City Council - Successor Agency - Housing Authority
October 6, 2026

CITY OF FULLERTON
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Community and Economic Development Department
Item No. 3
February 11, 2026
6:30 p.m.

Public Hearing
TO: Chairman Dino and
Members of the Landmarks Commission/Planning Commission

APPLICATIONS
ZON-2025-0124 - ZON-2025-0114 - ZON-2025-0134 – ZON-2025-0101

APPLICANT
Fullerton Heritage on behalf of each respective property owner.

LOCATION
401 Cannon Lane
845 North Euclid Street
545 West Fern Drive
600 West Valley View Drive

SUMMARY AND APPLICATIONS REQUESTED
These applications are a request to designate the four properties as Historical (Local) Landmarks with a corresponding request to amend The Fullerton Plan to add the properties to Table 6 (City of Fullerton Local Register of Historical Resources) and Exhibit 3 (Map of Historical Resources) of The Fullerton Plan.

CEQA DETERMINATION
The applications are determined to be categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to State CEQA Guidelines Section 15331 – Historical Resource Restoration/Rehabilitation, which allows for the preservation and conservation of historical resources in a manner consistent with the Secretary of Interior's Standards for the treatment of Historic Properties with Guidelines for Preserving, Rehabilitating, Restoring, and Reconstructing Historic Buildings.

AUTHORIZATION/GUIDELINES
Fullerton Municipal Code (FMC) Section 15.48.050 authorizes the Landmarks Commission to designate a property as a Historical (Local) Landmark, after due consideration and public hearing.

The Landmarks Commission review shall consider the criteria specified in FMC Section

15.48.060, Criteria for Designation.

Landmarks Commission Staff Report
February 11, 2026
Item No. 3 Page 2 ZON-2025-0101, -0114, -0124, -0134
California Government Code Section 65353 establishes a procedure wherein the Planning Commission, acting in their role as the Landmarks Commission, is authorized to consider a revision to the General Plan at a noticed public hearing and forward their recommendation to the City Council for final action.

PUBLIC OUTREACH
On January 29, 2026, the City sent a Public Hearing Notice to owners and occupants of property within a 300-foot radius of the project site. Notification was posted on each project site on January 29, 2026. The notice was also posted on the City’s website and at the Maintenance Services Department, Main Library, Museum Center, and City Hall on the Public Notice Boards. In addition, notice was published in the Fullerton Tribune on January 29, 2026.

PROJECT BACKGROUND / HISTORY
Project Applicant: Bob Linnell on behalf of Fullerton Heritage Property Owners: 401 Cannon Lane – Kurt Simon
845 North Euclid Street – Rickie Leos
545 West Fern Drive – Karin Wesdell
600 West Valley View Drive – Julie Dixon
Property Locations: See above
General Location: Please see Attachment 2
Parcel Numbers: 401 Cannon Lane – APN 283-193-10
845 North Euclid Street – APN 031-080-32
545 West Fern Drive – APN 032-012-10
600 West Valley View Drive – APN 032-011-10
Existing Community
Development Type (General
Plan Land Use Designation):

Low Density Residential (all four locations)
Existing Zoning
Classifications:

Please see Attachment 2
Site Sizes: Please see each related section below
Circulation: N/A
Parking: N/A
Existing Conditions: Please see each related section below Surrounding Land Uses
and Zoning: Please see Attachment 2

PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The applicant, Fullerton Heritage on behalf of the four property owners, is seeking designation of the subject properties as Historical (Local) Landmarks with corresponding General Plan Revision to add the properties to the Local Register of Historical Resources (Table 6 of the Fullerton Plan) and to the Historical Resources – National and Local map (Exhibit 3 of The Fullerton Plan) as follows:
401 Cannon Lane HL 113
845 North Euclid Street HL 114
545 West Fern Drive HL 115
Landmarks Commission Staff Report
February 11, 2026
Item No. 3 Page 3 ZON-2025-0101, -0114, -0124, -0134
600 West Valley View Drive HL 116

ANALYSIS
FMC Chapter 15.48 (Landmarks, Landmark Districts, Residential Preservation Zones, and Significant Properties) establishes the process for determining whether a site is worthy of designation as a Local Landmark. Such designation confirms that the historic, cultural, architectural or aesthetic value of a property merits its preservation, restoration, and/or protection.

FMC 15.48.060, Criteria for a “Historical Landmark” designation, identifies the following criteria for determining eligibility:

1. Character, interest or value as part of the heritage of the City.

2. Location as a site of a historic event.

3. Identification with a person or persons or groups who significantly contributed to the culture and development of the City.

4. Exemplification of a particular architectural style or way of life important to the City.

5. Exemplification of the best remaining architectural types in an area.

6. Identification as the work of a person or persons whose work has influenced the heritage of the City, the State of California or the United States.

7. Embodiment of elements of outstanding attention to architectural design, detail, materials or craftsmanship.

8. Relationship to other landmarks, where the preservation of one has a bearing on the preservation of another.

9. A unique location or singular physical characteristic representing an established and familiar visual feature of a neighborhood.

10. Integrity as a natural environment that strongly contributes to the well-being of the people of the City.

These properties qualify as Local Landmarks per criteria 3 and 7:

3. Identification with a person or persons or groups who significantly contributed to the culture and development of the City.

7. Embodiment of elements of outstanding attention to architectural design, detail, materials or craftsmanship.

Fullerton Heritage provided background and research concerning these properties including photographs, historical background, and architectural information (Attachments 3, 4, 5, 6).

Highlights for each property are summarized below. For greater detail on each property, please refer to the related attachments.

Landmarks Commission Staff Report
February 11, 2026
Item No. 3 Page 4 ZON-2025-0101, -0114, -0124, -0134
401 Cannon Lane – The Alma and Alexander Glen Wright, Sr. House - “Bridgeford Mansion”
When Alma and Alexander G. Wright approached Harry Crooke about constructing a home in the Skyline Park tract, Crooke and building contractor Philip N. Schmoker steered the couple to three lots atop a knoll, a prized spot within the subdivision. Crooke hoped that the expansive home – then the most expensive home built in Fullerton – would be a spectacular introduction to the area.

One of the first homes built in the subdivision, the Wright House quickly became a signpost and landmark for the neighborhood, rising up as one walked or drove up the hill into the newly laid out subdivision. The spectacular Spanish Colonial Revival dwelling remains a prominent landmark in the residential district.

The Wrights purchased lots 87 and 88 on May 4, 1927; lot 86 was bought on June 17, 1927.

Schmoker quickly prepared plans for the home, and a permit was filed on July 26, 1927. The construction of the residence was greeted with considerable curiosity, and its building was tracked by the Fullerton News Tribune, with articles on the dwelling appearing in several editions. The 16- room dwelling was originally expected to cost $25,000, but the final amount was $35,000.

The Wright’s separated in 1936 and divorced in 1937/38. The residence was vacant or rented until 1950, when Hugh H. Bridgford, the founder and president of the Bridgford Food Corporation, purchased the property. It would remain the home of four generations of the Bridgford family before being sold in the 1990s. Good stewards of the residence, the Bridgford’s maintained the dwellings historical characteristics for decades.

Constructed in three months in 1927, the 5,329-square-foot residence is a superb example of Spanish Colonial Revival architecture, a dramatic standout in a subdivision that includes a remarkable collection of 1920s and 1930s Spanish-styled homes. The house remains the prominent residence in Skyline Park.

Landmarks Commission Staff Report
February 11, 2026
Item No. 3 Page 5 ZON-2025-0101, -0114, -0124, -0134
The design has many custom features, including a parabolic picture window on the west side; two Monterey-style balconies with a projecting second story supported by heavy corbels; and a distinctive rotunda at the main entrance. Spanish Colonial Revival features include an asymmetrical façade, a varied roof line, red-barreled terracotta roof tiles, casement windows in a variety of sizes and shapes, arched doorways, terracotta air vents, and wrought iron grillwork and lights. The dwelling’s smooth stucco walls are painted white with a dark brown trim, the preferred color scheme of the dwelling’s designer/builder, Philip N. Schmoker.

Typical of the 1920s and 1930s, the interior is separated into public spaces on the first floor and private spaces on the second floor. The main entrance opens into a circular-shaped foyer/entryway, covered by terracotta tile flooring, which, in turn, leads to a kitchen, pantry, living and family rooms. A bedroom and bathroom – originally designed to accommodate a live-in servant – is situated adjacent to the kitchen; it has a separate stairway to the second floor. A circular stairway with wrought-iron railing in the foyer leads to the four bedrooms, accompanying bathrooms and closets, on the second floor. The rotunda is only accessible via the attic.

The living room on the house’s west side features a brown-colored Claycraft Potteries (1921- 1939) fireplace surround and threshold. The surround is a curved arched spandrel with a curved spandrel ribbon keystone. Perforated Spanish tile vents are positioned above and on both sides of the base of the fireplace surround. Established in Los Angeles in 1921, Claycraft Potteries – with Fred H. Robertson as the general manager, and his son, George B. Robertson, as designer – was noted for its colorful ceramic tiles, fountains, murals, lamp bases, and garden pottery.

Photographs from the 1930s indicate that the bathrooms originally contained colorful Claycraft ceramic tiles, but those have been removed. Two sliding glass doors on the north side of the living room (a later addition) open to an outside covered patio and large rectangular-shaped swimming pool, with nearly all of the original rear garden area converted to hardscape. Aside from the terracotta-tiled entryway, all the flooring is wide wood planks stained a dark color. Mechanical equipment is located in the basement.

The exterior of the dwelling retains a high degree of historic integrity, appearing very much as it did in the 1920s when it was constructed. The house still reflects its original grand and graceful style and remains the most significant building in Skyline Park. The original wooden garage door that was part of an attached two-car garage that was most likely constructed sometime after 1995 (there is no permit of record) has been replaced by Midcentury Modern wood and glass doors.

When the Bridgford family purchased the home in the 1950s, it was nearly intact, and the family made only minor changes, including the addition of an interior flower house and two windows in the living room in 1951/1952. In 1998, the kitchen was remodeled; then in 2015, the interior went through an extensive remodel, with a number of the original elements removed in favor of modernization.
401 Cannon Lane - Notable Owners
Two early owners of the residence also established and served as presidents of two notable Orange County companies. Alexander Glen Wright, Sr. started the Orange County Rock Company, serving as president and manager and Hugh H. Bridgford founded the Bridgford Foods Corporation in 1944, serving as president. At one time, the Bridgford Food Company was Orange County’s only producer of United States government inspected meats. Still in business, the firm continues to be managed by Bridgford family members.

Landmarks Commission Staff Report
February 11, 2026
Item No. 3 Page 6 ZON-2025-0101, -0114, -0124, -0134
845 North Euclid Street – Russ House
This large, 5,100-square-foot, two-story building constructed in 1929 in the Spanish Colonial Revival style was originally a grove house, located on Orangethorpe Avenue, about a half mile west of Euclid Street and surrounded by citrus trees. Local builders Robert Carey and William Potter constructed the house for pioneer citrus rancher and businessman Albert Russ and his wife, Kathryn. The house represents one of the few instances where this style was used for a grove house.

When Kathryn Russ sold the property on Orangethorpe Avenue in 1953, she had the house moved to its current location. The subject parcel was at that time the terminus of Euclid Street.

Local builder, Evan Herbert, was hired and managed the move and reconstruction of the house on its new foundation. Kathryn Russ lived in the house until her death in 1959.

The First Presbyterian Church bought the property in 1963, and the house was used as a Church facility. During this time, the facility was named Hunter House for Graham Hunter, an active minister of the Church during the 1920s and 1930s. The Congregational Church of Fullerton acquired the property in 1982 and continued to use the building for its services and meetings until 2020. In 2021, the property was sold to the current owner.

The building is solidly intact, and there is no hint that the structure was cut in half as part of its relocation. The structure includes typical features found in the Spanish Colonial Revival architectural style. This includes smooth exterior stucco, an arched colonnade, barrel tile roofing material, casement windows that are inset from the façade, wrought iron accoutrements, exposed rafter tails, and sloped gable roofs.

The house's original interior features, including two fireplaces with Batchelder tiles, light fixtures, a tiled staircase, and fine woodwork, are untouched and remain in excellent condition. The exterior architecture, including a Monterey-style balcony on the north side, is also intact. In fact, all of the original exterior features of the house are in place (except for the two reconstructed chimneys), and no additions have altered the size or look of the house since its move in 1953.

Landmarks Commission Staff Report
February 11, 2026
Item No. 3 Page 7 ZON-2025-0101, -0114, -0124, -0134
545 West Fern Drive – Walter J. Cadman House
Located at the northeast corner of Grandview Avenue and Fern Drive, the 1½-story house at 545 West Fern Drive (originally 541-547) was commissioned at a cost of $11,000 by developer Walter J. Cadman, who along with his business partner, Robert E. Corcoran, Sr., owned and laid out the five tracts that encompass the Golden Hill area surrounding the home. The two men allowed no homes costing less than $3,500 – the average cost of a modest and well-built dwelling at the time – to be constructed within Golden Hill. As a result, the home is situated in what would have been an exclusive and expensive Fullerton neighborhood. Adjacent to the dwelling are three properties – the Mills House (511 West Fern Drive), the Cleaver House (519 West Fern Drive), and the Arthur Kelley House (539 West Fern Drive) – that have been designated Fullerton Local Landmarks.

The Walter J. Cadman House qualifies as a Fullerton Local Landmark for its significant architecture. Not only is it one of the finest examples of Spanish Colonial Revival architecture in the City, but it also has the distinction of being the first residence in Fullerton – and most likely Orange County – designed by a woman. At a time when there were few female architects in California, Anna C. Geck forged a remarkable and prolific career as an artistic designer of elegant homes throughout Southern California.

Constructed in 1922/23, the striking 2,192-square-foot Spanish Colonial Revival dwelling was built by Huntington Park contractor William D. Geck and designed by his wife, Anna C. Geck. To ensure historic accuracy, Mrs. Geck carefully researched each building she designed, and the Cadman house exhibits classic Spanish Colonial Revival architectural features coupled with remarkable detailing. Typical Spanish Colonial Revival elements include an asymmetrical façade, white stucco walls, rounded arches, decorative wrought iron, red tile roofs, multi-pane windows, and an arcade. The impressive dwelling is somewhat obscured by Italian cypress and fan palms, added later, which is unfortunate as the residence was clearly intended to stand out as an architectural jewel on the corner lot. As the developer of the subdivision, Cadman wanted his first-class residence to show off what was possible in the new tract.

Landmarks Commission Staff Report
February 11, 2026
Item No. 3 Page 8 ZON-2025-0101, -0114, -0124, -0134
Access to the main entrance of the house, which faces south, is via a concrete walkway on West Fern Drive. The imposing front entrance consists of five concrete steps, a short walkway, then four terracotta tiled stairs that lead to an arched opening with a wooden front door with three glass insert panels. The house address (545) in scrolled wrought iron runs along the top of the archway; most likely, this iron work is not original. Two black Victorian lights, a later addition, are positioned on both sides of the archway. Two short walls are situated on the sides of each set of stairs along the main entryway, with two seated lion statues positioned on either side of the front door.

Access to the rear portion of the property from Grandview Avenue is via two concrete steps and a short walkway that leads to another entrance, a contributing rectangular-shaped guest house, a detached garage, and a rear patio. Entrance on the west side of the main residence is through a wooden door with four glass fan lights at the top. Adjacent to the entrance is a wrought iron mailbox, wall light, and bell button. A driveway on the west side leads to a two-car garage with two separate wooden doors.

Fenestration on the front (south) façade consists of two double-hung windows topped by floralshaped plaster medallions situated to the east of the entry and a large picture window overlooking the courtyard. These windows are shaded by red fabric awnings. Fenestration on the lower level of the west side consists of seven casement windows and four multi-pane casement windows with two, 12-pane windows on the lower level, and four casement windows on the upper level, one with eight lights. The windows on the front façade are shaded by fabric awnings. Nearly all the windows are original, but there are a few vinyl windows that were added later.

The focal point of the front façade is an enclosed courtyard bordered on two sides by a short wall topped with wrought iron railing. Positioned in the center of the courtyard is a round fountain featuring the statue of a small girl. Access to the courtyard was originally through three ogee arches along the narrow entry hall, but that arcade inside the front door is now enclosed.

The second story portion of the structure is setback from street-side facades. Both the upper story and most of the ground story have a flat roof with a tiled parapet capping white stuccoed walls. Small, shed roofs with clay tiles and exposed wood rafters are found on the west and south facing sides of the ground story.

Fronting Grandview Avenue is a contributing two-car detached garage, constructed in 1922/23, which is attached to a contributing guest house – listed as a “garden house” in the building permits – that was added in 1947, along with a laundry room. The main access to the 300-square-foot guest house is through a single door off Grandview Avenue, but there are also a set of double doors and a single door along the east side of this small building. These doors provide access to a covered patio area with concrete flooring. When the guest house was constructed in 1947, the outdoor area and tall brick fireplace were added, but only the fireplace remains.

Landmarks Commission Staff Report
February 11, 2026
Item No. 3 Page 9 ZON-2025-0101, -0114, -0124, -0134
600 West Valley View Drive – Lamhofer House
This two-story residence represents a fine example of English Tudor Revival architecture with its steep, shake-covered gable roofs, stucco walls with half-timber decorative bracing, detailed brickcapped chimney, and the well-positioned and proportioned multi-paned casement windows. In addition to the brick trimmed entry, there are outstanding details on all sides of the structure, and the detached garage continues the architectural style. The home was constructed and designed for $10,000 by one of Fullerton’s best-known early builders, Arthur M. Thompson, who had a hand in the construction of a number of notable residences in the City.

The initial owners of the property were Eric and Ester Lamhofer, who resided in the house until 1936. Eric Lamhofer was a salesman for the Home Oil Company in Anaheim and would later manage citrus properties.

The dwelling is often referred to as the Norton Simon home, because Simon rented the house with his wife and two sons from 1936 to 1938. Norton Simon was the president of Val Vita Foods and later Hunt-Wesson Foods, but he did not engage with the local business community during his stay in Fullerton. The Simon family remained in Fullerton until 1939, when they purchased a home in Los Angeles.

The Lamhofer family would again take up residence at the Valley View home in the 1940s, residing there until the early 1960s.

ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
In accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act the recommended action is categorically exempt from environmental review per Section 15331 of State CEQA Guidelines.

