2014 Garden St. Designation Status: Listed on the Potential Historic Resources List

Assessor Parcel Number: 025-331-016

Historic Name: Crocker Row Residence

Constructed: 1894

Property Description:

Two-story stucco building in the Mission Revival style. This residence features a low pitched, hipped, shingled roof with large overhanging eaves. A notable feature of roof is the plastered chimneys joined by arched elements set at the center of the main ridgeline the house the Mission parapet characteristic that celebrates the early Spanish roots of California. The fenestration consists of double-hung windows with decorative divided light sash on the upper sashes. Above the main entrance is an intricate quatrefoil that is a hallmark of the style. The main entrance recesses below a sheltering arcade which is approached by a small staircase and features decorative stone, trefoils on the top corners. Two ornate stuccoed columns support the arched entrance. Dentil molding lines the arcade. The door features a large quatrefoil window in the upper sash.

Architect: Arthur Page Brown

Architectural Style: Mission Revival

Property Type: Single Family Residence

Original Use: Rental for affluent winter visitors

Significance:

This staff report is based on the Historic Structures/Sites Report prepared by Post/Hazeltine Associates and accepted by the Historic Landmarks Commission on May 2, 2018. The house at 2014 Garden Street meets City of Santa Barbara Significance Criteria and is eligible for listing as a City of Santa Barbara Landmark. The house at 2014 Garden Street is also eligible for listing on the California Register of Historic Resources and the National Register of Historic Places under Criteria a and c. Crocker Row is a row of five, two-story, 1890's Mission Revival buildings located on upper Garden Street. The construction of Crocker Row occurred during a time when the city was beginning to transform its urban fabric from a medley of Victorian era styles to ones inspired by the emerging popularity of the Period Revival movement. As a part of this new influx of development, San Francisco resident William H. Crocker, the son of Charles Crocker, purchased, in 1887, land in the Upper East to build five speculative houses as “exclusive rentals for affluent winter visitors” (San Francisco Chronicle, August 13, 1964). The Crockers had extensive business interests in Santa Barbara, primarily through William Crocker’s role as president of the Pacific Improvement Company and the Southern Pacific Railroad, which owned substantial acreage in Santa Barbara County. In 1894, seven years after purchasing his property

(Historic Photograph circa-1895-1896 courtesy Santa Barbara Historical Society, Gledhill Library)

on Garden Street, Crocker purchased additional acreage on the block. That same year, Crocker commissioned the noted San Francisco architect Arthur Page Brown to design and build five houses in the 2000 block of Garden Street (City of Santa Barbara Historic Resources Inventory Form for 2014 Garden Street. In addition to its association with the historical development of Santa Barbara and the Upper East neighborhood, Crocker Row is one of the most significant surviving examples of the oeuvre of Arthur Page Brown and his associates. The entire row of five houses are significant as a whole and individually to be designated as a City Landmark. The structure at 2014 Garden Street qualifies to be designated a Structure of Merit under the following criteria provided by the Municipal Code, Section 22.22.040:

Criterion A. Its character, interest or value as a significant part of the heritage of the City, the State or the Nation: The minimally altered 1894 Mission Revival style building is important to the heritage of Santa Barbara. Crocker Row, including the house at 2014 Garden Street, represents the earliest surviving architect-designed example of the Mission Revival style in Santa Barbara, and one of the earliest in California. The residence at 2014 Garden Street takes the status as one of the City and State's most important and early surviving examples of the Mission Revival style.

(Historic Photograph circa-1887 courtesy Santa Barbara Historical Society, Gledhill Library)

Criterion C. Its identification with a person or persons who significantly contributed to the culture and development of the City, the State, of the Nation; Crocker Row was built for William Crocker and his wife Edith Sperry Crocker. Crocker was one of the most influential businessmen in California during the period between c. 1885 and his death in 1937 because of his extensive network of business interests including among others, Crocker Bank, the Pacific Improvement Company, and the Southern Pacific Railroad.

Criterion D. Its exemplification of a particular architectural style or way of life important to the City, the State, or the Nation: Like many of A. Page Brown’s commissions completed between 1891 and circa 1894, the architectural scheme for Crocker Row was a collaborative effort between Brown and his chief designer, the architect Albert Schweinfurth. The design for Crocker Row occurred during a time that Arthur Page and his firm was attempting to develop a regional architectural style inspired by California’s mission period architectural heritage. Brown’s firm made notable contributions to this movement, including the design of California Building at the World’s Columbian

(Historic Photograph circa-1894 courtesy Santa Barbara Historical Society, Gledhill Library)

(Historic Photograph 1902 courtesy Santa Barbara Historical Society, Gledhill Library)

