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
P1. Other Identifier:
*P2. Location: Not for Publication ✓ Unrestricted *a. County: Santa Clara *b. USGS 7.5' Quad: Mountain View (Date: 2021)
c. Address: 484 LORETO ST City: Mountain View Zip: 94041-2161 d. UTM:
e. Other Locational Data: Assessor Parcel Number (APN): 15830060 *P3a. Description:
Architectural Style: Mission Revival Plan Shape: Rectangle Construction Type: Wood Frame Number of Stories: 1
Roof Style: Compound Roof Material: Asphalt - Shingle
Exterior Material: Stucco Primary Door Material: Wood
Window Style: Bay Window, Double-Hung, Fixed Window Material: Wood Porch: Portico Garage: Detached Garage
Other Architectural/Site Features: Complex plan and massing with Mission Revival parapets and pedimented gables. Bay window with projecting eave and attached planting bed. 12-over-one double hung wood sash windows with ogee lugs. *P3b. Resource Attributes: HP2. Single family property
*P4. Resources Present:
✓ Building Structure Object Site District Element of District Other (Isolates, etc.) P5a. Photo
P5b. Description of Photo:
May 3, 2023
*P6. Date Constructed/Age and Sources:
✓ Historic Prehistoric Both
1924; Santa Clara County Assessor
*P7. Owner and Address:
PURSIFULL RALPH E JR, 484 LORETO ST,
MOUNTAIN VIEW CA 94041
*P8. Recorded by:
Page & Turnbull, 170 Maiden Lane, 5th Floor, San
Francisco CA 94108
*P9. Date Recorded:
January 2, 2025
*P10. Survey Type: Intensive
*P11. Report Citation: Page & Turnbull, "City of Mountain View Historic Context Statement," prepared for City of Mountain View, Final Draft, October 1, 2024.
*Attachments:
NONE Location Map Sketch Map ✓ Continuation Sheet ✓ Building, Structure and Object Record Archaeological Record District Record Linear Feature Record Milling Station Record Rock Art Record Artifact Record Photograph Record Other
DPR 523A (1/95) *Required information
Attachment 3
State of California ⎯ The Resources Agency Primary #
DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI #
BUILDING, STRUCTURE, AND OBJECT RECORD
*Resource Name or # 484 LORETO ST
B1. Historic Name: Alfred and Emily Olsen House
B2. Common Name:
B3. Original Use: Residential - Single-Family B4. Present Use: Residential - Single-Family *B5. Architectural Style: Mission Revival
*B6. Construction History: 484 Loreto Street was the first residence to be constructed in the Palmita Park Subdivision in 1924. It was built by Alfred Olsen of the Minton Lumber Company, who was the first owner and occupant and an executive of the company.
See Continuation Sheet.
*B7. Moved? ✓No Yes Unknown Date: Original Location:
*B8. Related Features: Garage
B9a. Architect: Unknown b. Builder: Minton Lumber Company; Alfred Olsen *B10. Significance: Theme: Residential Development (1910-1944) Area: Mountain View Period of Significance: 1924 Property Type: Residential - Single-Family Applicable NR/CR Criteria: C/3 (Design) Mountain View Register of Historic Resources Criteria: MVRHR Criterion c (Design) Statement of Significance:
484 Loreto Street is a Mission Revival style single-family residence located in Old Mountain View, associated with the theme of Residential Development (1910-1944) as elaborated in the City of Mountain View Historic Context Statement. 484 Loreto Street was the first residence built in 1924 in the Palmita Park subdivision, which was planned and built by the Minton Lumber Company.