This Class 31 exemption allows the preservation and conservation of historical resources in a manner consistent with the Secretary of Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic

ZON-2025-0124 – ZON-2025-0114 – ZON-2025-0134 – ZON-2025-0101

FOUR HISTORICAL LANDMARKS
Attachment No. 1
Draft Planning Commission Resolution No. PC-2026-01
RESOLUTION NO. PC-2026-01

A RESOLUTION OF THE LANDMARKS COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF

FULLERTON, CALIFORNIA, DESIGNATING THE PROPERTIES LOCATED AT 401 CANNON LANE (HISTORIC LANDMARK NO. HL-113), 845 NORTH EUCLID STREET (HISTORIC LANDMARK NO. HL-114), 545 WEST FERN DRIVE (HISTORIC LANDMARK NO. HL-115) AND 600 WEST VALLEY VIEW DRIVE (HISTORIC LANDMARK NO. HL-116) AS LOCAL LANDMARKS AND

RECOMMENDING THAT THE CITY COUNCIL APPROVE A GENERAL PLAN

REVISION TO MAKE CORRESPONDING AMENDMENTS TO THE FULLERTON PLAN HISTORIC PRESERVATION ELEMENT, TABLE 6 – CITY OF FULLERTON LOCAL REGISTER OF HISTORICAL RESOURCES AND EXHIBIT 3 – MAP OF HISTORICAL RESOURCES – NATIONAL AND LOCAL
ZON-2025-0101, -0114, -0124, AND -0134
APPLICANT: FULLERTON HERITAGE
PROPERTY OWNERS: KURT & HERMELINDA SIMON (401 CANNON LANE) PROPERTY OWNERS: RICKIE LEOS (845 NORTH EUCLID STREET)
PROPERTY OWNERS: KARIN WESDELL (545 WEST FERN DRIVE)
PROPERTY OWNERS: JULIE DIXON (600 WEST VALLEY VIEW DRIVE)

RECITALS
WHEREAS, applications were filed for Local Landmark Designation of property located at the following properties:
401 Cannon Lane - Orange County Assessor’s Parcel No. 283-193-10 845 North Euclid Street - Orange County Assessor’s Parcel No. 031-080-32 545 West Fern Drive - Orange County Assessor’s Parcel No. 032-012-10 600 West Valley View Drive - Orange County Assessor’s Parcel No. 032-011-10 WHEREAS, the Landmarks/Planning Commission of the City of Fullerton, California, in compliance with noticing requirements of Fullerton Municipal Code (FMC) Section 15.76.040, held a duly noticed public hearing on said application; and
WHEREAS, the applications are categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15331 - Historical Resource Restoration/Rehabilitation, which allows for the preservation and conservation of historical resources in a manner consistent with the Secretary of Interior's Standards for the treatment of Historic Properties with Guidelines for Preserving, Rehabilitating, Restoring, and Reconstructing Historic Buildings.

RESOLUTION
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT FOUND AND DETERMINED AND RESOLVED by the Landmarks Commission of the City of Fullerton as follows:

1. In all respects as set forth in the Recitals of this Resolution.

Res. No. PC-2026-01
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2. The Landmarks Commission, pursuant to FMC Chapter 15.48, makes the following findings regarding the Landmark designation for the subject property:
a. Finding: The property located at 401 Cannon Lane is eligible for a Historical Landmark designation in accordance with the criteria identified in FMC Section 15.48.060.

Fact: The property meets Local Landmark eligibility Criterion 3, because of its association with notable residents of Fullerton. Two early owners of the residence established and served as presidents of two notable Orange County companies. Alexander Glen Wright, Sr. started the Orange County Rock Company, serving as president and manager; Hugh H. Bridgford founded the Bridgford Foods Corporation in 1944, serving as president. At one time, the Bridgford Food Company was Orange County’s only producer of United States government inspected meats. Still in business, the firm continues to be managed by Bridgford family members.

Fact: The property also meets Local Landmark eligibility Criterion 7, as the 5,329-squarefoot residence is a superb example of Spanish Colonial Revival architecture, a dramatic standout in a subdivision that includes a remarkable collection of 1920s and 1930s Spanish-styled homes.
b. Finding: The property located at 845 North Euclid Street is eligible for a Historical Landmark designation in accordance with the criteria identified in FMC Section 15.48.060.

Fact: The property meets Local Landmark eligibility Criterion 3, because of its association with notable residents of Fullerton. The residence is identified with people who significantly contributed to the development of the City: builders Robert Carey, William Potter and Evan J. Herbert.

Fact: The property also meets Local Landmark eligibility Criterion 7, as it exemplifies a particular architectural style (Spanish Colonial Revival) which was an unusual design for a two-story grove house.
c. Finding: The property located at 545 West Fern Drive is eligible for a Historical Landmark designation in accordance with the criteria identified in FMC Section 15.48.060.

Fact: The property meets Local Landmark eligibility Criterion 3, because of its association with notable residents of Fullerton. The property has the distinction of being the first residence in Fullerton – and most likely Orange County – designed by a woman. At a time when there were few female architects in California, Anna C. Geck forged a remarkable and prolific career as an artistic designer of elegant homes throughout Southern California.

Fact: The property also meets Local Landmark eligibility Criterion 7, as it is one of the finest examples of Spanish Colonial Revival architecture in Fullerton. It is also adjacent to three other designated Fullerton Local Landmarks: the Mills House (511 West Fern Drive), the Cleaver House (519 West Fern Drive), and the Arthur Kelley House (539 West Fern Drive).
d. Finding: The property located at 600 West Valley View Drive is eligible for a Historical Landmark designation in accordance with the criteria identified in FMC Section 15.48.060.

Fact: The property meets Local Landmark eligibility Criterion 3, because of its association with notable residents of Fullerton. The home was constructed and designed for $10,000 by one of Fullerton’s best-known early builders, Arthur M. Thompson, who had a hand in Res. No. PC-2026-01
- 3 -
the construction of a number of notable residences in the City. The initial owners of the property were Eric and Ester Lamhofer, who resided in the house until 1936. Eric Lamhofer was a salesman for the Home Oil Company in Anaheim and would later manage citrus properties.

Fact: The property also meets Local Landmark eligibility Criterion 7, as the two-story residence represents a fine example of English Tudor Revival architecture with its steep, shake-covered gable roofs, stucco walls with half-timber decorative bracing, detailed brick-capped chimney, and the well-positioned and proportioned multi-paned casement windows. In addition to the brick trimmed entry, there are outstanding details on all sides of the structure, and the detached garage continues the architectural style. e. Finding: Designation of this property as a Historical (Local) Landmark is consistent with the goals and policies contained in The Fullerton Plan.

Fact: The Historic Landmark Designation of these properties support The Fullerton Plan, Policy 4.2 Awareness of Historic Resources which supports programs and policies to raise the awareness of the value of historic resources in strengthening communities, conserving resources, fostering economic development, and enriching lives.

Fact: The Historic Landmark designation of the subject properties support The Fullerton Plan, Policy 4.4 Historic Character and Sense of Place which supports actions to reinforce the character and sense of place of established neighborhoods. f. Finding: Property owner consent for the Historical Landmark designation has been granted pursuant to FMC 15.48.050.

Fact: The property owner for each site has given written consent for the filing of the application for landmark designation.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED the Landmarks Commission does hereby APPROVE ZON-2025-0101, ZON-2025-0114, ZON-2025-0124 and ZON-2025-0134, designating properties at 401 Cannon Lane as Historical Landmark (HL) HL-113, 845 North Euclid Street as HL-114, 545 West Fern Drive as HL-115, and 600 West Valley View Drive as HL-116 and recommends the City Council amend The Fullerton Plan Historic Preservation Element, Table 6 – City of Fullerton Local Register of Historical Resources and Exhibit 3 – Historical Resources Map – National and Local.

ADOPTED BY THE FULLERTON LANDMARKS COMMISSION ON FEBRUARY 11, 2026. _______________________________
Arnel Dino, Chairman
ZON-2025-0124 – ZON-2025-0114 – ZON-2025-0134 – ZON-2025-0101

FOUR HISTORICAL LANDMARKS
Attachment No. 2
Proposed Local Historic Landmark Locations
845 N. Euclid Street
600 W. Valley View Drive 545 W. Fern Drive 401 Cannon Lane Proposed Local Historical Landmark Locations
ZON-2025-0124 – ZON-2025-0114 – ZON-2025-0134 – ZON-2025-0101

FOUR HISTORICAL LANDMARKS
Attachment No. 3
Supporting Documentation for 401 Cannon Lane

P1. Other Identifier:
____
DPR 523A (9/2013) *Required information
State of California  The Resources Agency Primary #
DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI #
PRIMARY RECORD Trinomial
NRHP Status Code
Other Listings
Review Code Reviewer Date
*P2. Location:  Not for Publication  Unrestricted
*a. County Orange and (P2c, P2e, and P2b or P2d. Attach a Location Map as necessary.)
*b. USGS 7.5' Quad Date T ; R ;  of  of Sec ; B.M.
c. Address 401 Cannon Lane City Fullerton Zip 92831
d. UTM: (Give more than one for large and/or linear resources) Zone , mE/ mN e. Other Locational Data: (e.g., parcel #, directions to resource, elevation, decimal degrees, etc., as appropriate) *P3a. Description: (Describe resource and its major elements. Include design, materials, condition, alterations, size, setting, and boundaries)
Located at the northeast corner of Frances Avenue and Cannon Lane, the distinctive Alma and Alexander Glen Wright, Sr. House is a prominent landmark in the Skyline Park subdivision (Tract 838), laid out in 1927. The expansive, two-story dwelling is locally referred to as the “Bridgford Mansion” because Hugh H. Bridgford, founder and president of the Bridgford Foods Corporation, once owned the home. The 16-room dwelling, however, is the vision of the Wrights and their designer/building contractor Philip N.

Schmoker, who also built several other residences within the subdivision. The Wrights selected Skyline Park as their future home because of the “beauty of Fullerton’s hills, and the desire to send their childrenn to Fullerton schools”.1 Constructed in three Continued on page 4
*P3b. Resource Attributes: (List
attributes and codes)
*P4.Resources Present:  Building
 Structure  Object  Site  District 
Element of District  Other (Isolates,
etc.)
P5b. Description of Photo: (view, date,
accession #) Aerial photo of house,
facing north
*P6. Date Constructed/Age and
Source:  Historic  Prehistoric
 Both
*P7. Owner and Address:

Kurt Simon
401 Cannon Lane
Fullerton, CA 92832

*P8. Recorded by: (Name, affiliation, and
address)
Fullerton Heritage
PO Box 3356
Fullerton, CA 92834-3356
*P9. Date Recorded: October 2025
*P10. Survey Type: (Describe)
*P11. Report Citation: (Cite survey report and other sources, or enter "none.") _ ____
*Attachments: NONE Location Map Continuation Sheet Building, Structure, and Object Record Archaeological Record District Record Linear Feature Record Milling Station Record Rock Art Recordr P5a. Photograph (Photograph required for buildings, structures, and object 1 *Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder) Wright House *NRHP Status Code

State of California  The Resources Agency Primary #
DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI#

BUILDING, STRUCTURE, AND OBJECT RECORD
(This space reserved for official comments.)
(Sketch Map with north arrow required.)
B1. Historic Name: Wright House
B2. Common Name:

B3. Original Use: Single-family residence B4. Present Use: Single-family residence *B5. Architectural Style: Spanish Colonial Revival
*B6. Construction History: Constructed in 1927; flower house added in 1952; attached two-car garage added after 1995; interior alterations in 1998, 2012, and 2015
*B7. Moved? No Yes Unknown Date: Original Location:
*B8. Related Features:

B9a. Architect: b. Builder: Philip N. Schmoker
*B10. Significance: Theme 1920s housing development Area Skyline Park Historic District Period of Significance: 1920s Property Type: Single-family residence Applicable Criteria (Discuss importance in terms of historical or architectural context as defined by theme, period, and geographic scope. Also address integrity.)
Designed and constructed in 1927, the Alma and Alexander Glen Wright, Sr. House is being nominated as a Fullerton Local Landmark for its superb architecture. The dramatic Spanish Colonial Revival residence has long served as a signpost and landmark in the Skyline Park subdivision. It remains a standout in a historic tract noted for its remarkable collection of 1920s and 1930s Spanish-styled homes.

Along with the Cleaver House (519 West Fern Drive), the 16-room dwelling is a masterwork of prominent building contractor Philip N. Schmoker. In addition to the Cleaver House, two other Schmoker buildings have been designated Fullerton Local Landmarks: the William N. Rollo House (538 West Whiting Avenue) and the Miller Manufacturing Building (343 East Santa Continued on page 6
B11. Additional Resource Attributes: (List attributes and codes) *B12. References:

B13. Remarks:
*B14. Evaluator:
*Date of Evaluation:

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401 Cannon Lane
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months in 1927, the 5,329-square-foot residence is a superb example of Spanish Colonial Revival architecture, a dramatic standout in a subdivision that includes a remarkable collection of 1920s and 1930s Spanish-styled homes.

The house remains the prominent residence in Skyline Park.

The tract contains only one designated Fullerton Local Landmark, the Otto Evans House (1929), situated next door at 1203 Luanne Avenue. Skyline Park has been designated a Potential Historic District.

Developer Harry H. Crooke had hired Raymond Prescott Webb (1884-1946) of the Engineering Service Corporation, a great Los Angeles landscape engineering firm – noted for platting out Hollywoodland and Dana Point – to lay out Skyline Park, with Webb taking into consideration street contours, scenic beauty, and striking views.2 Webb was asked to pay particular attention to the three lots that encompassed the Wright property. Built at the top of a knoll on a corner triple lot (.59 acre) with an expansive setback, the residence was designed to serve as a dramatic introduction into the tract from Harvard Avenue (now Lemon Street).

The design has many custom features, including a parabolic picture window on the west side; two Monterey-style balconies with a projecting second story supported by heavy corbels; and a distinctive rotunda at the main entrance.

Spanish Colonial Revival features include an asymetrical façade, a varied roof line, red-barrelled terraccotta roof tiles, casement windows in a variety of sizes and shapes, arched doorways, terracotta air vents, and wrought iron grillwork and lights. The dwelling’s smooth stucco walls are painted white with a dark brown trim, the preferred color scheme of the dwelling’s designer/builder, Philip N. Schmoker.

Like the noted architect Irving J. Gill (1870-1936), Schmoker saw the shapes of his dwellings as a major design feature, and the exterior of the Wright House includes rectacular- and box-shaped areas contrasting with curved and circular walls. The arrangement of windows and doors on the elevations differs throughout the house, adding visual interest. Although the 1927 panoramic vistas are now impeded by development, the windows, balconies, and deck still provide scenic views of the surrounding area.

Public access to the main front entrance, which faces the corner, is by a stepped and curved Bluestone walkway with lights – a later addition – that, in turn, leads to a curved and stepped front stoop, and an arched wooden front door.

A second narrower pathway from the driveway leads to the main front door as well. A rear entry door is also situated at the end of a curved concrete driveway to a rear three-car garage, which is topped with a deck surrounded by a wooden balustrade. In addition, the house is also accessible through a wrought iron gate fronting Frances Avenue, which leads to a curved cement staircase to the back of the property. There is some indication that the Frances Avenue entryway was used earlier by tradesmen, postal workers, and guests accessing the rear garden area.

The east side, west side, and north (rear) side of the property are blocked from public view by tall fiscus trees. A retaining wall encircles the front yard area. Recently relandscaped, the front area includes a grass lawn, various flowering plants and succulents, rocks, and a water feature. A small ceramic-lined fountain is also positioned below the parabolic window on the house’s west side.
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Interior
Typical of the 1920s and 1930s, the interior is separated into public spaces on the first floor and private spaces on the second floor. The main entrance opens into a circular-shaped foyer/entryway, covered by terracotta tile flooring, which, in turn, leads to a kitchen, pantry, living and family rooms. A bedroom and bathroom – originally designed to accommodate a live-in servant – is situated adjacent to the kitchen; it has a separate stairway to the second floor.

A circular stairway with wrought-iron railing in the foyer leads to the four bedrooms, accompanying bathrooms and closets, on the second floor. The rotunda is only accessible via the attic.

The living room on the house’s west side features a brown-colored Claycraft Potteries (1921-1939) fireplace surround and threshold. The surround is a curved arched spandrel (No. 1559) with a curved spandrel ribbon keystone (No. 1559). Perforated Spanish tile vents (No. 1121) are positioned above and on both sides of the base of the fireplace surround (No. 1121). Established in Los Angeles in 1921 (3101 San Fernando Road), Claycraft Potteries – with Fred H. Robertson as the general manager, and his son, George B. Robertson, as designer – was noted for its colorful ceramic tiles, fountains, murals, lamp bases, and garden pottery.3(Photographs from the 1930s indicate that the bathrooms originally contained colorful Claycraft ceramic tiles, but those have been removed.) Two sliding glass doors on the north side of the living room (a later addition) open to an outside covered patio and large rectangular-shaped swimming pool, with nearly all of the original rear garden area converted to hardscape.

Aside from the terracotta-tiled entryway, all the flooring is wide wood planks stained a dark color. Mechanical equipment is located in the basement.

Alterations/Historic Integrity
The exterior of the dwelling retains a high degree of historic intergrity, appearing very much as it did in the 1920s when it was constructed. The house still reflects its original grand and graceful style and remains the most significant building in Skyline Park. The original wooden garage door that was part of an attached two-car garage that was most likely constructed sometime after 1995 (there is no permit of record) has been replaced by Midcentury Modern wood and glass doors.

When the Bridgford family purchased the home in the 1950s, it was nearly intact, and the family made only minor changes, including the addition of an interior flowerhouse and two windows in the living room in 1951/1952.4In 1998, the kitchen was remodeled; then in 2015, the interior went through an extensive remodel, with a number of the original elements removed in favor of modernization.
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Fe Avenue). He also designed and constructed one building, the Brea Museum and Historical Society (495 South Brea Blvd.), the former Brea American Legion Hall, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Although only a Fullerton building contractor for a few years, Schmoker left a lasting architectural imprint on Fullerton. The Wright House, known locally as the Bridgford Mansion, cost $35,000, more than any other dwelling Schmoker would build. At the time of construction, the Wright House was the most expensive home ever built in Fullerton.

Two early owners of the residence also established and served as presidents of two notable Orange County companies. Alexander Glen Wright, Sr. started the Orange County Rock Company, serving as president and manager; Hugh H. Bridgford founded the Bridgford Foods Corporation in 1944, serving as president. At one time, the Bridgford Food Company was Orange County’s only producer of United States government inspected meats.

Still in business, the firm continues to be managed by Bridgford family members.

Historic Background: Skyline Park Subdivision
In 1920, pharmacist and drug store owner Walter Joseph Cadman (1893-1941) formed a Fullerton real estate firm – Corcoran & Cadman – with his father-in-law, Robert Emmett Corcoran, Sr. (1867-1938), a paper salesman and later president of the Corcoran Paper Company on South Harbor Boulevard in downtown Fullerton.5 The following year, the two men drew up plans to develop the expansive Golden Hill area, which they presented to the Fullerton Board of Trustees (now the Fullerton City Council) in May 1921.6 From 1921 to 1930, Cadman and Corcoran developed the Golden Hill area with five recorded subdivisions – Tracts 167, 267, 588, 611, and 628 – in three phases.

Corcoran oversaw the layout of streets and homes, while Cadman served as real estate agent and manager/secretary of the building firm organized to provide mortgage loans, the Fullerton Building and Loan Association.

At the time, all housing tracts in the city were on flat land near the center of town, and hillside development was a new and risky venture for both Cadman and Corcoran. Newcomers to Fullerton, neither man had ever developed a subdivision. Fullerton residents believed no one would want to purchase a home “out in the sticks” and thought it would be too costly to build roads and bring water, gas, and electricity to a hillside development. The development of the Golden Hill residential area was a significant undertaking for Fullerton, and its overwhelming success led to further developments in elevated and sloping areas throughout the city, particularly those outside the central core, most notably Hillcrest Drive and Skyline Park.7
Seeing the housing development possibilities in the hilly vacant area east of Hillcrest Park, real estate and insurance agent Harry H. Crooke (1867-1948), who was also mayor of Fullerton, formed the Skyline Park Syndicate with accountant Harry L. Ustick (1882-1956) in 1927. Much of the land for the new subdivision was purchased from the city. Tract 838 was subdivided and approved by the Fullerton City Council on April 7, 1927.8 Improvements in the residential subdivision were begun in June of 1927, at a cost of $90,000 and were finished in mid-February of 1928, including the addition of fancy metal streetlamps.9
Skyline Park opened for sales on Saturday, April 9, 1927, with real estate agents onsite all day. Potential buyers could also call a free car to drive them to the new subdivision.10 On opening day, the lots cost between $600 and $3,400, but as the tract became more successful, homesites started at $1,350, then rose from $1,650 to $3,500.11 6 State of California - The Resources Agency Primary#
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The Skyline Park Syndicate quickly opened a sales office down the street at 1120 North Lemon Street (then Harvard Avenue). On May 24, 1928, the fully furnished Model Home for the subdivision opened at 1326 Skyline Drive (originally just 326 Skyline Drive) with much fanfare.

