Memorandum
TO:
Roxanne Tanemori, City of Santa Monica
DATE:
March 07, 2007
CC:
FROM:
RE:
Margarita J. Wuellner, Ph.D., Preservation Consultant
ST
PRELIMINARY HISTORIC ASSESSMENT: 464 21 PLACE (APN 4278-028-003)
st
As requested by City staff, PCR has conducted a site visit of 464 21 Place, the subject property, and has
also reviewed archival data relevant to the residence. The one-story Spanish Colonial Revival residence
1
has not been previously surveyed and is not recorded in the City’s Historic Resources Inventory. The
property is not situated within a historic district or recognized building group of contiguous residential
architecture of a similar type. The property is presently surrounded by single-family residential
development of the1920s, 1930s and 1940s. There are a number of examples of contemporaneous
architectural styles nearby, including the Spanish Colonial Revival-style residences at 355, 358 and 359
21st Place, 209 22nd Street, and 476 22nd Street. The overall character of the built environment has a
high degree of architectural integrity.
Building permits indicate the subject property was built in May 1936. Cecil A. Gale was listed on the
permit as both the owner and building contractor. No architect was given. The residence was 14 feet
high, 41 by 70 feet in size and had a total area of 2,000 square feet. It had seven rooms and was valued
at $4,750. The materials were wood frame and stucco with a tile roof.
A permit for the construction of a detached garage was also issued in May 1936. The garage was built of
similar materials and was valued at $250. It was 18 by 20 feet in size, 360 feet in total area, and 12 feet
high. The only alteration of record to the property was the installation of a swimming pool in March
1958. The size of the pool was 15 by 30 feet (irregular), and it was valued at $2,200. The pool was
installed by George C. Thomson, Engineer, Swan Pools, Inc.
Santa Monica City Directories were reviewed to obtain information on the occupants of the property.
No occupant was listed in 1936, but by 1937 the property was occupied by Charles B. and Katherine
Schenk. The Schenks continued to reside on the property until 1946. Preliminary research does not
indicate the Schenk family was significant in local history. Further research would be required to fully
eliminate this possibility.
The subject property was occupied by Wilfred J. Snodgrass, M.D., and his wife Lula B. Snodgrass in
1946. City Directories indicate that Dr. Snodgrass was a physician who had his offices at 327 Wilshire
Boulevard, Room 200 at the time. The Snodgrass family continued to reside in the house until at least
1961. Dr. Snodgrass still maintained his Wilshire Boulevard doctor’s office until at least 1975. The
collection of City Directories in the Santa Monica library is incomplete. Years searched included 1936,
1938, 1947-48, 1952-53, 1954, 1958-59, 1960-61, 1975, 1980, 1985, 1988, 1989-90, 1990-91.
1
City of Santa Monica Historic Resources Inventory (Merged Inventories as of December 2003).
233 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 130, Santa Monica, CA 90401
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Memorandum
RE:
PRELIMINARY HISTORIC ASSESSMENT: 464 21ST PLACE (APN 4278028-003)
Preliminary research indicates that Wilfred Snodgrass, M.D., was an important person who made
significant contributions to the local history of health in Santa Monica. Dr. Snodgrass was a highly
rated physician and surgeon, and Director of Health for the Santa Monica schools. He was born near
Burbank, California, on July 25, 1910, the son of the Reverend Clarence Lee and Grace (Miller)
Snodgrass. Wilfred attended Lodi Academy and Pacific Union College. He graduated from Occidental
College, Los Angeles, with a Bachelor of Science degree, and earned his professional degree at the
College of Medical Evangelists. He interned at the White Memorial Hospital and subsequently took on
private practice in Globe, Arizona, where he resided for four years. He also served for two years as
County Superintendent of Health of Gila County, Arizona. Due to the great distances in the County,
Dr. Snodgrass used an airplane to make his official visits, and became interested in aviation. As a result
he established the Apache Flying School in St. Johns, which he still owned during the 1940s. This
institution was responsible for training numerous pilots for the United States Army and Navy. Both Dr.
Snodgrass and his wife Lula were licensed pilots. Mrs. Snodgrass was also a trained nurse. Affiliations of
Dr. Snodgrass included The Santa Monica Optimist Club, Santa Monica Junior Chamber of
Commerce, and the American, State and Los Angeles County Medical Associations. He served on the
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advisory board of the American Red Cross.
In 1963, Dr. Snodgrass was appointed to a committee of four Santa Monica doctors to make an
intensive medical survey of the City’s mental health care needs and facilities. The committee was named
by Dr. Eldon Smith, President of the Los Angeles County Medical Association’s Bay District Branch.
The head of the committee was Dr. George Beckerman. Other members of the committee were Drs.
