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Memorandum TO: Scott Albright, City of Santa Monica DATE: AUGUST 31, 2009 CC: FROM: PCR Services RE: Preliminary Historic Assessment: 151 Esparta Way, APN 4280-003-002,

Santa Monica

As requested by City’s staff, PCR Services Corporation (PCR) has conducted a site visit of 151 Esparta Way, northwest of San Vicente Boulevard, and has also reviewed archival data relevant to the history of the subject property. The legal description of the subject property is Tract 15726, Lot 2. The lot includes the original one-story residence and the original two-car garage later converted into residential space and attached to the primary residence with later additions. The subject property is bordered by single-family housing to the north, west, and south and San Vicente Boulevard to the east. Based on a site survey, available building permits, and Los Angeles County Tax Assessor records, it appears that the original improvements to the subject property were made in 1953. The subject property is located in the area surveyed during Phase II (1985-1986) and during the North of Montana Update of the Santa Monica Historic Resources Inventory Survey. The one-story single-family house was not identified in either survey as being an eligible historic resource.

The building situated on the subject property was originally constructed beginning in 1951 as a single-family residence and currently retains the same use. The development history of Tract 15726 is as follows. Located at the northeast edge of the City of Santa Monica, which was originally part of the Santa Monica Land and Water Company’s subdivision, Esparta Way is a curving one-block street that ends in a cul-de-sac above Santa Monica Canyon. According to the historic 1918 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map of Santa Monica, the North of San Vicente area was largely unimproved until the 1920s. By the time of the publication of the 1950 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map, five of the 19 lots along Esparta Way were improved with single-family homes. Therefore, most parcels along Esparta Way were developed post-1950.

Based on City of Santa Monica building permits, the subject property was constructed on an unimproved lot between 1951 and 1952. An application for a new building was filed on November 26, 1951, for a wood-frame single-family residence with stucco exterior and a total of 1732 square feet. The architect for the subject property was E. Van den Hoven, a Dutch architect who practiced in Southern California from the 1920s to the 1950s. The original general contractor and owner of the subject property was C. E. Hendrick of Van Nuys. The property was altered by later changes as documented in the building permits and evidenced by existing physical conditions. In 1953, the original two-car garage was converted into a play room and the den was enlarged by incorporating area from the driveway which originally divided the residence from the garage. A new two-car garage and storage room was constructed in the rear (east) of the lot, reached by a narrow carport between the residence and the converted original garage. In 1958, a new bedroom on the northeast corner of the house was constructed adjacent to a new swimming pool. In 1986, the driveway and carport were enclosed creating a contiguous indoor space between the converted original garage and

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the residence. A new driveway to the rear garage was constructed along the south edge of the subject property. In 1999 a bathroom and closet were added to the residence.

The subject property’s architectural style was derived from the Ranch style architecture that originated in the mid-1930s in California, gained popularity during the 1940s, and became the dominant residential style throughout the country from the early 1950s and to the mid/late 1960s. The style was loosely based on early Spanish Colonial precedents of the American southwest, modified by influences borrowed from Craftsman and Prairie Modernism of the early 20th century. The Ranch style was also influenced by the Modern Movement in architecture during the postwar era. Asymmetrical one-story residences are the most common building type associated with the style. Three common roof forms were generally used: the hipped version is probably the most common, followed by the cross-gabled, with side-gabled examples being the least prevalent. There is usually a moderate or wide eave overhang either boxed or open with the exposed rafters, as in Craftsman houses. Wood, brick, and stone wall cladding were used, sometimes in combination. Builders frequently added modest bits of traditional detailing, usually loosely based on Spanish or American Colonial precedents. Decorative iron or wood porch supports and decorative shutters were the most common. Ribbon windows were frequent as were large picture windows in living areas (particularly in postwar examples). Partially enclosed courtyards or patios, borrowed from Spanish houses, were a common feature. These private outdoor living areas to the rear of the house are a direct contrast to the large front and side porches of most late 19th or early 20th century styles. Modern architectural features on the rear of the residence such as floor-to-ceiling glazing, sliding glass doors and windows with aluminum frames were common in the postwar era.

The architecture of the residence at 151 Esparta Way displays many characteristic features of the Ranch style. The subject property is one story with an asymmetrical plan. The residence has smooth stucco and stone exterior surfaces and a cross-gabled roof with wide exposed eaves and rafter tails that extend over one foot beyond the vertical plane of the residence. A curved paved walkway leads from the road to the front entranceway. Tall multi-light windows on the south side of the primary entrance display the influence of postwar architectural culture on the evolution of the Ranch house style. As mentioned above, the existing residence was once divided in two by a driveway that crossed the lot at about the middle of the current configuration. The section of the residence where the driveway once crossed was not enclosed in a way that allowed the proportionality of the window openings to remain consistent along the primary elevation. Instead, there is an awkward section of the primary elevation with a large span of opaque stucco where the

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driveway once crossed. Because of the highly visible major alteration on the primary elevation the residence appears to have low integrity.

According to the original building permit for the subject property, the architect who designed the residence was Ewout Van den Hoven, a Dutch architect who at one time had been hired to serve as a state architect for Holland.1 In Los Angeles, Van den Hoven appears to have been relatively successful as a principal of a small architectural and engineering firm. One of his important projects as a principal designer was the Hollywood Chateau, the tallest building in Hollywood when it was constructed in the mid-1920s. It appears Van den Hoven also designed several large residences around Los Angeles during the 1920s. In the late 1920s, Van den Hoven joined the real estate firm, C. Tatum Realtors, and worked as a project manager and designer for speculative housing projects.2

CONCLUSION

In applying the City’s significance criteria for individual recognition as a proposed City of Santa Monica Landmark, the subject property does not appear to rise to the threshold of significance for Landmark designation. As an individual resource, the property does not possess sufficient historical importance or architectural merit to warrant such designation. Although the Ranch style played an important role in the architectural development of the City of Santa Monica, the subject property is a typical and altered example of a Ranch-style residence. Furthermore, the exterior of the building has low integrity because of the alterations on the primary elevation from the enclosure of the original carport. Directory research revealed no important individuals associated with the residence. Finally, while the architect, Ewout Van de Hoven was an accomplished architect, the subject property is not one of his important projects.

1 Los Angeles Times, July 28th 1929, D6 2 Los Angeles Times, July 28th 1929, D6

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City Directory Research

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RE: PRELIMINARY HISTORIC ASSESSMENT: 151 ESPARTA WAY, APN 4280-003-002, SANTA MONICA

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City Directory Research

151 Esparta Way

Year Occupant 1952-53 Vacant

1954 Gore Ruth Mrs.1958-59 Beckman Howard L1960-61 Beckman H L

1965 Beckman H LApr 1966 Beckman H LApr 1967 Beckman H LApr 1968 Beckman H LApr 1969 Beckman H LApr 1970 Beckman H L

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ATTACHMENTS

Current Photographs

Assessor’s Map

Sanborn Map 1950

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Current Photographs

Primary (west elevation), view east

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Primary entrance (west elevation), view northeast

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West elevation (enclosed car port), view northeast

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West elevation (driveway), view east

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Assessor’s Map

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Sanborn Map 1950