January 27, 2024 - SACRAMENTO, Calif.—The California State Historical Resources Commission (Commission) will consider ten nominations for federal historic designation at its meeting in Sacramento on Friday, February 2, at 9 a.m., in Sacramento. The nominations include several historic districts, a steel suspension bridge in Los Angeles County, and the Sacramento Shops Historic District.
Among the nominated properties to be considered by the Commission are the Mariposa Street Bridge, a steel suspension bridge built in 1939 across the Los Angeles River. The bridge links the equestrian neighborhoods of Burbank and Glendale Ranchos to the north with the Los Angeles Equestrian Center and Griffith Park equestrian trails to the south. The bridge was designed to allow horses and riders to cross the river in this unique 20th-century commercial-equestrian area.
Another nominated property is the Sacramento Shops Historic District, a 14-acre complex of railroad shops located north of downtown Sacramento. The district includes eight industrial buildings built during the 19th century and associated with Central Pacific Railroad's locomotive and car manufacturing facility and maintenance shops. The facility later became part of the Southern Pacific Railroad.
The following is a complete list of all properties being considered:
National Register of Historic Places Nominations
Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in California Amended Multiple Property Documentation Form (MPDF)
Multiple Cities, Multiple Counties
The Amended MPDF adds to the original cover documentation that was approved by the Keeper of the National Register in 2020. The original submittal documented three historic contexts - Migration and Community Formation, Community-Serving Organizations, and Religion and Spirituality - for eight groups. These groups included Native Hawaiian, Chinese American, Japanese American, Korean American, Filipina/o American, Chamorro, South Asian American, and Samoan, with an 1850 to 1970 period of significance. The Amended MPDF also extends the period of significance to 1995, adds two historic contexts - 1) Business, Industry, and Labor and 2) Activism, Civic Engagement, and Political Participation - and a ninth group, Vietnamese American.
Bel Vista House at 1150 N. Calle Rolph
Palm Springs, Riverside County
The house was constructed in 1946 in the International Style as one of the 15 identical homes constructed in the Bel Vista tract of Palm Springs. Architect Albert Frey placed each home differently on its lot to differentiate and distinguish the singular design of the 15 identical houses in the tract from each other. Only three remain intact. The house embodies the distinctive characteristics of residential architecture associated with the modern movement as interpreted by Frey for the desert environment of the Coachella Valley and meets the registration requirements of The Architecture of Albert Frey Multiple Property Submission. To distinguish the house from the nearby National Register-listed Bel Vista House, this property is identified by the addition of its address.
Winona Boulevard Mid-Century Modern Historic District
Los Angeles, Los Angeles County
The district is an intact and cohesive collection of mid-20th-century multi-family buildings on both sides of Winona Boulevard between Hollywood Boulevard and Franklin Avenue in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles. The 1950 to 1964 period of significance encompasses a period of change and new construction in the area, as early-20th-century building stock was demolished to make way for denser residential development that embraced Modernism.
Los Feliz Boulevard Courtyard Apartments Historic District
Los Angeles, Los Angeles County
Composed almost entirely of multi-family residences in the Los Feliz area of Los Angeles, just south of Griffith Park, the district was developed as multiple tracts over the span of a few decades. Most of the resources take the courtyard apartment form, with represented styles including Colonial Revival, Tudor Revival, Mission/Spanish Colonial Revival, Mediterranean Revival, French Renaissance, Art Deco, and four locally recognized styles of the Modern Movement: Mid-Century Modern, Late Moderne, Hollywood Regency, and Minimal Traditional.
Talmadge Park Estates Historic District
San Diego, San Diego County
Composed of single-family buildings and decorative wrought-iron entry gates, the district is in the Mid-City neighborhood of San Diego, northeast of downtown. The district represents an evolution of San Diego’s suburban development in the wake of the Great Depression, into the incorporation of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) small/minimum house principles for neighborhood planning, and through World War II housing shortage and construction restrictions. Architectural styles include Spanish Colonial Revival; the small Ranch, which originated in this neighborhood; and Minimal Traditional.
Blair, Luther and Adah, House
Monrovia, Los Angeles County
The large two-story wood-framed building’s design was influenced by the Queen Anne and Eastlake styles. Built in 1887, the house was moved in 1927. When Blair House was slated for demolition in 1993, town historian Steve Baker had it moved again to its location adjacent to his family home, the John F. and Julia Brossart House. Both moves, within Monrovia city limits in Los Angeles County, were carefully executed, preserving original architectural details on the exterior and the interior. Original design features include heavy turned posts with decorative brackets, stained-glass doors and transoms, porches, wood windows, skirting with stylized crane cutouts, and interior moldings and ornamentation.
