HomeMy WebLinkAbout518 Valdio Rd
4/24/19 (R:\FVL1901\Memo - 518 Valido Road.docx)
BERKELEY
CARLSBAD
FRESNO
IRVINE
LOS ANGELES
PALM SPRINGS
POINT RICHMOND
RIVERSIDE
ROSEVILLE
1500 Iowa Avenue, Suite 200, Riverside, California 92507 951.781.9310 www.lsa.net
MEMORANDUM
DATE: April 24, 2019
TO: Ming Chan
FROM: Casey Tibbet, M.A., Associate/Cultural Resources Manager/Architectural Historian
SUBJECT: 518 Valido Road, City of Arcadia, California (LSA Project Number FVL1901)
As part of the Certificate of Demolition application process, LSA Associates, Inc. (LSA) completed a
historical evaluation of the property at 518 Valido Road (Assessor Identification Number [AIN] 5776-
019-005) in Arcadia, California. The evaluation was documented on Department of Parks and
Recreation (DPR) 523A (Primary Record) and 523B (Building, Structure, and Object Record) forms
and the property was identified on a DPR Location Map.
As a result of that evaluation, which included archival research and an intensive-level field survey, it
was determined that the 1947 altered residence does not appear to be eligible for listing in the
California Register of Historical Resources or for designation under the new local ordinance under
any criteria. There is no indication that it is associated with or representative of any historically
significant people or events and architecturally it does not rise to a level beyond the ordinary.
For these reasons, the residence at 518 Valido Road does not qualify as a “historical resource” as
defined by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and, for purposes of this project, the City
may make a finding of “no impact” with regard to historical resources.
DPR 523A (1/95) *Required information
State of California The Resources Agency Primary #
DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI #
PRIMARY RECORD Trinomial
NRHP Status Code 6Z
Other Listings
Review Code Reviewer Date
Page 1 of 5 Resource Name or #: 518 Valido Road P1. Other Identifier:
*P2. Location: Not for Publication Unrestricted *a. County: Los Angeles and (P2b and P2c or P2d. Attach a
Location Map as necessary.)
*b. USGS 7.5' Quad: Mt. Wilson, CA Date: 2018 T1N; R 11W ; S.B.B.M.
c. Address: 518 Valido Road City: Arcadia Zip: 91007
d. UTM: Zone: 11; mE/ mN (G.P.S.)
e. Other Locational Data: (e.g., parcel #, directions to resource, elevation, etc., as appropriate) AIN: 5776-019-005
*P3a. Description: (Describe resource and its major elements. Include design, materials, condition, alterations, size, setting, and boundaries)
This one-story Minimal Traditional style residence is situated on the east side of Valido Road in a residential neighborhood. It is
irregular in plan and surmounted by a moderately-pitched, cross-hipped roof sheathed with architectural shingles and has
moderate eaves and a brick chimney. The exterior walls are covered with stucco. The asymmetrical, west-facing, articulated
façade has a wood-framed, four-paned window flanked by shutters, a wood-framed bay window with end vent casements, a large
multi-paned ribbon window with end vent casements, a recessed door with sidelights, a projecting bay with a wood-framed, four-
paned window flanked by shutters, a south-facing window, and a recessed bay with a wood-framed double-hung window. The
property also has a detached garage and, based on aerial photographs, a rear patio cover and swimming pool. The property is in
good condition and although building permits reveal that the residence has sustained additions and alterations, from the public
right-of-way the only obvious alteration is the modern roofing.
*P3b. Resource Attributes: (List attributes and codes) HP2-Single-family property
*P4. Resources Present: Building Structure Object Site District Element of District Other (Isolates, etc.)
P5b. Description of Photo: (View,
date, accession #) Façade, view to
the east (4/11/19)
*P6. Date Constructed/Age and
Sources: Historic
Prehistoric Both
1947 (Building permit)
*P7. Owner and Address:
Unknown
*P8. Recorded by: (Name,
affiliation, and address)
Casey Tibbet, M.A.
LSA Associates, Inc.
1500 Iowa Avenue, Suite 200
Riverside, California 92507
*P9. Date Recorded:
April 11, 2019
*P10. Survey Type: (Describe)
Intensive-level CEQA compliance
*P11. Report Citation: (Cite survey report and other sources, or enter "none.") None.
*Attachments: NONE Location Map Sketch Map Continuation Sheet Building, Structure, and Object Record
Archaeological Record District Record Linear Feature Record Milling Station Record Rock Art Record
Artifact Record Photograph Record Other (List):
P5a. Photo or Drawing (Photo required for buildings, structures, and objects.)