Palmita Park subdivision is a residential neighborhood bounded by Bush, Dana, and Velarde Streets and Calderon Avenue. It was developed over 20 years, beginning in 1924, by the Minton Lumber Company and Bert Holeman, a local businessman. The Minton Lumber Company was founded in 1911. Bert Holeman was a Kansas native who arrived in Mountain View in 1912. He founded the First National Bank in Mountain View, for which he served as president until 1925. In 1923, the Minton Lumber Company bought 9.5 acres fronting Calderon Avenue from W. A. Goodpasture and 4.5 acres fronting Bush Street from Bert Holeman. Holeman collaborated with the Minton Company to promote residential development on the combined 14 acres. A contest to name the new subdivision elicited the name Palmita Park; palm trees were planted along the Bush Street frontage in honor of the subdivision’s new name. In March 1924, Palmita Park was annexed to Mountain View. Between 1924 and 1925, the developers graded, curbed, paved, and installed sewer, water, gas, electric and telephone service for lots along the frontage on Bush, Loreto, Anza, and Velarde Streets. In 1926, the Minton Company added Westinghouse electroliers (streetlights) to the subdivision. Lots were sold only to buyers who, at the time of purchase, made a contract with the Minton Company for the construction of a home. The contract included the planting of lawns and shrubbery, and house sites were established with a common setback and uniform distance from lot lines. Construction started from Bush Street at Loreto and moved east toward Calderon Avenue. Advertisements in the Mountain View Register Leader in 1924 and 1925 suggest that some of the subdivision’s early houses were built on speculation by the Minton Company for immediate purchase while others were built according to the Minton company's plan books from which buyers could select a plan and style for customized construction.
See Continuation Sheet.
B11. Additional Resource Attributes:
HP4. Ancillary building
*B12. References:
See Continuation Sheet.
B13. Remarks:
The property is currently listed on the Mountain View Register. Property has an active Mills Act contract. Property was given a status code of 3S in the Carey & Co. survey (2008 Draft).
*B14. Evaluator: Page & Turnbull, 170 Maiden Lane, 5th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94108
*Date of Evaluation: January 2, 2025
Sketch Map
DPR 523B (1/95) *Required information
State of California ⎯ The Resources Agency Primary #
DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI #
CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial
*Recorded by: Page & Turnbull *Date: January 2, 2025 ✓
Continuation Update
Continuation of B6. Construction History
No major exterior alterations are noted.
Continuation of B10. Statement of Significance
The Palmita Park houses built in the 1920s exhibit the range of cottage and period revival styles popular in that decade; however, the Great Depression interrupted the full build-out of the subdivision. Houses from the late 1930s and the post-World War II building boom in the Minimal Traditional style appear to have filled out the remaining blocks. The house at 484 Loreto Street was built by Minton Lumber Company treasurer and Board of Directors member Alfred Olsen, who owned and occupied the property with his wife Emily. The Olsen family retained ownership through the 1980s.
484 Loreto Street appears eligibile for the National Register, California Register and Mountain View Register under Criterion C/3/c as a notable and first-in-the-development example of Mission Revival architecture built within the stylistically diverse Palmita Park subdivision during the 1920s. The property appears minimally altered and retains sufficient integrity for listing in the National Register and California Register. The period of significance is 1928, the year of construction.
The character-defining features of the resource include:
Overall siting and scale, including historic setback
Complex plan and massing
Stucco cladding
Mission Revival parapets and pedimented gables
Cornice with dentils
Entry portico with arched openings
Bay window with projecting eave
Attached planting bed
12-over-one double-hung wood sash windows with ogee lugs Detached garage with shaped parapet and wing walls, and paired side-hinge doors.
Continuation of B12. References:
"Boom makes rapid progress in Palmita Park," Mountain View Register, May 1, 1925.
Carey & Co. Inc, "Citywide Historic Properties Survey Mountain View, California." Vols. I and II. Prepared for City of Mountain View, September 1, 2008.
Ignoffo, Mary Jo. "Milestones: A History of Mountain View, California." Cupertino, CA: California History Center, 2002.
Kayne, Melanie and Kyle Hartzell. "Palmita Park: Clippings that reveal the rich history of home." Self-published, 2024.
Perry, Nicholas. "Mountain View." Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing, 2006.
DPR 523L (1/95) *Required information