2014 Actions Taken
SHRC Registration Actions Taken 2014
SHRC Registration Actions--February 8, 2014
The SHRC considered the following nominations at their regularly scheduled hearing on February 8, 2014. They recommended the State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) forward five National Register nominations to the Keeper of the National Register for listing. They also approved two new California Historical Landmarks.
Properties Nominated to the National Register of Historic Places
New Helvetia Historic District. Submitted under cover of the National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Submission Public Housing in the United States, 1933-1949, New Helvetia represents an important local attempt to improve the housing conditions of African Americans and is associated with the career of Nathaniel Colley, the first African American attorney in Sacramento, who had a significant role in the effort to implement fair housing practices. The buildings were designed by a coalition of Sacramento’s Master architects – Charles Dean, Leonard Starks, Ed Flanders, and Harry Devine, Sr. – the only project on which they collaborated.
Pilarcitos Creek Bridge is a two-lane concrete bridge located in Half Moon Bay, San Mateo County. Built in 1900, it is an extraordinarily early example of prestressed concrete bridge construction, which did not come into general use until decades later. The cables used to construct the bridge are Hallidie wire rope originally manufactured to pull cable cars in San Francisco.
Peterson, Robert O.-Russell Forester Residence in San Diego, San Diego County, was constructed between 1964-1965. The residence is a highly acclaimed example of the Modernist design of master architect Russell Forester, a pioneer of San Diego modernist architecture.
Tassajara One Room School is a one-room schoolhouse in Danville, Contra Costa County. Built in 1889, the schoolhouse was the primary school for the Tassajara Valley until 1946, and also served as a community center for residents of all ages.
Union Iron Works Historic District. This 65 acre maritime industrial district at Potrero Point in San Francisco is significant at the national level for its association with the development of steel shipbuilding in the United States 1884 to 1945: for pioneering technological developments and the production of significant wartime vessels. The district is also eligible at the local level as a physical record of the trends in industrial architecture from the late nineteenth century through World War II.Properties Nominated as California Historical Landmarks
Asilomar State Beach and Conference Grounds, Pacific Grove, Monterey County. Located on the Monterey Peninsula in the city of Pacific Grove, Asilomar had its start in 1913 as a young women’s summer camp and conference facility - an outgrowth of the inspired vision of the resourceful, socially-concerned and committed women of the YWCA. The historic buildings were designed and built by renowned California architect Julia Morgan between 1913 and 1928. Asilomar has been owned and operated by State Parks since 1956.
Mountain Quarries Railroad Bridge spans the American River on the boundary between Placer and El Dorado Counties. Built in 1912, it was a very early example of reinforced concrete railroad bridge construction. The bridge was designed by John B. Leonard, a pioneer in the design, engineering and promotion of reinforced concrete construction. From 1912 until 1942, the Mountain Quarries Railroad operated trains over the bridge, carrying loads of sandstone from the nearby quarry to Auburn, California where MQRR met the Southern Pacific Railroad.SHRC Registration Actions--April 22, 2014
The SHRC considered the following nominations at their regularly scheduled hearing on April 22, 2014. They recommended the State Historic Preservation Officer forward six National Register nominations to the Keeper of the National Register for listing. They also approved updates to five existing California Historical Landmarks and one new California Historical Landmark.
Properties Nominated to the National Register of Historic Places
Century 21 Theater in San Jose, Santa Clara County is an early and notable example of a Cinerama-type theater designed by noted Bay Area architect Vincent G. Raney. The Century 21 Theater embodies the distinctive characteristics of the mid-century modernist style and suburban roadside architecture popular during the 1960s. This modernist landmark in San Jose is one of the best surviving examples of the freestanding dome type theater remaining in California.
Arthur and Kathleen Connell House, Pebble Beach, Monterey County. Completed in 1958, the Connell House is an excellent example of the International Style within the Modern Movement in Pebble Beach, and representative of master architect Richard Neutra’s mid-century residential work. The house exemplifies the rational design approach associated with Modern architecture, with thoughtful delineations between public and private areas that do not compromise its open, flowing spatial quality.
Fort Ord Station Veterinary Hospital in Monterey County was one of the last built medical facilities for mounted, horse-drawn, and mule-packing units of the U.S. Army, and the only known complete hospital surviving. When ground broke on Fort Ord construction in 1940, the horse-drawn 76th field artillery battalion was the first unit assigned and stables and a veterinary hospital were among the first buildings erected. The transition to mechanized was felt abruptly at Fort Ord, where the interval between major new horse construction and the active military use of horses was measured in months.