At the time the subdivision was laid out in 1927, the lots offered unparalleled views and exceptional climate due to cool sea breezes, with the summer temperature often 15 degrees cooler than the downtown area. Promotional literature emphasized the healthful environment above the excessive heat and cold of the lower part of town. An enormous thermometer was installed on Lot 105 (1238 Luanne Avenue) at the top of the hill to show how much more moderate the temperature was in Skyline Park.

A heavy promoter of Spanish Colonial Revival architecture, Crooke initially intended the subdivision to be a showcase for variations of Spanish-style architecture, and early houses in the tract can be identified by conformity to this style. Skyline Park was Fullerton’s first and only attempt to establish a subdivision of Spanish Colonial Revival residences “true to type” that celebrated the “Southern Spain type of architecture”.12 Toward that end, Crooke and Ustick hired notable local contractor Philip N. Schmoker to design and build multiple Spanish Colonial Revival houses, both speculative and commissioned, throughout the subdivision. No two dwellings were designed and built the same (e.g., 400 Virginia Road; 401 Cannon Lane; 1208 North Lemon Street; 1301, 1311, 1316 Luanne Avenue; 1326 Skyline Drive, etc.). Other local contractors also known for their Spanish Colonial Revival houses, such as Mortimer Carroll and Carey & Potter, soon followed (e.g., 1229 and 1234 Luanne Avenue; 1218 North Lemon Street, etc.). All the residences in the subdivision were expected “to conform to a high architectural and artistic standard”.13
Skyline Park was the most highly publicized development in Fullerton in the 1920s and 1930s [see Skyline Park Advertisements, pages 19-22]. No doubt the vested interest of Harry H. Crooke, then mayor of Fullerton, was an important contributing factor. The subdivision was labeled and advertised as “The Residential District Ideal”.14 No other housing development in Fullerton had ever offered so many “improvements”: contoured and paved streets, telephone service, radio connections, water and sewer lines laid in the streets and connected to each home, underground public utilities, ornamental lighting, and landscaping.15 The residences were also “rigidly restricted” to whites only.16 Lot sizes were not particularly large, but spacious custom houses were built with exceptional detail and refinement, making it a prestigious area for residency. The two most celebrated residences were the Alma and Alexander G. Wright House (401 Cannon Lane), the most expensive residence built in Fullerton at the time, and the Dale Reeves King House (1308 North Lemon Street). The opening of the Model Home (1326 Skyline Drive) was also heavily promoted.17
Historic Background: Wright House
When Alma and Alexander G. Wright approached Harry Crooke about constructing a home in the Skyline Park tract, Crooke and building contractor Philip N. Schmoker steered the couple to three lots atop a knoll, a prized spot within the subdivision. Crooke hoped that the expansive home – then the most expensive home built in Fullerton – would be a spectacular introduction to the area. One of the first homes built in the subdivison, the Wright House quickly became a signpost and landmark for the neighborhood, rising up as one walked or drove up the hill into the newly laid out subdivision. The spectacular Spanish Colonial Revival dwelling remains a prominent landmark in the residential district.
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The Wrights purchased lots 87 and 88 on May 4, 1927; lot 86 was bought on June 17, 1927.18 Schmoker quickly prepared plans for the home, and a permit was filed on July 26, 1927. The construction of the residence was greeted with considerable curiosity, and its building was tracked by the Fullerton News Tribune, with articles on the dwelling appearing in the April 22, 1927, July 16, 1927, July 23, 1927, September 24, 1927, October 15, 1927, and October 27, 1927 issues (See articles, pages 23-25). The 16-room dwelling was originally expected to cost $25,000, but the final amount was $35,000. During construction, the Wrights lived in their home in Anaheim, then rented the house at 1321 Frances Avenue. The Anaheim Bulletin announced that the Wrights and their four young children had moved into their new home a few days before Christmas in 1927.19 Over the previous six years, Alexander Glen Wright had suffered a series of head injuries, including a double skull fracture that required major surgery, and there is some indication that much of the design and construction decisions fell to Alma Wright.20 The Wrights separated in 1936, and divorced in 1937/38. The residence was vacant or rented until 1950, when Hugh H. Bridgford, the founder and president of the Bridgford Food Corporation, purchased the property. It would remain the home of four generations of the Bridgford family before being sold in the 1990s. Good stewards of the residence, the Bridgfords maintained the dwelling’s historical characteristics for decades.

First Owners: Alma Anderson (1894-1974) and Alexander Glen Wright, Sr. (1891-1971) Born in Fullerton on May 19, 1891, Alexander Glen Wright, Sr., who usually went by Glen, was the son of pioneer rancher Alexander A. Wright (1845-1933), who settled in Fullerton in 1903, running an extensive ranch near Raymond and Orangethorpe Avenues.21 He was an early developer of the Balboa Beach area, retiring to East Newport Beach (521 West Bay Avenue, razed) in 1923.22 Glen Wright attended the Fullerton Elementary School and graduated from Fullerton Union High School in 1910. He met and later married Alma Anderson of El Paso, Texas, on June 24, 1913, in Los Angeles.23 The couple resided in a small grove house on a five-acre Valencia orange ranch near Raymond and Orangethorpe Avenues and quickly had four children: Eloise Sybil (1915-2006), Marian Alma (1917-1995), Alexander Glen, Jr. (1919-1971), and Donald Wayne (1921-1975). Eloise, Marian, and Glen, Jr. would graduate from nearby Fullerton Union High School.24 Around 1919, Glen Wright moved into the street paving and gravel industry, establishing and serving as president/general manager of the Orange County Rock Company.25 In April 1923, the Wrights moved from their small grove home into an English cottage (742 North Clementine Street), then an exclusive area of Anaheim.26 The three-bedroom house proved too small, and the Wrights made the decision to commission a new residence in Fullerton. The couple sold their Fullerton grove residence and five-acre orange orchard in March 1927 for $15,000.27
Alma Wright was very active socially, and after the family moved into their Skyline Park residence, she became an active member of the Rainbow Circle, Chapter 191 of the Order of Eastern Star,28 and she was installed as a priestess of the Fullerton Order of the White Shrine of Jerusalem, a Masonic order for women.29 The Cannon Lane residence quickly became a favorite location for teas, luncheons, bazaars, carnivals, parties, and other events, which were regularly reported by local newspapers.30 The Wrights were also very active in the Anaheim St. Michael Episcopal Church (311 West South Street) – Glen was a trustee and vestryman – and later the St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Fullerton.31 Alma Wright was a close friend of Kathryn (“Teenie”) Cleaver, who owned the second largest home designed by Philip N. Schmoker at 519 West Fern Drive, and no doubt the two women 8 State of California - The Resources Agency Primary#
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compared residences.32 In addition, the Wrights owned a summer home in Crystal Cove where they entertained guests [See Wright Family photographs, pages 26-27].

The Wrights appeared to have separated in 1936, with Alma returning to live at the Clementine Street residence in Anaheim. Their divorce was finalized in 1937/1938. Glen remarried on December 9, 1938, to Anna (Dolly) Gregory (1896-1941) – a smalltime “singer of stage and screen” – but she passed away in April 1941.33 Alma Wright worked as a real estate agent before marrying George Asa Young (1893-1966), a sub-service operator for the Shell Oil Company, and moved to Bakersfield. Glen passed away in 1971; Alma followed in 1974.

Later Significant Owners Ardis (1910-1991) and Hugh H. Bridgford (1908-1992) Born in Modesto, California, on August 26, 1908, Hugh Harold Bridgford graduated from high school, then trained as a butcher, making it his lifelong career. In 1930, he married Ardis Ellen Smith, and the couple had two sons who followed their father into the meat and food industry. Over the decades, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and other family members joined the business, making it very much a family affair [See Bridgford photographs, pages 28-29].

In 1932, at the height of the Depression, Bridgford, employed by a San Diego grocery store, started his own butcher shop with $65 he had saved from his paychecks. The small shop was a success and over the next few years, he opened several more such markets in the area, eventually establishing a wholesale meat business that sold Bridgford meat to local hotels and restaurants.

Wanting to expand further into the wholesale meat industry, Bridgford established the Bridgford Packing Company – later the Bridgford Foods Corporation – in 1944. He purchased a manufacturing plant in Anaheim (1308 North Patt Street), which he also turned into his management office, greatly expanding the building over the next decades.34 He also built an additional ice plant, later converted into a deep freeze unit, in Fullerton at 402 (later 404) South Harvard Avenue (now Lemon Street).35 The firm’s meat products quickly became available in almost every major market in Southern California. The company was also Orange County’s only producer of United States government inspected meats. The plant produced choice beef and pork products, along with ham, bacon, sausage, and frankfurters. In 1962, the company pioneered and manufactured the sale of frozen bread dough to supermarkets and institutional customers. Bridgford took the company public in 1958.

By the time of Bridgford’s passing in 1992, the Bridgford Foods Corporation had developed a produce line of over 100 food products, including sliced pepperoni, salami sticks, beef jerky, cheeses, cinnamon rolls, and microwaveable hamburgers and sandwiches. The company still maintains the Anaheim plant, but also has divisions in Chicago, Illinois; Statesville, North Carolina; and Dallas, Texas. It now employs over 700 workers, with its products sold in all 50 states, Canada, and several overseas markets.36 Like Alma Wright, Ardis Bridgford was socially active, and the Cannon Lane residence and gardens were used for parties, social gatherings, and charitable functions, often reported in the local newspapers.37 Ardis and Hugh Bridgford began to move back and forth from their home in Chicago, Illinois, to Fullerton in the 1980s. Ardis Bridgford passed away in 1991; Hugh in 1992. They are buried along with other family members in the Santa Ana Cemetery.

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Home Designer and Builder: Philip Nason Schmoker (1893-1975) Philip Nason Schmoker (1893-1975), who professionally went by P.N. Schmocker, worked as a successful building contractor in Fullerton for only three years – 1927 to 1930 – but his often-spectacular homes would leave a lasting impression on the built environment. He concentrated primarily on middle-class single-family residences most often designed in a Spanish Colonial Revival style noted for their refined and unadorned interiors and exteriors.

Born on April 30, 1893, in Anthony, Kansas, Philip Nason Schmoker was the youngest of three sons (one died in infancy) born to William Frederick Schmoker (1864-1919), a farmer of Swiss German ancestry, and Ida Chaney (1868-1926). Schmoker spent some of his teenage years in Banner, Oklahoma, educated through four years of high school. Around 1915, the family migrated to Southern California. William, Ida, and Philip moved to Whittier; the second son, Albert H. Schmoker (1889-1976), settled in La Habra.

At the age of 19, Philip Schmoker married Clara Blanche Halstead (1893-1919) on October 22, 1912, in Whittier.

The couple moved to Ontario where Schmoker worked as a factory laborer in the Hotpoint Company factory.38 During this period, Schmoker became an ordained minister, working at the iron factory during the week, and ministering on nights and weekends. On his World War I draft registration form, he noted that his religious background was a factor in his anti-war stance.39
When World War I started, there was a high demand for shipyard workers, and Schmoker and his father both moved to Long Beach. Schmoker would have a particularly difficult year in 1919. His wife Clara, who had been an invalid for a number of months, passed away at their home (623 Chestnut Avenue) on April 15, 1919, at the age of 26.40 Two months later, his father became violently ill while working at the Long Beach Shipbuilding Company’s yard on June 18, 1919, and died shortly later in a hospital.41 Schmoker and his widowed mother lived together for several months before Schmoker remarried in 1920, and his second wife, Leora Elizabeth Musgrove (1887-1981), moved into the household. The couple would have two sons – Phillip Donald (1921-2005), known as Don, and Robert Frederick (1924-2007) – and move to 1995 Cherry Avenue. Later, Don would graduate from Fullerton Union High School in 1940, attend Fullerton College, and become a flight instructor at Sequoia Field in Visalia during World War II. Robert graduated from Fullerton Union High School in 1942, then joined the United States Navy.

During this period, Schmoker became a devout member of the International Bible Students Association organized by Charles Taze Russell (1852-1916), the founder of what is now known as the Bible Student Movement. (After Pastor Russell’s death, Jehovah’s Witnesses and other independent Bible student groups developed from the movement.) In the early 1920s, he began delivering free religious lectures at various halls and meeting places throughout Southern California, including San Pedro, Long Beach, Riverside, and Santa Ana. His topics ranged from “The World’s Distress, Its Meaning” to “Earthquakes, Fulfillment of Prophecy” to “Destiny of the Heathen and Unbelieving” [see page 30].
42 Ambitiously, Schmoker moved up from shipyard carpenter to building carpenter to building contractor. He began designing and building his first residences in Long Beach in 1919. He initially designed and built Craftsman bungalows, but he quickly switched to Spanish Colonial Revival residences that often used Pueblo Revival influences. Extant Schmoker houses in Long Beach include dwellings at 3119 Colorado Street (1923); 4824 East Broadway (1923); and 254 Roycroft Avenue (1924). He also built a small two-bedroom, one-bathroom Spanish bungalow at 124 North Via de Roma Walk as his personal residence. 10 State of California - The Resources Agency Primary#
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In 1926, Fullerton rancher Harry Gantz (1887-1949) and his wife, famous film director Lois Weber (1879-1939), decided to develop a Fullerton subdivision called Brookdale Heights that encompassed the 300 and 400 blocks of West Brookdale Place. Each provided part of the financing, with Gantz taking over the advertising and selling of the lots and Weber overseeing the street design and construction of the first residences. Weber announced that she personally would be overseeing the building of two speculative bungalows in the tract, but she completed only the house at 329 West Brookdale Place, with Gantz overseeing the dwelling at 344 West Brookdale Place.43 To complete the project, Gantz commissioned Schmoker to design and build the West Brookdale Place residence. The result was a unique and beautifully styled Spanish Colonial Revival dwelling very different from other Spanishstyled dwellings being constructed at the time. The residence brought considerable attention to Schmoker, a newcomer to Fullerton, and he built other houses in the new subdivision, including 425, 432, and 433 West Brookdale Place.

With the success of the Brookdale Place residence, Schmoker began constructing speculative houses around Fullerton. The town was experiencing a home building boom at the time, and he quickly found construction work as a local building contractor. He set up an office at 130 West Commonwealth (later 109), initially driving from Long Beach to Fullerton, but eventually purchased a house at 127 West Brookdale Place, adding a duplex at the rear of the property in 1928.44
In 1927, real estate and insurance agent Harry H. Crooke, who was also mayor of Fullerton, formed the Skyline Park Syndicate with accountant Harry Ustick. The two men undertook the development of a nine-block area just to the east of Hillcrest Park. An East Fullerton response to successful residential development in the Golden Hill area, Skyline Park (Tract 838) was one of the most highly publicized developments in Fullerton during the 1920s.

Improvements in the residential subdivision were begun in June of 1927, at a cost of $90,000, and were finished in mid-February of 1928. Impressed by Schmoker’s work around town, Crooke and Ustick hired him to build speculative homes for potential homebuyers, as well as “commission” houses for those who had purchased lots in the tract. Crooke intended for Skyline Park to be a showcase for Spanish-styled architecture, and nearly all the residences that Schmoker constructed in the subdivision were of Spanish Colonial Revival architectural style, with an occasional Cottage-style dwelling, including not only the impressive dwelling at 401 Cannon Lane, but also 1301, 1311, 1316, and 1317 Luanne Avenue. Crooke and Ustick were so delighted with Schmoker’s designs that they featured his houses in advertisements for Skyline Park [see page 31].

Schmoker’s most impressive building in the Skyline Park development was the 16-room Spanish Colonial Revival residence built for Alma and Alex Glen Wright, owners of the Orange County Rock Company, in 1929. The Wright House, known locally as the Bridgford Mansion, cost $35,000, more than any other dwelling Schmoker would build.45 Although the interior was severly altered in the 2010s, the home still reflects its original grand and graceful style and remains the most significant building in Skyline Park.

Crooke and Ustick quickly formed a building partnership with Schmoker, and the men would construct other dwellings around Fullerton, including 403 East Virginia Road (1929) and 617 North Higland Avenue (1928), while advertising themselves as a building team [see pages 32-33]. Schmoker worked primarily in the Spanish Colonial Revival style, varying each residence, but he also designed and constructed some interesting Cottages (e.g., 432 W.

Brookdale Place, 520 West Whiting Avenue). He was at his construction peak in 1928, rapidly building twenty houses around Fullerton, using the business slogan: “Large or small, we build them all.”46 He also offered one 11 State of California - The Resources Agency Primary#
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hundred percent financing. In 1928, he constructed his only major industrial building, the Miller Manufacturing Building, now a Fullerton Local Landmark.47 That same year, he was awarded a $30,000 contract to construct an addition to the Ford Grammar School.48
He received his most noteworthy commission from Arthur W. and Kathryn Cleaver, owners of the Sanitary Laundry (221-225 West Santa Fe Avenue), in 1929. The Cleavers were taking in $40,000 to $60,000 a month from Seal Beach oil leases, and the wealthy couple had the funds necessary to construct a unique and distinctive Spanish Colonial Revival home at 519 West Fern Drive, complete with a ballroom in the basement.49 A Fullerton Local Landmark, the expansive Cleaver House remains a visual landmark in the Upper Golden Hill neighborhood.

Schmoker advertised extensively in the Fullerton News Tribune, optimistically entering 1929 with many planned projects [Figure -]. The 1929 Stock Market Crash, however, ended his building business in Fullerton. His last major project was the two-story Spanish Colonial Revival Brea American Legion Building, now the Brea Museum and Historical Center, in 1930, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.50 After the 1929 Crash, Schmoker sold his Fullerton home and moved his family to a residence he had constructed at 2300 West Orangethorpe Avenue (later1321 South Gilbert Street), then a rural unincorporated area. His wife Leora, a member of the Fullerton Ebell Club, became very active in the Orangethorpe Parent-Teacher Association. He was hired as a superintendent for the Los Angeles Construction Company headquartered on West Pico Boulevard.

