Northside - City of Riverside

VII.
HISTORIC CONTEXT STATEMENT
INTRODUCTION AND HISTORICAL OVERVIEW
The historic context is a valuable component of the survey process, as it contributes
to an understanding of the history and patterns of development of a site,
community, area, or region as reflected in the built environment. Shaped by place
and time, the historic context organizes the narration of the historic development of
an area into cohesive historic periods, or themes, such as times of residential or
commercial development, cultural and social change, industrial, agricultural, or
engineering achievement, or physical growth, including the appearance of
architectural styles and building forms. The evolution and impact of themes are
supported by historical research and illustrated by the presence of physical
resources that are categorized by property type, a grouping of individual properties
that share physical or associative attributes. In this way, the survey, and the historic
context itself, becomes a powerful tool in preservation planning (NPS 1985:14-15;
NPS 1986:6-9).
In order to structure the Northside reconnaissance survey process, guide fieldwork,
and establish a framework for evaluating the potential significance of historic
properties and districts, research on the history of the area was collected and
reviewed early in the survey process. This area of Riverside has never been
extensively researched, and discussion of the area in secondary resources was scant.
In addition, primary sources such as newspaper articles and available historic
photographs were limited. As a result, the research phase of the survey continued
longer than anticipated while historic maps, previous surveys of individual
properties, published local and regional historical accounts, and various historic
documentation in private collections were gathered. Oral histories conducted in
February 2005 by long-time residents or business owners of the Northside provided
primary historic material and assisted in directing research efforts. Intensive
property ownership history was not conducted in favor of a sampling of city
directories to establish the general composition of the early occupants of the
Northside. Based on these efforts, a focused historic context was developed that
centered on the defining elements of theme, place, and time.
The extant resources, organized by property type, within the Northside help clarify
the significance and impact of the themes. In this way, the context becomes more
than a historical narrative; it is a guide with which to examine the relative integrity
and import of the potential individual and district resources within the
neighborhood, giving those involved in preservation planning a tool with which to
make important decisions about the significance of, and the potential impact of
effects to, extant historic resources. Some historic themes that have been previously
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