at Hill and Main and the intact storefront elevation along Main Street is an established and familiar visual feature which is one of the most architecturally evocative streetscape elements remaining from the 1920s along Main Street. Additionally, the existing Art Nouveau inspired store front of the subject property is a later addition that has attained recognition as a familiar visual feature of the commercial streetscape along Main Street. The subject property appears to satisfy this criterion.


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PRESERVATION RECOMMENDATIONS

It is recommended the Main Street commercial district should be considered for a California accredited Main Street Program. As of September 2011, there are 31 communities in the California Main Street program, including San Luis Obispo, Ocean Beach – San Diego, Martinez, Vista, Hollister, and Livermore. The Main Street Approach to downtown and neighborhood commercial district revitalization was developed by the National Main Street Center, a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The approach is based on four points and relies on eight principles to produce fundamental change in traditional commercial business districts. The State of California describes the Main Street Program Four-Point Approach as:

The Main Street Four-Point Approach is a unique preservation-based economic development tool that enables communities to revitalize downtown and neighborhood business districts by leveraging local assets - from historic, cultural, and architectural resources to local enterprises and community pride. It is a comprehensive strategy that addresses the variety of issues and problems that challenge traditional commercial districts.42

To become an accredited Main Street an application and annual membership dues are required. The application to become an accredited California Main Street Program is provided in a brochure attached to the appendix.

42 California Main Street Program, http://ohp.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=23484, accessed November 10, 2011.


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BIBLIOGRAPHY

“Biography of Joseph F. Rhodes.” Rhodes Family Genealogy. http://www.rhodesfamily.org/bio_joseph_f_rhodes.html accessed October 20, 2011.

California Historical Resource Status Codes.

Detwiler, Justice Brown. Who's who in California: a biographical directory, 1928-29.

Gabriel, Louise B. Images of America: Early Santa Monica. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2006.

Gebhard, Davis and Robert Winter. An Architectural Guide to Los Angeles. Salt Lake City: Gibbs Smith Publisher, 2003, p. 60.

Historic Resources Group. Historic Resources Survey Update Ocean Park. Prepared for City of Santa Monica. June 2004.

Leonard, John William. The book of Chicagoans: a biographical dictionary of leading living men of the city of Chicago. Albert Nelson Marquis, editor. Volume 2. Chicago: A.N. Marquis & Company, 1911.

Ingersoll, Luther A. Ingersoll's century history, Santa Monica Bay cities. Santa Monica: L. A. Ingersoll, 1908.

McGroarty, John Steven. Los Angeles from the Mountains to the Sea. Volume III. New York: American Historical Society, 1921.

Santa Monica Historical Resources Inventory 1985-86 Final Report.

Santa Monica Historical Resources Inventory Phase 3 Final Report.

Santa Monica Historic Resources Inventory Update, September 1995.

Online Property Information System-City of Santa Monica GIS.

The Santa Monica Community Books. (all editions).

Santa Monica Building and Safety Department. Building Permits.

The Santa Monica Blue Book. (all editions).

The City of Santa Monica Cross Reference Directory.

The Santa Monica City Directory.

National Park Service. National Register Bulletin: How to Apply the National Register Criteria for Evaluation. Washington DC: U.S. Dept. of the Interior, National Park


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Service, Interagency Resources Division, 1990.

Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, City of Santa Monica.

Newspapers and Periodicals

“Apartments and Flat Projects.” Los Angeles Times. September 20, 1914, p. V1.

“Building Activity Insight: Big Bungalow Court to be Constructed on Ocean Avenue Between Colorado and Utah by Chicago Capitalist Soon.” Santa Monica Outlook. January 16, 1918, p. 1.

“Complete Construction.” Los Angeles Times. January 25, 1925, p. E6.

“Display Ad.” Los Angeles Times. March 23, 1913, p. V11.

Herrera, Kevin. “Famed Eames design team member dies.” Santa Monica Daily Press. January 6, 2010.

“Huge Outlay for Building.” Los Angeles Times. February 11, 1911, p. V112.

“Joseph Rhodes, Contractor, Dies.” Los Angeles Times. March 23, 1948, p. 22.

“Market Structure.” Los Angeles Times. January 25, 1925, p. E14.

“PASSINGS: Don Kott, Parke Meek, J.C. Gipson.” Los Angeles Times. January 09, 2010.

“Rhodes Starts Construction on Two Structures.” Los Angeles Times. May 17, 1925, p. F5.

“Simplicity New Style in Building.” Los Angeles Times. February 15, 1925, p. F8.

“This, Busiest Summer of All.” Los Angeles Times. July 23, 1911, p. VII.

“Western Block.” Los Angeles Times. February 8, 1925, p. F3.

MISCELLENOUS ATTACHMENTS

Current Photographs

Tax Assessor’s Map

Tax Assessor’s Index Map

Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps (1902)

Sanborn Fire Insurance Map (1909)



Census Records - George Beidler (1910)

Census Records - George Beidler (1920)

California Main Street Alliance Brochure

CURRENT PHOTOGRAPHS

2701 Main Street, corner entrance, view to south (PCR 2011)

Black and white square and hexagonal tile flooring, 2701 Main Street, view to east (PCR 2011)

Ceiling of entry, 2701 Main Street, view to southeast (PCR 2011)

Entrance doors, 2701 Main Street, view to southeast (PCR 2011)

West elevation, view to east (PCR 2011)

2703 Main Street, west elevation, view to east (PCR 2011)

2705 Main Street, west elevation, view to east (PCR 2011)

Cartouche, west elevation, view to east (PCR 2011)

North elevation, view to south (PCR 2011)

Rear (east) elevation, View to southwest (PCR 2011)