During World War II, he served as construction superintendent for Camp Elliott, a Marine training center in San Diego.51 After World War II, he worked for Pasadena architects John Cyril Bennett and his son, Robert Edward Bennett, who had formed a partnership, Bennett & Bennett.52 Schmoker lived on South Gilbert Street until his death on February 11, 1975, at the age of 81. He and his wife are buried at Rose Hills Memorial Park in Whittier.
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Bibliographic References
1Baker, Verne A., “Contract is Let for 16-Room Residence of Spanish Stucco,” Fullerton News Tribune, July 16, 1927.
2 “Here’s What You’ve Been Waiting for – Skyline Park [Advertisement],” Anaheim Bulletin, April 7, 1927; “Fine Homesites Planned for New Tract,” Fullerton News Tribune, March 3, 1927; De Wolfe, Evelyn. “Now Celebrating Its 70th Year: Firm Planned Hollywoodland,” Los Angeles Times, June 7, 1987; The Story of Hollywoodland (Los Angeles: Papavasliopoulous Press, 1992).
3Tiles: Claycraft Potteries [Catalog] Los Angeles: Claycraft Potteries, 1920): 15, 33-34. Online; Joseph A. Taylor, California Tile: The Golden Era, 1910-1940, Acme to Handcraft (Atglen, PA: Schiffer, 2003). Copy on file, Local History Room, Fullerton Public Library.
4 “$3700 in Building Permits Issued in Fullerton,” Santa Ana Register, May 27, 1951. 5 “R. E. Corcoran Dies in Fullerton,” Santa Ana Register, September 14, 1938; “Walter J. Cadman Called by Death.” Santa Ana Daily Evening Register April 21, 1941, p. 9; “Walter J. Cadman Rites Tomorrow.” Santa Ana Register April 11, 1941, p. 16; “Walter J. Cadman Taken Suddenly,” Fullerton News Tribune, April 21, 1941; “Cadman Funeral to Be at 2 p.m. Tomorrow.” Fullerton News Tribune, April 22, 1941. 6Squirrels Show Old Dome to Drake,” Santa Ana Register, May 21, 1921. 7“Golden Hill Homes Valued at Million,” Fullerton News Tribune, January 25, 1930; Lower and Upper Golden Hill Preliminary Surveys. 1924-1925. Copies on file, Local History Room, Fullerton Public Library. Upper Golden Hill was designated a Historic District in 2024; residents in Lower Golden Hill are presently petitioning the city to have their neighborhood a designated Historic District.
8Fullerton Board of Trustees Minutes, April 7, 1927, p. 2. Online, Fullerton City Clerk website. 9 “Skyline Park Gets Beautiful Home,” Fullerton News Tribune, July 16, 1927. 10“Finish Tract Improvement for Fullerton,” Santa Ana Register, August 20, 1928. 11“Folks Just Can’t Wait [Advertisement].” Fullerton News Tribune, April 4, 1928. 12“We Are Ready at Skyline Park [Advertisement],” Fullerton News Tribune, April 4, 1928. 13Subdivision Held Ushering in New Era of Building,” Fullerton News Tribune, July 2, 1927. 14“Fine Homesites Planned for New Tract,” Fullerton News Tribune, March 3, 1927. 15“Skyline Park Attractions Set Forth,” Fullerton News Tribune, August 20, 1928; “$45,000 Skyline Park Work to Be Under Way Soon,” Fullerton News Tribune, August 27, 1927. 16“An Interview with the Owners of Skyline Park,” Fullerton News Tribune, April 1928. 13 State of California - The Resources Agency Primary#
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17“Prepare Model Home Opening,” Fullerton News Tribune, May 23, 1928; “Model Home Opens Tonight,” Fullerton News Tribune, May 24, 1928; “Vogue of Times Guide Model Home Design,” Fullerton News Tribune, July 30, 1927.
18“Real Estate Transfers,” Santa Ana Register, May 4, 1927 and June 17, 1927. 19“Well Known Anaheim Folks Move to New Home in Fullerton,” Anaheim Bulletin, December 30, 1927. 20“Skull Injury Suffered by A. G. Wright,” Fullerton News Tribune, June 1, 1928. 21At the time, the area around Orangethorpe, which extended for miles, was unincorporated. After World War II, the area was divided between Anaheim, Fullerton, and Buena Park. Orangethorpe briefly incorporated in 1922, then unincorporated.
22“Anaheim Mourns Alexander Wright,” Anaheim Gazette, October 19, 1933; “Alexander Wright Passes at Balboa,” Anaheim Bulletin, October 9, 1933; “Alexander Wright Funeral Thursday,” Santa Ana Register, October 10, 1933. 23Marriage License, Alexander Glen Wright and Alma Anderson, June 18, 1913, Los Angeles. FamilySearch.com; “Alma Anderson Marriage Announcement,” El Paso Herald, June 16, 1913; “[Announcement],” Anaheim Gazette, June 16, 1913.
24Plummer, Louis E. Fullerton Union High School and Fullerton Junior College, 1893-1942. Fullerton: Fullerton Union High School and Junior College, 1949. Photographs of the three children will be found in the Fullerton Union High School annual yearbooks, on file in the Local History Room, Fullerton Public Library. 25“Contract to Wright,” Orange County Plain Dealer, April 9, 1919; “[Bids]”, Santa Ana Register, April 4, 1919; “[Contract],” Orange County Plain Dealer, September 8, 1919. The Orange County Rock Company started the Saticoy Rock Company in 1922, and then in 1927, purchased the Ventura Rock and Gravel Company. “How Little Rocks are Made for Big Ones,” Ventura County Star, December 31, 1937. 26“[Moving],” Anaheim Bulletin, April 16, 1923; Beautiful ‘Home, Sweet Home’ in Anaheim,” Anaheim Bulletin, October 2, 1923. Includes a black and white photograph of the Anaheim home. Dierker is best known for designing and building the Anaheim Model Home (726 North Clementine Street). 27“Orange Grove on Orangethorpe Sold,” Anaheim Bulletin, March 10, 1927; “$15,000 Paid for Fullerton Grove,” Santa Ana Register, March 11, 1927; “Sells Five-Acre Orange Orchard,” Los Angeles Times, March 11, 1927. 28“Mrs. A. G. Wright Birthday Honoree,” Santa Ana Register, September 26, 1935. 29“Mrs. A. G. Wright,” Santa Ana Register, April 20, 1935. Includes a black and white photograph of Alma Wright; “New Officers Selected for White Shrine,” Santa Ana Register, March 14, 1935. 30“Coming Events,” Santa Ana Register, July 26, 1933; ‘[Tea],” Los Angeles Times, July 15, 1928; “2-Day Bazaar Scheduled to Open Thursday,” Santa Ana Register, December 10, 1935; “White Shrine to Hold Party Soon,” Santa Ana Register, September 14, 1934, etc.
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31“Vestrymen of St. Michael’s are Elected,” Santa Ana Register, January 16, 1926; “Large Group Attends Church Meet, Fullerton,” Anaheim Gazette, October 24, 1935.
32“Mrs. A. W. Cleaver Hostess at Dinner,” Santa Ana Register, February 10, 1936. 33“Anna Gregory Wright [Obituary],” Los Angeles Times, May 2, 1941. 34“Million Dollar Progressive Anaheim Business,” Anaheim Gazette, May 7, 1951. Includes black and white photographs of the business; “Bridgford Writes Success Story,” Anaheim Bulletin, August 29, 1951; “The Register Spotlights Bridgford Packing Co.,” Santa Ana Register, December 23, 1962. Includes black and white photographs. 35“Permits issued for Building in Fullerton,” Santa Ana Register, August 17, 1952. 36“93 Years of History with Bridgford.” Bridgford Foods. http://www.bridgfordfoods.com; Ted Johnson, “Founder of Bridgford Foods Dies,” Los Angeles Times, April 14, 1992; Kenan Helse, “Hugh Bridgford, Founder of Frozen Food Company,”Chicago Tribune, April 16, 1992.
37“Thanksgiving Tea,” Santa Ana Register, November 21, 1954; “Building Benefit,” Los Angeles Times, November 21, 1954. Includes a group photograph with Mrs. Bridgford; “Ice Cream and Puppets to Aid Phi Beta Gamma,” Los Angeles Times, August 10, 1958; “Ice Cream Social,” Anaheim Bulletin, July 21, 1959; “Gamma Phis Set Plans for Garden Social,” Anaheim Bulletin, August 11, 1958, etc. 38Hotpoint: Our Story. GE Appliances, 2024. https://www.hotpoint.com/hotpoint-history/; Allen, David, “History in Flames, as Former Hotpoint Clubhouse Burns in Ontario,” Daily Bulletin, August 22, 2019; Hotpoint Clubhouse Concept, City of Ontario, July 2022, chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.ontarioca. gov/sites/default/files/Ontario-Files/Planning/Historic_Preservation/hotpoint_general_electric.pdf 39Registration Card: Phillip N. Schmoker [sic]. 1920. United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917- 1918. FamilySearch.org.
40“Clara Halstead Schmoker,” Long Beach Daily Telegram, April 17, 1919. She is buried in the Sunnyside Cemetery in Long Beach.
41“Falls Dead While at Work in Shipyard,” San Pedro News Pilot, June 19, 1919. 42“International Bible Students,” Long Beach Press Telegram and the Long Beach Daily News, August 9, 1924, 10; “International Bible Student Association,” Santa Ana Daily Register, September 29, 1923, 4; “Destiny of the Heathen and Unbelieving,” Riverside Daily Press, December 16, 1922, 2. 43Debora Richey, “Lois Weber: A Touch of Hollywood in Fullerton,” Fullerton Heritage Newsletter, 28, no. 2 (June 2022), 4.
44“Begins Duplex Construction,” Fullerton News Tribune, April 28, 1928. 45“Beautiful Home Nears Completion in Skyline Park,” Fullerton News Tribune, October 22, 1927. 46“Builder Books $50,000 Home Orders Here,” Fullerton News Tribune, December 17, 1927. 15 State of California - The Resources Agency Primary#
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47“Begin Work on Plant Here to Cost $10,000, Fullerton News Tribune, March 10, 1928; “Trade Notes and Shop News,” Western Machinery News, April 1928, 183.
48“Permits for Month $60,000 in Fullerton,” Santa Ana Register, July 23, 1928, 5. 49Debora Richey, “The Cleavers Strike Liquid Gold,” Fullerton Heritage Newsletter, 30, no. 2 (July 2024), 1, 3-5; “Cleaver Residence Now Is in Midst of Construction Work,” Fullerton News Tribune, July 6, 1927; “Work Started on Cleaver’s 16-room Home,” Fullerton News Tribune, June 1, 1929. 50“Legion Contract Given Approval,” Santa Ana Register, February 7, 1930, 10; Kathy Canon, “The Easterly 90 Feet of Said Lot …,” Historical Happenings: A Publication of the Brea Historical Society, 18, no. 5 (May 2001), 1. 51“Philip Schmoker: Registration Card,” World War II Draft Registration Records. FamilySearch.org. 52Bennett & Bennett Architects’ Roster Questionnaire. American Institute of Architects Archives. Copy on file, Local History Room, Fullerton Public Library. Before forming an architectural firm with his son, John Cyril Bennett designed notable buildings in Pasadena, including the Raymond Theatre, the Pasadena Playhouse, and the Pasadena Civic Auditorium.

Additional References
Ancestry.com. Interior and exterior shots of the Wright House, along with family photographs taken from this website.
“Beautiful Home Nears Completion in Skyline Park,” Fullerton News Tribune, October 22, 1927. “Begin Construction of 16-Room Home,” Fullerton News Tribune, July 23, 1927. “Building Active in Skyline Park,” Fullerton News Tribune, February 4, 1928.

City of Fullerton Building Permits. Online, City of Fullerton Website. “Plan Two New Homes in Skyline Park,” Fullerton News Tribune, October 15, 1927.

Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps. Copies on file, Local History Room, Fullerton Public Library. “Skyline Park.” Fullerton Historic Building Survey, 1978. Copy on file, Local History Room, Fullerton Public Library.
“Skyline Park Survey.” Fullerton Heritage, 2024/2025. Copy on file, Local History Room, Fullerton Public Library.

Includes a color map of the district.
“Street Paving Bids Opened by City Council,” Santa Ana Register, September 28, 1927. “Supervisor Buys Residence Sites in Sub-Division,” Anaheim Bulletin, April 22, 1927. “Syndicate Speeds $75,000 Projects at Skyline Park,” Fullerton News Tribune, September 24, 1927. 16 State of California - The Resources Agency Primary#
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“$3700 in Building Permits Issued in Fullerton,” Santa Ana Register, May 26, 1951. “$45,000 Skyline Park Work to Be Under Way Soon,” Fullerton News Tribune, August 27, 1927. “[401 Cannon Lane Advertisement],” Anaheim Bulletin, May 29, 1944. “Plan 2 New Homes in Skyline Park,” Fullerton News Tribune, October 15, 1927.

Pleaides: Fullerton Union High School Yearbooks. Local History Room, Fullerton Public Library. “The Transformation of Aircastles into Castles in the Air [Advertisement],” Fullerton News Tribune, March 19, 1928.

Tract 838 [Map]: Skyline Park. 1927. Copy on file, Local History Room, Fullerton Public Library. “We Are Ready in Skyline Park [Advertisement],” Fullerton News Tribune, April 6, 1929. “We Want to be Happy [Advertisement],” Fullerton News Tribune, April 22, 1927. 17 State of California - The Resources Agency Primary#
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TRACT 838
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Fullerton News Tribune, April 6, 1927
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Fullerton News Tribune, April 9, 1927
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Fullerton News Tribune, April 26, 1927
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Fullerton News Tribune, September 24, 1927
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Fullerton News Tribune, July 16, 1927
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Fullerton News Tribune, July 16, 1927
Fullerton News Tribune, July 23, 1927
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Fullerton News Tribune, October 22, 1927
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Alexander Glen Wright, 1910
Source: Fullerton Union High School Yearbook
Alma and Alexander Glen Wright in front of their Anaheim home Sources: Ancestry.com
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Alma Wright with her four children, undated
Source: Ancestry.com
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Hugh H. Bridgford, undated
Source: Ancestry.com
Hugh H. Bridgford.

Source: www.bridgfordfoods.com
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Bridgford’s meat shop, San Diego; Hugh H. Bridgford on right, 1930s.

Source: www.bridgfordfoods.com
Bridgford Foods Corporation, Anaheim, 1968
Source: Calisphere
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Philip N. Schmoker
Source: Find a Grave
Riverside Daily Press, April 5, 1927
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Fullerton News Tribune, May 19, 1929
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Fullerton News Tribune, January 28, 1928
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Fullerton News Tribune, March 13, 1928
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Photo taken from the American Legion building (now the Fullerton Recreation Center), 1936, showing prominent location of the Wright House
Source: Fullerton Public Library
Wright House shortly after completion, 1927
Source: Ancestry.com
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Wright House, 1930s
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Wright House, 1930s; Rear yard
Source: Ancestry.com
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Interior shot of foyer, circa 1930
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Interior shot of living room, circa 1930
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Interior shot of bedroom, circa 1930
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Interior shot of bedroom, circa 1930
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Interior shot of bathroom, circa 1930
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Interior shot of breakfast nook, circa
1930
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Photo 1: South elevation of house
Photo 2: Partial west elevation of house
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Photo 3: Front entry with rotunda and Monterey-style balcony Photo 4: Monterey-style balcony on the east side of house 41 State of California - The Resources Agency Primary#
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Photo 5: Partial north side of house
Photo 6: Partial north side of house
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Photo 7: Close-up of partial north side of house
Photo 8: Attached two-car garage on east side of house
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Photo 9: View of foyer from living room Photo 10: Partial view of tiled staircase in the foyer
Photo 11: Fireplace in the living
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Photo 12: Parabolic window on west side of house as seen from the living room Photo 13: Water feature on east side of the house under the parabolic window 45 ZON-2025-0124 – ZON-2025-0114 – ZON-2025-0134 – ZON-2025-0101

FOUR HISTORICAL LANDMARKS
Attachment No. 4
Supporting Documentation for 845 North Euclid Street
August&.i..,2025
Landmarks Commission
City of Fullerton
303 W. Commonwealth Avenue
Fullerton, CA 92832
We are the new owners of the residence at 845 N. Euclid Street, purchasing the property in 2023. The house on this property has been designated by the city of Fullerton as a "Significant Property" and is, therefore, eligible for being designated as a Historic (Local) Landmark with the property owner's consent. We are requesting that the property be designated as a Historic Landmark.

We believe the property satisfies at least two criteria for designation as a Historic Landmark. First, it exemplifies a particular architectural style (Spanish Colonial Revival) which was an unusual design for a two-story grove house. Secondly, the residence is identified with people who significantly contributed to the development of the city:
builders Robert Carey, William Potter and Evan J. Herbert.

We have provided background information on the house, named the Russ House for the first owners of the residence, Albert and Kathryn Russ. Additionally, background information on the three builders has been furnished by Fullerton Heritage. Also, recent photos of the house are included in this packet of information.

Sin ~/
Russ House
845 N. Euclid Street
1929
Spanish Colonial Revival
Status: Significant Property
This large, 5, 100-sq.-ft., two-story building in the Spanish Colonial Revival style was originally a grove house, located on Orangethorpe Avenue, about a half mile west of Euclid Street and surrounded by citrus trees. Local builders Robert Carey and William Potter constructed the house for pioneer citrus rancher and businessman Albert Russ and his wife, Kathryn. The house represents one of the few instances where this style was used for a grove house.

When Kathryn Russ sold the property on Orangethorpe Avenue in 1953, she had the house moved to what was at that time the terminus of Euclid Street, where she lived until her death in 1959. The First Presbyterian Church bought the property in 1963, and the house was used as a church facility and named Hunter House for Graham Hunter, an active minister of the church during the 1920s and 1930s. The Congregational Church of Fullerton acquired the property in 1982, and continued to use the building for its church services and meetings until 2020.

The building is solidly intact, and there is no hint that the structure was cut in half as part of its relocation.

Local builder, Evan Herbert, managed the move and reconstruction of the house on its new foundation.

The house's original interior features, including two fireplaces with Batchelder tiles, light fixtures, a tiled staircase, and fine woodwork, are untouched and remain in excellent condition. The exterior architecture, including a Monterey-style balcony on the north side, is also intact; in fact, all of the original exterior features of the house are in place ( except for the two reconstructed chimneys), and no additions have altered the size or look of the house since its move in 1953.

Evan J. Herbert
Overview
From 1920 to 1960, Evan Jones Herbe headed one of Fullerton's longest existing building companies, and he was the only early contractor to successfully transition from the Great Depression to the post-World War II era. He had the distinction of being the most formally educated of all of Fullerton's architects and builders in the 1920s and 1930s. His extensive portfolio included modest homes, large estates, duplexes, businesses, and churches, and hundreds of his buildings can still be found around the city. Three Fullerton buildings Herbert designed and/or built are listed on the National Register of Historic Places:
the Muckenthaler Cultural Center (1924), the Santa Fe Depot (1929), and the Hugh Edgar Johnson House (1928) on Brookdale Place. A personable, outgoing man, Herbert, the son of Welsh immigrants, was also noted for his kindness, exemplified when he hired dozens of out-of-work carpenters and builders during the Great Depression.

Evan Herbert - whose business slogan was "Dependability is my watch word" - developed a solid reputation around town for his ability to complete projects on time within a set budget. Herbert was hired by notable architects to construct homes and businesses, but he also became known for his eclectic home designs, quickly gaining a reputation for providing his clients with the homes they wanted, no matter the style, size, or lot location. He would design homes and businesses in any style his clients wanted, often mixing and matching architectural elements.

Biography
Born in Columbus, Ohio, on February 14, 1884, Herbert was orphaned at the age of 13, and moved in with his sister, Mary E. Owen. He graduated from Central High School in Columbus in 1902, with an emphasis in business, and graduated with an engineering degree from Ohio State University in 1907. He began working around the Columbus area as a building contractor, but in 1910, at the age of 25, Herbert set out for Los Angeles, renting rooms in the former Bunker Hill area of the city while working on small building jobs. He soon met Eleanor Jenkins, the daughter of a Welsh hardware and furniture dealer, and the couple married in Long Beach in 1911. Herbert became the father to two sons, both born in Yorba Linda.

In 1908, the Janss Investment Company purchased what would become the central core of Yorba Linda from Fullerton merchant Jacob Stern (Stern & Goodman) and began selling agricultural plots for $150 an acre, and "choice" ranches for $250. The Herberts purchased ten acres in what was then known as the Yorba Linda Tract, quickly constructed a home, and planted lemon and orange trees. Herbert later planted Fuerte (hardy) avocados, first brought to the United States from Mexico by Herbert's neighbor, John T. Whedon, in 1912, and Herbert became an expert on how to propagate avocados. He became a founding member of the Yorba Linda Citrus Association and served on the board of directors and as president in the 1920s of the Yorba Linda Water Company.

Herbert began constructing dwellings and doing other carpentry work throughout Yorba Linda. His first big project would be the Quakers' Friends Church ( 4845 School Street), Yorba Linda's first meeting house. In 1912, there were less than fifty residents in the tract, and the Craftsman-style church was constructed by local ranchers, who hauled the materials, dug trenches for the foundation, mixed concrete, and framed and finished the building. Herbert, who provided some design assistance and supervised construction, worked alongside his neighbors. Herbert's most significant residence in Yorba Linda remains the Mediterranean Revival home and medical office of Dr. Cochran and his wife, still a private residence (4802 Olinda Street). Dr. Richard Cochran was one of Yorba Linda's first doctors, and his wife Ellen was Richard Nixon's second grade teacher. In 1929, working with Los Angeles architect Clarence E.

