Agenda - City of Santa Monica

Memorandum
P.O. Box 542
Long Beach, CA
562.500.9451
HISTORICS@AOL.COM
To: Scott Albright, City of Santa Monica Date: 03/11/2013
From:
Jan Ostashay, Principal OAC
Re:
HISTORICAL ASSESSMENT REVIEW: 1318-1322 2 nd Street, Santa Monica, CA
Overview
At the request of the City of Santa Monica Planning & Community Development Department, City
Planning Division, Ostashay & Associates Consulting (OAC) has conducted a survey review to assess
if the subject property referenced above is considered a historical resource pursuant to the California
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Therefore, OAC has assessed whether the property is individually
eligible for local landmark designation and if it continues to merit recognition as a contributor to a
potential locally eligible City of Santa Monica historic district (the Central Business District in downtown
Santa Monica). OAC has performed a site visit and has also reviewed relevant archival materials,
including Sanborn Fire Insurance maps, tax assessor records, previous survey documents, and
building permits. The following information is for your use. If you have any questions, please do not
hesitate to contact me.
Background Information
The subject property is situated along the west side of 2 nd Street between Arizona Avenue and Santa
Monica Boulevard on lot D of Block 148 of the Town of Santa Monica tract in the City of Santa Monica.
The rectangular shape lot size is approximately 50 feet by 150 feet. The property consists of a twostory
commercial building with 11,672 square feet of space. It is a moderate example of a post-World
War II era vernacular commercial building that incorporates simplistic Modern stylistic elements to its
design, materials, and overall composition.
Modern design, while based upon the tenets of the International Style, is generally less formal in its
expression of Modernist tenets with results that vary widely in terms of materials, form, and spatial
arrangements. Typically, the deft hand of a master architect is clearly evident in properties where the
term “Modern” is used. In contrast, if the result incorporates Modern stylistic elements yet the
composition is comparatively ordinary the term “vernacular” Modern is generally used. According to the
findings of the most recent city-wide survey update most examples of the style found in Santa Monica
are considered vernacular Modern. Of those, the subject property is a modest example with typical
features of the idiom.
Erected in 1948 and designed by architect L.L. Harris, this concrete block property has a “U” shape
courtyard plan consisting of two linear rows of units organized around the east/west oriented open
space. Originally designed as a one-story building, a second story was added in 1956. The street
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