Brossart, John F. and Julia, House
Monrovia, Los Angeles County
The large two-story frame house was built in 1887, in a simple late 19th-century Victorian style with Queen Anne influences. The house was moved twice between 1900 and 1909, both times only a short distance away within Monrovia city boundaries. Each move was carefully executed, preserving original architectural details including windows, doors, decorative wood shingles, built-in cabinet, and mantelpiece. In 1914, a Craftsman-inspired addition at the back of the house added a new kitchen and service areas on the first floor and a bedroom above.
Mariposa Street Bridge
Burbank, Los Angeles County
The 1939 steel suspension bridge across the Los Angeles River links the equestrian neighborhoods of the Burbank and Glendale Ranchos to the north with the Los Angeles Equestrian Center and Griffith Park equestrian trails to the south. The bridge was designed to allow horses and riders to cross the river in this unique 20th-century commercial-equestrian area.
Sacramento Shops Historic District
Sacramento, Sacramento County
The 14-acre complex of railroad shops is located north of downtown Sacramento. The district includes eight 19th-century industrial buildings associated with the locomotive and car manufacturing facility and maintenance shops of the Central Pacific Railroad (later Southern Pacific Railroad).
The Last Resort
Lagunitas, Marin County
Located in a forested area of west Marin County's San Geronimo Valley, the handmade buildings and structures combine ecological design and art. The district created by David Hoffman was influenced by his interest in sustainable architecture and nine years spent traveling, principally in Asia.
All nominations and photographs of properties under consideration are available online.
The Commission meeting will be held at the Stanley Mosk Library and Courts Building, 914 Capitol Mall, Room 500, in Sacramento. Members of the public are invited to attend in person or may participate virtually. Those wishing to provide comments during the meeting must register to attend the meeting through Zoom. Those who wish to watch the meeting but not provide comments are invited to watch a live webcast, with archived video provided post-meeting, at cal-span.org. Links to additional details and other meeting can be found at California State Parks’ Public Notices.
The National Register of Historic Places (National Register) is part of a national program that coordinates and supports public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archaeological resources. Placement on the National Register can help bring positive attention to a historic place and affords a property the honor of inclusion in the nation’s list of cultural resources worthy of preservation. This can provide a degree of protection from adverse effects resulting from federally funded or licensed projects. Registration also provides a number of incentives for preservation of historic properties, including special building codes to facilitate the restoration of historic structures, and certain tax advantages.
The California Register of Historical Resources is a program designed by the Commission in 1992 for use by state and local government agencies, private groups, and citizens to identify, evaluate, register, and protect California’s historical resources. California Historical Landmarks are sites, buildings, features, or events that are of statewide significance and have anthropological, cultural, military, political, architectural, economic, scientific, technical, religious, or experimental value. California Points of Historical Interest are sites, buildings, features, or events that are of local (city or county) significance and have anthropological, cultural, military, political, architectural, economic, scientific, technical, religious, or experimental value.
Notices and agendas for Commission meetings are available online 10 days before a meeting at . The public may present oral statements at the hearing at the appropriate time. Inquiries and written comments on the agenda may also be emailed to the Office of Historic Preservation at calshpo.shrc@parks.ca.gov or submitted via mail to Julianne Polanco, State Historic Preservation Officer at Office of Historic Preservation, P.O. Box 942896, Sacramento, CA 94296-0001.
This meeting will be open to the public. General inquiries about the Commission can be directed to (916) 445-7000 or calshpo.shrc@parks.ca.gov. Those in need of special accommodations are encouraged to call the Office of Historic Preservation at (916) 445-7000.
Left: Composed of single-family buildings and decorative wrought iron entry gates, Talmadge Park Estates Historic District is located in the Mid-City neighborhood of San Diego, northeast of downtown. Photo courtesy of Talmadge Historical Society. Top right: the Mariposa Street Bridge connects the neighborhoods of Burbank and Glendale Ranchos to Griffith Park and equestrian trails to the south. Photo courtesy of Jenna Snow and Kathryn McGee. Bottom right: People celebrate the arrival of the Southern Pacific’s first 3-cylinder compound 4-10-2 class locomotive outside the company’s shops in Sacramento in the 1920s. Photo courtesy of the California State Railroad Museum Library and Archives Collections.
Source: CA; State Parks