Noerenberg, Herbert built the $115,000 Yorba Linda Citrus Association Packing House, now a commercial center called Packing House Square (18200 Yorba Linda Blvd.).

Finding little contracting work in Yorba Linda, Herbert moved to Fullerton, where he constructed a modest residence for his family at 309 West Malvern Avenue. Although a newcomer to the city, Herbert soon found a building niche in residential housing, joining such well-known builders as Ernest S. Gregory, Harry Maxwell, and Arthur M. Thompson.

In the mid-1920s Herbert found work with Golden Hill developers Walter J. Cadman and Robert E.

Corcoran, Sr. Herbert was commissioned to construct homes in the three-phase hill subdivision in the northwest part of the city (e.g., 604, 628, 629, 633 North Golden Avenue). Impressed with Herbert's work, the two developers hired him to design and construct their personal residences. He built a Mediterranean Revival residence for Corcoran (600 West Union Avenue, 1926), complete with tennis court and croquet grounds, followed by a graceful two-story Spanish Colonial Revival for Cadman at 865 North Highland Avenue in 1929. His most unusual home during the 1920s was a Spanish/Mayan Revival dwelling for wealthy newspaper owner and editor Hugh Edgar Johnson on Brookdale Place, listed on the National Register of Historic Placesl. Throughout the 1920s, he built dozens of "spec" homes that he quickly sold to homebuyers, particularly on West Malvern Avenue (e.g., 225,229,230, 239) and North Drake Avenue (e.g., 636,640,644).

When home construction crashed in the Great Depression, Herbert survived by building garages, home offices, and building additions. He began hiring as many out-of-work local carpenters and contractors as he could, to work on small projects no matter the size.

The early 1940s were a particularly difficult time for Herbert. His wife was killed in a traffic accident in 1941, and in 1943, his son, Joe, was killed in the crash of a World War II training plane. Business picked up in the mid-1940s, and he built a handful of new dwellings (e.g., 624 North Drake Avenue, 637 North Wesley Drive, 300 West Whiting Avenue), moving away from Craftsman and Spanish Revival bungalows into Minimal Traditional and ranch-styled dwellings. His most impressive post-World War II dwelling was built in a 1945, a rambling ranch house at 1701 Skyline Drive for Thomas K. Gowan, Fullerton mayor from 1938 to 1939.

He moved from homes to the construction of new businesses, including a Van de Kamp's Bakery in 1948, and the McCormick Mortuary Chapel in 1951. He specialized in what he called the "modernization" of older business buildings in the downtown area, such as the Fullerton Building and Loan Association Headquarters, the Alpha Beta Food Market, and the McMahan Furniture Store. On occasion, he would tum a former residence into a business, such as the Donald Jones Company offices at 435 West Commonwealth Avenue in 1953, which sometimes resulted in an odd mix of architectural styles. Herbert had one major residential commission during this period: in 1953, Kathryn Russ hired Herbert to move her large, two-story Spanish Colonial Revival house to 845 N. Nicolas (now Euclid) Street from its original location in southwest FulJerton. Once relocated, Herbert reconstructed the two-story house on a new foundation and rebuilt its exterior features including two chimneys and a Monterey-style balcony.

In 1957, Herbert entered into a second marriage with Ada G. Thompson, a registered nurse. In 1958, when Richard Nixon was Vice-President, Herbert and two other Yorba Linda pioneers, Mildred Hoyt and William H. Barton, formed a committee to preserve the old Nixon Family homestead. The mail order kit home, then owned by the Yorba Linda Unified School District, was designated a Yorba Linda historic property in 1959, and it is currently located on the grounds of the Richard M. Nixon Library. That same year, committee members organized the first Nixon for President Club (''Neighbors for Nixon") in the nation, with Herbert serving as second vice-president. On September 16, 1959, Herbert and other club members installed the first billboard in the nation advertising Nixon as the next President of the United States. The Nixon booster club would inspire dozens of other clubs to form in California. Herbert became a founding member of Senior Citizens of Fullerton and played a pivotal role in the construction of the city's first senior center. He passed away at the age of 80 in the Fullerton Community Hospital on February 2, 1965, and is buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale.

Robert Benjamin Carey and William Potter
Robert Benjamin Carey
Robert Benjamin Carey was born in West Plains, Missouri on June 23, 1882. Professionally, he used R.

B. Carey or Robert Ben Carey, but he was known as just Ben to his family and friends.

Carey and his wife, Laura, moved to Fullerton around 1910. First, renting a house for several years, Carey constructed their own residence at 115 S. Malden Avenue in 1920. Initially working as a carpenter, Carey quickly transitioned into home and commercial construction, using his personal residence as his home office.

Following World War 1, Carey's career as a Fullerton building contractor - his motto was "Building with Satisfaction" - became firmly established. Working with a crew, he designed and constructed well-built modest Craftsmen bungalows, then transitioned to a more simplified Minimal Traditional style.

Examples of his early dwellings will be found in the historic neighborhoods of Fullerton on West Whiting, West Malvern, North Woods, and Jacaranda Place. He supplemented his home construction with a variety of other building projects: a new commercial store for the Wickersham Implement Company at 120-122 West Amerige Avenue in 1921; a new commercial building at 112 N. Malden Avenue (now Monzon Garage) in 1921; an automobile plant and showroom on West Wilshire Avenue, then the largest garage building in Orange County in 1922; also in 1922, comfort stations for Orange County Park (now Irvine Regional Park), and in 1923, a packing house on North Walnut for the Santa Fe Land and Improvement Company at 128-136 North Walnut.

William "Willie" Potter
Around 1905, the Potter Family moved to Fullerton from Illinois, settling into a home at 424 South Harbor Boulevard (razed). William initially lived with his parents, but eventually constructed his own home, a modest Craftsman bungalow, at 211 West Jacaranda Place in 1921. Potter would stay in his residence on Jacaranda Place until his death in 1964, and his widow continued to live in the home for several years.

Before the l 920s Potter did carpentry jobs around Fullerton, most notably the large council table in the Isaac Walton Cabin in Hillcrest Park. Potter was elected to join the Fullerton Chamber of Commerce in 1909, and he was a charter member of the all-volunteer Fullerton Fire Department, which was established on August 6, J 908, when Fullerton had only 3,000 residents. Potter would also work as a Fullerton building inspector.

Carey and Potter Partnership
In the early 1920s, Carey formed a successful business partnership with carpenter, city building inspector, and Fullerton City Councilman William Potter. The two men received commissions for new homes, but often built "spec" or speculative homes that they would then sell to home buyers, primarily working in English Cottage and Spanish Colonial Revival architectural styles (e.g., 701 North Richman Avenue, 1234 Luanne Avenue, 626 North Beverly Drive).

In 1927, the two men received the sought-after Fullerton Chamber of Commerce commission to design and build a model home, formally known as Fullerton Exhibition Home (701 North Richman Avenue), built as part of the Better Homes Movement S\veeping the country in the 1920s. A streamlined version of a "modernized English design", the house, now a Fullerton Local Landmark, was open to the public, and the show home was extensively featured in the local newspapers, bringing welcome attention to Carey & Potter. In 1932, Carey & Potter, working under architect Marcus (Marc) Soderberg, built the two-story American Legion Patriotic Hall, now the Fullerton Recreation Center, in Hillcrest Park, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The two men concentrated on homes, but occasionally tackled remodeling commissions or worked on engineering projects, most notably the Richman A venue bridge in 1935.

Carey and Potter were at their construction peak in 1928, culminating in the spring of 1929, when they constructed a large, two-story Spanish Colonial Revival grove house along West Orangethorpe Avenue for Albert and Kathryn Russ. Soon afterward, the 1929 Crash led to dwindling smaller projects, including a storeroom at Fullerton Union High School in 1932, and the two men parted ways.

Carey After the Break-up
After the 1932 break-up with Potter during the Depression years, Carey did surprisingly well during a period of minimal city construction. He received State Emergency Relief Administration (SERA) funding for a few small projects, including restrooms for the Wilshire School (now the Wilshire Center) and roof repair for the Maple Elementary School. In 1937, he won a New Deal commission to construct a bridge (since razed) over the barranca at the Harbor Boulevard entrance to Hillcrest Park. In 1935-1936, he received commissions for major projects in the city, including large commercial structures for the Harris Furniture Company, the Alpha Beta Market, and the Brown Mug Cafe, one of the most popular hangout spots in Fullerton.

In May 1941, Carey resigned from the Fullerton Library Board to take on the building contracting job for the new $150,000 Fullerton Public Library to be fonded by the Works Progress Administration (WPA).

Working under architect Harry K. Vaughn, the new Hispano Moresque library, later the Fullerton Museum Center, would be Carey's most significant project in Fullerton.

During World War II, Carey worked at the Aviation Cadet Replacement Training Center in Santa Ana under the direction of the Griffith Company of Los Angeles. The Center ran a 35-week training course for future members of the Army Air Force. In the 1940s, he semi-retired and opened Carey's Frozen Food Locker at 116-118 North Malden Avenue. The frozen food lockers held 250 to 350 pounds (175 to 250 quarts) of fruit and vegetables.

Carey resided in Fullerton for over 55 years, joining a number of organizations. When he first arrived, he quickly joined the Fullerton Chamber of Commerce, serving on a number of committees. He was a member of the Fullerton Masonic Lodge 339 for over fifty years. In the I 920s, he was assistant scoutmaster for the Fullerton Boy Scouts. A lifelong Democratic and staunch promoter of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Carey helped to form the Fullerton Democratic Club, serving as treasurer, and supported the Fullerton Young Democrats Club.

In the 1960s, Carey and his wife Laura, in failing health, moved into the Singing Springs Rest Home in Garden Grove. Carey passed away at the age of 84 in 1967; Laura in 1971. Both are buried at Loma Vista Memorial Park in Fullerton.

Potter After the Break-up
After his break-up with Carey in 1932, William B. Potter applied for and accepted a position as Plant/Building Superintendent for the Fullerton Union High School and Junior College District, helping to oversee the new construction of buildings on both the high school and college campuses.

After World War II, Potter supervised the installation of Federal Public Housing Authority (FPHA) dwelling units on the north side of the campus. The military-type units were moved and then re-erected on the campus grounds as housing for veterans attending Fullerton College. Potter worked for the school district for twenty years before retiring.

In April 1928, Potter was elected to the Fullerton City Council; he would be elected for a second term, serving on the Fullerton City Council from 1928 to 1934.

Potter passed away at the age of 78 on January 26, 1964, and he is buried in Loma Vista Memorial Park.

East (front) elevation of the Russ House
Partial north elevation of the Russ House
6 I
Staircase to second floor
Coffered ceiling in dining room
Batchelder fireplace in living room
Batchelder fireplace in family room
ZON-2025-0124 – ZON-2025-0114 – ZON-2025-0134 – ZON-2025-0101

FOUR HISTORICAL LANDMARKS
Attachment No. 5
Supporting Documentation for 545 West Fern Drive

P1. Other Identifier: ___
DPR 523A (9/2013) *Required information
State of California  The Resources Agency Primary #
DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI #
PRIMARY RECORD Trinomial
NRHP Status Code
Other Listings
Review Code Reviewer Date
*P2. Location: Not for Publication Unrestricted
*a. County Orange and (P2c, P2e, and P2b or P2d. Attach a Location Map as necessary.)
*b. USGS 7.5' Quad Date T ; R ; of of Sec ; B.M.
c. Address 545 W. Fern Drive City Fullerton Zip 92832
d. UTM: (Give more than one for large and/or linear resources) Zone , mE/ mN e. Other Locational Data: (e.g., parcel #, directions to resource, elevation, decimal degrees, etc., as appropriate) *P3a. Description: (Describe resource and its major elements. Include design, materials, condition, alterations, size, setting, and boundaries)
Located at the northeast corner of Grandview Avenue and Fern Drive, the 1½-story house at 545 West Fern Drive (originally 541- 547) was commissioned at a cost of $11,000 by developer Walter J. Cadman, who along with his business partner, Robert E.

Corcoran, Sr., owned and laid out the five tracts that encompass the Golden Hill area surrounding the home. The two men allowed no homes costing less than $3,500 – the average cost of a modest and well-built dwelling at the time – to be constructed within Golden Hill. As a result, the home is situated in what would have been an exclusive and expensive Fullerton neighborhood.

Adjacent to the dwelling are three properties – the Mills House (511 West Fern Drive), the Cleaver House (519 West Fern Drive), and the Arthur Kelley House (539 West Fern Drive) – that have been designated Fullerton Local Landmarks. (continued on page 4)
*P3b. Resource Attributes: (List
attributes and codes)
*P4. Resources Present:  Building
Structure Object Site District
Element of District Other (Isolates, etc.)
P5b. Description of Photo: (view,
date, accession #) Front (south) elevation
of house, March 2024
*P6. Date Constructed/Age and
Source:  Historic Prehistoric
Both
*P7. Owner and Address:

Karin Wesdell
545 W. Fern Drive
Fullerton, CA 92832
*P8. Recorded by: (Name, affiliation, and
address)
Fullerton Heritage
P.O. Box 3356
Fullerton, CA 92834-3356
*P9. Date Recorded: October 2025
*P10. Survey Type: (Describe)
*P11. Report Citation: (Cite survey report and other sources, or enter "none.") _
____
*Attachments: NONE Location 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. Photograph or Drawing (Photograph required for buildings, structures, and objects.)
1 43
*Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder) Walter J. Cadman House *NRHP Status Code

DPR 523B (9/2013) *Required information
State of California  The Resources Agency Primary #
DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI#

BUILDING, STRUCTURE, AND OBJECT RECORD
(This space reserved for official comments.)
(Sketch Map with north arrow required.)
B1. Historic Name: Walter J. Cadman House
B2. Common Name:

B3. Original Use: Single-family residence B4. Present Use: Single-family residence *B5. Architectural Style: Spanish Colonial Revival
*B6. Construction History: (Construction date, alterations, and date of alterations) Constructed in 1923 by building contractor William D. Geck; a 300- sq.- ft. guest house was added behind the house in 1947; alterations to the house were done in 1950; more alterations to the house were completed in 1975. *B7. Moved? X No Yes Unknown Date: Original Location:
*B8. Related Features: 2-car garage built in 1923; originally detached from residence.

B9a. Architect: Anna C. Geck b. Builder: William D. Geck *B10. Significance: Theme City development in the 1920s Area Upper Golden Hill neighborhood Period of Significance: 1920s Property Type: Single-family residence Applicable Criteria (Discuss importance in terms of historical or architectural context as defined by theme, period, and geographic scope. Also address integrity.)
The Walter J. Cadman House qualifies as a Fullerton Local Landmark for its significant architecture. Not only is it one of the finest examples of Spanish Colonial Revival architecture in the city, it also has the distinction of being the first residence in Fullerton – and most likely Orange County – designed by a woman. At a time when there were few female architects in California, Anna C. Geck forged a remarkable and prolific career as an artistic designer of elegant homes throughout Southern California.

One of the first dwellings constructed in the Golden Hill area, the residence served as the first home of Walter J. Cadman, a significant Fullerton developer. In the 1920s, Cadman, along with Robert E. Corcoran, Sr., laid out and subdivided the five tracts that now make up the Golden Hill area. Two of his children – Walter Jack Cadman and Vivian Cadman – who also resided in the home, would later become important Fullerton and Orange County figures. The second owner of the dwelling, Donald C.

Jones, was also an important and influential Fullerton real estate broker. (continued on page 7)
B11. Additional Resource Attributes: (List attributes and codes) *B12. References:

B13. Remarks:
*B14. Evaluator:
*Date of Evaluation:

Parcel outlined
in red
Subject building
shaded light
blue
N
Fern Drive
2 Page of *Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder) __________________ *Map Name: Assessor’s Parcel Map *Scale: *Date of map: _____________ DPR 523J (9/2013) * Required information
State of California - The Resources Agency Primary #
DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI#
LOCATION MAP Trinomial
545 W. Fern Drive
N
Footprint of residence and garage
Source: 1927 Sanborn Maps
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Continuation of P3a
Constructed in 1922/23, the striking 2,192-square-foot Spanish Colonial Revival dwelling was built by Huntington Park contractor William D. Geck and designed by his wife, Anna C. Geck. The three-bedroom, one-and-a-halfbathroom house is the first residence in Fullerton – and most likely Orange County – designed by a woman. To ensure historic accuracy, Mrs. Geck carefully researched each building she designed, and the Cadman house exhibits classic Spanish Colonial Revival architectural features coupled with remarkable detailing. Typical Spanish Colonial Revival elements include an asymmetrical façade, white stucco walls, rounded arches, decorative wrought iron, redtiles roofs, multi-pane windows, and an arcade. The impressive dwelling is somewhat obscured by Italian cypress and fan palms, added later, which is unfortunate as the residence was clearly intended to stand out as an architectural jewel on the corner lot. As the developer of the subdivision, Cadman wanted his first-class residence to show off what was possible in the new tract.

Access to the main entrance of the house, which faces south, is via a concrete walkway on West Fern Drive. The imposing front entrance consists of five concrete steps, a short walkway, then four terracotta tiled stairs that lead to an arched opening with a wooden front door (may not be original) with three glass insert panels. The house address (545) in scrolled wrought iron runs along the top of the archway; most likely, this iron work is not original. Two black Victorian lights, a later addition, are positioned on both sides of the archway. Two short walls are situated on the sides of each set of stairs, with two seated lion statues positioned on either side of the front door.

Access to the rear portion of the property from Grandview Avenue is via two concrete steps and a short walkway that leads to another entrance, a contributing rectangular-shaped guest house, a detached garage, and a rear patio.

Entrance on the west side of the main residence is through a wooden door with four glass fan lights at the top.

Adjacent to the entrance is a wrought iron mailbox, wall light, and bell button. A driveway on the west side leads to a two-car garage with two separate wooden doors. An alley runs along the rear of the property.

Fenestration on the front (south) façade consists of two double-hung windows topped by floral-shaped plaster medallions situated to the east of the entry and a large picture window overlooking the courtyard. These windows are shaded by red fabric awnings. Fenestration on the lower level of the west side consists of seven casement windows and four multi-pane casement windows with two, 12-pane windows on the lower level, and four casement windows on the upper level, one with eight lights. The windows on the front façade are shaded by fabric awnings.

Nearly all the windows are original, but there are a few vinyl windows added later.

The focal point of the front façade is an enclosed courtyard bordered on two sides by a short wall topped with wrought iron railing. Positioned in the center of the courtyard is a round fountain featuring the statue of a small girl.

Access to the courtyard was originally through three ogee arches along the narrow entry hall, but that arcade inside the front door is now enclosed.

The second story portion of the structure is setback from street-side facades. Both the upper story and most of the ground story have a flat roof with a tiled parapet capping white stuccoed walls. Small, shed roofs with clay tile and exposed wood rafters are found on the west and south facing sides of the ground story.

Fronting Grandview Avenue is a contributing two-car detached garage, constructed in 1922/23, which is attached to a contributing guest house – listed as a “garden house” in the building permits – that was added in 1947, along with a laundry room. The main access to the 300-sq.-ft. guest house is through a single door off Grandview Avenue, but there is also a set of double doors and a single door along the east side of this small building. These doors provide access to a covered patio area with concrete flooring. When the guest house was constructed in 1947, the outdoor area and tall brick fireplace were added, but only the fireplace remains. 4 DPR 523L (9/2013)
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Interior
Visitors and occupants of the residence enter a single door from Fern Drive, placed about two feet behind an arched opening. The door opens to a narrow entry hall – an interior space that was created by repositioning the front door forward in a substantial remodel of the house in 1950. This short, interior hallway is lit by three wrought iron ceiling lights, with French doors on the west wall now leading to the outdoor courtyard. Two large stationery windows on the west side provide additional light. Four single-light windows on the east side of the hallway, each with an original retractable screen, provide light to the hallway and northeast bedroom.