DPR 523B (1/95) *Required information
State of California The Resources Agency Primary #
DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI#
BUILDING, STRUCTURE, AND OBJECT RECORD
Page 2 of 5 *NRHP Status Code 6Z *Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder) 518 Valido Road
B1. Historic Name:
B2. Common Name:
B3. Original Use: Single-family residence B4. Present Use: Single-family residence
*B5. Architectural Style: Minimal Traditional
*B6. Construction History: (Construction date, alterations, and date of alterations)
1947 – Permit issued to owners Mr. and Mrs. E.E. Biszantz. Builder is listed as Paul D. Jenkins.
1956 – Permit issued to owner R. Diller to remodel porch.
1962 – Permit issued to owner R.W. Diller for heat and air conditioning.
1963 – Permit issued to R.W. Diller for construction of a swimming pool.
1965 – Permit issued to owner Robert W. Diller for a 164-square foot family room addition.
1973 – Permit issued to owner Mr. Diller for installation of a water heater.
1986 – Permit issued to owner Diller to reroof with fire-retardant shakes.
2006 – Permit issued to reroof house and garage.
2010 – Permit issued to add a master suite, family room, and covered patio.
*B7. Moved? No Yes Unknown Date: Original Location:
*B8. Related Features:
B9a. Architect: None listed b. Builder: Paul D. Jenkins
*B10. Significance: Theme: Postwar Residential Development 1945–1970 Area: City of Arcadia
Period of Significance: 1947 Property Type: Single-family residence Applicable Criteria: NA
(Discuss importance in terms of historical or architectural context as defined by theme, period, and geographic scope. Also address integrity.)
This 1947 Minimal Traditional residence does not appear eligible for listing in the California Register of Historical Resources or
for designation as a City Landmark under any criteria. Individually it is not representative of any important historical events and no
evidence of any association with a historically important person was found. It is a modest example of a common type and style and
has sustained alterations. It is not a historical resource for the purposes of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
Historic Context: Originally owned by the San Gabriel Mission and then a part of Rancho Santa Anita, the land that includes
present-day Arcadia was deeded to Scottish immigrant Hugo Reid in 1839 (City of Arcadia 2012). Reid was the first to make a
modern impact on the land, raising cattle and building the first structure (City of Arcadia 2012). After a succession of owners, in
1875 Elias J. “Lucky” Baldwin purchased the land, along with much of the surrounding area and named it Arcadia (Ibid.).
Residential development from 1875 to 1909 is one of the first important themes in the City’s history (Architectural Resources Group
2016). See Continuation Sheet
B11. Additional Resource Attributes: (List attributes and codes)
*B12. References:
Ancestry.com
Var. A variety of records were accessed online in April 2019 at: http://home.ancestry.com/. These include city directories,
voter registration records, and United States Census Data.
Architectural Resources Group
2016 “City of Arcadia Citywide Historic Context Statement.”
Accessed online at: https://www.arcadiaca.gov/government/
city-departments/development-services/historic-preservation.
See Continuation Sheet
B13. Remarks:
*B14. Evaluator: Casey Tibbet, M.A., LSA Associates, Inc., 1500 Iowa
Avenue, Suite 200, Riverside, California 92507
*Date of Evaluation: April 2019
(This space reserved for official comments.)
(Sketch Map with north arrow required.)
Refer to Location Map
DPR 523L (1/95) *Required Information
State of California - The Resources Agency
DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION
CONTINUATION SHEET
Primary #
HRI #
Trinomial
Page 3 of 5 *Resource Name or #: (Assigned by recorder) 518 Valido Road
*Recorded by LSA Associates, Inc. *Date: April 2019 X Continuation Update
*B10. Significance: (continued from page 2)
In 1885, the main line of the Santa Fe Railroad, in which Baldwin was a stockholder, was opened through Baldwin’s property, making
it practical to subdivide part of the land into a town site. By 1887, Baldwin was actively attempting to draw residents to the area, but
sales were slow and the densest development occurred in the core of the town near the intersection of the railroads (Architectural
Resources Group 2016:33). Residential development in this part of town was on small lots, while development further south was on
multi-acre parcels (Ibid.). As late as 1903, when a census was taken to ascertain the population of the proposed City of Arcadia, the
area only had 642 residents and many lived and worked on the Baldwin Ranch or were temporary residents working for the railroads
(Ibid.). Regardless, with a booming economy increasingly based on entertainment, sporting, hospitality, and gambling, Arcadia was
incorporated in 1903, with Baldwin as its first mayor (City of Arcadia 2012).