Mission Nuestra Senora de la Soledad in Soledad, Monterey County. Thirteenth of twenty-one Catholic missions established in California by the Franciscan order between 1769 and 1823, Mission Soledad is significant in the areas of Exploration/Settlement, Hispanic and Native American Ethnic Heritage, Religion, Architecture, and Archaeology. Two of the buildings were reconstructed in the mid-twentieth century, and much of the rest of the district is in ruins, with potential to yield important information about the Franciscans, the mission system, and the Native people who lived and worked there.
Pond Farm Pottery Historic District, near Guerneville, Sonoma County. During the first half of the twentieth century, European immigrant ceramists such as Marguerite Wildenhain introduced new arts and crafts skills, methods, and philosophies across the country. Her school, Pond Farm Pottery in Sonoma County near Guerneville, is eligible at the national level of significance for its association with the development of the Studio Pottery Movement, the emergence of ceramics as an important art form, and the internationally significant contributions of Wildenhain.
Villa Carlotta in Altadena, Los Angeles County, is a two-story single-family house constructed in 1918 as a summer residence for Francis R. Welles and his family, designed by renowned architect Myron Hunt.Properties Nominated as California Historical Landmarks
Custom House (Update) Monterey, Monterey County. On winning its independence from Spain in 1821, Mexico repealed the Spanish laws forbidding foreign trade and the California hide and tallow trade soon developed with New England. The Mexican Government erected the Custom House at Monterey, then the capital of Mexican California, in 1827, and until 1845, this was the only custom house north of Mexico. It was here on July 7, 1846 Commodore John D. Sloat, commander of the U.S. Pacific squadron, first raised the American flag and officially proclaimed California to be a part of the United States.
Castro-Breen Adobe (Update) The adobe is associated with Jose Castro, Commandant General of Northern California, who built this house facing the plaza for the residential use of his secretary and for administrative use by himself. In 1848, the house was purchased with California gold by the Breens, a prominent pioneer family known for their survival of a severe winter season that stranded them and the rest of the Donner Party in the California Sierras during the winter months of 1846.
Camillo Ynitia Adobe (Update) Reportedly built as a one room adobe in 1776 with the assistance of Lieutenant Bodega’s survey party under the King of Spain, further research indicates a more likely two part construction beginning in 1834. The updated nomination renames the landmark the Camilo Ynitia Adobe in recognition of the only U.S. land grant owned and maintained by a Native American in Alta California.
Hugo Reid Adobe (Update) This update of California Historical Landmark documents Lucky Baldwin’s long and direct association with the historic adobe and incorporates more current historic research and writing standards for the historic property. By conforming to existing criteria California Historical Landmark # 368 will meet the requirements of Public Resources Code 5031 and California Code of Regulations 4851.
Plaza Hotel (Update) Following use as a dormitory, barracks, then private residence, the original 1792 one-story adobe was expanded with a timber second story and turned into a hotel in the late 1850s. It became the headquarters for the overland stage, and a favorite stopping place for fiesta guests, traders, and travelers.
Sierra Railway Shops in Jamestown, Tuolumne County, is the last surviving short-line steam railroad shops and turntable in California, and the most significant "movie railroad" in the state. The Shops first began operation in 1897 and were the Sierra Railroad's main shops until 1955. The Shops include the turntable and roundhouse, freight depot, ancillary shops buildings, motive power and rolling stock associated with the Shops and the railroad.SHRC Registration Actions--August 1, 2014
The SHRC considered the following nominations at their regularly scheduled hearing on August 1, 2014. They recommended the State Historic Preservation Officer forward ten National Register nominations to the Keeper of the National Register for listing. They also approved updates to one existing California Historical Landmark and two new California Historical Landmarks. One nomination to the California Register of Historical Resources and one nomination to the National Register of Historic Places were removed from the agenda and rescheduled for a future meeting.
Properties Nominated to the National Register of Historic Places
Forum is a rare, intact example of a post-World War II sports arena, an excellent example of New Formalism in Southern California, and a prominent example of the work of architect Charles Luckman. It reopened as an entertainment venue in 2014 after a two year project that met the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation.