The interior hallway ends at the original threshold and leads to a rectangular-shaped living room which features a well-preserved Batchelder tiled fireplace on the west wall. A squared entryway leads directly from the living room into a formal dining room, the center of the home. From the dining room, various doorways lead to the kitchen, breakfast nook, the hallway leading to bedrooms, office, and a now-enclosed outdoor patio that once ran along the west side of the house. A door at the south end of the patio opens to the living room. The ceilings of the living and dining rooms are covered with low 1970s acoustic tiles which are most likely concealing coved, vaulted, or tray ceilings.

A wooden swing-door from the formal dining room accesses a 1970s remodeled kitchen which now has brown and dark mustard cabinets, appliances, counter tile, and linoleum flooring. Three six-light double hung windows over the sink bring light into the kitchen. To the left of the kitchen is an intact breakfast nook which features a domed ceiling with a recessed light and six casement windows that encircle the small room. An unusual pocket door from the breakfast nook leads into the now-enclosed patio. To the right of the kitchen is the service porch which includes a small original powder room, a rear exit to the patio, and a narrow hallway that provides access to three bedrooms.

The service porch, which most likely contained a sink, has built in-cabinets and what appears to be a food pantry closet. The wall mounted ironing board has been removed.

The three bedrooms accessed by the narrow hallway off the formal dining room, run along the east side of the dwelling. Each bedroom contains double-hung windows and a small closet with built-in drawers. The long narrow closet in the northeast corner bedroom has been altered by the addition of sliding mirrored doors. Positioned between the bedrooms is a full bathroom – the only one in the main house – which remains largely intact, including the original curved art deco bathtub, circular shower, heart-shaped pedestal sink, and built-in vanity cabinet. The hallway contains a linen closet.

Off the formal dining room, sixteen shag-carpet lined stairs lead to an upstairs office originally used by owner Walter J. Cadman, which has an exceptional view of the neighborhood. Wood paneling was added to the walls at a later date, along with a black, white, and grey patterned carpet.

Originally a modest studio, the detached guest house contains the original bathroom, closet, and kitchenette hidden by double doors. A small bedroom positioned at the rear (north side) of the guest house was created by using space taken from the two-car garage.

Aside from the vinyl linoleum in the kitchen and ceramic tile in the bathrooms, the floors are made of oak wood.

Many of the original wrought iron light fixtures remain, but over the decades, some were replaced with later period ceiling lights and wall sconces. Most of the glass doorknobs and other decorative hardware are intact. The home was constructed without air-conditioning, and to take advantage of cooling breezes, the dwelling included multiple windows, as well as a covered patio, and the result is a light and airy interior. Fine detailing runs throughout the interior, which can be seen in numerous medallions, intricately designed wrought iron sconces, detailed moldings, different sized and shaped windows, and other features. 5 DPR 523L (9/2013)
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Historic Integrity/Alterations
The current owner inherited the property from her late mother, and the dwelling has suffered from deferred maintenance. The owner has concentrated on upgrading the dwelling’s basic framework – including the recent replacement of knob-and-tube wiring – and is currently focusing on roof and window restoration and repair. The residence is in fair to good condition, and while it does need extensive restoration, it retains a high degree of historic integrity, especially in terms of design, materials, and workmanship. The house looks very much like it did in the 1920s, still conveying Anna Geck’s Spanish Colonial Revival architectural intent. The original layout is intact, and aside from major changes made to the kitchen and upstairs office, the remaining rooms retain their historic character. The dwelling is noted for its abundance of detailing, and the original ceramic tiles, decorative hardware, built-in cabinets, solid wooden doors, bathroom fixtures, stair railings, plaster medallions, wrought iron fixtures, and other original features remain.

There was a substantial remodel of the house in 1950, when two major changes were made to the exterior of the home – the enclosure of the covered patio on the west side, which most likely included the replacement of original door that opened to the living room, and the creation of the interior entry hall by placing a new front door at its present location. These alterations are reversible.

Over the decades, architecturally incompatible features were added to the home that clash with the original architectural intent, including Beaux Arts lions at the front entrance, the two Victorian exterior lights, and the repositioned, new front door with a Minimal Traditional style. These features are also easily removable. 6 DPR 523L (9/2013)
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Continuation of B10
Historic Background of the Property
In 1920, drug store owner Walter Joseph Cadman formed a Fullerton real estate firm – Corcoran & Cadman – with his father-in-law, Robert Emmett Corcoran, Sr. (1867-1938), later president of the Corcoran Paper Company on South Harbor Boulevard in downtown Fullerton.1 The following year, the two men drew up plans to develop the expansive Golden Hill area, which they presented to the Fullerton Board of Trustees (now the Fullerton City Council) in May 1921..2 From 1922 to 1930, Cadman and Corcoran developed the Golden Hill area with five recorded subdivisions – Tracts 167, 267, 588, 611, and 628 – in three phases, hiring local building contractor Evan J.

Herbert to build a number of “spec” or speculative homes in the area (e.g., 604, 628, 629, 633 North Golden Avenue). Corcoran oversaw the laying out of streets and lots while Cadman served as real estate agent and manager/secretary of the building firm organized to provide mortgage loans, the Fullerton Building and Loan Association. Cadman named Fern Drive after his wife, Fern Estelle Corcoran Cadman; Corcoran named Lois Lane after his daughter-in-law, Lois Vail Corcoran, the wife of Robert Emmett Corcoran,Jr.

Because they already owned the land and wanted to be nearby to oversee the development of the subdivisions, Corcoran and Cadman decided to construct their personal residences in Golden Hill. Cadman commissioned notable Huntington Park contractor William D. Geck and his wife, Anna C. Geck, to design and build a striking Spanish Colonial Revival home for him at 545 West Fern Drive in 1922. Corcoran hired notable Fullerton contractor Evan J.

Herbert to construct a two-story Mediterranean Revival home at 600 West Union Avenue, complete with tennis court and croquet grounds, in 1926.

The construction of Cadman’s new home was announced in the November 9, 1922 issue of the Santa Ana Daily Evening Register, which noted that “one of the handsomest and most costly residences” was being built in Fullerton at a cost of $11,000, an exorbitant price for a house at the time [Figure 1]. After the home was completed, it was featured in the June 3, 1926 issue of the Santa Ana Daily Evening Register (“Numerous Attractive Buildings Attest Fullerton’s Prosperity”), along with the Chapman Building, the Union Pacific Depot, and the Alician Court Theatre (now the Fox Fullerton Theatre) [Figure 2]. In 1927, the home was featured in a boosterism booklet produced by the Fullerton Chamber of Commerce to attract businesses and newcomers to the still largely agricultural town [Figure 3]. The residence was also photographed in 1923, and again in 1978, as part of the Fullerton Historic Building Survey [Figures 4-5].

In 1927, Cadman sold his interest in his real estate firm – Cadman & Goodson – to orange grower and real estate salesman Donald C. Jones. The company, which had offices at 107 North Harbor Boulevard, was renamed Jones & Goodson.3
As part of the negotiations, Jones agreed to purchase Cadman’s home on West Fern Drive. Jones would remain in the dwelling until his death in 1952, with Cadman constructing a larger home for his growing family around the corner at 865 North Richman Avenue, now a Fullerton Local Landmark. A former Bastanchury Ranch unit foreman, Jones became a prominent real estate broker and appraiser. He was appointed to the Fullerton Planning Commission in July 1947. When Jones passed away in 1952, the home was purchased by Margaret and Reverend Edward M. Cadigan, the pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Fullerton.

Golden Hill Residential Area Development
The subdivision and development of the Golden Hill residential area was a significant undertaking for Fullerton, and 7 DPR 523L (9/2013)
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its overwhelming success led to further developments throughout the city, particularly the hilly areas outside the central core, such as Hillcrest Drive and Skyline Park. Robert E. Corcoran, Sr. purchased 20 acres northwest of the center of town in 1916, then convinced his son-in-law, Walter Joseph Cadman, to help him purchase an additional 40 acres for $24,000 in 1920 [Figure 6]. At the time, housing tracts in the city were on flat land near the center of town, and a hillside development was a new and risky venture for both Cadman and Corcoran. Cadman, who was 27, had worked in the pharmacy trade, only recently entering the real estate industry; Corcoran had spent the previous 27 years working as a traveling salesman for the Pioneer Paper Company in Los Angeles. Neither man was from Fullerton. Corcoran moved to the city in 1916, and Cadman had been raised in Anaheim, making them untested outsiders. Fullerton residents believed no one would want to purchase a home “out in the sticks” and thought it would be too costly to build roads and bring water, gas, and electricity to a hillside development.

Corcoran later noted: “Although many here in Fullerton told me that I had made a big mistake in buying property on the hill, I know that hills had made other cities, and I hoped to make them do the same for Fullerton . . . After we bought it many laughed at us and wondered what we would do with the gopher and squirrel holes”.4 The Golden Hill residential area consisted of two neighborhoods: Upper Golden Hill and Lower Golden Hill [Figure 7]. Upper Golden Hill was laid out with large lots along the 500 and 600 blocks of West Fern Drive and West Valley View Drive as well as the 800 blocks of Grandview Avenue and Lois Lane. Corcoran and Cadman made this area extra special by installing decorative metal lampposts on these streets (as well along the west side of Richman Avenue, north of Malvern Avenue) and placing power lines underground. Lower Golden Hill, made up of lots along the 500 blocks of Drake, Golden, and Richman Avenues as well as lots on the north side of the 500 and 600 blocks of Malvern Avenue, was less grand, but still distinctive given its hillside setting. The lots in this area were not as large as the ones in Upper Golden Hill, lampposts were not provided on these streets, and there was no undergrounding of the electrical lines.

The two men sold out the first phase of the development in three months, but they did not sell any lots or speculative homes to the old-timers of Fullerton. They sold instead to people from Anaheim, Buena Park, Long Beach, Pasadena, and Los Angeles. By the second and third phase of the development, lots (priced from $1,200 to $2,500) and homes sold quickly to Fullerton investors, residents, and building contractors, with other builders – Ernest S.

Gregory, Arthur M. Thompson, Earl Snyder – joining Evan J. Herbert in constructing homes in the area [Figures 8- 9].5
By 1930, it was estimated that the homes in the five tracts totaled $1,000,000 in value.

The Golden Hill development was overwhelmingly successful, and the sale of lots and residences far exceeded those of other tracts laid out in the 1920s, including Hillcrest Drive and Skyline Park. Today, the Golden Hill area still looks very much like it did during its rapid expansion from 1924 to 1930. Trees, streetlamps, even vistas, remain essentially intact, reflecting the original intent of the two developers. Architecturally, the residential area still contains an outstanding selection of period styles, with each house separate and unique. The homes reflect the types of houses Fullerton residents favored in the 1920s.

Cadman and Corcoran made tentative plans in the late 1920s to extend the Golden Hill area, hoping to add new tracts, but the Great Depression stopped any further development. Corcoran announced his retirement in October 1930, and passed away in 1938.6
Cadman died prematurely in 1941. After World War II, the Jewett Bros. and the Valley Land Company subdivided land west of the original Golden Hill subdivisions in 1948, naming it the Golden Hill Extension [Figure 10].7 These new subdivisions (Tracts 1195 and 1295) were developed on land that housed Fullerton’s only polo field, established in the 1930s by the Hillcrest Polo Club.8 First Owner of Property: Developer Walter Joseph Cadman (1893-1941) Born February 2, 1893, in Los Angeles, Walter Joseph Cadman – known as “Cad” – was one of two sons born to Elise Melscheimer (1863-1944) and Archibald Bert Cadman (1858-1909), an insurance solicitor. At the age of one 8 DPR 523L (9/2013)
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he moved with his parents to Anaheim. He attended local schools, graduating from Anaheim Union High School in 1910. From 1909 to 1910, Cadman represented the Anaheim high school in forensic debates sponsored by the Southern California Debate League, often winning and scoring high marks.9

In May 1912, Cadman became a registered pharmacy assistant with the California State Board of Pharmacy.10 Two years later, he successfully passed the State Board examination to become a pharmacist and graduated from the University of Southern California (USC) School of Pharmacy [Figure 11].11 (At the time, attendance at a pharmacy school was not needed to take state board examinations, but apprenticing under a licensed pharmacist was required, usually for at least a year.)12 For nine years, Cadman worked for Oris A Mullinix, owner of Mullinix’s Drug Store in Anaheim (106 East Center Street, now Lincoln Avenue), working as an apprentice, then pharmacist, and finally manager of the drug store. In early 1918, Cadman purchased the drug store from Mullinix, renaming it Cadman’s Drug Store.13
In 1920, he sold his interest in the Anaheim drug store business and formed a successful real estate firm with his father-in-law, Robert E. Corcoran, Sr., and the two men made the decision to subdivide the Golden Hill area of Fullerton. The subdivisions were a success, bringing considerable profit to both men. Corcoran used his share of the development money to start the Corcoran Paper Company in Fullerton with his sons in 1923. Cadman returned to what he knew well, purchasing an interest in Gibson’s Drug Store at 115 North Harbor Boulevard (then Spadra Road) from Calvin A. Gibson in 1922, later renaming it Cadman’s Drug Store.14 He would eventually own and operate drug stores in Brea, Anaheim, and Fullerton. By 1926, Cadman found it difficult to manage the drug stores along with his other real estate and land development projects, and he announced that he was selling all his drug store interests to concentrate on a real estate business that he had established with Robert O. Goodson – Cadman & Goodson.15 In the 1920s, Cadman served as vice president of the Fullerton Realty Board,16 and in the 1930s, he was elected president of the Orange County Building and Loan League.17 In 1930, he was appointed to the Orange County Grand Jury.18
After his 1916 marriage, Cadman lived in a modest two-bedroom, one-bathroom home at 628 North Lemon Street in Anaheim. In 1922, he commissioned Huntington Park building contractor William D. Geck to construct a much larger home at 545 West Fern Drive.19 The Cadman Family continued to grow, and when the West Fern Drive home proved inadequate for the family’s needs, Cadman hired Evan J. Herbert to design and construct an even larger home for his family at 865 North Richman Avenue.20 The Cadman family remained at the North Richman residence until 1940, when they moved to a five-acre ranch at 1302 Orangethorpe Avenue, then an unincorporated area of Orange County. Cadman suffered a massive heart attack on April 19, 1941, passing away at the age of 48.21 He is buried in Loma Vista Memorial Park. Cadman’s widow was forced to sell the ranch and move back to Fullerton (217 West Brookdale Place) where she was employed as a clerk in the Wilkinson Drug Store.

On October 14, 1916, Walter J. Cadman married Fern Estelle Corcoran (1896-1968), who was an active member of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU). The couple had four children: Walter Jack Cadman (1918- 2003); Vivian Claire Cadman Eddy (1921-2013); Fern Maryls St. Clair (1925-2005); and Robert Roger Cadman (1930-1984). With the exception of Jack Cadman, who was born in Anaheim, the Cadman children were all born in Fullerton, attending Ford School, a short walk from their home, and graduating from Fullerton Union High School.

Two of the Cadman children – Jack Cadman and Vivian Cadman Eddy – would go on to become important Fullerton and Orange County figures.

Walter Jack Cadman (1918-2003)
Although born in Anaheim, Jack Cadman spent most of his life in Fullerton. He moved into the West Fern Drive residence when he was five years old. He graduated from Fullerton Union High School in 1936, and 9 DPR 523L (9/2013)
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Fullerton College in 1939. His education was interrupted by the sudden death of his father, which forced him to work to help his family. He then served as a radar technician with the U.S. Navy during World War II, after which he attended and graduated from the University of California, Berkley in 1947, studying technical criminology, now known as forensic science. (Cadman was in the second graduating class of the new forensic science program). While at UC Berkeley, Cadman met his future wife, Evelyn F. McDonald (1923-2004). The couple would remain married for 56 years, producing eight children, all raised in Fullerton.22
A 1947/48 Orange County murder case made Cadman an early pioneer of forensic science. Angry because her parents opposed her marriage, 17-year-old Beulah Louis Overell and her fiancé, 21-year-old George Gollum, dynamited her parents’ yacht on Newport Bay on March 15, 1947, instantly killing the wealthy couple. Overell and Gollum were charged with murder, and during the 19-week trial – at the time, the longest criminal trial in United States history – prosecutors based much of their case on forensic evidence gathered by investigators that was sent elsewhere for analysis. The embarrassingly shoddy forensic work led to the acquittal of the couple on October 5, 1947.23 Humiliated by the trial outcome, Orange County Sheriff James Musick (1910-1992) hired Jack Cadman, who was then employed by the Oakland Police Department, to start the first Orange County Crime Laboratory in a converted women’s restroom in the county jail on Sycamore Street in Santa Ana in 1948.

As Orange County’s first and only forensic scientist, Cadman worked alone until 1960, when a staff of four scientists was added, and by 1989, the Orange County Crime Laboratory had a staff of 100 working in a 120,000-square-foot facility. Sporting his trademark bow tie and smoking a pipe, Cadman established methods for testing samples from suspected drunk drivers, for analyzing drugs and narcotics, and for typing blood and matching it and other bodily fluids to crime victims and suspects, long before DNA analysis existed [Figures 12-13].
24 In 1958, after eight months of diligent effort and work with Theron Johns of Beckman Instruments, Inc. of Fullerton, Cadman developed a technique for measuring ethyl alcohol in the blood using Beckman’s gas chromatograph. The method was revealed to the world that year at the 9th annual conference on analytical chemistry, leading to the development of the Breathalyzer.25 Unflappable on the witness stand, Cadman testified at numerous Orange County criminal trials, becoming a well-known figure throughout the county and state. By the time Cadman, one of the first to hire women in a crime laboratory, retired in 1977, the Orange County Crime Laboratory was recognized as a leader in the forensic science community.

After his retirement from Orange County, Cadman served as the director of a graduate program in criminology at California State University, Los Angeles, teaching until 1989. In 1954, with eleven colleagues, he founded the California Association of Criminalists and was appointed a Fellow to the American Academy of Forensic Scientists.26 In his honor, the California Association of Criminologists created the W. Jack Cadman Award. In the early 1970s, he was elected president of the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors. During his tenure, he established the Standards for Laboratory Accreditation, dramatically improving the quality of crime laboratories in the United States and throughout the world.
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In 2003, he died of natural causes at the age of 85. In his honor, his family established the Jack W.

Cadman scholarship at Fullerton Union High School, awarded annually to a senior who has chosen a career in science.

Vivian Cadman Eddy (1921-2013)
Born in Fullerton on June 8, 1921, Vivian Cadman attended Ford Elementary School, graduated from Fullerton Union High School in 1939, and Fullerton College in 1941. She then attended the University of California, Berkeley, majoring in English. When she was nine years-old, Cadman’s grandfather took her to an airshow at Mines Field, now the Los Angeles International Airport, where she saw aviation pioneers Amelia Earhart and Jackie Cochran fly; the experience ignited a passion for flying that would last her entire life. When the Civil Aeronautics Authority – anticipating the start of World War II – started a Civilian Pilot Training (CPT) program at Fullerton College in the Fall of 1941,27 Cadman immediately enrolled; she was the only woman in a class of 48 trainees (there were only 50 slots). For five months, she underwent an intensive period of ground training and flight instruction at the Fullerton Municipal Airport. She received her pilot’s license at the age of 19, when she did not yet have a license to drive an automobile. After her CPT training, Cadman wanted to go further as a commercial pilot, but the head of the program, Russell K.