Robert Buckley and Edward Colbert.3
The subject property is situated on Lot 3, Block 6, of the Gillette Regent Square Tract. Although
subdivided in 1912 and 1913, the Tract was not extensively populated before 1920. Extending from
th
st
15 Street to 21 Place, the Tract was one of the many California real estate investments of King C.
Gillette, inventor of the razor blade. He began investing his profits in real estate in 1910. The area was
all undeveloped open land when he purchased the property. The Gillette’s Regent Square Tract contains
distinct examples of the Craftsman style at 624 23rd Street and 501 24th Street. Three other homes in
this area date from the period of initial development, 304 21st Street, 501 24th Street, and 401 25th
Street.4
In 1920, lots in the nearby Upper Palisades were selling for between $1,200 and $2,750. Like many
subdivisions of the era, developers offered a 5% discount for cash and an additional 5% building
discount if a structure was built on the site within a specified period of time (usually one year). Billed as
“good investments as well as rare homesites,” the area was developed during the 1920s and 1930s for the
2
Charles S. Warren, ed., Santa Monica Community Book (Santa Monica, California: Arthur H. Cawston, 1944), p. 157-158.
Evening Outlook, April 23, 1963.
4
Santa Monica Historical Resources Inventory, 1985-1986, Final Report, pp. 49-50
3
PCR Services Corporation
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March 07, 200
Memorandum
RE:
PRELIMINARY HISTORIC ASSESSMENT: 464 21ST PLACE (APN 4278028-003)
burgeoning middle class of Santa Monica. Most of the homes were built on lots which measured 50 by
150 feet. Residences on the corner lots were often larger than those in the interior lots. Transportation
was provided by the Westgate and Santa Monica street car lines, which ran on San Vicente Boulevard,
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the neighborhood’s northern border. A third line ran along Montana Avenue.
Most of the housing in the area was built by local contractors, rather than architects. The contractors
and builders of the City had the most influence on the streetscape in this area. Several contracting firms
built a sizable number of homes throughout the area in a variety of style popular in the 1920s and
1930s. The style of choice was Mediterranean or Spanish Colonial Revival, although English cottages,
Tudor, and French period revival examples are also seen in the neighborhood. Contractors and
developers would often buy ten or twelve lots throughout a tract and built houses on them one at a time.
Among those engaged in this type of development activity were the Wilson Brothers, Rose and Rowell,
Lincoln Mortgage Company, Frank Bivens, Jr., G. A. Hogan, Frank Roden, J. J. Verplank, Dick and
Taylor, Robert Highet, H. H. Klabunde, Charles Repp, R. A. Spooner, R. A. Tappan, and Charles
Olevine. Firms of this type made a significant contribution to the built environment of Santa Monica.
Most of these builders and contractors were also active in West Los Angeles, Beverly Hills and
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Westwood.
One of the most intact streets in the Gillette Regent Square Tract is 18th Street, developed between 1922
and 1940. The street exhibits a variety of period revival styles and mature street trees add to its integrity.
Architects John Byers, Harry Werner, and the firm of Gable and Wyant are represented, along with the
work of contractor developers Frank Roden, Sidney Rogers, H. A. Klabunde, Frank Bivens, Robert
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Highet, J. J. Verplank, the Wilson Brothers, and O. B. Farrell.
Archival records indicate Cecil A. Gale was a contractor developer in Santa Monica during the 1930s
and 1940s. According to the Santa Monica City Directories, Cecil Gale resided at 637 11th Street with
th
his wife Bess P. Gale from 1939 until 1948. By 1951 they had moved to 352 19 Street where they
lived until 1957. In that year the Gales moved to a new home at 30 Gale Place where they resided until
1991. However, many of the building permits for the houses he erected list Cecil Gale as both the
owner and builder. Nonetheless, the evidence from the City Directories shows that he resided at only
three addresses in Santa Monica from 1939 until 1991. Prior to 1939, Gale did not reside in Santa
Monica. Therefore, Gale was the contractor developer for the subject property. He did not build the
residences as his own home.
Building permits show Cecil Gale as the owner of several residences during the same year (see Table 1
below) which suggests that his activities as a builder followed the pattern of contractor developers in
5
Ibid.
Ibid., p. 51 and p. 53.
7
Ibid., p. 54.
6
PCR Services Corporation
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PRELIMINARY HISTORIC ASSESSMENT: 464 21ST PLACE (APN 4278028-003)
Santa Monica, as described above. However, it should be noted that Cecil Gale was not listed under the
business listings for building contractors in the City Directories. The telephone listings by name
indicate he was a carpenter from 1939 until 1953, a contractor in 1954, and a builder in 1958-1959.
He appears to have worked his way up, project by project, as an independent contractor. The year 1935
appears to have been the peak period of his work in Santa Monica. In 1936, he completed four
st
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properties during the same year on 21 Place, including the subject property.
Table 1
Address
Original Owner
Builder
Date
1229 22nd Street
Unknown
E. F. and Cecil Gale, Craftsman Bungalow
Franklin W. Staiger and Grouping ca. 1930s
H. L. Rice. Twelve of
the 32 bungalows in the
group were built by E.