Luiseño Ancestral Origin Landscape is a Traditional Cultural Property located primarily in southwest Riverside County, California. The district covers 8.39 square miles, encompassing approximately 5,373 acres. The boundary is plotted based on oral tradition and ethnographic literature, and is significant to Luiseño traditions. There are 28 mostly intact resources located within the boundary, which include sacred rock formations, rock art, and village sites. The majority of the property is undeveloped and located in a protected ecological reserve.
Sacramento City Cemetery is 31.8 acre urban cemetery located immediately outside the original boundaries of Sacramento. Established during the California Gold Rush, the property is associated with the early development of California and Sacramento. It is the last resting place of John Sutter Jr., Hardin Bigelow, Albert M. Winn, John Bigler, Newton Booth and Mark Hopkins, individuals significant to the history of Sacramento and California but have no surviving property associated directly with their working lives. It is also the last resting place of Margaret Crocker, who was actively involved in the growth, development and beautification of the Cemetery. 
C.W. Swain House is an 1890s Shingle Style house located in Ione, Amador County. The house was designed by its owner, Clarence W. Swain, an architect and builder who moved to Ione in 1882 and was involved with some of Amador County's most significant architectural landmarks, including the Preston School for Boys. One of the building's most notable features are blocks of ashlar stone used for the building foundation, of similar composition and style to those used for the Preston School.
Burr House is an Italianate style house topped with a mansard roof that is distinctly Second Empire, representing the two most popular architectural styles of the time. The garden setting of the dwelling provides a sense of openness in the dense urban environment of San Francisco.
Michael White Adobe is a three-room adobe located in San Marino, Los Angeles County, constructed in approximately 1845 for Michael White, an English sailor who first arrived in Baja California in 1817. He became a Mexican citizen and received a land grant. The adobe is the only surviving remnant of Michael White's grant, the Rancho San Isidro, and a rare surviving example of adobe architecture.
Morro Bay State Park: Trailer and Tent Campground is one of the earliest and best examples of campground facilities designed and executed in the Park Rustic architectural style. The property meets the requirements of The National-State Park Cooperative Program and the Civilian Conservation Corps in California State Parks 1933-1942 Multiple Property Submission as a campground facility that demonstrates its association with the public works programs that oversaw and administratively controlled the development of facilities within state parks.
Lower Sky Meadow Residential Area Historic District meets the requirements of the Historic Resources of Big Basin Redwoods State Park Multiple Property Submission for its association with development in Big Basin Redwoods State Park and in California State Parks. Lower Sky Meadow was the first residential complex built in a California state park between 1941 and 1955, an era when the construction of employee housing in California State Parks became a priority and standardized plans were utilized in the parks for the first time. Properties Nominated as California Historical Landmarks
Bridgeport Historic District is an update to California Historical Landmark (CHL) No. 390, originally registered in 1947. The Bridgeport Covered Bridge utilizes a combination truss and arch construction and is the longest single span covered bridge in the United States. In 1970 it was designated a National Civil Engineering Landmark and in 1971 listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The CHL is updated to recognize the significance of other resources in the district, including the associated Virginia Turnpike, the 1862 barn, the 1927 gas station, and the Kneebone Family Cemetery. 
The Mystery Spot is a roadside attraction located in Felton, Santa Cruz County, established in 1941. It is the first and most significant example of its type in California, a "tilt-box" or "gravity house" roadside attraction that gained popularity in the mid-20th century. Established by George Prather, the Mystery Spot became a popular roadside attraction under the stewardship of Prather's son Bruce in the late 1940s and 1950s.
Tomo Kahni, Winter Village in the Kawaiisu language, is a late prehistoric/protohistoric site affiliated with the Kawaiisu and is located in the southern Sierra Nevada Mountains near Tehachapi, California. A number of features have been recorded at the site, including food processing areas with bedrock mortars, milling slicks, rock art panels on boulders and within shelters or caves, and concentrated deposits of artifacts. Tomo Kahni State Historic Park became a unit of California State Parks in 1993.SHRC Registration Actions--November 7, 2014
The SHRC considered the following nominations at their regularly scheduled hearing on February 8, 2014. They recommended the State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) forward eleven National Register nominations to the Keeper of the National Register for listing or determination of eligibility. They voted against approving a new California Register of Historical Resources nomination.
Properties being nominated to the National Register of Historic Places.