Moving into the 1910s, Arcadia’s growth remained slow and steady (Architectural Resources Group 2016). However, the city began
shifting away from “its sporting days to more respectable pursuits, as it outlawed liquor licensing in 1912 and embarked on a series of
civic improvements” (Architectural Resources Group 2016:44). By 1915, electric streetlights had been installed in some areas and
streets were graded and oiled (Ibid.). Residential development in the 1910s saw the subdivision of larger parcels into smaller ones (2.5
to 5 acres) that attracted a wider variety of buyers who were interested in a more suburban lifestyle with room for some agricultural
pursuits (Architectural Resources Group 2016:49). Most of the 1910s subdivisions followed a grid pattern with graded and sometimes
paved roads without curbs or sidewalks (Architectural Resources Group 2016).
After World War I, the region thrived and the 1920s were a transformative period in Arcadia’s development (Ibid.). Residential
subdivision accelerated with tracts designed in grid patterns like those of the 1910s, but with smaller lots (Architectural Resources
Group 2016:36). Single-family residential construction dominated the period (Ibid.). Most of these were modest in size and the earliest
were constructed in the Craftsman style, with Period Revival styles becoming dominant in the mid-1920s and into the 1930s (Ibid.). The
smaller lot subdivisions were located closer to the original town center, Pacific Electric lines, and the commercial district at Huntington
and First, while the larger multi-acre lots were in what was then the southern part of town (Ibid.).
The 1936 to 1945 period was characterized nationally by massive unemployment and economic uncertainty, but Arcadia was one of
the few places that did not experience a near cessation of construction (Architectural Resources Group 2016:65). The major factors for
this were Anita Baldwin selling off the remaining approximately 1,300 acres of the Baldwin Ranch; establishment of military facilities and
the related increase in demand for commercial businesses; and construction of a County park, which was a large Works Progress
Administration (WPA) project (Ibid.). The Baldwin acreage was parceled out into a number of residential subdivisions that jumpstarted
construction between 1936 and 1941 (Ibid.).
With the end of World War II (WWII) and the return of thousands of veterans, Arcadia and the greater Los Angeles area saw an
enormous explosion in the development of affordable housing. Much of this development took the architectural vocabulary of the pre-
war years and combined it into simplified styles suitable for mass developments and small-scale apartments (City of Los Angeles
2011). Development during the 1945–1970 period transformed the city from semi-rural to suburban earning it the nickname a
“Community of Homes” (Architectural Resources Group 2016).
Citywide Historic Resources Survey. In 2016, a citywide historic resources survey was completed for the City. This survey has not
been formally adopted by the City Council and is currently being used informally by city staff and preservationists. The subject
residence, 518 Valido Road, was identified by the survey as a contributor to the potential Rancho Residential Historic District. This
potential historic district consists of 662 properties developed with one- and two-story homes, many of which reflect the Minimal
Traditional and various Ranch styles. It is one of five residential areas that was identified as potentially significant “for its association
with major patterns of residential development in Arcadia that ensued upon the subdivision of the last of the Baldwin family lands prior
to World War II” (Architectural Resources Group 2016:B5). The period of significance is 1937 to 1958, but nearly three-fourths of the
properties were developed in the post-WWII era between 1945 and 1955 (Architectural Resources Group 2016:B6). In 2016, 67 percent
of the properties were identified as contributors (Architectural Resources Group 2016:B6).
People Associated with this Residence. According to building permits, the house was built in 1947 and the original owners were Mr.
and Mrs. E.E. Biszantz (City of Arcadia var.). The builder was Paul D. Jenkins (Ibid.). In the mid- to late 1930s and early 1940s Jenkins
built a number of homes in San Marino, including the first home in the new San Marino Oaks development in 1937 (Los Angeles Times
1937). In 1940, he was listed as a contractor living in Eagle Rock with his wife Doris and two children (Ancestry.com var.). Between
June 1942 and October 1947, an online search of news articles revealed no mentions of Jenkins. However, in 1947 there were several
advertisements for duplexes he constructed in Alhambra. His work appears to have shifted back to San Marino in 1948 and 1949, but
the online search found no advertisements or articles mentioning Jenkins after 1949. No additional information for Mr. Jenkins was
found.
Research indicates that Ellis E. and Isabel C. Biszantz lived at this address from 1947 to around 1954 (City of Arcadia var.;
Ancestry.com var.). In 1953, Ellis was listed as working at a bookkeeper service and Richard C. Biszantz who was also living there was
listed as a teller at Security First National Bank (Ancestry.com var.). By 1955, Robert Wesley and Donnie B. Diller were listed at this
address (Ibid.). Diller was the owner until at least 1986 (City of Arcadia var.). Records indicate Diller (see Continuation Sheet)
DPR 523L (1/95) *Required Information
State of California - The Resources Agency
DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION
CONTINUATION SHEET
Primary #
HRI #
Trinomial
Page 4 of 5 *Resource Name or #: (Assigned by recorder) 518 Valido Road
*Recorded by LSA Associates, Inc. *Date: April 2019 X Continuation Update
*B10. Significance: (continued from page 3)
was born in 1918 and worked as a stock clerk for Lockheed Aircraft Corp. in 1940 when he registered for the draft (Ibid.). In 1956, a
news article revealed that Diller was president of Chevrolet’s honor selling organization, the 100 Car Club (Los Angeles Times 1956).