F. and Cecil Gale.
708 17th Street
Mayo Estle
Cecil A. Gale
1934
634 21st Street
Bess Gale
Cecil A. Gale
1935
422 20th Street
Robert A. Webster
Cecil A. Gale
1935
476 22nd Street
Albert J. Dewar
Cecil A. Gale
1935
704 21st Place
Cecil A. Gale
Cecil A. Gale
1935
634 21st Place
Bess P. Gale
Cecil A. Gale
1935
622 21st Place
Howard Lewis
Cecil A. Gale
1935
528 21st Place
Cecil A. Gale
Cecil A. Gale
1936
8
Date on the owners and builders shown in Table 1 was obtained from the Santa Monica Historic Resources Inventory,
Phases 1 and 2 (Phase 3 Final – 5/94), pp. 4-43 and 71-123.
PCR Services Corporation
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Memorandum
RE:
PRELIMINARY HISTORIC ASSESSMENT: 464 21ST PLACE (APN 4278028-003)
464 21st Place
Cecil A. Gale
Cecil A. Gale
1936
370 21st Place
Cecil A. Gale
Cecil A. Gale
1936
534 21st Place
Cecil A. Gale
Cecil A. Gale
1936
225 21st Place
Cecil A. Gale
Cecil A. Gale
1937
457 19th Street
Cecil A. Gale
Cecil A. Gale
1938
402 20th Street
Mr. and Mrs. Walter Cecil A. Gale
Henley
1941
Sanborn maps from 1918 and 1950 were reviewed. The subject property first appears on the 1950
Sanborn map. By 1950, the neighborhood was densely developed with single-family residences.
Upon inspection of the property, it appears that it is a good representative example of a Spanish
Colonial Revival Residence. The one-story, wood-frame residence is covered in stucco and rests upon a
concrete foundation. It has an intersecting gable roof covered with terra-cotta barrel tile and exposed
rafter ends. The residence features a center tower that projects above the level of the roof and is topped
by a decorative finial. There is a small decorative roundel filled with stained glass on the north side of
the tower. The front elevation features a large rectangular window set in a molded decorative surround.
There is a decorative terra-cotta vent on the gable end above the window. The main entrance to the
residence is on the north (side) elevation. The porch is recessed under the roof and has a flag-stone
floor. There is an arched opening filled with decorative wrought-iron in the wall at the northeast corner
of the entrance porch. The paneled wood front door appears to be original. The garden on the south
side of the house is accessed through an arched opening in the garden wall at the southeast corner of the
house. The residence has wood sash and casement windows. Some of the widows have been replaced
with unsympathetic louvered jalouisie windows. The chimney features a cap with decorative contrasting
brickwork. Decorative tiles occur on the front garden wall near the entrance porch. The tower, arched
openings, decorative brick, tile and wrought iron work give the residence a distinctive appearance. The
garage is situated at the rear, northwest corner of the lot. With the exception of the louvered jalouisie
windows (reversible), there are very few exterior alterations. The integrity of the property appears to be
intact.
According to the City’s significance criteria for individual recognition as a potential City of Santa
Monica Landmark the subject property appears to rise to the threshold of significance for Landmark
designation due to is historical importance in association with Dr. Wilfred J. Snodgrass who resided in
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PRELIMINARY HISTORIC ASSESSMENT: 464 21ST PLACE (APN 4278028-003)
the house from 1946 until at least 1961, during his most productive period in Santa Monica. The
property is also a good representative example of the work of local builder, Cecil A. Gale, who was
prolific in Santa Monica during the period 1934-1941. The integrity of the residence is intact and it is a
good representative example of a Spanish Colonial Revival Residence with distinctive features such as a
center tower, arched garden wall, side porch and decorative brick, wrought iron and tile work.
Therefore, it is recommended eligible for further consideration as a City Landmark.
PCR Services Corporation
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PRELIMINARY HISTORIC ASSESSMENT: 464 21ST PLACE (APN 4278028-003)
ATTACHMENTS
Sanborn Map 1950
Photographs
PCR Services Corporation
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Memorandum
RE:
PRELIMINARY HISTORIC ASSESSMENT: 464 21ST PLACE (APN 4278028-003)
General View to Southwest.
Façade, View to West.
PCR Services Corporation
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PRELIMINARY HISTORIC ASSESSMENT: 464 21ST PLACE (APN 4278028-003)
Entrance Porch, View to South.
PCR Services Corporation
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Memorandum
RE:
PRELIMINARY HISTORIC ASSESSMENT: 464 21ST PLACE (APN 4278028-003)
Main Entrance, View to Southwest.
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PRELIMINARY HISTORIC ASSESSMENT: 464 21ST PLACE (APN 4278028-003)
Detail, Decorative Wrought Iron on Porch.
Detail, Decorative Tilework on Garden Wall.
PCR Services Corporation
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PRELIMINARY HISTORIC ASSESSMENT: 464 21ST PLACE (APN 4278028-003)
Detail, Decorative Brickwork on Chimney Cap.
Rear Elevation, View to East.
PCR Services Corporation
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RE:
PRELIMINARY HISTORIC ASSESSMENT: 464 21ST PLACE (APN 4278028-003)
Garage, View to West.
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