Exposition (1892-1893), which brought the emerging architectural style to the attention of the national public. Within the next four years, the firm designed several buildings that refined the style, including the Atkinson Building in San Francisco (1892), San Francisco Polytechnic (1893-1894), the George Roe House (1894), and the Crocker Row houses (1894-1896). All these commissions featured balanced compositions with simple cubic volumes characterized by expanses of planer walls enlivened with a restrained repertoire of architectural motifs drawn from California’s Mission period architectural heritage and Spanish antecedents (including motifs inspired by Moorish architecture). These motifs included trefoil windows, lancet style glazing, plastered walls, tiled roofs, and columns and piers embellished with historicizing detail. The primacy of the wall plane is emphasized by a restrained use of fenestration and ornamentation. After the departure of Schweinfurth from his office in 1894, Brown’s interest in a regional architectural style informed by Mediterranean and Spanish Colonial antecedents diminished and he concentrated on styles derived from classical precedents. As an exemplar of A. Page Brown and his firm’s role in developing a regional architectural style for California, Crocker Row, including the house at 2014 Garden Street, is an important resource for interpreting the history of California architecture and the development of the Mission Revival style; therefore, the house at 2014 Garden Street and Crocker Row meet Criterion d. Criterion E. Its exemplification of the best remaining architectural type in a neighborhood; A diverse range of architectural styles, including Italianate, Queen Anne, Craftsman and various modes of the Period Revival, including the Mission Revival, characterizes the Upper East neighborhood surrounding 2014 Garden Street. One of the first subtypes of the Period Revival style, the Mission Revival owed its genesis to the desire of Arthur Page Brown, Albert Schweinfurth and other late 19th century California architects to create a regional architectural style for the state. General characteristics of the Mission Revival include its emphasis on simple cubic volumes, planar walls and a range of architectural motifs, including plastered walls, tiled roofs, arches, massive columns, drawn from mission period and Spanish architecture. With their plastered walls, low-pitched, tiled hipped roof, harmoniously proportioned façades, balanced fenestration and restrained use of decorative embellishments Crocker Row, including the house at 2014 Garden Street, is an exemplar of Brown’s more abstracted and restrained interpretation of the style, which forms the most notable 19th century example of Mission Revival architecture in Santa Barbara. Therefore, the house at 2014 Garden Street and Crocker Row meet Criterion e. Criterion F. Its identification as the creation, design or work of a person or persons whose effort has significantly influenced the heritage of the City, the State or the Nation; The house at 2014 Garden Street was designed by the firm of A. Page Brown, one of California’s most noted architectural offices during the late 19th century. Brown, who was in practice in California between 1889 and his death in 1898, headed a firm whose

members included Willis Polk, Ernest Coxhead, Albert Schweinfurth and Bernard Maybeck, all of whom became significant architects. The firm is most notable for establishing a new standard for architecture in California that was on par with that of the East Coast. Moreover, the firm’s body of work includes some of the most important buildings built in California during the last decade of the 19th century. These included institutional and commercial commissions such as the Old Peoples Home (San Francisco, 1889), the Crocker Building (San Francisco, 1890-1892), Trinity Church (San Francisco, 1891-1894), the Atkinson Building (San Francisco, 1892) and the Ferry Building (1892). The firm is also important for its numerous residential commissions including Alban Town House (San Francisco, 1891), William Crocker House, (1890-1891), Crocker Row (Santa Barbara, 1896), and the George Roe House (San Francisco, 1894). Moreover, the firm, primarily through the work of Albert Schweinfurth, played an important role in developing a regional architectural style for California inspired by the state’s colonial period missions and Spanish and Mediterranean antecedents. Because the firm made such significant contributions to the architectural heritage of Santa Barbara and the state, the house at 2014 Garden Street and Crocker Row meet Criterion f. Criterion G. Its embodiment of elements demonstrating outstanding attention to architectural design, detail, materials and craftsmanship. Designed by A. Page Brown’s firm, Crocker Row, including the house at 2014 Garden Street, synthesizes a range of architectural motifs drawn from the California Missions and Spanish antecedents projected onto simple cubic volumes that is illustrative of the firm’s attempt to create a regional architectural style that alluded to historic precedents but was not slavishly imitative. Crocker Row, including the house at 2014 Garden Street, exemplifies the high level of design found in A. Page Brown’s architectural commissions. Architectural embellishments that demonstrate the outstanding attention to detail include cast architectural reliefs, espadañas, quatrefoil windows, lancet style sash, columns and piers with simple moldings and capitals. The building at 2014 Garden Street has Mission Revival features such as the Mission parapet on the roof, expanses of sash windows with ornate detailing on the upper sash, smooth stucco walls and wide overhanging eaves. Criterion H. Its relationship to any other landmark if its preservation is essential to the integrity of that landmark; The property at 2014 Garden Street is one of five houses that compose Crocker Row. Designed by Arthur Page Brown and his firm for William Crocker, the Mission Revival style houses were designed as an assemblage united by their similar scale and massing, architectural style and related repertoire of architectural motifs. Diminution of any of the houses’ ability to convey their historic appearance would significantly diminish the ability of the remaining houses or Crocker Row to convey their historic and architectural significance. Therefore, 2014 Garden Street meets Criterion h. Criterion I. Its unique location or singular physical characteristic representing an established and familiar visual feature of a neighborhood;

Built in 1894-1895, 2014 Crocker Row is one of the five Mission Revival style houses that comprise Crocker Row. Built for William Crocker and his wife Edith, Crocker Row was an early interpretation of the Mission Revival style by the San Francisco firm of A. Page Brown. Occupying the entire length of the east side of the 2000 block of Garden Street, Crocker Row, which is the City’s first planned residential development, has formed an established and familiar visual feature of the Upper East Neighborhood for 112 years. Because the Crocker Row, including 2014 Garden Street, can still convey their historic appearance, the property at 2014 Garden Street and Crocker Row meet Criterion i.

Historic Integrity: The building retains most of its original features and most of the surrounding neighborhood is intact so that it has high historic integrity of location, feeling, setting, design, materials, workmanship and association. The building can convey its 1894 original appearance.