He died in 1988 (Ibid.). No additional relevant information was found for the Dillers.
Significance Evaluation. In compliance with CEQA, this property is being evaluated under the California Register criteria and the City
of Arcadia criteria for Landmarks (Chapter 1, Section 9103.17.060 of the City’s Municipal Code), which goes into effect May 3, 2019.
The State and local criteria are identical, therefore, they have been grouped together to avoid redundancy.
California Register and City Criteria 1: Associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns
of local or regional history or the cultural heritage of California or the United States. This residence is part of a pre-WWII
subdivision consisting of one of the last of the Baldwin family lands. However, the majority of the homes, including the subject
residence, were built during the post-WWII period. Therefore, the residence is more closely associated with the post-World War II
residential boom that made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of local, regional, and even national history, than with the
pre-WWII subdivision. “More than 40 million housing units were built in the United States during the 30 year period following the end
of World War II, and at least 30 million of these were single-family houses” (California Department of Transportation 2011:2). These
homes were typically modest in size and style and constructed in a short time as part of large tracts marketed to the working class. “The
fundamental unit for postwar housing is not the individual house, but the tract, or a single construction phase within a larger tract or new
community” and typically a single home would not be individually significant in this context (California Department of Transportation
2011:121). As with most homes associated with this historic context, individually this residence is unimportant and insignificant.
Although the residence is within an area that has been identified as potentially important for its associations with major patterns of
development in Arcadia, the City has not formally adopted the survey that identified this potential district and the potential district has
not been formally documented and evaluated. In addition, modern intrusions appear to have weakened the cohesiveness of this block.
California Register and City Criteria 2: Associated with the lives of persons important to local, California or national history.
Based on the research discussed above, the residence does not appear to be associated with persons important in history.
California Register and City Criteria 3: Embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, region or method of
construction or represents the work of a master or possesses high artistic values. This residence embodies the distinctive
plainness characteristic of the Minimal Traditional style. Building permits reveal that it has sustained alterations and list no architect,
indicating that it is not the work of a master. As is typical of the style, it does not possess high artistic values.
California Register and City Criteria 4: Has yielded, or has the potential to yield, information important to the prehistory or
history of the local area, California or the nation. This residence was built in 1947 using common materials and construction
practices. It does not have the potential to yield information important to the history or prehistory of the local area, California, or the
nation.
*B12. References: (continued from page 2)
California Department of Transportation
2011 Tract Housing in California, 1945–1973. A Context for National Register Evaluation. Caltrans Division of Environmental
Analysis, Sacramento.
City of Arcadia
Var. Building permits for 518 Valido Road. Accessed online in April 2019 at: http://laserfiche.ci.arcadia.ca.us/WebLink/
Welcome.aspx?cr=1.
2012 History of Arcadia. http://www.ci.arcadia.ca.us/home/index. asp?page=1102.
City of Los Angeles
2011 Jefferson Park HPOZ Preservation Plan, City of Los Angeles. Accessed in 2012 online at: http://preservation.lacity.org/files/
Jefferson%20Park%20(Small%20File)%20PP.pdf.
Los Angeles County Office of the Assessor
n.d. Property information accessed online in April 2019 at: http://maps.assessor.lacounty.gov/GVH_2_2/
Index.html?configBase=http:// maps.assessor.lacounty.gov/Geocortex/Essentials/REST/sites/PAIS/viewers/PAIS_hv/
virtualdirectory/Resources/Config/Default.
Los Angeles Times
1937 Photograph caption. Completion and Sale on Same Day. September 5, page 55.
1956 Tops in Field (photo caption). April 1, page 83.
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H U N T I N G T O N D R I V E
I:\FVL1901\Reports\Cultural\DPRlocation.mxd (4/18/2019)DP R 5 23J (1/95)*Required Info rmation
Page 5 of 5
*M ap Name: *Scale: 1:24000 *Date of Map: 1981 & 1988; 2018
*Resource Nam e or # (Assigned by recorder) 518 Valido Road
Prim ary #
HR I #
Trin omial
Stat e of California - Resource AgencyDEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATIONLOCATION MAP
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