Amelia Vollers House is a highly ornamented one-and-one-half story Queen Anne cottage, located in San Mateo. Built by James Sharpe Tannahill in 1891, the house embodies the distinctive characteristics of the Queen Anne style and is one of only a small number of examples of the style remaining in San Mateo.
CA-ORA-855 is an archaeological site in Orange County. Now capped beneath athletic fields, the site was a large village and cemetery occupied by the Acjachemen/Juaneño people from approximately 1400 to 1800. This first village established in the San Juan Capistrano Valley by Native Americans of the Late Prehistoric Era was still occupied at the time of Spanish exploration into Alta California. The inhabitants were inducted into and helped to build the mission and local historic adobes.
Capitol Towers is a large-scale, multi-family Modern residential complex with low-rise garden apartment buildings, a high-rise tower, and pedestrian-oriented landscapes on an approximately 10-acre superblock in downtown Sacramento. Constructed between 1959 and 1965, Capitol Towers was among the first privately sponsored urban redevelopment projects in California.
Frank Thomas House is a 1949 home designed by Theodore Criley Jr. for Frank Thomas and his family, located in La Cañada Flintridge, Los Angeles County. SIte plans were prepared in 1948 by landscape archtiect Garrett Eckbo. The property is associated with Franklin "Frank" Rosborough, an animator for Walt Disney, who worked on many classic animated films at the house, and as a significant example of Mid-Century Modern architecture.
George and Eliza Withington House, Ione, Amador County, is an excellent local example of Gold Rush-era architecture in Amador County, embodying the distinctive characteristics of the Greek Revival style of architecture. Built in 1857 for Ione Valley pioneers George and Eliza Withington, it is the only surviving property associated with Eliza’s career as a portrait and landscape photographer and George’s role in settling the Ione Valley.
Guapiabit-Serrano Homeland Archaeological District, is a district of archaeological sites in San Bernardino County associated with the traditional homeland of the Serrano People including large village sites, campsites, and ethnographic landscapes showing evidence of over 3500 years of occupation and activity.
Mount Tamalpias Mountain Theater (CCC in California State Parks MPS), Mill Valley (vicinity), Marin County, was designed by renowned San Francisco landscape architect Emerson Knight. He merged classical aesthetics with rustic naturalism to create a space of utmost simplicity, utilizing local materials, skilled Civilian Conservation Corps veterans, and the site’s astounding vistas. The property is associated with The National-State Park Cooperative Program and the Civilian Conservation Corps in California State Parks 1933-1942 Multiple Property Submission. 
San Diego Fire Station #6 is a fire station and maintenance facility located in the Little Italy neighborhood of San Diego. The building combines a two-story firehouse with a one-story machine shop in garage, with minimal elements of Mission Revival style architecture. The property is significant for its association with fire chief Louis Almgren, who built the first internal combustion powered fireboat at this location, and inventor Robert Ely, who developed the Ely Fire Hose Thread Standardizer, now known as the National Standard Thread used by all fire departments across the United States.
San Jose Central Fire Station is an International Style firehouse located in downtown San Jose, designed by the architecture firm of Binder and Curtis and built in 1951. When this station was completed, it became the city's central fire station including a new communication system that functioned as a command center for emergency services throughout the city.
Sebastian Indian Reserve, in Kern County, is an archaeological district significant under Criterion A, due to its demonstrated association with the ethnogenesis of a new tribal organization, the Tejon Indian Tribe; and Criterion D, because of the District’s potential value for archeological research, especially concerning the nineteenth century acculturation and assimilation of Native American people. 
Sonoma Valley Woman's Club is a 1916 Craftsman style building designed by Petaluma architect Brainerd Jones. The club that commissioned and still occupies the building is closely associated with the civic development of the town of Sonoma, and the preservation of its historic resources.
Woman's Club of Palo Alto is a meeting hall designed by Charles Edward Hodges. The building was a community meeting hall for the Woman's Club of Palo Alto, part of a national network of women's civic organizations, and was designed by master architect Charles Edward Hodges combining elements of Craftsman and Tudor Revival architectural styles.
Properties nominated to the California Register of Historical Resources
Cottrell House is a 1963 Hacienda/Rancheria style home designed by master archtiect Cliff May. The property is a transition from his earlier work in San Diego to his later work with Ranch style homes in Los Angeles.