City of Santa MonicaCitywide Historic Resources Inventory Update

September 13, 2018

SCOPE OF WORK

Development of a Citywide Historic Context Statement, building upon previous context statements and developing new contexts and themes

Development and implementation of a Community Outreach Program

Completion of a Reconnaissance Survey of all properties built through 1977

Evaluation of all properties built through 1977 for eligibility against National Register, California Register, and local criteria

Documentation of all eligible properties in a database that can be integrated into the City’s exiting GIS interactive map systems

City of Santa Monica

City Planning Division

Architectural Resources

Group

HistoricResources Group

Previous HRI data consolidationDatabase developmentReconnaissance surveyDocumentation

Public outreach programHistoric context statementReconnaissance survey

PROJECT TEAM

HISTORIC CONTEXT SCOPE

Santa Monica History & Development 1875-1977

• All periods of development and property types

Specific focus on:• Neighborhoods not previously

documented• Social and cultural history of

Santa Monica• Specific property types not

previously documented

HISTORIC CONTEXT METHODOLOGY

Follow guidance from the National Park Service & Office of Historic Preservation

Tract MapsTransportation MapsContemporary news articles Display ads for real estate tractsCensus dataHistoric aerialsHistoric photographsSanborn MapsBuilding permitsZoning changesConsultation with expertsSecondary sources (including the many published histories of Santa Monica)

CONTEXT THEMES

Early Settlement

Residential Development

Commercial Development

Civic & Institutional Development

Industrial Development

Social and Cultural History

Architecture & Design

PUBLIC OUTREACHOutreach/stakeholder meetings

• Series of meetings with the community• February 25, 2016• November 3, 2016

Neighborhood meetings• June 13, 2016: Ocean Park Association• July 7, 2016: North of Montana Association • July 14, 2016: Friends of Sunset Park• July 19, 2016: Santa Monica Mid-City Neighbors• August 1, 2016: Santa Monica Northeast Neighbors

Landmarks Commission meetings• Periodic project updates

• February 8, 2016• May 9, 2016• August 8, 2016• January 9, 2017• June 12, 2017• September 13, 2018

PUBLIC OUTREACH

PUBLIC OUTREACHStakeholder interviews

• Carolyne and Bill Edwards• Jim Harris• Pamela Hieronymi• Alison Rose Jefferson• Ricardo Bandini Johnson• Diane Miller• Kelyn Roberts• Dolores Sloan

Project website• Project timeline• FAQs• News from the research and fieldwork teams• Online form allowing community input

Social media• Project-specific Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts

• #historicsamo

PUBLIC OUTREACH

FIELDWORK METHODOLOGY: OVERVIEW

1. Previous Data Consolidation

2. Reconnaissance Survey

3. Field Documentation

DATA CONSOLIDATION

Reviewed data from all previous HRI updates/area updates(1985/86, 1994, 1995, 1998, 2002, 2004, 2010)

Reviewed data from the California Historical Resources Inventory (State HRI)

Reviewed list of locally designated Landmarks, Structures of Merit, and Historic Districts

RECONNAISSANCE SURVEY

• Key project team members from ARG and HRG

• Generated GIS-based maps, populated with previous HRI data and research

• Drove every street in the city, surveyed all resources (buildings, structures, objects, sites, districts) constructed through 1977

• Re-evaluated all previous HRI properties

• Did not re-evaluate designated properties

FIELD DOCUMENTATION

Microsoft Access database in lieu of DPR 523 series forms

All previous survey data preloaded into Access database

SURVEY FINDINGS: OVERVIEW

Individual Resources

855 individual resources identified

725 Landmarks

130 Structures of Merit

Districts

20 districts identified

16 Historic Districts

4 Conservation Districts

Non-Building Resources

12 Structures/Objects/Sites

*does not include properties that are designated at any level (federal, state, local)

INDIVIDUAL RESOURCES

• 855 individual resources – represents a net increase from the previous HRI

• Most carried over from the previous HRI

• 337 newly-identified individual resources

• 83 previously eligible individual resources deemed no longer eligible

o 22 have been altered and do not retain integrity (6L)

o 36 do not satisfy registration requirements in HCS (6L)

o 25 have been demolished (6Z)

• Increase due in part to different approach to evaluating districts

DISTRICTS

• 20 districts identified – represents a net decrease from the previous HRI

• 12 carried over from the previous HRI

• 8 newly-identified districts• Oak Street Multi-Family Residential Historic District

• Sunset Park Residential Historic District

• Urban Avenue Residential Historic District

• Washington Avenue Residential Historic District

• Copeland Court Residential Conservation District

• Montana Avenue Commercial Conservation District

• Ocean Park Blvd Commercial Conservation District

• Pico Boulevard Commercial Conservation District

CONSERVATION DISTRICTS

Areas that do not have enough integrity to constitute a historic district, but possess a distinctive character with respect to their physical and architectural attributes (scale, setback, bulk, massing, height, architecture).

Geared less toward individual buildings, more about sense of place and site/planning features

DISTRICTS, CONT.

• 53 districts identified in previous HRI

• 20 districts identified as eligible in current HRI – represents a net decrease

• 33 previously eligible districts deemed no longer eligible.

• 3 are already designated and were not re-evaluated

• 4 contiguous districts were amalgamated into a single district (Sunset Park Historic District)

• 7 no longer retain sufficient integrity• 1 was demolished in its entirety (High

Place)• Clusters and thematic groupings were

eliminated; contributors to clusters/thematic groupings were re-evaluated for their individual merit.

• Reduction in total number of districts due primarily to differences in methodology

DISTRICTS, CONT.

• ALL properties that previously contributed to a now-ineligible district were evaluated as potential individual resources. In many cases, they were found to be individually eligible.

• 16 are designated• 93 eligible as Landmarks/Structures of

Merit• 2 eligible for the National Register

• 102 do not meet registration requirements (assigned 6L status code)

• 6 have been demolished • 5 were identified but need more

research

CLUSTERS AND THEMATIC GROUPINGS

Clusters:

• 1000 Block of 21st Street Cluster

• 100 Block of Broadway Spanish Colonial Revival Cluster

• 2000-2100 Block of 3rd Street Cluster

…and so on (approx. 25-30 clusters on HRI)

CLUSTERS AND THEMATIC GROUPINGS

Thematic Groupings:

• Mid-City Apartment Courts Thematic District

• Model Houses Thematic District

• Santa Monica Substations Thematic District

• Santa Monica Public Schools Thematic District

• African American Churches Thematic District

• Byers Thematic District

…and so on

The Multiple Property Documentation method “serves as a basis for evaluating the National Register eligibility of related properties. It may be used to nominate and register thematically-related historic properties simultaneously or to establish the registration requirements for properties that may be nominated in the future…”

Properties identified using the MPD method are individually eligible for listing if they meet registration requirements – not contributors to a “thematic district.”

DISTRICT BOUNDARIES

• Most previously-identified districts that are still eligible retain the same boundaries

• A few were expanded to capture other nearby properties that share similar aesthetic/associative/architectural qualities

• A few were reduced, primarily because of diminished integrity

• Four previously identified districts were combined to form the new Sunset Park District

OTHER FINDINGS

• 12 eligible non-building resources (structures, objects, sites)

• 34 resources were preliminarily identified but need more research (7R, 7N)

• 103 properties appear individually eligible for the National Register/California Register (3S/3CS)

• 2 districts appear eligible for the National Register/California Register