Underside of red clay tile awnings, rear and north elevations, view to southwest (PCR 2011)

Red clay tile awnings, west elevation, view to east (PCR 2011)

EXAMPLES OF MAIN STREET COMMERCIAL ARCHITECTURE

1921-1929 Main Street, architect/builder J.L. Schimmer, 1923

2663 Main Street, constructed 1913

2736 Main Street, architect Simpson & Jipson, contractor H.A. Klabunde, constructed 1927

2821 Main Street, architect J.L. Schimmer, contractor Hudson & Munsell, constructed 1923

3005 Main Street, constructed 1926

3008 Main Street, architect/contractor William Fleming, constructed 1927

TAX ASSESSOR’S MAP

TAX ASSESSOR’S INDEX MAP

SANBORN FIRE INSURANCE MAPS (1902)

A.KainerRectangle

SANBORN FIRE INSURANCE MAP (1909)

A.KainerRectangle

CENSUS RECORDS - GEORGE BEIDLER (1910)

CENSUS RECORDS - GEORGE BEIDLER (1920)

CALIFORNIA MAIN STREET ALLIANCE BROCHURE

Vista, California

...they're rediscovering and revitalizing California's Main Streets.

People aren't just talking about improving their downtown and neighborhood commercial districts...

Hollister, California Livermore, California

San Luis Obispo, California

Ocean Beach - San Diego Martinez, CA

California Main Streets At Work

California Main Streets' expertise helps community members set forth a vision of their revitalization efforts with financial support from citizens, businesses, and local government. Community staff and volunteers implement projects and activities within the four program areas that comprise the Main Street Four-Point Approach® developed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation's National Main Street Center. These four points and their committees are:

OrganizationBuild an effective volunteer-driven management organization guided by professional staff with broad-basedpublic and private support. Activities may include community visioning, work plan development, volunteer recruitment and fundraising.

Economic RestructuringIdentify your district's unique economic niche. Activities may include market analysis, building rehabilitation, business retention, recruitment, and education, parking and transportation improvements, and new development.

PromotionCreate a unified, quality image and develop promotional strategies that capitalize on your district's unique assets. Activities may include retail advertising, community events, image campaigns, social media and heritage tours.

DesignEnhance your district's design and appearance. Activities may include cleaning and maintenance, design guidelines, facade improvements, historic preservation, streetscape improvements, signage and window displays.

What is the California Main Street Alliance?The California Main Street Alliance (CAMSA) has kept the Main Street Program active in California by providing vital communication and training programs for its members.

Formed in 2002, this nonprofit organization works with the California Main Street Program (housed in the Office of Historic Preservation, California State Parks) to coordinate the designated communities' annual reports and transmittal of aggregate figures to the National Main Street Center, provides members valuable resource information, conducts training and workshop sessions, network meetings and other fee for service programs, and keeps members informed of the latest trends in downtown revitalization.

How many communities are in the program?As of September 2011, there are 31 communities in the California Main Street Program. Out of those, 25 are programs that were designated and certified by the State of California, and six are communities that are currently practicing the Main Street Four-Point Approach® and aspire to become a designated program. Out of the 25 designated programs, 23 are accredited with the National Main Street Center for 2011, meeting high operational standards of performance.

What are statistics for programs operating with the Main Street Approach? In 2010, 22 California Main Street communities reported statistics on economic development and investment within their districts. Cumulatively, the programs had the following statistics:

• New Business Starts – 310• Business Expansions – 23• Jobs Created – 1,177• Volunteer Hours – 60,429• Number of Private Sector Projects – 119• Private Sector Investment – $61,400,072• Number of Public Sector Projects – 45• Public Sector Investment – $26,570,033• Total Investment in California Main Street Communities in 2010 – $87,970,105

Nationally, Main Street's reinvestment ratio – the average number of dollars generated in each community for every dollar used to operate the local Main Street program is $27 to $1.

Membership Application

Program Information

Name: Title:

Organization:

Address:

City: State: Zip:

Phone: Fax:

Email: Website:

City Manager Name and Phone Number:

Briefly describe the economic and physical characteristics of your downtown or commercial district

Briefly describe the structure of your organization (attach list(s) of Board or committee members):

Briefly outline efforts made to improve your downtown or commercial district over the past five years

Briefly describe what you hope to achieve by participating in CAMSA:

Membership Type - Associate Member Associate Members are any person or organization interested in the mission of CAMSA. The Board of Directors approve Associate Memberships, and will do so at the first meeting following receipt of a completed application for membership. Each Associate Member shall have one vote and be eligible to become an Officer and/or a Director a Director. Annual Membership Dues are $250 annually.

Completed applications with dues should be mailed to:

California Main Street Alliancec/o lauracolerowe consulting 1107 Park Lane Suisun City, CA 94585

Annual dues are payable on January 1 of each year

California Main Street Alliancec/o lauracolerowe consulting1107 Park LaneSuisun City, CA 94585

The activity which is the subject of this brochure has been financed in part with Federal funds from the National Park Service, Department of the Interior, through the California Office of Historic Preservation. However, the contents and opinions do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Department of the Interior or the California Office of Historic Preservation, nor does mention of trade names or commercial products constitute endorsement or recommendation by the Department of the Interior or the California Office of Historic Preservation. This program receives Federal financial assistance for identification and protection of historic properties. Under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, as amended, the U.S. Department of the Interior prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, disability, or age in its federally assisted programs. If you believe you have been discriminated against in any program, activity, or facility as described above, or if you desire further information, please write to: Office of Equal Opportunity, National Park Service, 1849 C Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20240

2701-05 main street landmark 12.7 - santa monica...2011/12/12 · 1 m. agelasto and p. gleye, main...

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