Alrich, told her she wasn’t “beefy” enough to continue.28 When World War II started, Cadman accepted a secretarial position (she did not know how to type) at the West Coast Air Corps Training Center in Santa Ana to be around planes. In 1943, she received the opportunity of a lifetime when she was one of only 1,100, out of an applicant pool of over 25,000, selected to join the elite Women Airforce Service Pilots (the WASP). At the time, thousands of newly manufactured airplanes needed to be moved from factories to air bases and for shipment overseas. With male pilots needed for combat duty, there was a severe shortage of pilots at home, necessitating the hiring of female flyers. The only woman selected from Orange County, Cadman and her fellow fly girls were the first women to pilot United States military aircraft, ferrying planes all over the nation. Flying seven days a week, they logged over 60 million miles in every type of airplane developed during World War II, eventually delivering 12,650 aircraft. The WASP also test piloted experimental aircraft, trained male pilots, and towed targets for live anti-aircraft gun practice. A qualified pursuit pilot, Cadman flew 17 different aircraft, including the P-51 Mustang, her favorite [Figures 14-15].29 Her sense of direction was so superb that male pilots often followed her home.

Cadman returned to civilian life after the WASP unit was unceremoniously disbanded on December 2, 1944, as male pilots began returning home in growing numbers. Even though Cadman was licensed to fly commercial airliners, there were no jobs for professional women pilots at the time, and she took the only position that would keep her in the air: she became a stewardess for American Airlines.

In 1946, Cadman married Lt. Howard B. Eddy (1921-2016), a naval aviator and former high school, college, and CPT classmate, and the couple, who remained married for 67 years, had three daughters. Over the next twenty years, Howard Eddy’s tours of duty took them around the United States, with the couple retiring in Coronado, California, in 1979.
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Although attached to the U. S. Army Air Force, WASP members were federal civil employees responsible for their own transportation costs to training sites, dress uniforms, and room and board. During the war, 38 of the women were killed, and starting in 1943, there were multiple efforts to militarize the unit. In 1977, after decades of intense lobbying in Washington, D.C., the WASP were recognized as veterans and granted benefits. Long overdue credit was finally given on March 10, 2010, when the surviving members, most in their eighties and nineties, were presented with the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest honor Congress can bestow to civilians. Cadman, then in a wheelchair, proudly accepted her medal, posing for photographs on Capitol Hill.30
She passed away at her home in Coronado on April 29, 2013, at the age of 91. Her remains were interred with military honors at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery on May 25, 2013.

Vivian and her brother, Jack Cadman, are both listed on the Fullerton Union High School Wall of Fame, the only siblings to be so honored.31
Second Owner of Property: Donald Coffin Jones (1896-1952) Born October 30, 1896, in Sheridan, Montana, Donald C. Jones [Figure 16] was the only child of Clorinda “Kennie” Coffin (1865-1927) and notions merchant Lorin T. Jones (1869-1928).32 He played on the football squad at Billings High School, where he graduated in 1916. When World War I started, Jones applied for and was accepted into an officers’ training camp in Madison, Wisconsin.33 In 1918, he was appointed lieutenant and commanding officer of the 15th calvary chapter of the United States Army.34 Jones’ military service in France had a profound effect upon him – he returned to France with his father in 1928 – and he remained an active lifetime member of the Fullerton American Legion, Malvern Post No. 142. He was elected commander of the Fullerton Post, as well as commander of the Orange County Council, which included Legionnaire posts around the county.35 After the close of World War I, Jones attended the University of Wisconsin, transferring to the University of California, Berkeley, where he received his B.A. degree, majoring in agriculture, with an emphasis on irrigation and soil management. He also took postgraduate courses in citrus cultivation.36 While attending the University of Wisconsin, Jones met and then married Lillian Marguerite Edwards (1897-1970). The couple had two sons: Robert Edward Jones (1921-1971) and William Converse Jones (1926-2004), who became a notable Pasadena real estate broker.37 Both sons graduated from Fullerton Union High School. Marguerite Jones, a graduate of the University of Wisconsin and the Lumbleau School of Real Estate in Los Angeles, served as a silent partner in her husband’s business for 25 years.

From 1921 to 1924, Jones was employed as a unit foreman on the Bastanchury Ranch. He formed a partnership with John A. Prizer (1887-1966) of the Placentia Orange Growers Association, and the two men planted a 35-acre orange grove, the Valencia Dale Ranch, located five miles east of Fullerton on Lincoln Avenue, one block east of Dale Avenue. Over the next decades, Jones continued to purchase and operate various citrus groves in Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Los Angeles Counties. He also was a partner in the Valley View Ranch Company of Brea, growers of a 300-acre lemon grove. He became a local expert on citrus cultivation and often was called upon for consultations and to give talks and lectures to students and the general public. On July 26, 1932, Jones co-patented an apparatus for supplying soluble agents to liquids, such as fertilizers, to a flowing stream of water for irrigation purposes (Patent No. 1,868,914).
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In 1927, Jones became a licensed real estate broker in Fullerton. He purchased Walter J. Cadman’s interest in the Cadman & Goodson real estate firm, renaming it Jones & Goodson. In 1930, Jones and Robert O. Goodson welcomed Lloyd M. Hulbert to the firm, which was renamed Jones, Hulbert & Goodson. In 1938, Jones broke off and formed his own company, the Donald C. Jones Company. During World War II, he was employed by the Land Department of the U. S. Army Corp of Engineers, Los Angeles District.38 After the war, Jones opened a highly successful office on West Commonwealth Avenue, specializing in the sale and appraisal of citrus, avocado, and agricultural lands; industrial and income properties; and subdivisions and special purposes properties.39 He also became an expert witness on market values and damages to real property in the U.S.

District Courts and the California Supreme Court. In early 1952, Jones commissioned Fullerton contractor Evan J.

Herbert, who had done previous work on his West Fern Drive residence, to construct a new modern office at 435 West Commonwealth Avenue, which opened in June 1952.39 Unfortunately, Jones would pass away from a heart attack on November 16, 1952, at the age of 57, while attending a real estate appraisers convention in Havana, Cuba.

He is buried in Melrose Abbey Memorial Park in Anaheim.40 Jones’ wife, Marguerite, and their son, William C.

Jones, continued to operate the business after his death.41 Jones was very involved in both the community and his profession during his thirty years in Fullerton. He was president of the Fullerton Realty Board,42 the Fullerton Toastmasters Club,43 and the Southern California Chapter of the American Institute of Real Estate Appraisers. He was elected director of the Fullerton Chamber of Commerce; served as Exalted Leader of the Anaheim Elks Lodge No. 1345; and appointed to the Board of Appraisers of the Metropolitan Water District. In July 1947, he was appointed to the Fullerton Planning Commission. He was also very active in the American Right of Way Association and the Institute of Farm Brokers of America.

Designer/Builder Anna Christina Geck (1874-1962) and William David Geck (1864-1941) Born on April 19, 1874, in Manti, Utah Territory, Anna Geck was one of seven children born to Danish emigrants Andrew Nelson, Sr. (1834-1909), a farmer, and Karen Camilla Mollar (1845-1922), his third wife. Andrew (Anders) Nelson, Sr. was part of a massive Danish-Mormon migration to Utah in the 19th Century.44 He served as a city councilman for Manti, Utah, and as a sheriff and constable for Sanpete County. As a Mormon, he practiced plural marriage with four wives, producing 24 children. He later broke with the Mormon Church and joined the local Presbyterian congregation.45
Anna Nelson was educated in a private school formed by her father and others. At the age of 17, she purchased part ownership in the Sanpete Free Press, where she also served as typesetter and editor of the county correspondence section of the newspaper. On September 25, 1895, she married carpenter William (Will) D. Geck, one of twelve children born to Bavarian emigrants Elizabeth Youche (1829-1896) and Heinrich (Henry) Geck (1822-1901), a farmer. Anna and William Geck had four children, all born in Utah, but their two sons died in in infancy. The family moved to Lincoln, Nevada, where William worked as a carpenter, then returned to Manti.

In 1903, Anna and William Geck made the decision to move to California. William moved first to Los Angeles, staying at the Columbia Hotel (612 South Broadway Avenue), until Anna and his two young daughters, Alicia and Hilma, joined him in November. The couple purchased four lots on Santa Fe Avenue and Middleton Street in Huntington Park, where they erected a small California bungalow on one of the lots. In 1906, the family moved to a five-room bungalow on Middleton Street, where they resided until May 1911, when they moved into a two-story, 13 DPR 523L (9/2013)
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ten-room home which William built, and Anna designed, at 6123 Middleton Street. Huntington Park, California – a then-unincorporated streetcar suburb of southcentral Los Angeles County named for industrialist Henry E.

Huntington – remained their permanent residence until their deaths.46 The Gecks quickly became influential members of the growing Huntington Park community [Figures 17-20].

Initially employed as a carpenter, William Geck became a respected and prolific local builder. He was a strong supporter of city incorporation; a charter member of the first Huntington Park Improvement Association in 1909; and the president of the Huntington Park Chamber of Commerce in 1915. Anna Geck, who stayed within parameters open to women at the time, took a great interest in civic affairs. She was a charter member and president of the Huntington Park Woman’s Improvement Club.47 She served as treasurer of the first city Parent-Teacher Association (PTA); school trustee from 1911 to 1925; and as a member of the Student Art League.48 In 1920, Mrs.

Geck became a licensed real estate broker.49 In 1935, she was appointed the city historian and was an associate editor of the City’s history book, History of Huntington Park.50 She wrote a Monday column called “You’ll Remember” in the Huntington Park Signal. A compilation of poems, Woven Garlands, was published in 1936, which included many of her original verses. She was also an active member of the Manuscripters’ Club, the Hollywood Branch of the National League of American Penwomen, and the Huntington Park Ebell Club.51 She received a plaque of recognition from the Huntington Park City Council in 1954.

Before moving to California, the Gecks had studied architecture together, taking an International Correspondence Schools (ICS) course in architecture, with the idea of entering the building trade. William Geck started out building a few simple structures in Huntington Park, then quickly became one of the busiest contractors in town, employing a group of workers who would construct hundreds of modest homes, school buildings, and stores around the growing town, as well as the first Huntington Park City Hall with architect George W. Eldrege (1871-1934) in 1914 for $15,780.52 Geck concentrated his house-building in what is now the historic areas of Huntington Park – Malabar, Rita, Jackson, Stafford, and Middleton Streets – often constructing speculative homes designed to quickly sell. In addition to his wife, William Geck worked with other Los Angeles architects, including Arthur W. Angel (1878- 1971),53 and Robert Farquhar Train (1869-1951) and Robert Edmund Williams (1874-1960) of Train & Williams.54 Anna Geck created the floors plans and basic designs for William Geck’s first buildings, but as she continued designing, and the buildings became larger and more complex, her architectural skills developed until she was one of the busiest architects in the Los Angeles area.54 Although she had no formal architectural training, she listed herself as a Design Architect, then Architect, in the Huntington Park City Directories. By 1915, the couple had become a formidable building team, and in the April 29, 1916 issue of the Southwest Contractor and Builder, William Geck acknowledged that Mrs. Geck was now preparing many of the plans for their projects.

Anna Geck concentrated primarily on designing residences, but there was an occasional commercial structure, including the Wheat-Halvorson Undertaking Parlours.55 Her first buildings were modest bungalows and duplexes often with Craftsmen elements: 1415 West 53rd Street, Los Angeles; 5207 Ruthelen Street, Los Angeles; 1943 West 43rd Street, Los Angeles; 4106 South Hobart Blvd., Los Angeles; 4417 Bernie Avenue, Los Angeles; 844 West 50th Place, Los Angeles, etc. As her commissions grew, she designed a number of stately homes in a wide variety of period revival styles: 1616 Bushnell Avenue, South Pasadena; 2945 Raymond Avenue, Los Angeles; 510 South Lucerne Blvd., Los Angeles; 2300 Wayne Avenue, Los Angeles, etc. Her Spanish Colonial Revival residence on the Philip Grove Estate (1781 Wilson Avenue), a former 25-acre Upland lemon grove, is listed on the Upland 14 DPR 523L (9/2013)
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Historic Registry.56 To date, the Cadman resident at 545 West Fern Drive is the only identified Geck project in Fullerton.

Although there is some indication that Anna Geck worked with a Los Angeles architectural firm separate from her husband, which would have given her some professional experience, she was primarily self-taught through the study of books and correspondence textbooks. Her residences, especially the larger estates throughout Southern California, are known for their consistent and precise historical detailing that extends throughout interiors and exteriors.

William Geck passed away in 1941, at the age of 41 and is buried in Inglewood Park Cemetery; Anna Geck died in 1962, at the age of 88.

Bibliographical References
1 “R. E. Corcoran Dies in Fullerton.” Santa Ana Register September 14, 1938, p. 2. 2 “Squirrels Show Oil Dome to Drake.” Santa Ana Register May 21, 1921, p. 20. 3 “Announcement.” Fullerton News Tribune August 27, 1927; “Jones Acquires Interest in Realty Firm.” Fullerton News Tribune August 27, 1927.
4 Corcoran, Sr., Robert E. “Finds Faith in Hills Was Justified.” Fullerton Daily News Tribune January 8, 1927, p. 6. 5 “More Building on Golden Hill; More Than Dozen Homes Are Now Under Construction There: Palms Are Planted.” Fullerton News Tribune April 20, 1929, p. 5.
6 “R. E. Corcoran Succumbs to Long Illness.” Fullerton News Tribune September 14, 1938, p. 1; “Robert Emmett Corcoran [Editorial].” Fullerton News Tribune September 14, 1938, p. 2. Born in Chicago, Corcoran moved to Los Angeles with his family in 1875; he moved to Fullerton in 1916. He was an active member in the Fullerton Chamber of Commerce and other local organizations. One of his favorite activities was dressing up as Santa Claus at Christmas time for various organizations.
7 “Two New Tracts Open in Golden Hills-Valley View Area.” Fullerton News Tribune October 6, 1948. 8 “New Polo Field Being Prepared.” Fullerton News Tribune February 10, 1933; “C. of C. to Aid in Plans for Airport Polo Field.” Fullerton News Tribune June 29, 1933.
9 “Anaheim.” Los Angeles Times May 9, 1909, p. 18; “Are Hurrying Construction.” Los Angeles Times January 27, 1911, p. 15; “Intellectual Lances Broken; Honors in Oratorical Tilts Won by Orange.” Los Angeles Times May 8, 1911, p. 111.
10“California State Board of Pharmacy.” The Pacific Pharmacist May 1912, p. 356. Internet. 11“California Board.” The Druggist Circular June 1914, p. 63. Internet. Cadman’s photograph appears in the 1914 USC Yearbook, El Rodeo.
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12At the turn of the 20th century, pharmacists, still sometimes called apothecaries, dispensed medications, prescribed medicines, and gave some treatments that were too difficult to self-administer. Dawson, Kate Winkler. American Sherlock: Murder, Forensics, and the Birth of American CSI. New York: Putnam, 2020: 29-30. 13“Mullinix Disposes Anaheim Drug Store.” Santa Ana Register March 21, 1918, p. 5. Oris A. Mullinix’s sister, Florence Mullinix, has the distinction of being Orange County’s first woman driver. Florence Mullinix: First Woman to Drive a Car in Orange County [Photograph]. Santa Ana Public Library. n. d. Calisphere. 14“Drugstore Bought by Realty Agent.” Santa Ana Daily Evening Register August 22, 1924, p. 14. 15“Marsh Purchases Cadman Pharmacy.” Santa Ana Daily Evening Register January 20, 1926, p. 6. Goodson and Cadman were close friends and neighbors. Goodson’s wife, Mary, managed Cadman’s Drug Store in Fullerton, and the couple lived down the street at 629 N. Richman Avenue, a duplex constructed by Evan J. Herbert. 16“E. P. Elliot is New President Realty Board.” Santa Ana Daily Evening Register September 12, 1925, p. 17. 17“Building Loan Group Warned on Single Tax.” Santa Ana Daily Evening Register June 22, 1936, p. 9. 18“Four Anaheimers on New Grand Jury.” Anaheim Gazette February 6, 1930, p.1; “Jury Service Panels Made; Two from Fullerton in Investigating Body Selections.” Fullerton News Tribune February 3, 1930. Cadman served with businessman C. Stanley Chapman, builder of the Alician Court Theatre, now the Fox Fullerton Theatre. 19“$11,000 Home Being Built at Fullerton.” Santa Ana Daily Evening Register November 9, 1922, p. 10; “Numerous Attractive Buildings Attest Fullerton’s Prosperity.” Santa Ana Register June 3, 1926, p. 9. Includes black and white photograph of the West Fern Drive home. 20The Cadmans placed an advertisement in local newspapers seeking a “capable girl or woman for general housework in family of four” on March 6, 1928. The West Fern Drive home had no servant quarters, but the new home on North Richman did. “Capable Girl [Advertisement].” Santa Ana Daily Evening Register March 6, 1928, p.

22. 21“Walter J. Cadman Called by Death.” Santa Ana Daily Evening Register April 21, 1941, p. 9; “Walter J. Cadman Rites Tomorrow.” Santa Ana Register April 11, 1941, p. 16; “Walter J. Cadman Taken Suddenly.” Fullerton News Tribune April 21, 1941; “Cadman Funeral to Be at 2 p.m. Tomorrow.” Fullerton News Tribune April 22, 1941. 22Giason, Barbara. “Jack Cadman, Owner of First Crime Lab in OC, Dies of Natural Causes.” Newport Beach Current September 11, 2003, p. 240.
23Dodson, Marcida. “Overell and Gollum – the Most Famous Trial in the Old Courthouse.” Los Angeles Times July 23, 1988, p. 18; Richey, Debora. “A Wealthy Heiress on Trial for Murder: Fullerton’s Connection to the Crime of the Century” Fullerton Heritage Newsletter vol. 29, no. 1, February 2022, p. 1, 3-6. Online. 24Hinch, Robin. “A Life Story: He Pieced Together Clues for Successful Life.” Orange County Register September 17, 2003.
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25“Jack Cadman Being Honored by MADD.” Fountain Valley View November 6, 2003, p. 56; “Beckman Device Used by County Law Agencies in Drunk Driving Cases.” La Habra Star January 20, 1960. 26Cadman, Jack. “Founders Lecture: The Formation of the California Association of Criminalists: Genesis of Professionalisation?” Paper presented at the Association’s 68th Semi-annual Seminar, Palm Springs, California, October 1986. Journal of the Forensic Science Society vol. 30, no. 3 (1990): 143-159. 27“Civilian Pilot Training Will Be Given in 500 Schools; Civil Aeronautics Administration Makes Announcement and Fixes Southland’s Quotas.” Los Angeles Times September 9, 1941, p. 7; “Hornet CPT Pilots Boast No Accidents.” Fullerton Junior College Weekly Torch September 26, 1941, p. 1, 4. Internet; “CPT Trainees to Receive Shirts at Their First Solo Flight.” Fullerton Junior College Weekly Torch October 24, 1941, p. 2. Internet. 28Veterans History Project: Interview with Vivian Cadman Eddy. May 19, 2003, Palm Springs Air Museum. Library of Congress. Internet.
29“Vivian Cadman Eddy [Obituary].” Coronado News July 26, 2013. Internet. 30“First Female Pilots Given Congressional Medals.” Victorville Daily Press March 11, 2010, p. 11. Includes a black and white photograph of Cadman.
31Richey, Debora. “Fullerton Fly Girl Vivian Cadman Eddy.” Fullerton Heritage Newsletter vol. 27, no. 2, July 2021, p. 1,3. Online; Oestreich, Diane. The History of Fullerton Union High School, 1892-2011. St. Louis: Reedy Press, 2011: 191-192.
32“Former Dillon Woman Dies in Texas Recently.” Dillon Examiner August 24, 1927; “Lorin T. Jones Dies in San Antonio Texas.” Anaconda Standard January 17, 1928.
33“Montana Officers in Training Camp.” Anaconda Standard August 10, 1917; Donald Coffin Jones, United States Veteran Administration Master Index, 1917-1940. FamilySearch.org. Jones enlisted on December 15, 1917. 34“Daily Muster.” Wisconsin State Journal June 16, 1917; “Student Officers Get Commissions.” Wisconsin State Journal November 11, 1916.
35“Brea Legion Post Installs Officers.” Santa Ana Register August 10, 1932; “Donald Jones Heads County Legionnaires.” Fullerton News Tribune October 10, 1931. 36“Donald C. Jones Dies Suddenly in Cuba.” Fullerton News Tribune November 17, 1952. 37“Realtor Joins Office Staff.” Pasadena Star News March 21, 1976. 38Donald Coffin Jones. California, World War II Draft Registration. Ancestry.com. 39“Donald C. Jones Announcing the Opening of New Offices [Advertisement].” Fullerton News Tribune June 21, 1952; “New Offices Opening on West Commonwealth by Don Jones.” Fullerton News Tribune June 21, 1952.

Includes a black and white photograph of the office building located at Commonwealth and Richman Avenues. 17 DPR 523L (9/2013)
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40“Ailment Is Fatal to Ex-Resident.” Billings Gazette December 21, 1952; “City Planner’s Rite Arranged.” Los Angeles Times November 9, 1952.
41“Family Continues Insurance and Realty Office.” Fullerton News Tribune March 2, 1953. 42“Donald Jones President of the Fullerton Realty Board.” Fullerton News Tribune November 7, 1930. 43“Don Jones Elected Toastmasters Head.” Fullerton News Tribune December 13, 1927. 44Larsen, Birgit Flemming, ed. Danish Emigration to the U.S.A. Aalborg, Denmark: Danes Worldwide Archive, 1992.
45“Another Pioneer Gone.” Manti Messenger September 23, 1909; “Andrew Nelson Has Many Survivors; Mormon Who Renounces Polygamy and Dies in the Presbyterian Faith.” Salt Lake Tribune September 19, 1909, p. 23. 46Hubbard, Carson B. History of Huntington Park in Two Parts, Narrative and Biographical. Huntington Park: A.

H. Cawston, 1935: 203.
47Winslow, Helen M., ed., Official Register and Directory of Women’s Clubs in America, vol. 15. Boston: Helen M Winslow, 1913: 47. Internet.
48Kinsey, James M. Images of America: Huntington Park. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2007: 32. Includes a black and white photograph of Anna Geck, as well as a group shot. 49California Real Estate Directory. Sacramento: California State Real Estate Dept., 1920: 22. Internet. The license was issued April 1, 1920.
50Hubbarb, Carson B., Anna Geck, and Paul Teal, eds. History of Huntington Park in Two Parts, Narrative and Biographical. Huntington Park: A. W. Cawston, 1935. On file, Local History Room, Fullerton Public Library. 51“Geck, Mrs. Anna C. Nelson,” Modern Writers, ed. by Mary Kay Tennison. Los Angeles: Wetzel Publishing Company, 1947: 179. On file, Local History Room, Fullerton Public Library. 52Kinsey, James M. Images of America: Huntington Park. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2007: 21. Includes a black and white photograph of the building, since razed. It was reconstructed after the 1933 Long Beach Earthquake.
53“New School Building: Bellflower.” Southwest Builder and Contractor, May 12, 1922, p. 30; “New School Building: Buena Park.” Building and Engineering News June 22, 1922, p. 17. 54“Huntington Park School District.” Southwest Builder and Contractor August 19, 1916, p. 32. 55Huntington Park, California, ’75 and Progressing with Pride. Huntington Park: n.p., 1981: 17. Brochure published for 75th anniversary of the city. Includes a black and white photograph of Anna Geck. On file, Local History Room, Fullerton Public Library.
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56”Undertaking Shop.” Southwest Contractor and Manufacture June 27, 1914, p. 24.

Joe Blackstock. “Historic Lemon Ranch in Upland Made Magnificent by One Imposing Woman.” Daily Bulletin March 11, 2019. Internet.

Additional References
FamilySearch.org
Fullerton Building Permits. Online, City of Fullerton website.

Fullerton City Directories. Online and in print at Local History Room, Fullerton Public Library.

Fullerton Through the Years: A Survey of Architectural, Cultural and Environmental Heritage. Fullerton: Fullerton Planning Department, 2001.

Golden Hill Tract Maps. Online. Copies on file, Local History Room, Fullerton Public Library.

Indenture, Lot 40, Tract 267, October 15, 1923. On file, Orange County Archives; copy on file, Local History Room, Fullerton Public Library.

Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps. Online. Copies on file, Local History Room, Fullerton Public Library.

Walter Joseph Cadman House Local Landmark Nomination. 865 North Richman Avenue. 2020. On file, Local History Room, Fullerton Public Library.

Ziebell, Bob. Fullerton: A Pictorial History. Virginia Beach, Va.: Donning Company, 1994. 19 DPR 523L (9/2013
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Figure 1: $11,000 Home
Source: Santa Ana Daily Evening Register November 11, 1922. 20 DPR 523L (9/2013)
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Figure 2: Numerous Attractive
Source: Santa Ana Daily Evening Register June 3, 1926.

Figure 3: 545 W. Fern Drive photo.

Source: Fullerton Chamber of Commerce, 1927
Figure 4: Photo taken at 545 W. Fern, 1923; owned by owner.

Source: Karen Wesdell
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Figure 5: 1978 Historic Survey Photograph of House
Source: Fullerton Public Library.

Figure 6: Robert E. Corcoran portrait.

Source: Mrs. J. E. Pleasants. History of Orange County, California.

Orange County: J. R. Finnell Publishing Company, 1931.
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Figure 6: Robert E. Corcoran portrait.

Source: Mrs. J. E. Pleasants. History of Orange County, California

Figure 7: Golden Hill areas
Richman Ave

UPPER GOLDEN HILL
LOWER

GOLDEN HILL
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Figure 8: Advertisement for Golden Hill development, 1923.

Source: Fullerton News Tribune October 18, 1923.
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Figure 9: Advertisement for Golden Hill development, 1930.

Source: Fullerton News Tribune January 25, 1930
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Figure 10: Advertisement for Golden Hill Extension, 1951.

Source: Fullerton News Tribune November 17, 1951
Figure 11: Walter Joseph Cadman.

Source: University of Southern California Yearbook, 1914 26 DPR 523L (9/2013)
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Figure 12: Jack Cadman studies evidence pertaining to the Henry Ford McCracken murder trial in the Sheriff’s Department crime laboratory, May 1951 Source: Old Courthouse Museum, Santa Ana, California; Calisphere Figure 13: Jack Cadman checking flowering plants of weeds found in kidnap car, May 1951 Source: Los Angeles Herald Examiner Collection, University of Southern California Libraries; Calisphere
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Figure 14: Vivian Cadman training at Avenger Field,
Sweetwater, Texas, 1943.

Source: Flickr.

Figure 15: Vivian Cadman ferrying a P-39, 1944
Source: WASP Final Flight Blogspot, July 20, 2013.
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Figure 16: Donald C. Jones
Source: Fullerton News Tribune June 21, 1952
Figure 17: William D. Geck
Source: MyHeritage Library Edition.
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Figure 18: William D. Geck, 1930s.

Source: History of Huntington Park in Two Parts,
Narrative and Biographical
Figure 19: Anna C. Geck
Source: FamilySearch.org
Figure 20: Anna C. Geck
Source: James M Kinsey, Images of
America: Huntington Park. Charleston,
SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2007, p. 32.
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Photo 1: South (front) elevation of residence
Photo 2: Stairway to front entrance
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Photo 4: West elevation of residence as seen from Grandview Avenue, with Italian cypress and palms largely hiding the house Photo 3: Detail of window on south (front) elevation of the residence 32 DPR 523L (9/2013)
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Photo 5: Courtyard on west side of front entry
Photo 6: Window on north wall of courtyard
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Photo 7: Openings from residence on the east side of courtyard Photo 8: Fountain element within courtyard
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Photo 9: Portion of west elevation north of the courtyard Photo 10: Portion of west elevation showing enclosed patio area 35 DPR 523L (9/2013)
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Photo 11: Portion of west elevation and north elevation of residence Photo 12: Partial north elevation of residence
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Photo 13: Gate and wall between the residence and detached guest house with its entry Photo 14: Partial west elevation of guest house
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Photo 15: West elevation of 2-car garage, attached to guest house Photo 16: East elevation of detached guest house and rear patio area 38 DPR 523L (9/2013)
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Photo 17: Dining area and enclosed patio area beyond large window Photo 18: Batchelder fireplace in living area
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Photo 19: Windows placed high in the entry hallway wall Photo 20: Decorative medallion, one of many placed throughout the top of walls in the house 40 DPR 523L (9/2013)
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Photo 21: Domed ceiling in breakfast nook next to kitchen Photo 22: Lighting detail in the walls of the breakfast nook next to the kitchen 41 DPR 523L (9/2013)
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Photo 23: Decorative detail around window in
the enclosed patio area
Photo 24: Hallway leading to bedrooms
Photo 24: Room next to kitchen showing typical windows in residence 42 DPR 523L (9/2013)
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Photo 25: Interior of guest house
Photo 26: Sconce light inside the guest house
43 ZON-2025-0124 – ZON-2025-0114 – ZON-2025-0134 – ZON-2025-0101

FOUR HISTORICAL LANDMARKS
Attachment No. 6
Supporting Documentation for 600 West Valley View Drive

Lamhofer House
600 W. Valley View Drive
1927
Tudor Revival
Status: Significant Property
This two-story residence represents a fine example of English Tudor Revival architecture with its steep, shake-covered gable roofs, stucco walls with half-timber decorative bracing, detailed brick-capped chimney, and the well-positioned and proportioned multi-paned casement windows. In addition to the brick trimmed entry, there are outstanding details on all sides of the structure, and the detached garage continues the architectural style. The home was constructed and designed for $10,000 by one of Fullerton’s best known early builders, Arthur M. Thompson, who had a hand in the construction a number of notable residences in the city.

The initial owners of the property were Eric and Ester Lamhofer, residing in the house until 1936. Eric Lamhofer was a salesman for the Home Oil Company in Anaheim and would later manage citrus properties.

The dwelling is often referred to as the Norton Simon home, because Simon rented the house with his wife and two sons from 1936 to 1938. Norton Simon was the president of Val Vita Foods and later HuntWesson Foods, but he did not engage with the local business community during his stay in Fullerton. The Simon family remained in Fullerton until 1939, when they purchased a home in Los Angeles.

The Lamhofer family would again take up residence at the Valley View home in the 1940, residing there until the early 1960s.

East elevation of house
North (front) elevation of the house
West elevation of house
South (rear) elevation of house
East elevation of garage at back of property
Brick pathway leading to front entrance to the house
Arthur M. Thompson
Born April 7, 1881, in Joppa, Illinois, Arthur Marsh Thompson moved to Los Angeles at the turn of the 20th century. On September 29, 1903, Thompson, 22, married Maude May Fisher, 25, a Kentucky native, and the couple had four sons, three of whom would graduate from Fullerton Union High School. Thompson worked initially as a carpenter, then moved into building construction, erecting businesses and homes in the Los Angeles area, including a Craftsman bungalow for his family in Highland Park (5022 Range View Avenue) in 1912. In 1920, Thompson moved to Fullerton, establishing and running a highly successful general building contractor business for the next fifteen years. While living in Fullerton, Thompson developed a pattern of designing and constructing a home, residing there for a few years, then moving to another home he had built. He would live in several locations around the city (246 W. Commonwealth Ave., 217 N. Berkeley Ave., etc.). Over the years, the size and complexity of his residences grew as his career flourished. (His last home at 303 W. Commonwealth Avenue was demolished to make way for the current Fullerton City Hall.)
In 1919, Thompson came to Fullerton to design and build a costly and expansive home at 535 North Harbor Boulevard (later moved to 865 N. Grandview Avenue) for Frederick C. Krause, president of the First National Bank of Fullerton. The success of the Krause project, quickly followed by an equally impressive building commission from Gilbert Kraemer, grandson of Placentia pioneer Daniel Kraemer, would entice Thompson to move permanently to Fullerton. In 1920, notable Santa Ana architect William Weatherhead Kays hired Thompson to build the Gilbert Kraemer residence in Placentia (originally fronting N. Placentia Avenue, its current address is 525 N. Angelina Place), a project that would further establish Thompson’s reputation with both architects and homeowners. The Spanish Colonial Revival dwelling with his extensive porches was unique for the era and was further highlighted by a grand showcase estate that featured its own tennis court, pool, and cabana. Now a Placentia Local Landmark, it remains the only home out of several large ones owned by second- and third-generation descendants of Daniel Kraemer.

Thompson worked well with Kays and developed a reputation for being able to economically and efficiently implement architectural plans. He would work with a number of notable architects on Fullerton projects. In 1927, Thompson was hired by architect Harry K. Vaughn (1882-1962), who designed the early Fullerton College buildings and the Fullerton Public Library (now the Fullerton Museum Center), to construct a home (104 Parkview Drive) for Louis E. Plummer, longtime Superintendent of Fullerton Union High School and Fullerton College. In 1928, notable Los Angeles architect Carleton Monroe Winslow, who designed the first Fullerton Union High School buildings and Plummer Auditorium, hired Thompson to build a new Automobile Club of Southern California office (623 N. Harbor Blvd.). In 1929, the great Los Angeles architect Stiles Oliver Clements (Morgan, Walls & Clements) hired Thompson to build the Roy J. Lyon Firestone Service, popularly known as the Firestone Building, adjacent to the Fox Fullerton Theatre. Owned by Charles C. Chapman, the building was the first formally designed super service station in Fullerton. A Fullerton Local Landmark, the Firestone Building, is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Thompson would also design and build a large number of residences in Fullerton. His initial clients were members of the working and middle class, including oil workers, painting contractors, and office managers (121 W.

Brookdale Pl., 216 W. Malvern Ave., 320 W. Malvern Ave., 332 W. Malvern Ave., 340 W. Malvern Ave., etc.), but he would quickly transition into more prestigious design/build projects for wealthier clients. A number of Thompson’s first influential clients, such as druggist John E. Doty, were fellow members of the Fullerton Masonic Lodge No. 339 and the Fullerton Kiwanis Club – which Thompson had helped to organize in 1921 – but once his business was well established, his solid reputation led to one commission after another from prominent residents. In 1921, he designed and built a dwelling for Frank Annin (116½ W. Brookdale Place), a member of the pioneer ranching family (Annin Avenue is named for the family); in 1923, he constructed a two-story Spanish Colonial Revival home for Dr. William T. Boyce, president of Fullerton College, at 1101 North Lemon Street; in 1927, he constructed a 1½-story residence for widow Carrie Earl McFadden Ford, Fullerton’s first female developer, at 800 N. Grandview Avenue; also in 1927, he built the impressive residence for Eric and Ester Lamhofer at 600 W. Valley View Drive in an English Tudor Revival style; and in 1928, he built a two-story Spanish Colonial Revival home at 108 W. Brookdale Place for Lillian E. Yaeger, one of Fullerton’s first automobile dealers and Orange County’s first service station operator. From 1922 to 1924, he constructed two Craftsman-styled homes on the 500 block of West Whiting Avenue: one for Herbert Osborne, Fullerton city engineer and later director of the Civil Works Administration (CWA) in Orange County, and another for Julius S. Bradford (1886-1960), head of the Chiksan Tool Company, the longest-lived and most important oil company in Fullerton’s history. Thompson also received commissions from the offspring of Fullerton’s first settlers, most notably an Irish cottage at 834 N. Woods Avenue for Raymond J. Starbuck, son of William Starbuck, Fullerton’s pioneer druggist who opened the Gem Pharmacy in 1888.

In 1927, Thompson developed the winning design for the modest Boys and Girls Library, originally located adjacent to the Carnegie Library on E. Wilshire Avenue but moved to Hillcrest Park in the late 1930s. The building, popularly known as the Red Cross Building, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Hillcrest Park nomination in 2004. In the late 1920s, he began designing and building homes and offices for early Fullerton physicians, including a home for Dr. George Irving Sellon (112 W. Brookdale Pl.), and a home and office for Dr. Danforth C. Cowles (705 N. Harbor Blvd.). He also constructed two duplexes for Dr. Cowles (900-902 and 908-910 E. Chapman Ave.).

While Thompson worked with a number of prominent local men and women, none of them exceeded the fame and fortune of his own nephew: Hollywood star Dick Powell. In 1932, Powell signed a contract with Warner Brothers and moved to Hollywood where he would star in such classic films as 42nd Street, Footlight Parade, and Murder, My Sweet. He would construct his first home in Toluca Lake, with Thompson as the builder, in 1934. A hybrid Early California and Colonial Revival styled dwelling, Powell’s home would be featured in a hand-tinted postcard sold to tourists. The home would also be showcased in fan magazines and featured in a full-page spread (“At Home with Dick Powell”) in the December 29, 1935 issue of the Los Angeles Times.

By 1935/36, the housing market had crashed in Fullerton, and Thompson accepted a foreman position with the William D. Rapp Company in Santa Rosa. A successful contractor, Rapp would later serve on the Santa Rosa City Council. While directing remodeling of the Nathanson Building on Fourth Street in downtown Santa Rosa, Thompson suddenly fell ill and died of a heart attack on September 28, 1943, at the age of 62. His passing was announced on the front page of the Fullerton News Tribune.

Norton Simon
Norton Simon lived in the house at 600 W. Valley View Drive for only two years, renting it from 1936 to 1938, after which the Norton family moved to Los Angeles. During this time Simon was busy running and expanding the Val Vita Food Products Company with headquarters in Fullerton. This company would later become Hunt-Wesson, Inc. under Simon’s leadership, and the company would be a major employer in Fullerton from the 1940s through the 1980s.

In the 1950s Simon made the decision to separate the food processing, can and bottle manufacturing, shipping, and warehousing activities from office and headquarters activities. Famed architect William L. Pereira was hired to create a master plan for a new 20-acre headquarters/office complex to be known as the Hunt Center. The $10 million project, completed in 1962, rivaled other corporate campus environments in Southern California and would be one of the most successful examples of 1960s international style architecture in Fullerton. Situated in a landscaped parklike setting, the Hunt Center featured a new 4-story corporate headquarters building. The Hunt Foods Charitable Foundation, which had been studying ways to augment educational services in west Fullerton, also agreed to construct a new city branch library – a gift to the city of Fullerton – east of the headquarters office building. The new headquarters and library were acclaimed for their unique architecture, quickly becoming iconic modernist buildings in Orange County.

From the start, the Hunt Library was viewed as a cultural center for Fullerton, and over the years, many artists and collections were exhibited in the well-lit building. Using Hunt Foundation funds, Norton Simon turned part of the library into an art gallery and study center. Simon donated a collection of 400 art books worth $5,800 in 1963, and he soon began installing artwork from his growing collection on the walls and grounds. Paintings, lithographs, prints, and statues were seen throughout the inside and outside of the library, and on special occasions, such as the annual Night in Fullerton, additional art from the headquarters building would be moved to the library. As Simon acquired new items, users of the neighborhood library were treated to a rotating display of paintings, including originals by Gainsborough, Rubens, Degas, and Boucher. Students enrolled in art classes at Fullerton College and Orange State College (now California State University, Fullerton) used the community room and research area as both their classroom and study area. When in Fullerton, Simon would often spend the “good part of a day walking around the grounds to study each statue’s setting,” repositioning the sculpture to different locations around the campus. The Hunt Foundation continued to loan and display art in the building until 1974, when Simon began making plans to open the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena.