P1. Other Identifier: Dr. Arthur R Trent’s Dentist Office __ DPR 523A (9/2013) *Required information
State of California The Resources Agency Primary #
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*P2. Location: Not for Publication Unrestricted
*a. County Sacramento
*b. USGS 7.5' Quad Sacramento East Date: 1967
c. Address 2014 10th Street City: Sacramento Zip 95818
e. Other Locational Data: (e.g., parcel #, directions to resource, elevation, decimal degrees, etc., as appropriate) *P3a. Description:
The property located at 2014 10th Street contains a single-story International Style, commercial building with an L Shaped building plan located within Sacramento’s South Side neighborhood. The building was constructed with an asymmetrical plan. A flat roof with overhanging eaves over the front (east) and rear (west) and parapets on the south and north elevations. The building has a collection of ribbon of short square steel windows in the walls on the south, west and east elevations and is clad in stucco and concrete masonry unit (CMU) with a concrete foundation. (See Continuation Sheet) *P3b. Resource Attributes: HP6. 1-3 story commercial building *P4.Resources Present: Building Structure Object Site District Element of District Other (Isolates, etc.) P5b. Description of Photo: (view, date,
accession #) View facing Northwest,
October 15, 2022
*P6. Date Constructed/Age and Source:
Historic Prehistoric Both
1965/Original Building Permit
*P7. Owner and Address: Legacy
Ventures, LLC., 27369 El Macero
Court, El Macero, CA 95618
*P8. Recorded by: Cameron
O’Gorman, City of Sacramento:
Community Development
Department, 300 Richards
Boulevard, Third Floor
Sacramento, California 95811.
*P9. Date Recorded: November
2022 *P10. Survey Type: (Describe)
Intensive
*P11. Report Citation: 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.)
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*P3a. Description (continued): The primary facade of the building faces east toward 10th Street between T and U Streets. A decorative cement screen covers a large window in the center of the wall on the primary façade. A glass front door in frame of glass windows is located on the south half of the front façade with steps leading to the main entry door. The north side of the building is clad in of CMU blocks. The north elevation has no windows or decorative details. The south elevation facing Tomato Alley has a decorative cement screen that covers half of the elevation and a ramp that leads to a back door to the building. The cement screen is connected to the roof with six narrow posts. The ramp is enclosed by a metal gate and has parallel guard rails. The back of the building faces towards the west and has a rectangular parking lot along Tomato Alley. *B10. Significance (continued):
Significance of Dr. Arthur R. Trent Jr.:
The commercial building located at 2014 10th Street is most closely associated with the first owner, Dr. Arthur R. Trent Jr., one of the first African American dentists that operated in the city of Sacramento. Dr. Trent worked out of the building from 1965 to 2004 as his primary office. As a dentist, Dr. Trent helped to pioneer Sacramento’s African American medical community in a time of heightened racial discrimination and tension in the United States.
He actively participated in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the California Medical Association, the Medical Care Foundation, and was a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.
Dr. Arthur R Trent was born August 2, 1918, in Ontario Canada and lived there until his parents moved to the United States in the city of Los Angeles and became citizens of the United States by 1924. He graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles with an undergraduate chemistry degree in 1945. He received his medical degree from Howard University in Washington, D.C. in 1950. He moved to Sacramento after receiving his medical degree to finish his post graduate studies at Sacramento General Hospital.
Dr. Arthur R. Trent, 2004.
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After WWII, the opportunities for skilled African Americans led to the growth of Sacramento’s Black community to more 250,000 during the 1950s. Dr. Trent was part of a wave of Black professionals who moved to Sacramento and established their own practices in the postwar environment. The first African American dentists to operate in the Sacramento area are Dr. Brewer and Dr. Kenneth Johnson in the 1940s; a decade before Dr. Trent moved to Sacramento and eventually opened his own practice at 2014 10th street. The redevelopment of the West End and the demolition of most of the buildings there in the 1950s, had a devastating impact on the businesses and the men and women who operated them. As a diverse, multi-racial neighborhood, the impacts of redevelopment of the West End fell hardest on the area’s working and middle-class minority groups. Many buildings housing businesses owned and operated by Black individuals were demolished and the businesses forced to relocate. Luckily for Dr. Trent, he had established his practice just south of the West End in Sacramento’s South Side neighborhood and was spared from the destruction of redevelopment.
Like many other Black professionals and business owners at the time, Dr. Trent initially struggled to find anyone willing to rent office space to him. He eventually opened his own medical practice at 1602 8th Street in Downtown Sacramento and became known as a pioneer in the local African American medical community. African American business owners faced discrimination in obtaining property to run a business and were restricted from engaging with certain occupations Sacramento during the 1950s and 60s. Dr. Trent, along with several Black business owners, managed to obtain and operate their businesses despite these obstacles. The Capital Medical Society and local chapter of the National Dental Association recognized Dr.
Trent as a trailblazer and role model in his field. He was also an active member of the local chapter of the NAACP, California Medical Association, and Alpha Phi Alpha fraternal club. Dr.
Trent was among ten African American medical professionals honored at a luncheon by the Capital Medical Society and the Sacramento chapter of the National Dental Association in 2004.
Dr. Trent worked out of his office at 2014 10th Street until he passed away on August 21, 2004, in the city of Sacramento California.
Significance of George Muraki:
The building at 2014 10th Street is also significant as a good example of the work of Sacramento Japanese-American architect George Muraki. Muraki built of number of historically significant buildings in the city of Sacramento. Born in 1918 in the city of Sacramento, George Muraki practiced architectural design in the city for forty years. After graduating from Sacramento High School in 1936, Muraki married Kinuye “Kini” Makishima in 1941. The entry age of *Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder)
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of the United States into WWII led the creation of the Executive Order 9066, which forced Japanese Americans into internment camps for the duration of the war. After Executive Order 9066 was issued, Muraki was fired from his job at the California Department of Employment.
Shortly afterwards he and his wife were interned at the Tule Lake Internment Camp. While in the camp, Muraki was a block manager and his wife was secretary to the mess hall supervisor. On February 1, 1943, the United States allowed Nisei, or Japanese Americans born in the United States to join the U.S. military in WWII. George Muraki like many other Nisei volunteered to join in the war effort in the hopes of proving their loyalty to the United States. Muraki graduated from the Army Military Intelligence Service Language School and served in 442nd Infantry Regiment in the Army Military Intelligence Service for the duration of the war. In 1944, he and his wife left Tule Lake and settled in Chicago. After graduating from Chicago Technical College, he moved the family back to Sacramento in 1949. He designed and built his family home in South Land Park in 1955 located at 1620 Potrero Way.
The war also had a profound impact on the cultural landscape and demographics of the city. Over the course of the war more than 7,000 Japanese residents from Sacramento were forced to abandon their homes and businesses and sent to internment camps; only 59 percent returned to the city after the war. While in confinement, many Japanese Americans’ homes were taken by the growing African American community in Sacramento during the war.
Muraki was self-employed as an Architect since the 1950s and worked for 40 years designing buildings in the city of Sacramento and the surrounding region. Notable examples of his work include the Centennial United Methodist Church at 5401 Freeport Boulevard in 1957, the Imperial House at 6083 S. Land Park Drive in 1965, and Ouye’s Pharmacy at 2130 10th Street in 1959. Muraki ran for City Council in 1965, but withdrew his candidacy because his architectural practice was flourishing. He would run again in 1967 but was not elected. In 1968, he was appointed by the City Council to serve on the Building Appeals Board, and in 1973, he served an important role on the Sacramento City Planning Commission for the next 10 years. In 1983 Muraki lost his re-election for the position on the Sacramento City Planning Commission.
Muraki helped to repeal the policy created by the State Personal Board on January 27, 1942, that allowed the California government to dismiss state employees of Japanese ancestry after their internment during WWII. Muraki was a member of the American Institute of Architects and Mason and Shriner. George Muraki passed away on May 21, 1991, battling cancer at the age of
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Modernism first appeared in the early 20th Century as an architectural movement and philosophy that focused on functionality and abstraction in response to political and social events. Mid-Century Modern is a broad term for a range of Modernist styles such as Commercial Modern and International modern that emerged in the decades following World War II as the nation experienced unprecedented growth in the economy and population. The term Mid-Century Modern was applied to a wide variety of properties, including residences, churches, schools, banks, institutional buildings, recreational buildings, commercial and office buildings, and others. Common elements among Mid-Century Modern buildings included cantilevered roofs, flat or shed roof forms, deep overhanging eaves, canted and large expansive windows, and a variety of incorporated materials including wood, stone, brick, stucco, plastic, metal, and concrete. The building at 2014 10th Street is a classic example of a Mid-Century Modern office building designed by George Murkai during this period.
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Conclusion:
2014 10th Street is associated with Dr. Arthur R. Trent, who was one of the first African American dentists to operate in the City of Sacramento. After opening his own medical practice became known as a pioneer in the local African American medical community. The Capital Medical Society and local chapter of the National Dental Association recognized Dr. Trent as a trailblazer and role model in his field. He was also an active member of the local chapter of the NAACP, California Medical Association, and Alpha Phi Alpha fraternal club. Dr. Trent was among ten African American medical professionals honored at a luncheon by the Capital Medical Society and the Sacramento chapter of the National Dental Association in 2004. 2014 10th Street appears eligible for listing on the Sacramento Register of Historic and Cultural Resources under city code criteria 17.604.210.A.1.a.ii for its association with Dr. Arthur R.
Trent, a person significant in the City’s past.
2014 10th Street is an excellent example of George Muraki’s work with commercial architecture. George Muraki was a prominent Japanese American architect that served the city of Sacramento Planning Commission for a decade. Muraki was a self-employed as an Architect since the 1950s and worked for 40 years designing buildings in the Sacramento region. He also designed and built several residences in the city of Sacramento including his family home in South Land Park located at 1620 Potrero Way in 1955. George Muraki’s design and construction of the building at 2014 10th Street for Dr. Arthur R. Trent appears to justify the building for listing on the Sacramento Register of Historic and Cultural Resources under city code criteria
17.604.210.A.1.a.iii for its architectural design by George Muraki, an important creative individual or master.
The property at 2014 10th Street holds important historic and architectural significance, serving as a noteworthy expression of ethnic history due to its association with the African- and Japanese--American communities. The property served as the office for Dr. Arthur R. Trent’s medical practice, one of the first African American dentist in Sacramento, and for its design and construction by the Architect George Muraki. Designation as a City landmark is therefore reasonable, appropriate, and necessary to promote, protect, and further the goals and purposes of the City’s historic preservation program.
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Original Building Permit, 1965
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The Sacramento Bee Obituary: 2004
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The Sacramento Bee Obituary: 1991
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B12. References
Ancestry.com. California, U.S., Occupational Licenses, Registers, and Directories, 1876-1969.
Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.
Ancestry.com. U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.
Ancestry.com. U.S., Japanese Americans Relocated During World War II, 1942-1946. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2005.
Ancestry.com. U.S., World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946. Provo, UT, USA:
Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2005.
Ancestry.com. U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947. Lehi, UT, USA:
Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.
Ancestry.com. 1930-1950 United States Federal Census. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002.
GEI Consultants. (2018). Mid-Century Modern Context Statement and Survey Results, City of Sacramento.
Fisher, Damany M. Sacramento African American Experience History Project Historic Context Statement. PAGE & TURNBULL: September 30, 2022.
Haines and R.L. Polk & Co. Sacramento City Directories 1968-2005. Sacramento Public Library.
Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, California), 1950-2004: 10. Readex: America's Historical Newspapers.
Sacramento City Building Permits.
Sacramento Historic District Plans Section 1: Sacramento’s Historic Context and Standards & Criteria City-Wide Historic Context.
Sacramento Historic District Plans Section 2: Individual Historic District Plans South Side Historic District Plan.
"U.S., School Yearbooks, 1880-2012"; School Name: University of California, Los Angeles; Year: 1945.
White, Lynell Hanzel. Civil Rights Activists and California Politicians Challenge Housing Discrimination in Sacramento, 1950-1966, 2016.
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Wildie, Kevin. Sacramento’s Historic Japantown: Legacy of a Lost Neighborhood. Charleston SC: The Historic Press, 2013.
P1. Other Identifier: 3555 3rd Avenue, Sacramento, CA, 95817 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 X Unrestricted
*a. County: Sacramento and (P2c, P2e, and P2b or P2d. Attach a Location Map as necessary.) *b. USGS 7.5' Quad Sacramento East Date 1967 (rev. 1980) T 8N; R 5E ; of of Sec ; B.M. c. Address 3555 3rd Avenue City Sacramento Zip 95817
e. Other Locational Data: APN# 010-0381-019-0000 (main) and 010-0381-011-0000 (rear). *P3a. Description: (Describe resource and its major elements. Include design, materials, condition, alterations, size, setting, and boundaries)
The Women’s Civic Improvement Club center is a complex of connected one-story buildings in a transitional Contemporary style, some portions bearing mansard roofs. It was designed and expanded by architect James Robert “Bob” McCabe. Originally built in 1966, it was expanded in 1975 and again after 1984. Although it has been expanded the additions are in the same style. The original structure and the additions are a mix of post and beam construction with portions in masonry blocks, on cement slab foundations. The large lot was assembled from several smaller lots and is bordered on the west side by a neighboring house, on the south side by 3rd avenue, on the east side by 36th street and on the north side by mule alley. The WCIC with its expansions is 10,662 square feet. The southwest corner of the lot is occupied by the WCIC’s colorful, modern playground covered by a permanent shade structure with a fabric shade cloth roof. (See continuation sheet) *P3b. Resource Attributes: (List
attributes and codes)
*P4.Resources Present: X Building
Structure Object Site District
Element of District Other
(Isolates, etc.)
P5b. Description of Photo: (view, date,
accession #)
*P6. Date Constructed/Age and
Source: X Historic Prehistoric
Both
Built 1966
*P7. Owner and Address:
Women’s Civic Improvement
Club, 3555 3rd Avenue,
Sacramento, CA 95817.
*P8. Recorded by: Ella Cross,
CSUS.
*P9. Date Recorded: 5/17/2023
*P10. Survey Type: Intensive
*P11. Report Citation: None
*Attachments: NONE Location
Map X Continuation Sheet X
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
*Resource Name or # Women’s Civic Improvement Club *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: Negro Women’s Civic Improvement Club B2. Common Name: Women’s Civic Improvement Club or WCIC B3. Original Use: Social Services B4. Present Use: Same *B5. Architectural Style: Transitional Contemporary with Mansard roof. *B6. Construction History: Built in 1966, expanded in 1975 and expanded further after 1984. *B7. Moved? X No Yes Unknown Date: Original Location:
*B8. Related Features:
B9a. Architect: James Robert “Bob” McCabe b. Builder: Brown Construction *B10. Significance: Theme Civic engagement, activism and the fight for civil rights Area Oak Park Neighborhood
Period of Significance 1966-Present Property Type Commercial Applicable Criteria Black institutions and organizations also took it upon themselves to provide housing for their members. One such example is the Negro Women’s Civic Improvement Club (NWCIC). Founded in 1936 by a group of women, including Viola Brooks and Netta Sparks, the organization provided safe, comfortable housing for single Black women, who otherwise found their options for housing extremely limited or non-existent. During World War II and the postwar period, guests included women employed at McClellan Air Force Base and Mather Field. (See continuation sheet)
B11. Additional Resource Attributes: (List attributes and codes) *B12. References:
B13. Remarks:
*B14. Evaluator: Ella Cross
*Date of Evaluation: 5/17/2023
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*P3A Description (continued)
The original Oak Park WCIC building was 4,054 square feet, built in 1966 and dedicated in 1967. As visible in the artist’s rendering of the building from 1967, the original 3rd avenue façade was asymmetrical and contained the double entry doors set into a window wall of fixed rectangular panes at the far left side of the façade. The entry was shaded by a wide overhanging flat roof with slat patterned exterior plywood finish under the eaves. The original signage seems to have been metal letters mounted to the right of the front entry on the existing cement masonry brick wall. The 3rd avenue façade was altered in 1975 at the time of the first addition. The 3rd avenue façade today is symmetrical, with the central double door entry reached by two cement steps from the sidewalk and flanked by cement masonry brick walls of equal length on either side. The signage today is a rectangular panel above the flat roof of the entry and lit by two floodlights. It reads “Women’s Civic Improvement Club.” Instead of a window wall, the entry now has a small rectangular, aluminum framed, side light window on the right and a larger rectangular fixed aluminum frame window on the left of the double, wooden, flat panneled doors.
The 36th street façade is complex. The façade has a partial flat roof with wide overhanging eaves which shelter five different doors, today each has their own entry gate. The original portion of the 36th street façade 16 large vertical, aluminum framed, fixed windows over horizontal rectangular recessed wooden panels. There are four wooden flat panel single doors and one matching double door. The central portion of this façade has a one and half story high mansard roof with no fenestration. With the post 1984 addition, the length of the 36th street façade was doubled and it now extends all the way to Mule Alley. This addition has two groups of windows. In all there are 11 rectangular, aluminum frame, fixed windows outlined in wide wooden trim. The left half of the addition has six windows and the right half has five.
Between the two groups of fenestration is a window width panel of slat patterned wood. The alley facing wall of the addition is in the same cement masonry brick as seen elsewhere in the building. The roof of the 36th street addition is flat with a rear portion mansard of one and a half stories, identical to the original portion of the WCIC building.
As seen from Mule Alley, the addition is L shaped. From the right corner, at 36th street and Mule Alley, the end of the “L” is a windowless wall entirely of cement masonry brick. Parking spaces are set within the L shape, along the alley. The shorter leg of the “L” is lit by five small, fixed pane, horizontally placed rectangular windows. The walls are of exterior plywood, vertically patterned as slats. A recessed doorway leads into the building but the door was not visible from the alley.
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The taller, mansard roofed portion of the addition is lit by 7 smaller fixed pane windows, of rectangular shape and also placed horizontally. The walls below the mansard are also of exterior plywood vertically patterned as slats.
Two further doors, matching the flat wooden panel doors of the rest of the structure open onto the alley. The end of the “L” shaped addition which abuts the residental property next door is made of the same cement masonry blocks seen elsewhere in the building.
*B10 Significance (continued)
Significance of the Women’s Civic Improvement Club
The organization was led by elder Black women and initially located at 19th and T streets before relocating to a Craftsman mansion at 1219 X Street. This building was demolished during the construction of Highway 50, forcing the NWCIC to move once again, this time to its existing location in Oak Park at 3555 3rd Avenue (extant). NAACP leader Alvernon Tripp served as executive director of the organization in the 1960s and was instrumental in the relocation effort. The organization continued its mission in its new neighborhood. In 1970, the NWCIC joined with the Shiloh Baptist Church to construct the Shiloh Arms, a low-income housing complex at 4009 23rd Avenue (extant) in Oak Park.
The WCIC continues to provide a head start program and other community services today.
This property is eligible for listing on the Sacramento Register of Historic and Cultural Resouces per criterion I, for its association with the Women’s Civic Improvement Club and the theme of Civic engagement, activism and the fight for civil rights. Sacramento’s African American community remained small compared to the city’s overall population through the 19th century but grew noticeable in the early 20th century and after World War II. This growth coincided with the periods during which the City of Sacramento experienced massive population spikes and parallels the First and Second Great Migrations during which African American individuals and families moved from the South to the Northeast and Western United States in search of economic opportunities. In Sacramento, African Americans settled in homes and apartments, found jobs and started businesses, attended schools and churches, and socialized and supported each other through clubs like age of *Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder)
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the WCIC and other organizations. The African American community tirelessly supported and provided for its own.
As African American populations grew in cities and towns throughout California, racism and acts of discrimination increased, including the pervasive use of restrictive housing covenants, redlining older multiracial and multiethnic neighborhoods, and refusing to sell property to people of color to preserve white dominance in desireable neighborhoods. Sacramento was no different. Over the course of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, discriminatory housing practices concentrated the majority of African American residents in Sacramento’s West End neighborhood, along with other marginalized racial and ethnic groups.
The responses of Sacramento’s Black residents reflected the broader aims of the civil rights movement nationwide to address widespread discrimination across the United States during the 19th and much of the 20th centuries. In the face of direct and indirect discrimination, Sacramento’s African American residents worked to uplift their community and achieve greater racial equality through the efforts of their churches, community clubs and organizations, and the work of countless individuals. In spite of the Black community’s relatively small size compared to Sacramento’s overall population and that of other larger California cities, it had an outsized impact on the fight to broaden the rights of African Americans throughout California, thanks in part to its proximity to the State Capitol and the wide-ranging influence of several powerful community leaders. Sacramento’s African American community achieved major victories in the fight for equal rights, particularly during periods of heightened civil rights activity across the country in the Civil Rights era of the 1950’s and 1960’s.
Patterns surmised from primary and secondary historic resources through academic and community research indicate that many built resources associated with important events, persons and organizations in local African American history are no longer extant. The redevelopment of the West End neighborhood in the mid-20th century destroyed large swaths of Sacramento’s downtown, including the houses, businesses, churches, and other significant gathering places of the African American community. As a result, very few buildings related to the history of the local African American community before the 1950’s survive. The majority of those that remain standing from this early period are located in outlying neighborhoods where African Americans were able to settle in the early 20th century due to a lack of, or uneven enforcement of restrictive housing covenants, such as Oak Park, Del Paso Heights, and some areas at the periphery of the central city including Highland Park and Southside Park. The vast majority of surviving buildings and sites with ties to local African American history were built or used by members of the community after the 1950’s and are located in the neighborhoods previously mentioned.
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Desgnation of the Woman’s Civic Improvement Club as a landmark under criterion I is reasonable, appropriate and necessary to promote, protect and further the goals of American historic preservation.
Significance of James Robert “Bob” McCabe
Bob McCabe
The Women’s Civic Improvement Club is also significant as a good example of the work of architect Bob McCabe (1927-2015) a native Californian and prolific architect who’s work in California and especially and around Sacramento helped to preserve historic structures as well as create new ones. Therefore the building is also eligible for inclusion on the Sacramento Register of Historic and Cultural Resources under Criteria IV as the work of an important creative individual or master. McCabe’s work included the first Crocker Museum expansion, the master plan and complete design of California State University Los Angeles, several buildings at California State University Sacramento, remodeling the homes of C.K. McClatchy and Wayne Thiebaud, a ten story office building in downtown Fresno, and numerous shopping centers to name just a few. He was responsible for the renovation of over one third of the buildings in Old Sacramento as well as several famous local historical homes and mansions. Through his mastery of his craft, McCabe was able to work with his clients and provide for their needs.
His work on the WCIC spanned more than twenty years. He expanded the building to meet the needs of the WCIC as times changed and more space was needed. Because of his mastery of the Contemporary style, McCabe was able to create a typology of forms, especially a rhythm of rectangular shapes, which he blended with the newly fashionable Mansard style. Although no original images of the WCIC have been located, the artists rendering from the building’s dedication in 1967 seems to indicate that the original mansard roof was sheathed in split wooden shingles. Today the mansard roofs of the complex are sheathed in vertical aluminum paneling.
The Women’s Civic Improvement Club is eligible for inclusion on the Sacramento Register of Historic and Cultural Resources under Critera I and IV, given it’s association with events that have made a significan contribution to the broad patters of the history of the city, such as age of *Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder)
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civic engagement, activism and the African American community’s fight for Civil Rights. The building is also notable the work of an important creative individual or master, the architect James Robert “Bob” McCabe, a California native who was actively involved in designing community structures such as the WCIC, universities, historic restorations and residential work for the wealthy. Under Criteria I and IV, it is logical and desirable that the Women’s Civic Improvement Club be designated a Sacramento Landmark.
Images
Image of 1219 X, the second home of the WCIC, demolished for Highway 50. age of *Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder)
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Image of the Women’s Civic Improvement Club building at the time of its dedication in 1967. Source: African American Museum and Library at Oakland.
Note: original mansard roof seems to have been shingled. age of *Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder)
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This assessor’s image has been labled to show the original footprint of the WCIC and the subsequent additions to the structure, the two unmarked additions were built sometime after 1984.
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Image of original building permits for 1966 and 1975.
age of *Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder)
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Image of the left half of the east façade of the WCIC, showing mansard roof.
This is the east side of the original 1966 portion of the building. Today the building’s mansard roofs are clad in vertical metal siding. age of *Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder)
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Property Name: Women’s Civic Improvement Club
Image of the right half of the east façade. The portion of the building past the double red doors is a post 1984 addition. Also visible in the background is the larger mansard roof of second post 1984 addition.
Image of far left corner of east façade of original 1966 portion of WCIC.
Note the flat slat roof with deep eaves, cement brick veneer at corner and rectangular aluminum frame fixed windows over rectangular recessed wood panels. Also visible is mansard roof.
age of *Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder)
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Property Name: Women’s Civic Improvement Club
Image of WCIC post 1984 additions from Mule Alley. Note the consistency of materials and design with the 1966 original portion, including cement brick masonry exterior wall, flat slat roof and mansard roof.
Image of west side of WCIC showing 1975 cement brick additions at left and right of rectangular courtyard. Building materials and style are consistent with the original WCIC design.
age of *Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder)
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Property Name: Women’s Civic Improvement Club
References
Center for Sacramento History, Catalog # 1995/027. Collection of architectural plans, elevations, drawings, and designs by Bob McCabe, Architect including the Women’s Civic Improvement Club.
Legacy.com Obituary for James Robert “Bob” McCabe:
https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/sacbee/name/james-mccabeobituary?id=10149211 .
Online archive of the Sacramento Observer newspaper.
Lionel Holmes and Joseph D’Alessandro, Portuguese Pioneers of the Sacramento Area. Sacramento, Portuguese Historical and Cultural Society, 1990.
Sacramento’s African American Experience Project’s Historical Context Statement.
Sacramento County Assessor’s records.
Sacramento City building permit records.
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 ___________ Resource Name or # Oak Park School of Afro-American Thought *P11. Report Citation: Sacramento Office of Historic Preservation. Sacramento African American Experience Project: Historic Context Statement, by Page & Turnbull with Damany M. Fisher. Sacramento, 2022. *Attachments: □ None □ Location Map □ Sketch Map ⌧ Continuation Sheet ⌧ Building, Structure, and Object Record □ Archaeological Record □ District Record □ Linear Feature Record □ Milling Station Record □ Rock Art Record □ Artifact Record □ Photograph Record □Other (list)
DPR 523A (1/95) *Required Information
P1. Other Identifier: Bouey Termite & Construction Inc.
P2. Location: □ Not for Publication ⌧ Unrestricted
a. County: Sacramento
b. USGS 7.5’ Quad Sacramento East Date 1967 T 8N ; R 5E c. Address 3639 4th Avenue City Sacramento Zip 95817
e. Other Locational Data: Assessor Parcel Number: 010-0385-012 P3a. Description:
The property at 3639 4th Avenue is a two-story 3,820 square foot International style commercial building with a recessed entry lit by a rectangular cut out in the flat roof. It is located in a mixed-use area in the Oak Park neighborhood of Sacramento, CA (Photograph 1). The building is of cement block masonry construction. The West and East facades feature extended cement block exterior wing walls that jut past the North and South facades and rise higher than both roof elevations. The West and East facades of the building do not have windows. The building is clad primarily in stucco, and a veneer of uncured ledge rock clads sections of the wall on the South façade facing 4
th Avenue. The building is set on a concrete slab foundation. The second floor is set back and is approximately half the depth of the first floor. Fenestration on the upper floor of the main façade, which faces South, includes three horizontally oriented, fixed rectangular windows obscured by vertical metal bars. Because the windows are obscured, it is difficult to tell whether these windows are original or replacements. A vinyl awning runs continuously along the second story, shading the three windows. (See Continuation Sheet)
*P3b. Resource Attributes: (List attributes and codes) C-2-SPD- General Commercial/ Special Planning District *P4. Resources Present: ⌧ Building □ Structure □ Object □ Site □ District □ Element of District □ Other (Isolates, etc.)
P5b. Description of Photo: (View, date,
accession #) Photo#1. Camera facing North,
March 27, 2023.
*P6. Date Constructed/Age and Sources:
⌧ Historic □ Prehistoric □ Both
1964, Sacramento County Assesso r’s Office
*P7. Owner and Address:
Bouey Termite & Construction
3639 4th Ave Sacramento, CA 95817
*P8. Recorded by:
Ettienne LeFebre
CSU Sacramento
6000 J Street Sacramento, CA 95819
Ella Cross
CSU Sacramento
6000 J Street Sacramento, CA 95819
*P9. Date Recorded: April 30, 2023
*P10. Survey Type: Intensive
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________
BUILDING, STRUCTURE, AND OBJECT RECORD
Resource Name or # Oak Park School of Afro-American Thought DPR 523B (1/95) *Required Information
B1. Historic Name: Oak Park School of Afro-American Thought B2. Common Name:
B3. Original Use: Commercial, Educational B4. Present Use: Commercial B5. Architectural Style: International Style
B6. Construction History: Built in 1964, interior remodel in 1988, windows replaced, stone veneer added, back garage door addition at unknown dates.
B7. Moved? ⌧ No □ Yes □ Unknown Date: Original Location:
B8. Related Features:
B9. Architect: Dean Unger b. Builder: Miller & Edwards
B10. Significance: Theme African American History, Civil Rights, Ethnic Studies Area Sacramento Period of Significance 1970-1977 Property Type Commercial Applicable Criteria Sacramento Historic Register Criterion I The property at 3639 4th Ave appears to meet the criteria for listing on the Sacramento Register of Historic and Cultural Resources under Criterion I, for significant associations with local African American History and the Civil Rights Movement. The property at 3639 4th Ave does not appear to meet the criteria for listing under Criterion II, association with significant persons, Criteria III or IV, as it is not a distinguished example of the International style and does not have an association with a master in its design or construction. Nor does it appear to meet Criteria V or VI, as it does not exhibit high artistic value or the potential to yield important information on history or prehistory.
B12. References: Sacramento County Assessor’s Office; Sacramento Building Division, Application for Permit to Build for 3639 4th Avenue, Center for Sacramento History; City of Sacramento Planning and Building Dept., Certificate of Occupancy; City of Sacramento, Mid-century Modern in the City of Sacramento Historic Context Statement and Survey Results; Sacramento City Planning Commission, “Community Plan for Oak Park,” September1963; Sacramento City Directories (various years); Sacramento Office of Historic Preservation, Sacramento African American Experience Project: Historic Context Statement, Sacramento, 2022.
B13. Remarks:
B14. Evaluator: Ettienne LeFebre and Ella Cross
Date of Evaluation: April 30, 2023
(This space reserved for official comments.)
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________
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Resource Name or # Oak Park School of Afro-American Thought DPR 523B (1/95) *Required Information
P3a. Description (continued):
Fenestration on the first story of the main façade includes three window walls, the two facing South being combination 4/4 fixed windows with rectangular horizontally oriented double-paned replacement windows, and the one on theinterior of the L facing East being combination 4/4 fixed windowswith rectangular vertically oriented doublepaned replacement windows. All of the windows are set flush with the facade and are cased in aluminum. The main entry door, located on the South façade, is a sash door with two double-paned glass panels. The door is set flush with the façade. Three lampposts with cylindrical posts and spherical glass shades protrude out of the shrubbery on the left side of the South façade. On the North façade, facing the alley, a large square metal garage door and a recessed door located to the left of it provide access to the building. Between the alley and the North façade is a gated loading dock area. The window on theNorth facade of the building facing the alley, is a fixed, horizontally oriented single-paned window obscured by horizontal metal bars with a decorative design in the center. The door on the North façade, facing the alley, is a metal panel door recessed into the facade covered by a metal security gate in a design matching the security bars of the window on the same facade.
B10. Significance (continued):
Historic Context
The property at 3639 4th Avenue is located in the Oak Park neighborhood, a mixed-use area south of Downtown Sacramento. Established in 1887 after real estate developer Edwin K. Alsip subdivided the William Doyle ranch, Oak Park is one of the oldest communities in Sacramento. After 1900 Oak Park developed into a street car neighborhood and became the location of the California State Fair, which increased the number of residents and the economic activity in the area. Population growth and sewage and water issuers promoted the 1911 annexation of Oak Park into Sacramento city proper. After the redevelopment projects in the West End of Sacramento many displaced minority populations, especially African Americans, moved into Oak Park due to its lack of racial restrictions. White flight to the suburbs increased the number of homes and commercial spaces available to African Americans, and by the 1960s Oak Park was a definitively African American neighborhood in Sacramento. Oak Park became increasingly isolated after the construction of Highway 99 and U.S. Highway 50 to the West and North, insulating the African American community further.
The commercial district of Oak Park was between 31st and 35th Streets on Broadway. The building at 3639 4th Avenue is located two blocks east in what was formerly a residential zoning district, and the first residential building on the parcel was a wood frame building built in 1925 by owner J.B. Pond. In 1958, the City of Sacramento developed plans to increase commercial traffic to the Oak Park business district by redeveloping sections of the surrounding area to create more parking areas. During this redevelopment process, the area around 3639 4th Avenue was converted from a residential zone to a commercial one in 1963 City plans. In 1964, the current International style building was constructed.
The International style originated with the Bauhaus movement in Germany in the 1920s and became popular in the United States in 1932 after New York’s Museum of Modern Art held an exhibition on the architectural style.
Defining characteristics of the style include flat roofs, rectangular shapes, asymmetrical facades, horizontal bands of flush windows and glass curtain walls, and minimalistic ornamentation. Buildings in this style tended to be constructed with concrete or steel and often had stucco massing. This minimalist design was popular in parts of Northeast United States and California in the 1930s, and after World War II appeared in less experimental and smaller forms. During the 1950s and 1960s many new International style developments appeared, including 3639 4th Avenue in Sacramento.The majority of the properties surrounding 3639 4th Avenue remained residential single State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________
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DPR 523B (1/95) *Required Information
Resource Name or # Oak Park School of Afro-American Thought or multi-family buildings in various Victorian era and Craftsman styles and retain integrity from an earlier historical period before the 1960s.
After 1964 the property first appears in 1966 city directory as vacant, and from 1967-1968 a business listed as “Closet the Clo SLS,” which is likely some kind of clothing related business. In 1969, the property was occupied by Bennie’s Beauty Bar, a hair salon owned by an African American woman who had relocated after being displaced by West End redevelopment.
In 1969, Sacramento City College (SCC) acquired the property and designated it as the Oak Park School of AfroAmerican Thought, a program operated by the Black Student Union (BSU) at the college. The BSU moved in in early 1970. SCC’s BSU formed in February 1967 as similar groups formed across California universities, inspired by the 1966 founding of the Black Panther Party in Oakland and other Black Power and Black Nationalism movements across the United States in the late 1960s. BSU’s were among the targets of the F.B.I.’s COINTELPRO program.
This covert and illegal program, sought to "expose, disrupt, misdirect, discredit, or otherwise neutralize" civil rights organizations, and was responsible for the assassination of several Black Panther leaders. Founders of SCC’s BSU included Kinnie Ruth Foote (Hicks), Fredrick K. Foote, and other students. Future research into SCC’s BSU is needed so that its contributions can be preserved. While not all members of the SCC Black Student Union were Black Panthers, many were. The goals of the two organizations complemented each other, focusing on free com-munity education, public service, counseling programs, and Black pride.
The SCC BSU organization devoted its time and energy to providing resources to Black students and advocating for diversified and less Euro-centric education. In fall 1968, less than six months after the assassination of Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr., San Francisco State College (SFSC) students went on strike after the school fired graduate student, lecturer, and Black Panther Minister George Murray for controversial comments he made regarding Black Nationalism and self-defense. Students from the BSU and newly formed Third World Liberation Front (TWLF), issued several demands, including the formation of a Department of Black Studies and College of Ethnic Studies.
The SCC BSU were vocal supporters of strikers at SFSC, and began demonstrating on the SCC campus for Black and other Ethnic Studies curriculum to be created by and for the marginalized students of the college. On February 7, 1969,the BSU issued a list of ten demands to SCC administrators to promotemore inclusion of minority students in campus curriculum, including the creation of the Oak Park School of Afro-American Thought to create a center of learning in a Black community that had been historically undereducated. The BSU staged a series of protests, marches, and sit-ins to support their demands until President Sam Kipp agreed to give the BSU space at the American Legion High School during the Spring semester. However, the room given was reportedly the “size of a broom closet” and the students protested on campus the next day until the administration agreed to set the school up in trailers on the premises of the burned down Stanford Middle School at Martin Luther King Boulevard and 10th Avenue. In May of 1969, Los Rios Community College District agreed to move the school to a permanent location in the new SCC College Outreach Center in Oak Park at 3639 4th Avenue. In 1969 and early 1970 the school was still operating in the temporary trailers at the former site of Stanford Middle School.
Following the June 1969 Oak Park Riot which resulted in the ransacking of the 35th street office of the Sacramento Chapter of the Black Panther Party and the destruction of their ‘free breakfast for children’ program’s food supplies by the police, the SCC BSU stepped forward, volunteering to take over the program, which was hosted at a local church, since their site at Stanford Middle School was not large enough.
In May 1970, the fatal wounding of police officer Bernard Bennett resulted in the arrest of the later exonerated Oak Park Four, all of whom were involved in the SCC BSU, including Booker T. Cooke Jr. who was a past president of the organization. The BSU and Oak Park community members tirelessly raised funds for the defense of these State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________
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DPR 523B (1/95) *Required Information
Resource Name or # Oak Park School of Afro-American Thought innocent young men through dances, concerts and direct appeals for contributions. If convicted, these young men would have faced the death penalty. Eventually all four were acquitted.
The School of Afro-American Thought moved into the building at 3639 4th Avenue in the Fall of 1970 and offered three classes: Ghetto Economics, an African American History class, and Black Drama. SCC teachers volunteered to teach these night classes free of charge to the public. The school welcomed all ages and races and often held lively and passionate discussions about race, ethnicity, and class. The drama classes produced community plays with free admission over the five years the school operated, and a counseling center also operated in the building, aiding African Americans and others in need of mental aid. The BSU took a leading role in the school, recruiting teachers, counselors, and developing curriculum, as well as getting the word out to community residents in Oak Park that the school was available to all of them. The interior of the school reflected the empowering mission of the school, as it was decorated with wall murals of African American historical figures and Civil Rights leaders.
Classes on Black and Afro-American Art, Spanish, Black Experience in Music, Sociology, and Consumer Problems were added to the curriculum as the school grew.
In 1977 the Oak Park School of Afro-American Thought, listed in many county directories alternatively as the Sacramento City College Awareness Center or the Oak Park Counseling Center, ceases to exist in county and city records. There are also no records from SCC regarding operations of the school after 1977. The reasons for the discontinuation of the program requires further research, but it was reported by the SCC college newspaper, The Express, on February 27, 1975, that the school was operating under the same budget it was given when it was first established in 1969, which was preventing it from expanding its programming. Budgeting could potentially be a factor in its discontinuation.
3639 4th Avenue housed a Sacramento Housing Development office, the Oak Park Project Area Committee, and several construction and real estate offices from 1980 to 1997 when Bouey Termite and Construction Inc., acquired use of the building. The property currently operates as their office and warehouse. The last property transfer to occur was in 2008.
Evaluation
Under Criterion I of the Sacramento Register of Historic and Cultural Resources, the property at 3639 4th Avenue has important associations with significant events in local history with a period of significance from 1970-1977.
The Oak Park School of Afro-American Thought represented a significant achievement for not only African American students at SCC, but African American citizens and students across Sacramento. Whereas the city’s state university did not develop their Black Studies programs until Fall 1969, and required students be enrolled in the university, the Oak Park School of Afro-American Thought was not only established first but was available to all members of the community free of charge. BSU students were entirely responsible for the operation of the school. Its location in Oak Park made it accessible to a large African American population. The program is an outstanding example of the Black Power movement in 1960s and 1970s in Sacramento and represents the determination and achievements of Sacramento City College’s Black students and Sacramento’s Black community. While the School first operated in trailers on the former site of Stanford Middle School, this location was temporary and is not extant today. The building most closely associated with the Oak Park School of AfroAmerican Thought, 3639 4th Avenue, acted as the home of the institution during its period of significance.
The property may be significant under the Sacramento Register of Historic and Cultural Resources, Criterion II, but will require more research into the lives of Fredrick K. Foote and Kinnie Ruth Foote (Hicks), two of the founders of SCC’s BSU, and the Oak Park Four: Akinsanya Kambon (Mark Teemer), Jack Stivers, Ceariaco Cabrallis State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________
BUILDING, STRUCTURE, AND OBJECT RECORD
DPR 523B (1/95) *Required Information
Resource Name or # Oak Park School of Afro-American Thought and Booker T. Cooke Jr., all of whom are significant persons in the history of the school and in local African American history. It is not known at this time if this property would be the property most associated with them during its period of significance. Further research is also needed to identify the volunteer teaching staff, who may also have been significant persons in the local community.
Under theSacramento Register of Historic and Cultural Resources, Criteria III, and IV, theproperty is not significant for its architectural style or for being the work of a master builder. While 3639 4th Ave is an International style building, it is not a significant example the style and lacks several character-defining features.
The property at 3639 4th Avenue is not significant under Criteria V or VI, as it does not exhibit high artistic value and is unlikely to yield any archaeological or informational value that has not already been recorded.
Alterations to the building since the period of significance include the replacement of the original sash windows with single pane windows, as well as the uncoursed ledge rock veneer on the building and the addition of a large garage door on the north façade facing the alley. Although the 1964 building permit details the planned project to be a one-story building, the second story does not appear to be an addition. The building retains strong integrity as it continues to be clad in stucco, retains its design characteristics, and although thewindows have been replaced, the window walls retain the same layout as during the period of significance. The location and especially the setting around the property remain excellent, as the surrounding properties appear to be original to the period of significance. Considering these factors, the building is not only significant but highly recognizable as the building from the period of significance, which qualifies it for eligibility for listing under Criterion I of the Sacramento Register of Historic and Cultural Resources under city code criteria 17.604.210.A.1.a.i for its association with the Sacramento City College Black Student Union’sSchool of African American Thought, afree and volunteerrun, off campus center of learning focusing on issues important to the Sacramento Black community. The School of African American Thought was the first and only such center in Sacramento that operated outside of a college campus and was open to all members of the public, free of charge.
B12. References (continued):
Barth, Teri. “Fred Foote recalls his historic role in Civil Rights movement.” Sac City Express. February 6, 2015.
Bloom, Joshua and Waldo E. Martin, Black against Empire: The History and Politics of the Black Panther Party.
Berkeley: University of California Press, 2013.
Cartwright Aerial Survey. Photograph. “Flight CAS-3315.” 1: 48,000. Sacramento, CA, June 13, 1972. UCSB Library.
Cartwright Aerial Survey. Photograph. “Flight CAS-81081.” 1: 12,000. Sacramento, CA, April 1, 1981. UCSB Library.
Cartwright Aerial Survey. Photograph. “Flight CAS-SAC 2-225.” 1: 20,000. Sacramento, CA, June 1, 1961. UCSB Library.
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________
BUILDING, STRUCTURE, AND OBJECT RECORD
DPR 523B (1/95) *Required Information
Resource Name or # Oak Park School of Afro-American Thought City of Sacramento. Mid-century Modern in the City of Sacramento Historic Context Statement and Survey Results, by GEI Consultants and Mead & Hunt. September 30, 2017.
City of Sacramento Building Department. Certificate of Occupancy for 3639 4th Avenue. Sacramento, CA. June 20, 1988.
City of Sacramento Community Development Department. “Oral History Project: Fredrick K. Foote” by Dane Nicolas. In Oral History Interview Transcripts: African American Experience Project. November 29, 2021.
Datel, Robin. “Central Oak Park Walking Tour Brochure.” Sacramento County Historical Society and CSU Sacramento, 2010. Sacramento Room, Sacramento Public Library. “The Ethnic Studies Center at Sacramento State College.” October 14, 1969, AR 85, Ethnic Studies Center 1969- 1970, Donald and Beverly Gerth Special Collections and University Archives, Sacramento, CA.
Google Maps. “3639 4th Avenue Sacramento, CA.” https://www.google.com/maps/place/Bouey+Termite+Service,+Inc.+dba+Bouey+Construction/@38.5505106,- 121.4672634,167m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m6!3m5!1s0x809ad06734b00131:0xc126a202c75a2239!8m2!3d38.5 503423!4d-121.4667437!16s%2Fg%2F1w8wb84v.
Haines and Co. Inc.. 1989 Sacramento City and Suburban Directory. North Canton, OH, 1989. CSU Sacramento Library, Sacramento, CA.
Haines and Co. Inc.. 1994 Sacramento City and Suburban Directory. North Canton, OH, 1994. CSU Sacramento Library, Sacramento, CA.
Haines and Co. Inc.. 1998 Sacramento City and Suburban Directory. North Canton, OH, 1998. CSU Sacramento Library, Sacramento, CA.
“Los Rios Board Okays Tentative $19.8 Million Budget Despite ‘Nays.’” Sacramento Bee. June 5, 1969.
McAlester, Virginia Savage. A Field Guide to American Houses: The Definitive Guide to Identifying and Understanding America’s Domestic Architecture, 2nd ed.. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2022.
Oak Park School of Afro-American Thought. Pamphlet. “College Comes to the Black Community.” Sacramento, CA, Fall 1969. Fredrick K. Foote Collection, Sacramento City College Special Collections, Sacramento City College, Sacramento, CA.
Oak Park School of Afro-American Thought. Pamphlet. “College Comes to Oak Park.” Sacramento, CA, Fall 1970.
Fredrick K. Foote Collection, Sacramento City College Special Collections, Sacramento City College, Sacramento, CA. “Oak Park facility.” The Express. February 27, 1975. California Digital Newspaper Collection, UC Riverside, https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=EXP19750227.1.4&srpos=1&e=------197-en--20-EXP-1--txt-txINoak+park+school+afro%252Damerican+thought----1975---. https://everloved.com/life-of/kinnie-foote/
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________
BUILDING, STRUCTURE, AND OBJECT RECORD
DPR 523B (1/95) *Required Information
Resource Name or # Oak Park School of Afro-American Thought Photo and Newspaper Clipping. Sacramento Observer, August 1970. Sacramento Observer Collection, Center for Sacramento History, Sacramento, CA.
Photo of Oak Park School of Afro-American Thought at Stanford Middle School Site. Circa 1969. Sacramento, CA.
Sacramento City College Special Collections, Sacramento City College, Sacramento, CA.
Photo of Exterior of Oak Park School of Afro-American Thought. Circa 1970-1975. Sacramento, CA. Sacramento City College Special Collections, Sacramento City College, Sacramento, CA.
Photo of Interior of Oak Park School of Afro-American Thought. Circa 1970-1975. Sacramento, CA. Sacramento City College Special Collections, Sacramento City College, Sacramento, CA.
Polk’s Sacramento Directory Co. Publishers. Sacramento Directory 1966. Los Angeles, CA, 1966. Center for Sacramento History, Sacramento, CA.
Polk’s Sacramento Directory Co. Publishers. Sacramento Directory 1967. Los Angeles, CA, 1967. Center for Sacramento History, Sacramento, CA.
Polk’s Sacramento Directory Co. Publishers. Sacramento Directory 1969. Los Angeles, CA, 1969. Center for Sacramento History, Sacramento, CA.
Polk’s Sacramento Directory Co. Publishers. Sacramento Directory 1970. Los Angeles, CA, 1970. CSU Sacramento Library, Sacramento, CA.
Polk’s Sacramento Directory Co. Publishers. Sacramento Directory 1971. Los Angeles, CA, 1971. CSU Sacramento Library, Sacramento, CA.
Polk’s Sacramento Directory Co. Publishers. Sacramento Directory 1972. Los Angeles, CA, 1971. CSU Sacramento Library, Sacramento, CA.
Polk’s Sacramento Directory Co. Publishers. Sacramento Directory 1975. Los Angeles, CA, 1971. CSU Sacramento Library, Sacramento, CA
Polk’s Sacramento Directory Co. Publishers, Sacramento Directory 1977, Los Angeles, CA, 1977, CSU Sacramento Library, Sacramento, CA.
Sacramento Building Division. Application for Permit to Build for 3639 4th Avenue. March 29, 1963. Sacramento (Calif.) Building Division Records, Center for Sacramento History, Sacramento, CA.
Sacramento Building Division. Building Inspector’s Report Card for 3639 4th Avenue. January 9, 1926. Sacramento (Calif.) Building Division Records, Center for Sacramento History, Sacramento, CA.
Sacramento City Planning Commission. “A Community Plan for Oak Park.” Sacramento, CA, September 1963.
Sacramento Room, Sacramento Public Library.
Sacramento City Planning Commission. “Oak Park Business District.” Sacramento, CA, 1961. Sacramento Room, Sacramento Public Library.
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________
BUILDING, STRUCTURE, AND OBJECT RECORD
11 Resource Name or # Oak Park School of Afro-American Thought DPR 523B (1/95) *Required Information
Sacramento City Planning Commission. “Oak Park Business District Study: Addendum Material.” Sacramento, CA, July 1958. Sacramento Room, Sacramento Public Library.
Sacramento Office of Historic Preservation. Sacramento African American Experience Project: Historic Context Statement, by Page & Turnbull with Damany M. Fisher. Sacramento, 2022.
Sacramento County Assessor’s Office. “Parcel 010-0385-012 Property Building Information.” Assessor Parcel Viewer. https://assessorparcelviewer.saccounty.gov/jsviewer/assessor.html#.
Sacramento Office of Historic Preservation. Oak Park: Historic District Plan. https://www.cityofsacramento.org/- /media/Corporate/Files/CDD/Planning/Urban-Design/Preservation/Adopted-Historic-District-Plans/Oak-ParkHDP.pdf?la=en.
Smith, William A et. al. “Annual Report Special Programs SCC: EOP&S, Tutorial Center, College Awareness, Oak Park School, 1973-1974.” Sacramento, CA, 1974. Sacramento City College Special Collections, Sacramento City College, Sacramento, CA.
Smith, William A et. al. “Annual Report Special Programs SCC: EOP&S, Tutorial Center, College Awareness, Oak Park School, 1974-1975.” Sacramento, CA, 1975. Sacramento City College Special Collections, Sacramento City College, Sacramento, CA.
Photographs (continued):
Photograph 2: Bouey Termite and Construction, Inc., facing northwest, March 27, 2023.
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________
BUILDING, STRUCTURE, AND OBJECT RECORD
Resource Name or # Oak Park School of Afro-American Thought DPR 523B (1/95) *Required Information
Photograph 3: Bouey Termite and Construction, Inc., facing southeast, March 27, 2023.
Photograph 3: Oak Park School of Afro-American Thought south facade, Sacramento City College Special Collections, date unknown.
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________
BUILDING, STRUCTURE, AND OBJECT RECORD
Resource Name or # Oak Park School of Afro-American Thought DPR 523B (1/95) *Required Information
Photograph 4: Oak Park School of Afro-American Thought interior, Sacramento City College Special Collections, date unknown.
Photograph 5: Fredrick Foote and Kinnie Ruth Foote (Hicks) with an unidentifed man.
P11. Report Citation: none
Attachments: □ None □ Location Map □ Sketch Map □ Continuation Sheet □ Building, Structure, and Object Record □ Archaeological Record □ District Record □ Linear Feature Record □ Milling Station Record □ Rock Art Record □ Artifact Record □ Photograph Record □Other (list)
DPR 523A (1/95) *Required Information
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________ PRIMARY RECORD Trinomial _____________________________________ NRHP Status Code
Other Listings _______________________________________________________________ Review Code __________ Reviewer ____________________________ Date ___________ P1. Other Identifier: 3921 12th Avenue, Sa cramento, California 95817 P2. Location: □ Not for Publication ⌧ Unrestricted a. County Sacramento b. USGS 7.5’ Quad Sacramento East Date 2015 T_8N__; R _5E__; _NE__ ¼ of Sec _19__; Mt. Diablo B.M. c. Address 3921 12th Avenue City Sacramento Zip 95817
e. Other Locational Data: Assessor Parcel Number: 014-0231-026-0000 P3a. Description:
The property located at 3921 12th Avenue in Sacramento, California, is a two-story, 1,324 square foot, wood frame single family residence located on a .45-acre lot in Sacramento’s Tahoe Park neighborhood. The residence was constructed in 1928.The roof is moderately pitched, side gabled, and clad in square red composite shingle roofing material. There is a smallcross gable at the center of the main roofline, which features a sunspot motif. The roof has slight overhanging eaves. There are two smaller front gabled projections with pointed arch attic vents just below the roofline on the street façade. The western projection shelters an inset porch,the front door, and a large wood frame fixed pane windowwith 6 over 1 pane configuration.The eastern projection has two side by side wooden frame sash windows, each with 6 over 1 pane configuration. Between these two front gabled projections, the center front of the street elevation has a tripartite window with matching decorative geometric patterned panes at the top. The center window is fixed pane with 8 over 1 pane configuration, with two narrowersash windows on either side having 4 over 1 pane configuration. From the street elevation, theporch has an arched opening supported by two pillars.The porch is reached by a short flight of concrete stairs and through another arched opening on the western side of the home alongside the driveway. The entire building is clad in stucco. See Continuation Sheet.
P3b. Resource Attributes: HP2 (Single Family Home); HP36 (Ethnic Minority Property - African American) P4. Resources Present:⌧Building □ Structure
□ Object □ Site □ District □ Element of District □
Other (Isolates, etc.)
P5b. Description of Photo: Photo #1. April 26,
2023, camera facing north.
P6. Date Constructed/Age and Sources:
⌧ Historic □ Prehistoric □ Both
1928, Original building permit, City of
Sacramento.
P7. Owner and Address:
Willie P. and Alveda Cooke Family Trust
3921 12th Avenue, Sacramento, CA 95817.
P8. Recorded by:
Katie Buesch, 6000 J Street, Sacramento, CA
Ella Cross, 6000 J Street, Sacramento, CA.
P9. Date Recorded: April 26, 2023.
P10. Survey Type: Intensive
P5a. Photo or Drawing (Photo required for buildings, structures, and objects.)
Resource Name or # Willie Cooke House
DPR 523B (1/95) *Required Information
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________
BUILDING, STRUCTURE, AND OBJECT RECORD
B1. Historic Name: none
B2. Common Name: none
B3. Original Use: Single Family Home B4. Present Use: Single Family Home B5. Architectural Style: Craftsman Bungalow
B6. Construction History: Residence constructed 1928. New foundation 1949. Garage constructed c. 1960-1971.
B7. Moved? ⌧ No □ Yes □ Unknown Date: Original Location:
B8. Related Features: Garage, unknown outbuilding
B9. Architect: Unknown b. Builder: Unknown
B10. Significance: Theme African American Displacement; African American Religion and Spirituality Area Sacramento
Period of Significance 1962 - c. 1981 Property Type Single Family Residence Applicable Criteria Criterion II
This building is not eligible for the Sacramento Register of Historic and Cultural Resources under Criteria I, III IV, V or VI but is eligible under Criterion II. The property was the home of a notable member of the African American community, Willie Cooke, whose long-time leadership in Shiloh Baptist Church (a property that has already been listed on the National Register under Criteria A and C) provided support to vulnerable members of the community during significant shifts in the community’s spatial location fueled by trends around redevelopment in Sacramento. Willie Cooke lived in this residence while he was leader of Shiloh Baptist Church and while he led various efforts towards the regional advancement of African Americans in Sacramento. The residence retains integrity to its period of significance, which covers the period when Willie Cooke was active as the leader of Shiloh Baptist Church from 1962- c.1981. See Continuation Sheets.
B11. Additional Resource Attributes: (List attributes and codes) B12. References:
See Continuation Sheet
B13. Remarks:
B14. Evaluator: Katie Buesch and Ella Cross
Date of Evaluation: April 26, 2023
Recorded by Katie Buesch and Ella Cross Date April 26, 2023 □ Continuation □ Update
DPR 523L (1/95) *Required Information
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________ CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial ____________________________________________ P3a. Description (continued):
Two chimneys can be seen from the front of the building, one of which is an end-wall brick chimney. (Photograph 1).
The eastern side of the house features four more wood framed, sash windows on the first floor, and a single metal frame sliding window on the second floor (Photograph 2). At the rear of the home is an enclosed porch with a low pitched, almost flat roof.
On the western side of the building is the end-wall chimney, along with two four-over one fixed windows, a sash window on the first floor, and a fixed, nine-pane window on the second floor, along with a pointed arch attic vent. (Photograph 3). The rear of the property was not accessible for this survey, but satellite imagery shows that the second floor of the home at the back of the building has a front gable roof dormer. (Figure 1). There is also a Swiss cap vent near the peak of the dormer roof.
The foundation of the home has a concrete perimeter, with vents above the foundation. The residence has a rectangular footprint.
Outbuildings on the parcel include a garage with a low pitched roof and decorative roof brackets with a 1960s or 70s one piece garage door. Another unidentified building can be seen in satellite imagery but is not visible or identifiable from the public right of way. (Figure 2).
B10. Significance (continued):
African American Displacement in Sacramento and Oak Park Since the beginning of the settlement period in Sacramento, the African American community has tended to live in close proximity to each other, and in close proximity to other ethnic minorities. In the 1850s, there was such a concentration located along 3rd Street, in an area of the city known as the West End. This neighborhood continued to increase in size with the population of African American members growing, shrinking due to loss of economic opportunity with the rise of white labor unions agitating against hiring Chinese or African American laborers, before growing again after 1900. In the early 1900s, an increase in racial zoning in the area as white homeowners worked to keep ethnic minorities like African Americans in the city core and away from the growing suburbs around Sacramento. This led to a growth of land speculation in the city center, subdivision of rented housing, and degradation of housing as investments dwindled and loans became increasingly difficult to secure for non-white individuals. These economic situations led to the West End area being categorized as “unfit for human habitation,” conditions that would later lead to the perceived need to redevelop the area under the California Redevelopment Act from 1957-1961 and the dispersal of the African American community, and other minority communities, from the West End.
Oak Park was the first subdivision on the outskirts of Sacramento, platted in 1887. The area features numerous Queen Anne style homes built near the turn of the century. These homes were generally occupied by upper middle-class residents who sought to leave the city but remain close enough to conduct business via the growing streetcar system that connected Oak Park to downtown in 1904. The City of Sacramento annexed Oak Park in 1911. Homes built in this second phase of development featured a variety of styles including the Craftsman Bungalow, and frequently featured a one-car detached garage as automobile travel became more popular. Following the Depression and World War II, as automobiles continued to grow in popularity, many of the neighborhood’s middle-class and upper middle class residents moved to newer suburbs farther away from the city center, opening up homes in Oak Park for new residents. When Shiloh Baptist Church moved to its new location in Oak Park in 1958 as a direct result of the redevelopment of the West End, many congregants and other members of the African American community moved to the area too, creating a new African American community in Sacramento. Willie Cooke led the charge to increase Church-provided services to the growing community such as food support and childcare programs for working families during this period. These efforts, along with the development of Shiloh Arms that Reverend Willie Cooke spearheaded, reinvested in the African American community by employing community members like African
Recorded by Katie Buesch and Ella Cross Date April 26, 2023 □ Continuation □ Update
DPR 523L (1/95) *Required Information
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________ CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial ____________________________________________ American architect James Dodd to design the buildings that would be used by the community. These support services as well as the spiritual, emotional, and personal connections forged through the Church and brought with the Church when it moved to its new location likely helped lessen the blow that the community felt following the destruction of the West End.
Additionally, the community base that the church provided made it easier for African American impacted businesses to find a new space to open up shop, which helped to lessen economic losses that might have been sustained had the community been completely dispersed across Sacramento rather than into enclaves like the one forming in Oak Park. Other community organizations that came to Oak Park in the 1950’s and 1960’s included the NAACP, the Sacramento Observer newspaper, Women’s Civic Improvement Club, and the Sacramento chapter of the Black Panther Party.
The march of urban renewal projects affecting Oak Park include the discontinuation of Sacramento’s streetcars in 1946 and the construction of the U.S. 50 and Interstate 80 freeways in the 1950’s and 60’s. These projects effectively cut off Oak Park’s direct access to downtown and poverty in the area increased. Violent encounters in 1969 and 1970, between Oak Park community members and the Sacramento Police directly impacted the entire Oak Park business community, including African American-owned businesses. The resulting high vacancy rate in the Oak Park business district prompted the City of Sacramento to step in and demolish most of the area, which was formerly along 35th Street. In 2007, the Oak Park Historic District was listed on the Sacramento Register of Historic and Cultural Resources and has encouraged efforts of adaptive reuse and restoration of the historic buildings that remain in the District.
The residence located at 3921, 12th Avenue was constructed in 1928 for early Sacramento pioneers of Azorean Portuguese descent, Manuel D. and Marie Perry. Aerial imagery is limited and inconclusive in its coverage of the area, and lack of image resolution makes it difficult to see outbuildings in detail (Figures 2-4). It appears that the detached garage was extant in 1971 (Figure 4).
Polk Directories indicate the presence of three previous occupants from 1929 to 1962 when Willie Cooke is first listed as an occupant in the home. From 1928 to 1935, Manuel D. and Marie Perry resided in the home. From 1949-1957, Frank Stieger and wife June Stieger lived in the home. Frank was a stock clerk for the State Department of Social Welfare, and June was an auditor for the State Controller’s Office. From 1958 to 1961, Johnnie Coleman owned the home and worked as a driver for the Post Office and whose wife’s name is Ann. Willie Cooke is listed as a resident of the home from 1962-1974 and he is listed as the owner of the home in 1975. Cooke’s record in the home lasts until at least 1981.
Craftsman and Craftsman Bungalow Style Architecture
The residence at 3921 12th Avenue is an example of the Craftsman style of architecture. The Craftsman-style home became popular in the United States starting in the 1900s and extended through the 1920s. This architectural style came out of the larger Arts and Crafts movement that began in Europe in the mid-1800s in reaction to increasing industrialization and urbanization. Frequently, this style appeared in a small, condensed version called a “bungalow” which usually featured porches with emphasized pillars that extended all the way through the porch to the ground and a square house shape, along with large windows, naturally occurring materials like wood and stone, planters, and an emphasis on landscaping to make the home feel situated in a more natural and less urban setting.
The Craftsman Bungalow in particular was a style developed in California in response to not only the warm weather, but also in response to the growing need for affordable middle-class housing in suburbs in the early 1900s. Because of the style’s extensive use in suburbs, it is common to find many bungalows constructed between 1900 and 1930 situated together in one neighborhood. Bungalows are usually square or rectangular in plan with partial or full-width porches featuring large porch columns with a front-facing gable on the front porch and dormers. The buildings are usually clad in naturally occurring materials like wood shingles or stone, but concrete blocks, stucco, or brick are also used. They are usually one or one and a half stories tall and have multi-pane windows to let in natural light.
Recorded by Katie Buesch and Ella Cross Date April 26, 2023 □ Continuation □ Update
DPR 523L (1/95) *Required Information
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________ CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial ____________________________________________ African American Religion and Spirituality in Sacramento Since the earliest days of slavery, churches have played a central role in the community life of African American communities across the United States, including in Sacramento. While this role has changed over time and space, churches like Shiloh Baptist Church, where Reverend Willie Cooke served for more than 25 years, played key roles in the political, social, spiritual, educational and economic lives of African American residents.
The first African American Church in Sacramento was founded in 1850 and named St. Andrews African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, whose ideological origins reach back to Philadelphia in the late 18th century where the Church fought to improve Black rights. Shiloh Baptist Church was originally founded by Reverend Charles Satchell as “Siloam Baptist Church” in 1856. The church grew quickly, reaching 800 members and became the largest Black Baptist Church in Sacramento by 1934.
These churches offered valuable services and support for the African American community in the neighborhoods they served, including opportunities for schooling, such as St. Andrews AME providing a space and funding for educating African American students when local and state governments blocked funding for publicly-sponsored options in the 1850s. Religious leaders like Reverend Thomas Allen Harvey, later of Kyles Temple AME Zion, used his position to fight and win Sacramento’s first racial discrimination case in court in 1919. Harvey was also the first African American in Sacramento to run for political office that same year, only three years after he had founded the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). In later years, Shiloh Baptist Church took up the cause of providing or helping secure decent and affordable housing for displaced African American residents through their Shiloh Arms low income housing development sponsored by the church in the 1970s. African American churches played key roles in the development of the African American community in Sacramento by providing services that presiding governments refused, and offered opportunities for leadership development that would further improve the types, quantities, and qualities of opportunities that would be available to the African American community.
The Life of Willie Cooke
Willie Cooke was born on October 4, 1917, in Caseyville, Lincoln County, Mississippi. While not much is known about his early years, it is known that he studied electrical engineering at the American School of Electricity in Chicago before moving to Oregon, where he became the first African American in the state to hold an electrical contractor’s license. He then moved to California and became an armature winder for Weismer and Becker Electric Company in Sacramento. In 1952, Willie Cooke joined the Shiloh Baptist Church and realized his calling to serve as part of the ministry for the church. Cooke was licensed by Shiloh’s Reverend Williams on December 16, 1953, and was officially ordained on November 11, 1956. the following year, in February 1957, Reverend Williams resigned from his post and Willie Cooke became the new Reverend of the Church.
Because of impending redevelopment in the area where Shiloh Baptist Church was located at the time, Reverend Cooke arranged to have the church move to another property at 9th Avenue and 36th Streets in Oak Park which had been purchased by the Church in 1954. This area, which would become a haven for the African American community in the process of displacement in this period, did not have the same racial covenants that many other areas of Sacramento had, which made it easier for African American communities to settle in the area. By October 1957, Shiloh purchased a property adjacent to the 9th Avenue property in Oak Park, and Cooke haggled with the City of Sacramento to bring down the price of the permits needed to construct the new Church. James C Dodd, the first African American architect in Sacramento, was commissioned to draw up the plans for a 12,000 square foot church which could seat 400 people and contained educational facilities and a social hall, a project that was estimated to cost $152,000. In April 1958, Cooke had hired Joseph Warner, an African American contractor, to start construction, even though the Church was unable to secure a loan for the full costs. Warner agreed to the contract on the condition that volunteer labor would be used to help keep costs low, however it was not enough. By September 1958, $60,000 had been spent on the new Church, and the contract with Warner ended because of lack of funds. Reverend
Recorded by Katie Buesch and Ella Cross Date April 26, 2023 □ Continuation □ Update
DPR 523L (1/95) *Required Information
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________ CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial ____________________________________________ Willie Cooke and the congregants of Shiloh pitched in to use their skills in construction and fundraising to raise funds and work on the Church. The first service in the incomplete building took place on October 12, 1958, and seven years later, on October 13, 1963, the building was completed and dedicated.
Willie Cooke’s career at Shiloh Baptist Church lasted from 1957 to 1981, a span of 26 years. In that time, he established the Political and Social Action Committee at the church to encourage congregants to get involved in local and national politics.
He was also a leading sponsor for the Shiloh Arms Housing Project, a Church-sponsored project to build reasonably priced housing for African American community members who had been displaced by the development of the West End, and to support working mothers who needed childcare by offering a day care center. Cooke also served as a member of Governor Edmund G. Brown’s Conference on Delinquency Prevention, the local chapter of the NAACP, and as a member of the advisory committee for UC Davis Medical Center.
On the occasion of his retirement from the Church in 1983, Willie Cooke received an outpouring of thanks and support for his services to the African American community of Sacramento. He did return to be an interim pastor from 1990 to 1991, but then retired again. In 2003, The Observer, Sacramento’s African American primary news outlet, named him a “Community Legend” in recognition of the impact he had on the community. On September 23, 2012, Willie Cooke passed away at the age of 94 years old. He is buried at the Sacramento Memorial Lawn Cemetery in Sacramento. In 2017, street sign toppers were added along 9th Avenue to ceremonially rename the street to be “Rev. Willie P Cooke Avenue” in memory of Cooke and his contributions to the community.
Evaluation:
Under Criterion I, this building is not considered to be related to a significant event in Sacramento’s history or the history of the African American community in the Sacramento area. There is no evidence of any locally significant events taking place in the home, despite the home’s location in an area undergoing a regional demographic shift. This demographic shift affected the entire Oak Park area, and the area where the residence is located is not noted as being more historically significant than other parts of Oak Park. This section of the neighborhood is not noted as a historically important section of Oak Park’s ‘streetcar suburb’ history, nor its annexation history. The neighborhood where the residence is located is also far from the 35th Street epicenter of historical events in the 1960s and 70s that took place in the downtown area of Oak Park so its eligibility as a landmark related to a historically significant event is nonexistent.
Under Criterion II, this building is locally significant as the home of an important community leader for the Black community of Sacramento and Oak Park. Willie Cooke played a large role in the establishment, development, and expansion of the Black community during a time of immense regional change. Religious leaders in the Sacramento African American community have historically played pivotal roles in advocating for the community’s economic, social, and political welfare, all of which can be typified by the work that Willie Cooke did over the course of his life in Sacramento. In particular, Willie Cooke’s work to support displaced community members through the Shiloh Arms project, which he undertook during the period of significance for his home, was a project that took direct action to support the community during a well-known event that was repeated in many places across the State and nation that permanently altered the composition of the African American community. It is clear the Cooke’s activities while he lived at this home were historically significant (as the presence of Shiloh Baptist Church on the National Register represents) and this property, which is the only one directly connected to Cooke’s life during his tenure as the longest-serving Reverend of Shiloh, is eligible for recognition because of these facts. As for other residents of the home, not much information has been located about their lives while they lived at the home besides their occupations, which indicate that they were likely middle-class residents, which is in step with the historical record of Oak Park.
Under Criterion III, IV, and V, this building is not eligible because it is a standard Craftsman-style home in a neighborhood which contains many of these same style homes. It is notable that the home appears to retain its original windows, but it does
Recorded by Katie Buesch and Ella Cross Date April 26, 2023 □ Continuation □ Update
DPR 523L (1/95) *Required Information
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________ CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial ____________________________________________ not stand out against other versions of the Craftsman style. The Craftsman Bungalow style is very prevalent in the surrounding neighborhood and these homes are not known to have been designed and built by a master architect. These residences were produced en masse in their time and many better examples of the Craftsman Bungalow style exist elsewhere. The residence is also not an example from the transitional period to or from the Craftsman Bungalow style. The home also has very few of the more prominent distinguishing characteristics for the Craftsman Bungalow. It is not the work of a master, nor does it possess high artistic value.
Under Criterion VI, this building does not appear to be a source of important information in the prehistory of history of the city, region, state or nation. It is recommended to be not eligible for listing in the Sacramento Register of Historic and Cultural Resources under Criterion VI.
The building retains almost all of the aspects of integrity, sufficient to convey its significance to the 1962-1981 period of Willie Cook’s occupancy. It has never been moved, and therefore possesses integrity of location. Furthermore, it retains many era-specific design features to when the home was built and from the era of its period of significance, such as the detached garage with a very low pitch roof and decorative rafter ends extending beyond the roof line in a 1960’s/70sstyle. The 1960’s or 70’s garage door also dates to the era of Willie Cook’s ownership of the home. The addition of aluminum frame windows on the building’s second floor are also common design additions during the 1960s and 1970s. The residence’s setting, which is within a neighborhood of homes constructed around the same time with minimal significant upgrades in the following decades. Likely in part due to the historically high population of African American residents and restrictions preventing African Americans from securing loans to finance home improvement projects, the homes around the area have not been modernized to a large degree, maintaining the feeling of the neighborhood as it likely was in the 1960s-1980s. The materials used on the home appear to be original to the home’s construction, with the exception of the replaced aluminum frame windows which were common additions during the 1960s and 1980s, the added on back porch, garage and unidentified outbuilding which were constructed post-1951 and remain as they were during the residence’s period of significance in the 1960s through the 1980s (See Photographs 5 and 6). The workmanship of the building is typical for small, working-class Craftsman style homes from the 1920’s. For these reasons, the residence and its setting maintain the majority of the elements of integrity needed for this property to be considered locally significant and indicative of its period of significance.
B12. References (continued):
African American Registry. “The Black Church In America, a Story.” Accessed April 28, 2023. https://aaregistry.org/story/the-black-church-a-brief-history/.
Barrow, Genoa. “Shiloh Mourns The Loss of Rev. Willie P. Cooke.” The Sacramento Observer, September 25, 2012. https://sacobserver.com/2012/09/shiloh-mourns-the-loss-of-rev-willie-p-cooke/. “Bungalow/Craftsman Style 1900 - 1930 | PHMC > Pennsylvania Architectural Field Guide.” Accessed April 30, 2023. http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/portal/communities/architecture/styles/bungalow.html. “City of Sacramento AppLauncher.” Building Permit Search Tool Accessed May 2, 2023. http://records.cityofsacramento.org/AdvanceSearch.aspx.
Cook, Suzanne. “Report to the Preservation Commission on Nomination of the Shiloh Baptist Church, City of Sacramento.” City of Sacramento, April 2, 2012.
http://sacramento.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=30&clip_id=2940&meta_id=381938. “Flight CAS-3069 Aerial Photo, March 1, 1971” Cartwright Aerial Survey. UC Santa Barbara Library Aerial Photography
Recorded by Katie Buesch and Ella Cross Date April 26, 2023 □ Continuation □ Update
DPR 523L (1/95) *Required Information
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________ CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial ____________________________________________ Collection Database. Accessed May 2, 2023.
https://mil.library.ucsb.edu/apcatalog/report/report.php?filed_by=CAS-3069. “Flight CAS-81081, April 1, 1981.” Cartwright Aerial Survey. California State Library. UC Santa Barbara Library Aerial Photography Collection Database. Accessed May 2, 2023.
https://mil.library.ucsb.edu/apcatalog/report/report.php?filed_by=CAS-81081.
GEI Consultants, and Mead and Hunt. “Mid Century Modern in the City of Sacramento Historic Context Statement and Survey Results,” September 2017.
“Historic Preservation Heritage Tour: Craftsman Architecture.” Accessed April 30, 2023. https://www.historicspokane.org/HeritageTours/craftsman/craftsman-history.html.
Kunzl, Teresa. “A Federal Judge Wednesday Sentenced an Electrical Contracting Firm... - UPI Archives.” UPI, November 23, 1983. https://www.upi.com/Archives/1983/11/23/A-federal-judge-Wednesday-sentenced-an-electricalcontracting-firms/3738438411600/.
Lindelof, Bill. “Street Sign Tops off the Memory of Oak Park Pastor Willie P. Cooke Outside Shiloh Baptist Church | The Sacramento Bee.” Accessed May 2, 2023. https://www.sacbee.com/article130614829.html.
McAlester, Virginia Savage. A Field Guide to American Houses (Revised): The Definitive Guide to Identifying and Understanding America’s Domestic Architecture. Expanded edition. Knopf, 2015.
Page and Turnbull, and Damany Fisher, PhD. “Sacramento African American Experience History Project.” Historic Context Statement, October 28, 2022.
Polk Directories for Sacramento, CA 1921, 1922, 1923,1924, 1925, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1935, 1949, 1952, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962-1963, 1963-1964, 1975, 1981, 1982., Price-Spratlen, Townsand. “Urban Destination Selection among African Americans during the 1950s Great Migration.” Social Science History 32, no. 3 (2008): 437–69.
“Rev Willie Phillip Cooke (1917-2012) - Find a...” Accessed April 16, 2023. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/163918483/willie-phillip-cooke. “Sacramento Historic Districts Plans,” n.d. https://www.cityofsacramento.org/Community-Development/Planning/UrbanDesign/Preservation/Historic-District-Plans.
Sanborn Fire Insurance Company. “Sanborn Fire Insurance Map of Sacramento, Sacramento County, CA. Volume 2. 1915, Updated December 1950.” 1915. Library of Congress.
Shiloh Baptist Church. “Shiloh Baptist Church Sacramento - Our History.” Accessed April 16, 2023. http://www.shilohbaptistchurch-sacramento.org/subjects.html.
Recorded by Katie Buesch and Ella Cross Date April 26, 2023 □ Continuation □ Update
DPR 523L (1/95) *Required Information
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________ CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial ____________________________________________ Photographs (continued):
Photograph 1: Front view of house. House faces south.
Recorded by Katie Buesch and Ella Cross Date April 26, 2023 □ Continuation □ Update
DPR 523L (1/95) *Required Information
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________ CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial ____________________________________________ Photograph 2: East side of building, note wooden frame sash windows and covered porch at rear of home.
Recorded by Katie Buesch and Ella Cross Date April 26, 2023 □ Continuation □ Update
DPR 523L (1/95) *Required Information
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________ CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial ____________________________________________ Photograph 3: West side of building, note garage and original windows.
Recorded by Katie Buesch and Ella Cross Date April 26, 2023 □ Continuation □ Update
DPR 523L (1/95) *Required Information
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________ CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial ____________________________________________ Figure 1: Google Maps view of the property at 3921 12th Avenue, 2023.
Recorded by Katie Buesch and Ella Cross Date April 26, 2023 □ Continuation □ Update
DPR 523L (1/95) *Required Information
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________ CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial ____________________________________________ Figure 2: April 1, 1981, aerial view of the Cooke House neighborhood, Cooke House circled.
Photo taken by Cartwright Aerial Surveys, housed at California State Library.
Recorded by Katie Buesch and Ella Cross Date April 26, 2023 □ Continuation □ Update
DPR 523L (1/95) *Required Information
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________ CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial ____________________________________________ Figure 3: 1971 Aerial view of the Cooke House. Photo taken on March 1, 1971 by Cartwright Aerial Surveys. Housed at the California State Library. Note: 1971 garage appears to be identical to the extant garage.
Recorded by Katie Buesch and Ella Cross Date April 26, 2023 □ Continuation □ Update
DPR 523L (1/95) *Required Information
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________ CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial ____________________________________________ Figure 4: 1971 Aerial view of the Cooke House. Photo taken on March 1, 1971 by Cartwright Aerial Surveys. Housed at the California State Library. 1 1 “Flight CAS-3069.” UC Santa Barbara Library Aerial Photography Collection.
Recorded by Katie Buesch and Ella Cross Date April 26, 2023 □ Continuation □ Update
DPR 523L (1/95) *Required Information
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________ CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial ____________________________________________ Figure 5: Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from 1915, updated December 1950. The Willie Cooke house is the building on the left. Note that there is no screened in porch or outbuilding at this time but there does appear to be a garage. The garage however does not appear to extend as far to the rear of the property as the current garage. Additionally the property contains two homes on one lot. The lot was subdivided into the lots extant today between 1951 and 1968.
Recorded by Katie Buesch and Ella Cross Date April 26, 2023 □ Continuation □ Update
DPR 523L (1/95) *Required Information
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________ CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial ____________________________________________ Figure 6: Neighborhood around 3921 12th Avenue, Sacramento, c. 1950.
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: 2710 X Street
*P2. Location: Not for Publication Unrestricted *a. County Sacramento County and (P2b and P2c or P2d. Attach a Location Map as necessary.) *b. USGS 7.5’ Quad Sacramento East Date 2018 T___; R ___; ___ ¼ of Sec ___; _____ B.M. c. Address 2710 X Street City Sacramento Zip 95818
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, etc., as appropriate) Assessor Parcel Number: 010-0241-029
*P3a. Description: (Describe resource and its major elements. Include design, materials, condition, alterations, size, setting, and boundaries) The office building at 2710 X Street was constructed in 1971 and is located on a .15 acre parcel. It is 2,842 square feet and built in the International style. It is located at the edge of the Curtis Park neighborhood in Sacramento, near the US Highway 50 freeway entrance. This two-story building has an L-shaped floor plan and features a flat roof with shallow coping. Both side walls of the building rise above the roof-wall junctions to form parapets and are built with concrete blocks with a geometric pattern that feature no windows or entrances. The main facade is on the north side of the building, which faces onto X Street. The recessed front facade is asymmetrical and features a mixture of cladding materials. The first story features three bays, with the center bay clad in concrete with a geometric pattern. The west bay is clad in vertical tongue in groove wood with a stucco ribbon above. The west bay also features three small, rectangular single pane windows set in a wooden frame ribbon with a large wooden panel beneath each. The second story features four bays and hangs over the first story. It is clad exclusively in stucco. Large, deeply inset single-pane paired windows dominate the second story in a ribbon of four pairs separated by a thin, metal mullion. Beneath each pair is a sill that slopes downward. (See Continuation sheet) *P3b. Resource Attributes: (List attributes and codes) HP6. 1-3 story commercial building *P4. Resources Present: Building Structure Object Site District Element of District Other (Isolates, etc.) P5b. Description of Photo: (View, date,
accession #) Photo#1. Camera
facing southeast depicting
front and west facade; April
23, 2023.
*P6. Date Constructed/Age and Sources:
Historic Prehistoric Both
1971, Sacramento County Assessor
*P7. Owner and Address:
Multbox LLC
1127 11th Street, Suite 824
Sacramento, CA 95814
*P8. Recorded by: (Name, affiliation,
address)
Alison Blecman
California State University,
Sacramento
6000 J Street
Sacramento, CA 95819
*P9. Date Recorded: April 23, 2023
*P10. Survey Type: Intensive
*P11. Report Citation: (Cite survey report and other sources, or enter “none.”) None *Attachments: None Location Map Sketch Map Continuation Sheet Building, Structure, and Object Record Archaeological Record District Record Linear Feature Record Milling Station Record Rock Art Record Artifact Record Photograph Record Other (list)
DPR 523A (1/95) *Required Information
P5a. Photo or Drawing (Photo required for buildings, structures, and objects.) State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________
BUILDING, STRUCTURE, AND OBJECT RECORD
*Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder) Crossroads Building B1. Historic Name: 2710 X Street
B2. Common Name: Crossroads Building
B3. Original Use: Residential B4. Present Use: Commercial *B5. Architectural Style: International Style
*B6. Construction History: (Construction date, alteration, and date of alterations) Built in 1971 *B7. Moved? No Yes Unknown Date: Original Location:
*B8. Related Features: ________
B9. Architect: James C. Dodd b. Builder: James C. Dodd
*B10. Significance: Theme Architecture: Ethnic Heritage (Black) Area Sacramento Period of Significance 1971-1999 Property Type Commercial Applicable Criteria: SRHCR II, III, IV (Discuss importance in terms of historical or architectural context as defined by theme, period, and geographic scope. Also address integrity.) The property at 2710 X Street meets the criteria for the Sacramento Register of Historic and Cultural Resources under Criterion II, Criterion III and Criterion IV It both has historic significance and maintains its integrity to its period of significance, 1971-1999. The property shares significance locally with James C. Dodd, the first licensed and registered Black architect in the Sacramento area and a founding member of NOMA, or the National Organization of Minority Architects, therefore making it eligible under SRHCR Criterion II and IV. The property is also a significant example of the Mid-Century Modern International architectural style, and therefore meets eligibility under SRHCR Criterion III. The property does not share significant associations to any events nationally, at the state level, or locally and therefore does not meet eligibility under SRHCR Criterion I or V. The property does not appear to provide any information potential, and therefore does not share significance under SRHCR Criterion VI. (See continuation sheet) B11. Additional Resource Attributes: (List attributes and codes) *B12. References:
Ancestry.com. California, U.S., Marriage Index, 1949-
1959 [database on-line], Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com
Operations, Inc., 2013; Board of Trustees, Shiloh Baptist Church, “National Register for Historic Places
Nomination for Shiloh Baptist Church,” 2012; R. R.
Bowker, The American Architects Directory, (Chatham,
New Jersey: R.R. Bowker, LLC), 1970; William Burg,
Sacramento Renaissance, (Charleston, SC: The History
Press), 2013; Curtis Burau, “Architect James Dodd Is
Glad He Ignored Counselor’s Advice,” Sacramento Bee,
March 30, 1969, 24; City of Sacramento, Permit #H1834, 2710 X Street, Sacramento, CA 95818, June 8, 1971; City of Sacramento, Permit #F-2959, 3555 3rd
Avenue, Sacramento, CA 95817, October 14, 1966; City
of Sacramento, Assessor’s Map Book 010, pg 24,
County of Sacramento, CA. (See continuation sheet)
B13. Remarks:
*B14. Evaluator: Alison Blecman
*Date of Evaluation: April 2023
(This space reserved for official comments.)
DPR 523B (1/95) *Required Information
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________ CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial ____________________________________________
*Recorded by Alison Blecman *Date 4/2023 Continuation Update P3a. Description (continued):
The first story east bay features a wrought-iron gate with a modern hexagonal pattern leading to the porch, which rests under the second-story overhang and extends to the building’s rear. A straight run staircase towards the porch’s rear with concrete steps and a metal stringer leads up to the second story offices. The staircase features a simple, metal handrail.
Similar to the front, the rear facade is also clad in a mixture of materials. The second story is once more clad exclusively in stucco, while the first story is clad in both concrete block and stucco, with windowed areas surrounded by stucco cladding and the areas in between clad in concrete block with a geometric pattern similar to the building’s side walls.
The second story of this elevation features a balcony that covers the building’s length with a cantilevered roof covering. The balcony railing is enclosed with a stucco cladding and topped with a wooden handrail. Two sliding glass doors provide access from the balcony into the building, one in each bay. A wrought iron ladder attached to the west bay wall provides access to the roof. On the first story, another wrought iron gate with a hexagonal pattern leads to the porch. The two east bay windows on the first story are sliding windows with wrought iron bars blocking outside access. The west bay is surrounded by a wooden fence, but appears to have a large, single-paned sliding glass door. The building’s southern, rear side features a large parking lot behind an electric, wrought-iron gate.
B10. Significance (continued):
Historic Context
Curtis Park
The city of Sacramento’s Curtis Park neighborhood initially began as a ranch owned by William Curtis and his family in 1852. During the 1880s, the Sacramento area experienced a real estate boom, with families beginning to move into new homes in the city and the areas around the ranch. In the early 20 th century, the Curtis family sold off large portions of their land, allowing for further development in the area, including the establishment of Western Pacific Railroad shops, making it an ideal location for work and home. Much of Curtis Park’s residential areas were primarily constructed in various revival styles during this time, including Colonial, Spanish, and Tudor. In 1911, Curtis Park was incorporated into Sacramento, and continued to develop and expand until the Great Depression.
In the 1950s and 1960s, Sacramento began its various urban renewal projects, upending its West End in favor of building the Capitol Mall, sending its former inhabitants, mainly people of color, into other areas of Sacramento. Curtis Park, a majority white section of Sacramento, continued to enforce its racial make-up through discriminatory housing practices and remained a majority white neighborhood despite the sudden upheaval in other parts of the city. Sacramento also began construction on its freeways, constructing US Highway 50, US Highway 99, and US Interstate 80 throughout the city. The freeways severed any connection between Curtis Park and the Oak Park neighborhood, which was quickly becoming a prominent Black neighborhood as a result of the urban renewal upheaval. The highways served not only as a physical barrier but an effective racial and class barrier between Oak Park and the wealthier Curtis Park. By 1970, the civil rights movement and the push for fair housing brought down racist housing covenants, opening more of the Sacramento area to Black families and families of color.
DPR 523L (1/95) *Required Information
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________ CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial ____________________________________________
*Recorded by Alison Blecman *Date 4/2023 Continuation Update Historic Persons
James C. Dodd was born to Richard Dodd and Pearl Smith in Texarkana, Texas on January 17, 1923. After graduating high school, he moved to Chicago in 1943 with plans to relocate to Wisconsin to attend university for a degree in journalism. The United States Army drafted him for service in World War II that summer, and he served as an Army Air Corps pilot until 1946.
Following his time in the army, he utilized his GI Bill benefits and moved to California where he attended University of California, Berkeley. In 1952, he received his bachelor’s degree in architecture from the university and moved to Sacramento in 1953 with his partner, Constance Curry, and young daughter, Florinda Dodd. His arrival in Sacramento marked him as the first licensed Black architect to operate within the city. In 1955, he married Constance and they had two children together, Florinda and James Dodd, Jr.
Once in Sacramento, Dodd briefly worked for the State of California as a draftsman before he joined the architectural firm Barovetto & Thomas. His stay at the firm only lasted a few years, though. Eager to begin his own line of work, in 1956 he left Barovetto & Thomas and started his own firm James C. Dodd & Associates in 1960.
Dodd produced some of his most notable designs at his newly established firm. As an architect, Dodd accomplished a huge body of work, many of which are in Sacramento and the surrounding area. One of his first works independent of Barovetto & Thomas was his family home, located at 1860 60th Avenue in Sacramento. He operated his firm from his home until he completed his office at 2710 X Street in 1971, where he then continued to operate for nearly 30 years until his death in 1999.
Among his most noteworthy works is the Shiloh Baptist Church, the design for which he completed within the first few years of his independent practice. The Shiloh Baptist Congregation is among the oldest of Black Christian congregations in Sacramento, with origins dating back to 1856. With urban renewal and Sacramento’s West End’s imminent destruction hanging over the church, the current reverend, Reverend Joseph Williams, purchased the plot for a new building to house the congregation in Sacramento’s Oak Park in 1958. Dodd, a member of the church, was contracted to design the new building, construction for which was completed in 1963 in the International style.
With its relocation to Oak Park, the church attracted many of West End’s former Black population to also move to the area.
In order to help their community, the church and Reverend Joseph Williams contracted Dodd to once again design for them, DPR 523L (1/95) *Required Information
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________ CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial ____________________________________________
*Recorded by Alison Blecman *Date 4/2023 Continuation Update this time to create affordable housing for the incoming community. In 1971, Dodd completed his work on the low-income complex, Shiloh Arms, at 4009 23rd Avenue.
Another of Dodd’s notable accomplishments includes the Herold Wing of the Crocker Art Museum. It was a joint effort on by the city of Sacramento and the museum to modernize their art gallery and the surrounding area, and featured a reinforced coffer grid system and the museum’s first elevator. While he alone is not solely responsible, he contributed to its overall design and completion in 1969 with architect Bob McCabe and the architectural firm Cox & Liske Associates, whom he later worked with in 1984 to help construct a building for Kyle’s Temple AME Zion Church, the third Black church to establish itself in Sacramento.
Dodd’s other significant works include the law offices for the prominent civil rights law firm Colley & McGhee in 1967, built in the International Style’s middle period. He also completed the Netta Sparks Women’s Civic Improvement Club building in 1966, the redesign of Sacramento High School for students’ safety in 1973, the St. Hope Academy of Sacramento in 1989, and several elementary schools throughout Northern California. While his primary work involved Northern California and the Sacramento area, Dodd was also licensed for work in Mississippi and Nevada.
Similar to his design and construction of Shiloh Arms, many of Dodd’s works included low-income and environmentally friendly housing, creating communities, complexes and residences throughout northern California. In 1976, Dodd was approved by the Department of Housing and Urban Development to conduct work with his business venture, the Urfab System. The Urfab System begins with a pre-built, factory-made home that is then clad in recycled materials.
Dodd was an active member of both his local and broader community, joining, participating in and leading multiple organizations within Sacramento and elsewhere in California. He was both a board member and served as president for the Central Valley Chapter of the American Institute of Architects in 1968. He also served as a member of the board of directors for the American Institute of Architects, as a board member for the Community Welfare Council of Sacramento in 1967 as well as chairman for their School Dropout Committee from 1966 to 1969, and he served as a member of the board of directors for the Sacramento Red Cross from 1968 to 1969. He was a director for a chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, from which he also received the Outstanding in the Field of Architecture Citizens Award in 1974. He was also a director for the Golden Empire Council for the Boy Scouts of America, Big Brothers, and the Sacramento Mental Health Association. Among his larger commitments to his community, Ronald Reagan appointed him to the board of governors for California Community Colleges in 1968 and 1969, and he participated as a member of the Coordinating Council on Higher Education in 1968. In 1966, he ran for a seat on the Sacramento Board of Education.
DPR 523L (1/95) *Required Information
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________ CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial ____________________________________________
*Recorded by Alison Blecman *Date 4/2023 Continuation Update Dodd was a founding member of NOMA in 1971, the National Organization of Minority Architects. During the AIA National Convention of that same year, he and eleven other Black architects came together to form the organization for the advancement of other Black architects in their field.
Architectural Style
The International architectural style, like many modern architectural movements, draws its origins from the Arts and Crafts Movement of the 19th century. However, rather than embrace the social and political ideals of this artistic movement, the International Style instead rejects many of these ideals.
The Arts and Crafts movement began in 1860 with John Ruskin’s belief that art should not only be beautiful but also accessible to the common man. Materials should be drawn from natural resources and laborers, rather than constrained by streamlined factory settings, ought to have the freedom to design and build their own craft. Freedom of choice would then produce work of higher quality and social value. These ideals carried over to the Amsterdam School of architects, who believed architecture to be an art and ought to be equally accessible to the common man.
The Dutch de Stijl movement holds equal sway over the early International Style ideals. Started by Theo van Doesburg’s magazine, de Stijl, he published ideals similar to the Arts and Crafts movement, professing social utopia and a society freed from chaos. De Stijl art placed value in minimalism and cubism with emphasis on horizontal and vertical lines.
From the Amsterdam School and de Stijl movement, the Arts and Crafts ideals quickly moved through the architectural world, eventually coming to influence those architects in Germany’s Bauhaus School of Design after World War I.
Architects Walter Gropius, Adolf Meyer, Adolf Summerfeld, and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe pioneered the International style with industrial designs that featured minimalist, block-like structures, and their influence quickly spread across both Europe and to the United States.
In 1932, historian Henry-Russel Hitchcock and architect Philip Johnson documented the work of these and other architects in the New York Museum of Modern Art’s exhibition, “Modern Architecture: International Exhibition.” When developing the exhibition, Hitchcock and Johnson utilized three criteria: the expression of volume, balance through means not necessarily symmetrical, and lack of ornamentation. Unlike other modern architectural styles though, Hitchcock and Johnson avoided social, political, and economic ideology when developing the exhibition, instead relying on the visuals of the architecture in question. In this, they rejected the ideology of movements like the Arts and Crafts, instead placing value on the artistic elements of the buildings alone. Their exhibition thus served to define the International style.
Post World War II, the International style’s influence in architecture fell into decline, though it did not disappear entirely.
Influenced by the Contemporary style, International style architects of this middle period designed their buildings with significantly more glass windows but maintained square, minimalist designs. By the 1970s, an interest in the style resurfaced with the work of a group of architects known as the New York Five. Charles Gwathmey, Michael Graves, John Hejduk, xv. DPR 523L (1/95)
*Required Information
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________ CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial ____________________________________________
*Recorded by Alison Blecman *Date 4/2023 Continuation Update Richard Meier, and Peter Eisenman revitalized the style back into prominence, drawing from the earlier architects of the 1920s and 1930s, but incorporated the use of large windows into their designs.
The International style is typically defined by its rectangular, block-like massing and balanced, asymmetrical facades. It commonly sports flat roof lines, with shallow coping the most common for the roof-wall junction, but can also appear unelaborated or with a wide, boxed overhang. Windows are large, often covering entire bays, and sit flush with the exterior wall. These commonly appear in long, horizontal ribbons or as floor to ceiling openings. Ornamentation is kept to a minimum if any, with some side walls entirely lacking windows, entrances, or adornments.
The International style manifests in three periods, each with distinctive style differences. International style buildings constructed from the 1920s to the 1950s feature block-like structures, few stories, and less elaborate frames. From the 1950s to the 1980s, International Style buildings remain low, often single-story but not always, and are often raised off the ground by podiums at the corners of the home. This style is more rectangular than cubical and commonly feature shallow coping at the roof-wall junction. The third, most recent period begins in the 1970s and extends to the present. This International era is reminiscent of the earlier style, but features larger, more elaborate structures.
Evaluation
The Crossroads Building at 2710 X Street, while having undergone re-roofing and an indoor redesign with the addition of an extra partition unassociated with the frame of the building. The property at 2710 X Street, is not significant under SRHCR Criterion I. The building’s architect, James C. Dodd, while an active member and supporter of his local community and Civil Rights activists, did not conduct any known or historically significant events at his office at 2710 X Street. While this building was constructed during an era of desegregation in Curtis Park, it is not the first Black business in the area nor one that raised significant notice.
This building meets the significance requirements for Criterion II under the SRHCR. James C. Dodd is the first registered and licensed Black architect in the Sacramento area, as well as a prolific master of Mid-Century Modern architecture primarily but not exclusively throughout Northern California. He helped found NOMA, the National Organization of Minority architects, and he was a profoundly active citizen in Sacramento community services. While he accomplished his most well-known designs at other locations, he completed the majority of his work while his firm was located at the Crossroads Building. However, the residents following Dodd’s occupation do not meet any significance. This renders 2710 X Street eligible under SRHCR Criterion II.
The property at 2710 X Street, also known as the Crossroads Building, meets the significance requirements for Criterion III under the SRHCR. It is as an excellent example of the International Architectural Style. Built in 1971, it falls within the period that the International Style was in widespread use, especially for commercial buildings. The use of large glass windows and openings as well as the return to structure more cubic and larger in shape are exemplary of the International style during this period. The Crossroads Building similarly exemplifies features that the International Style of architecture is well known for throughout the twentieth century and into the present day, such as flat rooflines, balanced but asymmetrical facades, large, horizontal bands of windows, cantilevering, and expanses of walls lacking any windows at all.
Finally, James C. Dodd was recognized both locally and by the state for his architectural work, both in composition and in style, and regularly consulted and hired on for architectural projects. This qualifies Dodd as a master of his trade. The Crossroads Building is an excellent, distinctive example of his work. This, renders 2710 X Street eligible under SRHCR Criterion IV.
DPR 523L (1/95) *Required Information
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________ CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial ____________________________________________
*Recorded by Alison Blecman *Date 4/2023 Continuation Update The Crossroads Building does not appear to provide any important information regarding human activity or history in its composition or construction, rendering it ineligible for SRHCR Criterion VI.
The property at 2710 X Street remains at its original location where Dodd constructed the building in 1971. The building’s overall structural remains unchanged from Dodd’s original conception in 1971 and the proceeding decades he remained in the building. The setting surrounding the Crossroads Building is equally unchanged. The property does face towards US Highway 50, however, it was constructed after the completion of the highway, and therefore the setting remains unchanged from both its construction and period of significance. There are no recorded permits that indicate any remodeling or restructuring of the property, maintaining the integrity of its materials. Dodd’s signature workmanship remains clearly identifiable, as does the feeling of its original design. Its association equally remains unchanged and its overall integrity intact.
B12. References (continued):
Chiu, Yvonne. “James C. Dodd, Sr.: Pioneering Black Architect in Capital.” Sacramento Bee. February 10, 1999.
GEI Consultants, “Mid-Century Modern in the City of Sacramento Historic Context Statement and Survey Results,” 2017.
Greene, Fayal. The Anatomy of a House: A Picture Dictionary of Architectural and Design Elements. New York, NY:
Doubleday, 1991.
“James C. Dodd: Beyond the Built Environment.” BeyondtheBuilt.com. https://www.beyondthebuilt.com/james-c-dodd.
Johnson, Charles. “Herold Wing Will Bring Modern Look to Century-Old Crocker Art Gallery.” Sacramento Bee. October 5, 1969.
Longstreth, Richard. The Buildings of Main Street: A Guide to American Commercial Architecture. Washington, DC: The Preservation Press, 2000.
McAlester, Virginia. A Field Guide to American Houses: The Definitive Guide to Identifying and Understanding America's Domestic Architecture. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 2013.
Murphy, Dan. Sacramento’s Curtis Park. Charleston, SC: Arcadia, 2005. “Noma Founder 05 James C. Dodd.” NOMA, April 5, 2021. https://www.noma.net/noma-founder-05-james-c-dodd/.
Page & Turnbull, Damany M. Fisher, and Caru Bowns. “Sacramento African American Experience History Project Historic Context Statement,” Public Draft, October 28, 2022.
Quon, Cory. “National Register for Historic Places Nomination for 1860 60th Avenue,” 2021.
Rochita, Ananda. Article. “James Dodd: Sacramento's first Black architect, ABC10 Originals.” ABC10, February 7, 2022.
Sacramento County Clerk Recorder. Document #202210210767. 2710 X Street, Sacramento, CA 95821. October 21, 2022.
Triggs, Oscar Lovell. Arts & Crafts Movement (Arts and Crafts Movement). New York, New York: Parkstone International, 2009.
"United States, Social Security Numerical Identification Files (NUMIDENT), 1936-2007", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6K7L-3L3J : 10 February 2023), James Charles Dodd.
USGS, “Sacramento East, California” Map, 2018, 1:24.
Whitaker, Mel. “Sacramento High, Carson Plan Gains Favor.” Sacramento Bee. December 18, 1973.
Wodehouse, Lawrence. The Roots of International Style Architecture. West Cornwall, CT: Locus Hill Press, 1991.
DPR 523L (1/95) *Required Information
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________ CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial ____________________________________________
*Recorded by Alison Blecman *Date 4/2023 Continuation Update Photographs (continued):
DPR 523L (1/95) *Required Information
Figure 1: Photograph 2: Camera facing southwest depicting front and east facade, April 23, 2023.
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________ CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial ____________________________________________
*Recorded by Alison Blecman *Date 4/2023 Continuation Update DPR 523L (1/95) *Required Information
Figure 2: Photograph 3: Camera facing south depicting front entrance gate, April 23, 2023.
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________ CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial ____________________________________________
*Recorded by Alison Blecman *Date 4/2023 Continuation Update Figure 3: Photograph 4: Camera facing north depicting rear facade, April 23, 2023.
DPR 523L (1/95) *Required Information
P1. Other Identifier: 4200 Broadway, Sacramento, CA 95817 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 X Unrestricted
*a. County Sacramento and (P2c, P2e, and P2b or P2d. Attach a Location Map as necessary.) *b. USGS 7.5' Quad Sacramento East Date 1967 (rev. 1980) T 8N ; R 5E ; of of Sec ; B.M. c. Address 4200 Broadway City Sacramento Zip 95817
d. UTM: (Give more than one for large and/or linear resources) Zone , mE/ mN e. Other Locational Data: APN # 014-0191-046-0000 (main), 014-0191-054-0000 (driveway), 014-0191-005-0000(east end, bordering 43rd street).
*P3a. Description: (Describe resource and its major elements. Include design, materials, condition, alterations, size, setting, and boundaries)
The original site of Morgan-Jones Funeral home was in the West End at 12th and Q Streets.
Following the destruction of the West End, Grace Morgan-Jones commissioned well-known Sacramento architect James Robert “Bob” McCabe in 1962 to design a new location at 4200 Broadway. The lot runs the entire width of the block between 42nd and 43rd Streets and was assembled from three smaller lots. Facing north, the site includes a complex of connected Contemporary style buildings on the west side of the lot including the large chapel of the chimes, formal entrance vestibule, mortuary, offices, atrium, prep rooms and cold storage rooms. In the center of the parking area to the east side of the lot there is a two-story, front gabled, Contemporary style structure
with an upstairs living area and a downstairs
garage and storage area. All structures are of
post and beam construction on cement slab
foundations. The site has been expanded and
repurposed multiple times since its original
1962 construction, through the 1980s.
Uniquely, the original architect, Bob McCabe,
designed each addition, preserving its
compelling Contemporary style architecture
and providing a cohesive, adaptable design for
his clients, the Morgan-Jones’. (See
Continuation sheet)
*P3b. Resource Attributes: (List attributes and codes)
*P4.Resources Present: x Building Structure Object Site District Element of District Other (Isolates, etc.) P5b. Description of Photo: North façade facing
Broadway. Right portion of complex showing
chapel, addition, main entrance and privacy
wall in front of single story building.
5/16/2023
*P6. Date Constructed/Age and Source: X Historic
Prehistoric Both
Built 1962
*P7. Owner and Address:
Charles M Jones, 4200 Broadway, Sacramento, CA 95817
*P8. Recorded by: Ella Cross, CSUS.
*P9. Date Recorded: 5/16/2023
*P10. Survey Type: (Describe) Intensive
*P11. Report Citation: None
P5a. Photograph or Drawing
P1. Other Identifier: 4200 Broadway, Sacramento, CA 95817 DPR 523A (9/2013) *Required information
State of California The Resources Agency Primary #
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*Attachments: NONE Location Map X Continuation Sheet X Building, Structure, and Object Record Archaeological Record District Record Linear Feature Record Milling Station Record Rock Art Record Artifact Record Photograph Record Other (List):
*Resource Name or # Morgan and Jones Funeral Home *NRHP Status Code
DPR 523B (9/2013) *Required information
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BUILDING, STRUCTURE, AND OBJECT RECORD
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B1. Historic Name: Morgan and Jones Funeral Home
B2. Common Name: 4200 Broadway, Sacramento, CA, 95817
B3. Original Use: Funeral Home B4. Present Use: Same
*B5. Architectural Style: Contemporary *B6. Cons
Built in 1962 and expanded in 1977, 1980, 1989.
*B7. Moved? X No Yes Unknown Date: Original Location:
*B8. Related Features:
B9a. Architect: James Robert “Bob” McCabe b. Builder: Ted Kobata *B10. Significance: Theme Significant persons and architecture Area Oak Park neighborhood Period of Significance 1962-Present Property Type Commercial Applicable Criteria This property is eligible for listing on the Sacramento Register of Historic and Cultural Resources under Criteria II and IV for its association with Grace Morgan-Jones, a female funeral home owner/operator and noted civic leader in the African American community of Oak Park, and as the work of a master, James Robert “Bob” McCabe, a significant California architect.
Grace Morgan-Jones co-founded Morgan Jones Funeral Home in 1948 with her brother William K.
Morgan. Following the departure of her brother for a distinguished career in law that eventually saw him appointed as the first African American Superior Court Judge in Sacramento, Mrs.
Morgan-Jones operated the business herself for decades. First located at at 12th and Q Streets in Sacramento, in 1962, following the destruction of the West End neighborhood, Mrs.
Morgan-Jones purchased a series of lots on Broadway between 42nd and 43rd streets in Oak Park to build a new, modern, funeral home. She was among the very few women of color who owned and operated funeral homes in California. (See Continuation sheet) B11. Additional Resource Attributes: (List attributes and codes) *B12. References: See Continuation Sheet
B13. Remarks:
*B14. Evaluator: Ella Cross *Date of
Evaluation: 5/16/2023
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*P3a.Description (continued):
When viewed from the north facing, Broadway elevation, the front gabled, double height chapel of the chimes is on the right, at the corner of Broadway and 42nd street. To the left of the chapel is the main entrance. It links the chapel to a connected complex of flat roofed structures. The flat roofed structures facing Broadway are fronted with a paneled privacy wall. The privacy wall appears to be a replacement of the original which was damaged by a car crash in 2004.
It matches the overall design very well and encloses a private patio planted with seven Japanese maples which alternate between green leafed varieties and red leafed varieties. This privacy wall is made of exterior plywood, with an ivory stucco finish. It is paneled in black metal fencing of vertical rectangles with vertical accents, matching the fence surrounding the property. At the center of the privacy wall, one panel is unique and does not have black metal fencing applied. This panel is also of ivory stucco and bears a large square metal plaque with the Morgan Jones “MJ” logo. The front of the flat roofed structures behind the privacy wall, have deep sheathed roof eaves and are finished in ivory stucco and blue wooden trim at the roofline and window surrounds. The glazing facing Broadway is an almost continuous window wall of large aluminum framed windows and doors. At the far east end of the flat roofed structures, large double doors give way to a porte cochere with a slat roof and exposed beams.
Further to the east side of the lot, a front gabled, two-story Contemporary building sits in the middle of a large and attractively landscaped parking lot. Built in 1980, this structure is surrounded on three sides by clipped evergreen hedges. The building is finished in the same ivory stucco with blue trim as the rest of the complex. The slat roof has three large, exposed beams which are more massive than the 1960s chapel. Viewed from Broadway, the two-story structure has no windows on the ground floor and two small aluminum framed sliding windows upstairs. Each window is set in a vertical band of blue painted stucco bordered by darker blue wooden vertical trim, running from the roof to the ground, like the details seen on the chapel. On the east façade, there are no windows on the ground floor. The second floor has a small aluminum framed sliding window to the right that is set in a vertical band of blue painted stucco bordered by darker blue wooden trim. At the center of the east façade there is a large aluminum sliding glass door with a balcony. The balcony is raised on four slender wooden columns and the railing echoes the narrow rectangle shapes of the fence and privacy walls. The entire balcony is painted dark brown. Beneath the balcony is a gravel patio with a large fountain. The west facing façade has two garage doors on the ground age of *Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder)
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floor. The wooden headers over the garage doors are painted in the darker blue shade. The area between the two garage doors is highlighted with another vertical band of blue stucco running from the roofline to the ground. The second floor has three small aluminum framed fixed windows set within vertical bands of blue stucco bordered in darker blue wooden trim. Since the garage doors are beneath them, the vertical accents of the windows do not run to the ground. The rear of the structure is completely plain, with no windows or doors.
The entire funeral home property is surrounded by a later, Contemporary style, black metal fence that echoes the vertical and rectangular panel divisions of the various privacy walls. The front driveway is protected by a large black metal gate inset with the Morgan Jones “MJ” logo.
From the sidewalk on Broadway, a wide cement walkway of rectangular slabs leads under a flat roofed shade structure raised on four slender wooden beams, painted dark brown. This shade structure is taller than the roofline of the entry and has exposed beams, echoing the chapel. The entrance is recessed and is set beneath a two-foot deep, stucco clad, sheathed roof overhang. On the left (east) side, the privacy wall is decorated with a square metal plaque containing the Morgan Jones “MJ” logo. Adjoining the privacy wall there is a decorative exterior rock wall that continues inside. The aluminum frame, glass double doors appear original and are set in a floor to ceiling window wall of clear glass. White flowering azaleas, camelias, gardenias and evergreen shrubs edge the walkway. Inside, opposite the main doors is another window wall of three fixed, rectangular glass panels that give a view of the rectangular atrium beyond. The atrium has a pergola roof of exposed beams. Its back wall (facing north) is made of the same decorative rock seen elsewhere in the compound.
Inside the atrium is a very large decorative rock fountain with a waterfall. The remaining walls of the atrium, east and west, are each made of 15 narrow rectangular wooden framed windows above 15 square recessed wooden panels. The row of windows on the west side illuminates the chapel and the glazing rhythm is one clear glass window followed by one textured blue glass window. The windows on the east side light the flat roofed office structures. On this side, the glazing rhythm is two clear glass windows followed by one textured blue glass window, allowing for brighter light in this area.
The large, Contemporary style chapel is front gabled, and slat roofed with blue painted exposed beams and deep eaves on all four sides. It sits on a cement slab foundation. The Broadway facing age of *Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder)
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exterior of the chapel is of ivory painted stucco with a vertical band of fixed, stained-glass windows at the center surrounded by dark brown painted wooden framing. The window is divided into three vertical divisions of equal width and is set with rectangular panes of stained glass in a staggered pattern. This vertical, multi-paned window runs from the ground level to just below the large and decorative laminated wooden trussing that defines the structure. The ends of these trusses extend past the deep eaves. In front of the chapel, facing Broadway, are three reproduction 1940’s streetlights painted black and raised on cylindrical cement bases. A mix of mature camelia trees and azalea bushes are set in a narrow band of lawn. At the far-right side of the chapel, a later addition blends into the structure and mimics it with its own smaller front gable. It is finished in the same ivory stucco and painted blue wood with exposed beams and deep eaves. Extending from the corner of the addition toward 42nd street is a low, decorative rock wall which supports an ivory colored, lighted rectangular sign reading “Morgan Jones Funeral Home, Chapel of the Chimes.” Examining the chapel and its additions from the west, 42nd street side, two identical flat roofed shade structures stand at either end of the façade. They are each supported by two slender wooden beams painted dark brown. Their flat slat roofs have exposed beams and are painted in the same blue color used throughout the complex. These shade structures mark two side entrances, covered with modern metal roll up doors. The roll up door to the left, closest to the corner of Broadway and 42nd street is placed within a vertical panel running from the roofline, between two exposed beams, to the ground. This vertical panel is painted blue and bordered by vertical wooden board trim painted in a darker shade of the same blue. This blue painted vertical panel is repeated on the east facing façade as well. Just past the second metal roll up door on the west facade is a low, flat roofed, one-story addition surrounded by a paneled privacy wall, with a metal gate. The west facing elevation of the privacy wall is composed eleven rectangular panels inset with vertical ship lap pattern exterior plywood painted blue with dark brown frames. These panels are raised two feet above the ground level by a wooden base of eleven smaller rectangles, painted blue. The rear of the chapel and its additions is utilitarian but the ivory stucco and blue wooden trim with exposed beams continue.
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*B10 Significance, cont.
Significance of Grace Morgan-Jones
The property located at 4200 Broadway is closely associated with Grace MorganJones who commissioned it, owned and operated it for forty years at this location. Morgan-Jones devoted her life to service organizations seeking to improve the lives of African Americans in Sacramento. She was active in Delta Sigma Theta sorority, founded in 1913 by women students of Howard University, now a worldwide, African American women’s service based sisterhood. She was also one of the original founders of the Sacramento branch of Jack and Jill of America, Inc., and its first president. This organization is for “mothers of children ages 2-19, dedicated to nurturing future African American leaders by strengthening children through leadership development, volunteer service, philanthropic giving and civic duty.” She was also active in The Links, Inc., established in 1946 in Philadelphia. This organization focuses on volunteer service and scholarship fundraising for the African American community.
Additionally Mrs. Morgan-Jones was active in the Sacramento Urban League, the NAACP and the Sacramento Women’s Civic Improvement Club. She was a member of the Christ Temple Apostolic Church. Her son, Charles M. Jones is now the business owner. Mrs. Grace Morgan-Jones passed away in 2004 and is buried at Odd Fellows.
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*B10 Significance (continued)
Significance of James Robert “Bob” McCabe
This property is also significant as a good example of the work of architect Bob McCabe (1927-2015) a native Californian and prolific architect who’s work in California and especially and around Sacramento helped to preserve historic structures as well as create new ones. His work included the first Crocker Museum expansion, the master plan and complete design of California State University Los Angeles, several buildings at California State University Sacramento, remodeling the homes of C.K. McClatchy and Wayne Thiebaud, a ten story office building in downtown Fresno, and numerous shopping centers to name just a few. He was responsible for the renovation of over one third of the buildings in Old Sacramento as well as several famous local historic homes and mansions. Through his mastery of his craft, McCabe was able to work with his clients and provide for their needs. His work on the Morgan Jones Funeral Home spanned more than twenty years. He expanded and reconfigured spaces to meet the needs of Mrs. Morgan-Jones as times changed and more space was needed. Because of his mastery of the Contemporary style, McCabe was able to create a typology of forms, especially a rhythm of rectangular shapes, at 4200 Broadway that he continued to draw from over the years as he expanded it. This language of ornament used by McCabe helped to ensure that the Morgan Jones expansions always blended into the original look of the project. The flexibility of his designs is well expressed by his twenty years of work at the Morgan Jones Funeral Home which retains a high level of integrity.
Conclusion
4200 Broadway is associated with Mrs. Grace Morgan-Jones who was Sacramento’s first African American woman funeral home owner. Throughout her long life, Morgan-Jones was involved in civic leadership roles in many organizations aimed at improving the lives of African American children, teens, and adults.
A significant part of Morgan-Jone’s career took place at the 4200 Broadway property that she commissioned and operated for forty years. The original location of Morgan Jones Funeral Home at 12th and Q streets was demolished in the urban renewal of Sacramento’s West End neighborhood. Therefore the age of *Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder)
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property at 4200 Broadway appears eligible for listing on the Sacramento Register of Historic and Cultural Resources under criterion II for its association with Mrs. Grace Morgan-Jones, a person significant in the city’s past.
4200 Broadway is a good example of the original design work of James Robert “Bob” McCabe, a prolific architect of great range, who worked throughout California and especially in Sacramento. Besides his highly respected historical preservation work, for which he won many awards, McCabe also designed churches, civic clubs, VFW halls, residences and museums. Mr. McCabe was involved with the City of Sacramento Design Review and Preservation Board, the California and National Architectural licensing exams, and a wide array of arts commissions.
Besides his architectural practice, Mr. McCabe was a well respected city planner. McCabe’s collaboration with Morgan-Jones to build 4200 Broadway makes the property eliglible for listing on the Sacramento Register of Historica and Cultural Resources under Criterion IV for it’s architectural design by Bob McCabe, an important creative individual or master.
The Morgan Jones Funeral Home at 4200 Broadway holds important historic and architectural significance, both for it’s original design by Bob McCabe, a well known Sacramento architect as well as its association with the life and work of Mrs. Grace Morgan-Jones, Sacramento’s first African American woman funeral home owner and respected civic leader. Designation as a city landmark is therefore reasonable, appropriate and necessary to promote, protect and futher the goals of the City’s historic preservation program.
Images
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Interior of Chapel of the Chimes at Morgan Jones Funeral Home. Note the large laminated wood trusses and repeating rectangular windows at east side in alternating turquoise and clear glass.
Main Entrance on north façade, with shade structure, privacy wall, and exposed rock wall.
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Exposed rock wall continuing into formal entry vestibule viewed through north facing main entrance.
View through north facing main entrance, towards atrium showing pergola roof, rectangular fixed windows with stained glass, and exposed rock rear wall behind fountain.
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View of north façade. Note addition to original chapel on right, with its own front gable roof.
View of north facing façade, one story structures with private patio protected by privacy wall. Porte Cochere is visible at the left.
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East facing façade of two story building with garages on bottom floor and living space above.
References
Big Day of giving Organization page, Jack and Jill Sacramento Chapter. https://www.bigdayofgiving.org/organization/Jjsac
Center for Sacramento History, Catalog # 1995/027. Collection of architectural plans, elevations, drawings, and designs by Bob McCabe, architect.
Center for Sacramento History, Sacramento Observer archives Ebony Magazine archive, 1962.
Legacy.com Obituary for James Robert “Bob” McCabe:
https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/sacbee/name/james-mccabeobituary?id=10149211 Morgan and Jones Funeral home website
*P11. Report Citation: (Cite survey report and other sources, or enter “none.”) None *Attachments: None Location Map Sketch Map Continuation Sheet Building, Structure, and Object Record Archaeological Record District Record Linear Feature Record Milling Station Record Rock Art Record Artifact Record Photograph Record Other (list)
DPR 523A (1/95) *Required Information
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________ PRIMARY RECORD Trinomial _____________________________________ NRHP Status Code
Other Listings _______________________________________________________________ Review Code __________ Reviewer ____________________________ Date ___________ P1. Other Identifier: 4214-4216 Lotus Avenue
*P2. Location: Not for Publication Unrestricted *a. County Sacramento and (P2b and P2c or P2d. Attach a Location Map as necessary.) *b. USGS 7.5’ Quad Sacramento East Date 2021 T___; R ___; ___ ¼ of Sec ___; _____ B.M. c. Address 4214-4216 Lotus Avenue City Sacramento Zip 95838 e. Other Locational Data:
Assessor Parcel Number: 01800310020000
*P3a. Description: (Describe resource and its major elements. Include design, materials, condition, alterations, size, setting, and boundaries) The property is located in Sutterville Heights, a district in the South Land Park neighborhood of Sacramento, California. The 0.34-acrea parcel includes a single-family residence at the front (4216), built in 1937, and an eight-unit multi-family apartment building at the rear (4214), built in 1960. The residence first appears in the Sacramento Bee as a real estate listing in 1947 which notes that the home was 10 years old. UCSB Framefinder’s aerial photographs confirm the appearance of the home and parcel boundaries in 1938. (See Continuation Sheet.) *P3b. Resource Attributes: (List attributes and codes) HP2(4216) and HP3(4214) *P4. Resources Present: Building Structure Object Site District Element of District Other (Isolates, etc.) P5b. Description of Photo: (View, date,
accession #) Photo#1. Front view
4/25/2023
*P6. Date Constructed/Age and Sources:
Historic Prehistoric Both
Circa 1937/ Sacramento Bee
*P7. Owner and Address:
Canson Family Revocable Trust
2701 Del Paso Road Suite 130-308
Sacramento, CA 95835
*P8. Recorded by: (Name, affiliation,
address)
Ella Cross, CSUS Sacramento.
Alyssa Marie Garcia
6000 J Street
Sacramento, CA 95819
*P9. Date Recorded: 4/28/2023
*P10. Survey Type: (Describe) Intensive
P5a. Photo or Drawing (Photo required for buildings, structures, and objects.) (See Continuation Sheet)
*Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder) The Canson House DPR 523B (1/95) *Required Information
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BUILDING, STRUCTURE, AND OBJECT RECORD
B1. Historic Name: The Canson House
B2. Common Name: The Canson House
B3. Original Use: Residential B4. Present Use: Residential *B5. Architectural Style: Colonial Revival
*B6. Construction History: (Construction date, alteration, and date of alterations) • Circa 1937- Original construction
• 1960- construction of a laundry room and garage to the north side of main house (4216) • 1960- construction of the multi-family apartment building in the back of the property (4214) • 1972- reroof to main house (4216)
*B7. Moved? No Yes Unknown Date: N/A Original Location: N/A *B8. Related Features: Apartment Building
B9. Architect: unknown b. Builder: unknown
*B10. Significance: Theme Ethnic Heritage Area Sacramento Period of Significance 1954-1988 Property Type Residential Applicable Criteria: B (Discuss importance in terms of historical or architectural context as defined by theme, period, and geographic scope. Also address integrity.) The property at 4214-4216 Lotus Avenue is eligible for inclusion in the Sacramento Register of Historic and Cultural Resources under Criterion II, association with persons significant in the city’s past. The house was the home of Clarence and Virna Mae Canson from 1954 until their deaths in 1993 and 2003 respectively. Mr. and Mrs. Canson were both graduates of the prestigious Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. Mr. Canson, following in the footsteps of his father and uncle who were professional tailors, majored in tailoring, while Mrs. Canson, whose parents were both schoolteachers, majored in home economics. Clarence Canson served in WWII as a tailoring expert and after his discharge, the Cansons settled in Sacramento, where Mr. Canson’s family lived, in 1940.
During the period of significance which is from 1954 until 2003, this was the family home of Clarence and Virna Mae Canson. The Cansons owned this property while advocating for equitable housing and employment for Black Americans in California. They also provided housing to the community with no restrictions based on race through the apartment building that they constructed in their backyard.
Virna Canson and Clarence Canson each spent their professional careers advocating for legislative change concerning de facto segregation in California and made significant contributions through their work to render housing discrimination illegal. (See Continuation Sheet.) B11. Additional Resource Attributes: (List attributes and codes) *B12. References:
See Continuation Sheet
B13. Remarks:
*B14. Evaluator: Alyssa Garcia and Ella Cross
*Date of Evaluation: 5/14/2023
(This space reserved for official comments.)
*Recorded by Ella Cross and Alyssa Marie Garcia *Date 4/28/2023 Continuation Update
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4216 Lotus Avenue (Main Residence)
The Canson House is a three-bedroom, two-bathroom, 1900-square-footsingle-family home (Photograph 1). It is a two-story eclectic Colonial Revival style home with a concrete slab foundation and wood framed construction.
The lower level of the home is clad in running bond red brick with decorative, vertical brick headers and sills, while the second floor is finished in smooth stucco over wood. Fron the sidewalk, a cement slab walkway leads to four cement stairs and the covered front porch. Inside the porch, a large, wood framed square fixed pane window is flanked by two smaller rectangular 1 over 1 sash windows. The front door to the home is located to the left side of the porch and is set back into it, providing privacy from the street. Immediately to the left of the porch is a small octagonal fixed pane glass window in a wooden frame with a geometric pattern in clear glass and lead mullions. To the left of the porch is another large, wood framed, square fixed pane window flanked by two smaller rectangular 1 over 1 sash windows. To the right of the porch is a pair of 1 over 1 wooden sash windows.
The attached garage is to the far right and is set back significantly from the front of the house and is clad in the same brick as the rest of the ground floor (Photograph 2). The second floor is a split level, with three sets of 1 over 1 wooden sash windows across the street elevation. The roof of the residence is complex. The main roofline is medium pitched, gable-and-wing clad in composite shingles with a front-gable roof element which shelters the main entry to the home. The back of the house features a centered gable on faux pediment-like gable. It contains a slight eave overhang, no visible soffits, and modest cornices. The house has two original brick chimneys, one on the south end and the other recessed into the north side of the second story. Both have corbeled chimney caps. The sides and back of the house contain rectangular and square-shaped, wooden framed sash windows of varying sizes, all of which appear original. To the left of the house from the street elevation, a 6-foot-tall wooden fence encloses the south side yard and the back yard to the southwest. Inside the yard is a circular cobblestone-like firepit that is noticeably aged.
4214 Lotus Avenue (Apartment Building)
Built in 1960, the second unit on the property is an L-shaped, two-story, eight unit apartment house.(Photograph 3). The apartment building is an example of the New Traditional Prairie style because of its strong Pr airie features, which include the flat roof and large overhang. The roof cornices are prominent, as well as the exposed rafters, that are character defining features of this low-rise apartment. The first story is comprised of four units with four doors, four metal security doors, and four sliding two-paned windows. Under the windows airconditioning components can be found built into the walls. Two staircases lead up to the second story and are positioned at the north and south sides on the front façade inside of the L-shape; two downspouts flank the inside of the staircases. There is also a wooden masonry wall that runs the length between the staircases. The second story also features the same design configuration as the first story, except that it is missing the four metal security doors. The front façade of the apartment complex is located on the east side and is clad in vertical shiplap clapboard. The side and back facades are clad in stucco, much like the main property. Unlike the main house, this unit is not on a lifted foundation and completely ground level.
B10. Significance (continued):
Historic Context
The property at 4216 Lotus Avenue is located in Sutterville Heights, a region of southern Land Park near the Sacramento Zoo, Fairytale Town, and Funderland. Though before the Gold Rush, Sacramento was populated with Nisenan Indians. They seasonally lived between the American and Sacramento rivers. Once the news of gold
*Recorded by Ella Cross and Alyssa Marie Garcia *Date 4/28/2023 Continuation Update
DPR 523L (1/95) *Required Information
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Originally bequeathed to John Sutter via the Mexican Land Grant, Land Park is three miles south of downtown Sacramento and is characterized by its high plains. The earliest landmark for this area, the City Cemetery, can be found on the official city map of 1854. Early industrialization and suburbanization included farms, bungalow subdivisions, revivalist homes, and transportation to downtown Sacramento via streetcar, including the main house on the property. The house at 4216 Lotus Avenue was one of the first on its street and claimed to have been built for ten years by a newspaper article in the Sacramento Bee’s archives from 1947. UCSB Framefinder’s aerial photographs confirm the appearance of a visibly constructed lot and parcel boundaries in 1938. Though the Sutterville Heights area was the original starting place for Sacramento City, it was not annexed until 1952, with an estimated population of 10,168 at the time of annexation (Figure 1). The visual features on the house remain obscured by surrounding foliage and the low-quality blurriness of the photograph.
Revival Houses were the dominant style houses in the early twentieth century, as many people had nostalgia for the romantic views of the past. However, this property is of eclectic construction that closely resembles a twostory Colonial Revival with elements of a Minimal Traditional. Colonial Revivals persisted in popularity through WWII, though most of them became simpler in their style, as the main house on the property shows. The brick veneer was a popular choice during the time of construction, as well as stucco. Both materials were commonly used for economic reasons; they were cheap and easily accessible. The first person to own the house is Rowland Maynard, who continued ownership until it was purchased by the Cansons in 1954. Though research did not find more information on him. Concurrently, Brown v. Board of Education ruled in favor of “separate but equal.” Segregation was codified into law for children in public schools, and though it did not specifically contribute to Jim Crow segregation in housing, it did fuel the existence of racial covenants nationwide. This notoriously made it difficult for nonwhite Americans to find appropriate housing or to live near their white counterparts, especially in the homogeneous neighborhoods of Sacramento.
*Recorded by Ella Cross and Alyssa Marie Garcia *Date 4/28/2023 Continuation Update
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Clarence and Virna Canson
Born on June 10, 1921, in Bridgeport, Oklahoma, Virna Canson was the daughter of educators, William Augustus Dobson and Eula Mae Gross Dobson (Figure 2). Her father was mayor of Bridgeport, a largely African American small town. She attended college at the Tuskegee Institute of Alabama as a home economicsmajor. When she was a sophomore, she met an upper classman who would be her future husband Clarence Canson, a tailoring major from Sacramento. Clarence graduated from Tuskegee Institute and shortly afterwards they were married on August 7, 1940. Virna left Tuskegee as a sophomore in 1940 and the young couple moved to Sacramento. Their first child, Clarence Canson Jr. was born in Sacramento in 1941. Their second child, Faythe Canson was born in 1952.
Clarence and Virna Canson met Nathaniel Colley while at the Tuskegee Institute, where he studied Chemistry with George Washington Carver. Another friend at the Tuskegee Institute was Jerlean Jackson, the future Mrs.
Colley who was an early childhood development major. Jerlean was a childhood friend of Clarence Canson’s from Sacramento. The Cansons and the Colleys remained close throughout their lives. Clarence found work in
*Recorded by Ella Cross and Alyssa Marie Garcia *Date 4/28/2023 Continuation Update
DPR 523L (1/95) *Required Information
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________ CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial ____________________________________________ 1941 at McClellan Field where he was a civilian employee doing low paid, unskilled labor, despite his college education. After several years of trying to find higher paying work Clarence Canson decided to attend law school at McGeorge (now UOP) and was the first Black graduate of the school. He then founded his own practice, becoming one of the very first Black lawyers in Sacramento. At this time in Sacramento there were very few career opportunities for Black professionals. In her oral history interview, Virna Canson mentions that the State of California employed a few Black janitors and garage workers and one Black woman secretary, which was seen as somewhat scandalous.
The Cansons were active in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). In 1954 Virna Canson accepted the position of treasurer and manager for the NAACP Credit Union at 21st and X, in a commercial building owned by Clarence Canson’s family and once home to their tailor shop. This building also housed Clarence Canson’s law office and the office of the Sacramento Outlook, which later became the Sacramento Observer, Sacramento’s first Black owned newspaper.
In addition to her work as the treasurer and manager of the NAACP Credit Union, Virna Canson was appointed to *****
advocate for the passing of legislation to protect Black Americans and for the equal treatment of oppressed groups. She earned the nickname “Mrs. NAACP,” and was a leading figure of the NAACP locally, as well as nationally, in such cases as Ming v. Horgan and NAACP v. City and County of Sacramento. Her grassroots activism was integral to the Black freedom struggle for equal rights in California. Virna Canson was an indefatigable leader and advocate for equality.
Through her work Virna Canson addressed consumer and economic rights, racism and housing discrimination. In 1960, the Cansons built an 8-unit apartment building in their back yard. The apartment building was repeatedly advertised in the Sacramento Bee with the title “No Housing Restrictions”.
After a long history of political crusading, she was appointed as director of the NAACP West Coast office succeeding Leonard H. Carter. Her work and success in cultivating a robust Black community reverberated throughout the state, as California was the first to pass legislature regarding civil rights directly owing to her involvement. Virna Canson’s commitment to civil rights crystallized into history with the Sacramento Observer, a celebrated Sacramento-based newspaper for Black Americans, naming her Top 100 in Sacramento’s Most Influential Blacks in February of 1984, four years before her retirement. Sacramento Observer archives show her listed as number 8 out of 100, a list that included both men and women. In April of 2003,she passed peacefully in her home. Friends and family gathered for her Going Home Service at Faith United Church of Christ with Reverend William R. Schroeder officiating her memorial.
*Recorded by Ella Cross and Alyssa Marie Garcia *Date 4/28/2023 Continuation Update
DPR 523L (1/95) *Required Information
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________ CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial ____________________________________________ Figure 2: Virna Mae Dobson Canson. Photograph at the archives in the African American Museum and Library at Oakland, California, Virna Canson Papers MS 29.
Evaluation
The property does not appear to be eligible for inclusion on the Sacramento Register of Historic and Cultural Resources under Criteria I, III, IV, V or VI.
It is recommended that this property be listed as significant and eligible under Criterion II of the Sacramento Register of Historic and Cultural Resources for its long association with the Cansons. The Canson House at 4216 Lotus Avenue and the contributing apartment building built by the Cansons at 4214 Lotus are both strongly associated with the activities of Clarence and Virna Canson. The Cansons are an important part of Sacramento’s history and an essential part of the African American community’s fight for civil rights in California.
B12. References (continued):
Sacramento County Accessor; Sacramento City Directories, 1947-1961; Sacramento African Experience History Project, Historic Context Public Draft; the Virna Canson Papers; Creating the California Dream: Virna Canson and the Black Freedom Struggle in the Golden State’s Capital, 1940-1988; Virna Canson’s Obituary; City of Sacramento’s History of Annexation Activity; Blackpast.org; UCSB Framefinder; Building Permits; Land Park Community Plan; Cultural Landscape Survey and Evaluation of William Land Park
*Recorded by Ella Cross and Alyssa Marie Garcia *Date 4/28/2023 Continuation Update
DPR 523L (1/95) *Required Information
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________ CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial ____________________________________________ Photographs (continued):
Photograph 1: Angled view of the front façade from the street.
Photograph 1: Angled view of the front façade from the street.
*Recorded by Ella Cross and Alyssa Marie Garcia *Date 4/28/2023 Continuation Update
DPR 523L (1/95) *Required Information
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________ CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial ____________________________________________ Photograph 2: North end of the house.
Photograph 3: The apartment complex located west, in the back of the property.
*P11. Report Citation: None
*Attachments: None Location Map Sketch Map Continuation Sheet Building, Structure, and Object Record Archaeological Record District Record Linear Feature Record Milling Station Record Rock Art Record Artifact Record Photograph Record Other (list)
DPR 523A (1/95) *Required Information
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________ PRIMARY RECORD Trinomial _____________________________________ NRHP Status Code
Other Listings _______________________________________________________________ Review Code __________ Reviewer ____________________________ Date ___________ P1. Other Identifier:
*P2. Location: Not for Publication Unrestricted *a. County Sacramento and (P2b and P2c or P2d. Attach a Location Map as necessary.) *b. USGS 7.5’ Quad Sacramento West Date 2022 T 08N; R 04E; SW¼ of the SW¼ of Sec 26; M.D.B.M. c. Address 6390 South Land Park Drive City Sacramento Zip 95835 e. Other Locational Data: Assessor Parcel Number: 02402970020000 *P3a. Description:
The 0.24-acre parcel at 6390 South Land Park Drive consists of a 2618 square-foot, two-story, Mid-Century Modern/ Contemporary style residence, with an attached two-car garage, a metal framed glass wall family room addition, and a detached shed structure in the back yard along the north side of the property line. The residence has wood-frame construction on a concrete slab, with irregular massing that combines a semi-enclosed, u-shaped courtyard entry with a compound ground plan. The residence features low, broad flat roofs with wide overhanging, fully enclosed eaves (Photograph 1). One section of the roof, above the semi-enclosed entry courtyard, features open, exposed wooden rafters. The roof of the residence is clad in layers of built-up bitumen. The residence is clad in two types of wall materials. The majority of the residence features patterned wood siding, which combines smooth finish plywood siding with decorative trim boards to create a panelized look. The northeast side of the front façade features a concrete masonry veneer with a contemporary pattern.
The horizontal rows alternate between all stretchers on one, and a varied pattern of stretchers and paired headers on the next. Headers have a consistent pattern of one recessed, one protruding (Photograph 2). (See Continuation Sheet) *P3b. Resource Attributes: HP2—Single family residence
*P4. Resources Present: Building Structure Object Site District Element of District Other (Isolates, etc.) P5b. Description of Photo: (View, date,
accession #) Photograph 1. Southeast
Corner, Looking Northwest
*P6. Date Constructed/Age and Sources:
Historic Prehistoric Both
1963, Sacramento County Assessor
*P7. Owner and Address:
John M Lewis
*P8. Recorded by: Beatrice Cook,
California State University, Sacramento,
Department of History,
6000 J Street, Sacramento, CA 95819
*P9. Date Recorded: April 28, 2023
*P10. Survey Type: Intensive
P5a. Photo or Drawing (Photo required for buildings, structures, and objects.)
*Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder) Leon Residence DPR 523B (1/95) *Required Information
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________
BUILDING, STRUCTURE, AND OBJECT RECORD
B1. Historic Name: 6390 South Land Park Drive
B2. Common Name: 6390 South Land Park Drive
B3. Original Use: Residence B4. Present Use: Residence
*B5. Architectural Style: Mid-Century Modern - Contemporary *B6. Construction History: Construction was completed in 1963, Family room addition completed in 1967. *B7. Moved? No Yes Unknown
*B8. Related Features: ________
B9. Architect: James C. Dodd b. Builder:
*B10. Significance: Theme Association with significant person(s), architectural style, and work of a master. Area South Land Park Hills Period of Significance 1963-2001 Criterion II; 1963 Criterion IV Property Type Residential Applicable Criteria Sacramento Register of Historic and Cultural Resources Criteria II and IV.
The property located at 6390 South Land Park Drive in Sacramento, California, is eligible for listing on the Sacramento Register of Historic and Cultural Resources Criteria II and IV. Criterion II recognizes properties that are associated with significant people who have made a noteworthy contribution to the community, state, or nation's social, cultural, economic, or political history. The property is eligible under this criterion because of its association with the individuals Wilmer and Edwina Leon, who were highly respected members of the African American community in Sacramento. Both Wilmer and Edwina were individually involved in various civic societies and organizations promoting the fair treatment of African American residents. Criterion IV recognizes properties that embody the unique features of a particular style, era, or building method, represent the exceptional cr aftsmanship of a master, demonstrate exceptional artistic values, or represent a significant and distinct entity, even if their individual components may lack distinctiveness . It is noteworthy for its association with the craftsmanship of James C. Dodd, a renowned local African-American architect. The property retains a high level of integrity in terms of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association. Its historic context is well-preserved, and its significance is intertwined with its association with the African American community and the notable contributions of the Leons and James C. Dodd. The property maintains its original appearance from the associated period of significance and retains its feeling of privacy. (See Continuation Sheet) B11. Additional Resource Attributes: (List attributes and codes) *B12. References:
(See Continuation Sheet)
B13. Remarks:
*B14. Evaluator: Beatrice Cook and Ella Cross
*Date of Evaluation: April 28, 2023
(This space reserved for official comments.)
*Recorded by Beatrice Cook and Ella Cross *Date April 28, 2023 Continuation Update DPR 523L (1/95) *Required Information
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________ CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial ____________________________________________ P3a. Description (continued):
The first floor of the front façade (east facing) is mostly obscured by wood fencing with thin vertical boards, and plant cover, excepting the garage on the south east corner of the residence which is fully visible (Photograph 3). The fence features a wrought iron screen door with a geometric pattern that leads to the semi-enclosed courtyard. The entrance to the residence is obscured by the fence and the screen door, when closed. When open, the courtyard beyond is partially visible, showing the walkway, the foliage-surrounded water feature, which is crossed by a bridge with a wooden railing that leads to the front door (Photograph 4). Visible on the east facing wall beyond the courtyard is a panelized trio of vinyl framed windows . The wall is clad above and below with smooth finish plywood and decorative trim boards, completing the panelized look. This same pattern is repeated on the northeast wing, on the front façade, where a window can be seen, though partially obscured behind the fence. The vinyl framed sliding window is again flanked by s mooth finish plywood and decorative trim board cladding above, and presumably below. The northeast wing front facing wing of the residence features a raised ceiling section protruding upwards, with clerestory windows separated by mullions, wrapping around all four sides; three on the south and north facing sides, and four on the east and west facing sides. Rising from the elevated section is a low profile, concrete masonry clad, metal hooded chimney (Photograph 5). The façade of the second floor features a ribbon of four vinyl framed sliding windows, which are partially obscured by a wooden vertical slat, exterior window screen.
The south facing wall features two vinyl framed sliding windows on the first floor, along the side of the garage. On the second floor, the south facing wall features a single vinyl framed sliding window near the rear of the residence (Photograph 1). The north facing wall features an outward swinging wrought iron screen door that covers a vinyl frame sliding glass door, located at the front of the residence, leading to a side yard. Further down the north facing wall is a three pane, vinyl framed sliding glass door, partially covered by an outward swinging wrought iron screen door. The roofline above the north facing wall features a vertical post and metal guard rail. The north facing wall of the second floor features a single vinyl frame sliding window near the rear of the residence. The rear wall, (west facing) is not visible from the street, though records show the presence of a metal framed, glass wall, family room addition.
To the north of the residence, a stand-alone shed is located along the north fence line and features a slant shed style roof, clad in composite roofing shingles, and clad in vertical wooden board siding (Photograph 6).
B10. Significance (continued):
Historic Context
Neighborhood Development
The property located at 6390 South Land Park Drive is located within the South Land Park Hills subdivision of Sacramento, California. Before residences in the development were built, the area was largely rural and undeveloped. In the 1930s and 1940s, as Sacramento began to grow and expand, the area around South Land Park Hills began to see more development, and in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developers began to purchase tracts of land in the area and started to build residences, with South Land Park Hills being one of several subdivisions that were developed during this time.
Visionary homebuilder Joseph Eichler decided to expand his operations beyond the San Francisco Bay Area, introducing his distinctive modern home designs to The South Land Park Hills subdivision in 1955. Unfortunately, Eichler homes faced challenges in finding acceptance, as Sacramentans were unaccustomed to the bold features of houses with extensive glass and flat roofs. The initial project concluded with approximately 60 homes built, falling short of Eichler Street's vicinity, which curiously lacks any Eichler homes. This withdrawal from the market was due to the limited appeal and unfamiliarity with Eichler's distinct designs in Sacramento. Eichler's decision to withdraw from the development resulted in numerous vacant parcels left behind , including the parcel at 6390 South Land Park Drive.
South Land Park Hills was a primarily white neighborhood during its initial phase of development, and discriminatory practices preventing people of color from purchasing homes or living in the area were common. In some cases, black families who were unable to buy homes because of discriminatory practices would enlist the help of white friends or acquaintances to purchase homes or lots on their behalf. The use of white proxies to buy homes or lots for black families was one way that black families sought to overcome the barriers to homeownership and access to resources that they faced during this time. While this practice was not illegal, it was often met with hostility and suspicion from white residents who saw it as a threat to their community. Discriminatory practices led to three months of protests in South Land Park Hills after it came to light that Aerojet physicist Arthur Lyman, an African American resident of Sacramento, was denied the purchase of a residence in the neighborhood after his race was discovered.
B10. Significance (continued):
Records indicate that the parcel located at 6390 South Land Park Drive was initially purchased by Anthony Van Walferen, a white resident of Sacramento, in April of 1959. Six months later the Deed of Trust was transferred to Wilmer and Edwina Leon, prominent African American residents of Sacramento. Records are not clear on the nature of this agreement. However, it appears similar to many other local purchases using a white proxy to bypass discriminatory real estate practices. The Leon family began construction on a custom residence, designed by locally renowned African American architect James C. Dodd in early 1962. Records indicate that construction of the residence was completed in February of 1963.
Wilmer Joseph Leon Jr.
*Recorded by Beatrice Cook and Ella Cross *Date April 28, 2023 Continuation Update DPR 523L (1/95) *Required Information
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________ CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial ____________________________________________ Wilmer Joseph Leon Jr., born in 1920 in Donaldsonville, Louisiana, was a prominent figure in the African American community in Sacramento, California.
After serving in the United States Army during World War II, he pursued higher education and obtained a Bachelor's degree from Southern University in 1949, utilizing his G.I. Bill benefits. While studying at Southern University, Wilmer met Edwina Therrell Devore, a resident of New Orleans. The two married and moved to Alameda County, California. Wilmer attended the University of California at Berkeley, where he earned a Master's Degree in Sociology in 1954.
Wilmer had a distinguished career marked by his dedication to public service and advocacy. He began his tenure with the California Department of Corrections, where he served for 12 years, initially as a Parole Officer and later as the Assistant District Parole Supervisor. In 1966, Wilmer's commitment to equality and fairness led to his appointment as the first director of the Sacramento regional office of the State Fair Employment Practices Commission. Recognized for his exceptional qualities and expertise, he was nominated for a draft board post in 1968.
Wilmer actively participated in various organizations that aimed to promote social justice and equal opportunities. He was a valued member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Urban League, Catholic Youth Organization, and the Sacramento Committee for Fair Housing.
In addition to his advocacy work, Wilmer shared his knowledge and expertise as a Criminal Justice Lecturer at California State University, Sacramento. His passion for education and the pursuit of justice extended to co-authoring the textbook "American Minorities: The Justice Issue." Throughout his career and community involvement, Wilmer Joseph Leon Jr. exemplified his unwavering dedication to creating a fair and inclusive society. Wilmer passed away on December 15, 2011.
Edwina Therrell Leon
Edwina Therrell Devore Leon, born in 1924 in New Orleans, was an equally esteemed figure within the African American community in Sacramento, California.
Edwina was inspired by her upbringing in New Orleans to dedicate her life to helping others. Her personal experiences and the vibrant culture of her hometown instilled in her a strong sense of compassion and a drive to make a positive impact on people's lives. This profound inspiration influenced her career in social work and fueled her commitment to advocating for social justice, providing support to those in need, and empowering marginalized communities. She attended Southern University, where she obtained her Bachelor's degree, and later earned her Ph.D. in Social Work from the University of Chicago.
Edwina began her professional endeavors as the assistant director of Catholic Social Services in Sacramento, providing crucial support to individuals and families in need. She actively engaged with the Negro Women's Civic Improvement Club (NWCIC), eventually becoming the President. In 1958, she, along with fifteen other local alumni, founded Sacramento's first chapter of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, the Eta Gamma Omega Chapter of the exclusively African American sorority. In 1964, Edwina was offered the opportunity to help establish California State University, Sacramento's Social Work department, where she became the first and only African American professor in the program at the time.
B10. Significance (continued):
After her retirement from the university in 1982, Edwina founded and directed Visions Unlimited, a network of outpatient mental health facilities primarily serving minority and low-income communities in the local area. Her commitment to fostering mental well-being and providing accessible care made a profound impact on those she served. In recognition of her remarkable contributions to the community, Edwina was listed as one of "Sacramento’s 100 Most Influential Blacks" by The Observer, a local African American newspaper, in 1984. She was named an “outstanding woman” in 1996 by the YWCA for her work in children’s services. Edwina retired from Visions in 2001, the same year she received special recognition from the Sacramento City Council for her contributions to the community. Edwina passed away on March 22, 2009.
James C. Dodd
James C. Dodd Sr. designed the residence at 6390 South Land Park Drive for Wilmer and Edwina, with their input. The property is one of only a few documented single-family residential properties that Dodd designed. Dodd was a notable African-American architect in Sacramento, California, who gained local significance for his contributions to Mid-Century Modern architecture. Dodd was born in Texas in 1923 and served as an Army lieutenant in World War II. After the war, Dodd used the G.I. Bill to study architecture at the University of California, Berkeley and later became a draftsman for the State Division of Architecture. He left his position as a draftsman and joined the architectural firm of Barovetto & Thomas, one of the oldest and continuing Architecture firms in Sacramento. Dodd’s architectural work is prominent throughout Sacramento and Northern California.
Dodd designed churches, educational facilities, and private and public buildings throughout the city. He was also one of the first licensed African-American architects in Sacramento. One of his most notable works is the Shiloh Baptist Church, which is listed as a landmark on the California Register of Historical Resources and the National Register of Historic Places. Dodd was also involved in affordable housing projects throughout Northern California, Nevada, Utah, and Mississippi during his nearly 40-year career. During the 1970s and 1980s, Dodd’s architectural career extended into the social realm of developing affordable housing projects in Northern California. He collaborated with the Rural Communities Housing Development Corporation (RCHDC) in Ukiah, California, to design low-income housing in Mendocino County and Lake County.
Dodd was also involved in politics and education. He served on the Board of Directors in the local chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), and later as statewide director of the California Council of the American Institute of Architects (CCAIA) Board of Directors, and at the national level as a Regional Director on the AIA Board. Dodd held a seat on the City Board of Education in 1966 and was later appointed to the Board of Govern ors of the California Community Colleges by Governor Ronald Reagan. He also served as a member of the Coordinating Council on Higher Education. Dodd passed away on February 9, 2018. He was an active and well-respected member of the community, as well as the recipient of numerous awards. Dodd's contributions to the field of architecture and affordable housing have left a lasting impact on Sacramento and Northern California.
*Recorded by Beatrice Cook and Ella Cross *Date April 28, 2023 Continuation Update DPR 523L (1/95) *Required Information
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________ CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial ____________________________________________ Mid-Century Modern
South Land Park Hills is home to a number of Mid-Century Modern homes, including the residence at 6390 South Land Park Drive. “Mid-Century Modern” describes an architectural style popular period during the decades following World War II and lasted until the 1970s. During this period, the nation experienced unprecedented growth in the economy and population, which resulted in the mass production of building types in the style across the nation, including Sacramento. The Mid-Century Modern style was applied to a wide variety of properties, including residences, churches, schools, banks, institution al buildings, recreational buildings, commercial and office buildings, and others.
Mid-Century Modern architectural style was particularly popular in California. California's post-war economic prosperity, booming population, and forwardthinking mindset made it an ideal environment for the embrace of innovative architectural styles. California's climate and natural surroundings also lent themselves well to the Mid-Century Modern aesthetic. The abundance of sunlight and mild weather allowed for the incorporation of large windows, open floor plans, and seamless transitions between indoor and outdoor areas. Notably, the Mid-Century Modern movement saw the emergence of visionary developers such as Joseph Eichler, who made significant contributions to the architectural landscape. Eichler's developments, including those in Northern California, showcased the distinctive characteristics of Mid-Century Modern design, becoming highly sought-after examples of the style. These neighborhoods, with their forward-thinking designs and sense of community, continue to be celebrated for their enduring influence on modern architecture.
B10. Significance (continued):
The style is characterized by clean, often rectilinear lines, simple shapes, and minimal ornamentation. Buildings in this style often feature large windows or window walls and open floor plans that maximize natural light and create a sense of flow between indoor and outdoor spaces. Mid-century modern architecture often incorporated new materials and construction techniques, including steel, concrete, glass, and plastic, which were used in innovative ways. Natural building materials were also often incorporated, including wooden elements, stone, and plywood panels, in an attempt to create a sense of harmony with the building and its surroundings. Other common elements among Mid-Century Modern buildings include low-pitched roofs, cantilevered roofs, and flat or shed roof forms, often with deep overhanging eaves. In residential forms, entrances are often obscured from view, behind masonry or wooden privacy walls, or by the unique placement of the doorway.
Asian architecture was one of the many sources of inspiration for mid-century modern architecture. Architects and designers of the time were interested in the simplicity and elegance of traditional Japanese architecture, particularly the use of natural materials and the integration of indoor and outdoor spaces.
This influence can be seen in the use of wood and stone in many mid-century modern buildings, as well as in the incorporation of Japanese-style gardens and other outdoor features. Mid-century modern designers also drew inspiration from other global design trends, including Scandinavian design, which emphasized simplicity and functionality, and the International Style, which emphasized the use of modern materials such as glass and steel. Overall, midcentury modern architecture represents a unique and innovative period in American design history, characterized by a desire to create functional, affordable, and visually appealing buildings that integrate with the surrounding environment.
Evaluation
The property at 6390 South Land Park Drive does not appear to be eligible for inclusion on the Sacramento Register of Historic and Cultural Resources under Criteria I, III, V or VI.
The property is eligible for inclusion on the Sacramento Register of Historic and Cultural Resources under Criterion II, which requires that the property be associated with significant individuals who have made a significant contribution to the cultural, social, economic, or political history of the community, state, or nation. The property is eligible for its association with the individuals Wilmer Leon and Edwina Leon, both well-respected members of the African American community in Sacramento. The Leons were individually active in many civic societies and organizations that sought to promote the fair treatment of African American residents in Sacramento and across the state. Wilmer Leon championed civil rights issues through his work with the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), his appointment as the first director of the Sacramento regional office of the State Fair Employment Practices Commission, and his teaching and writing about criminal justice at California State University, Sacramento. Edwina Leon was equally active in the local community, working with the Negro Women's Civic Improvement Club (NWCIC), founding Sacramento's first chapter of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, and helping to establish California State University, Sacramento's Social Work department, where she became the first and only African American professor in the program at the time. Until her retirement, Edwina taught and published works, after which she founded and directed Visions Unlimited, a group of outpatient mental health facilities primarily serving minority and low-income communities in the local area. Edwina was also named one of “Sacramento’s 100 Most Influential Blacks”, according to The Observer in 1984.
The property also meets the eligibility for Criterion IV, which deems a property eligible for listing if it represents the exceptional craftsmanship of a master.
The property is eligible for its association with the craftmanship of renowned local African-American architect James C. Dodd. Dodd was a prominent figure in Sacramento's African American community and an accomplished architect who left who made significant contributions to the field of architecture in the region. The property is one of only a few documented single-family residential properties that Dodd designed, making it an important representation of his work in this typology. Dodd's work is notable for its clean lines, efficient use of space, and incorporation of outdoor livin g spaces. He designed churches, educational facilities, and private and public buildings throughout the city, including one of his most notable works, the Sh iloh Baptist Church, which is listed on the Sacramento Register of Historic and Cultural Resources. The involvement of Dodd in the design of the residence at 6390 South Land Park Drive adds to its significance under Criterion IV.
*Recorded by Beatrice Cook and Ella Cross *Date April 28, 2023 Continuation Update DPR 523L (1/95) *Required Information
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________ CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial ____________________________________________ B10. Significance (continued):
The property at 6390 South Land Park Drive retains a high level of integrity in terms of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association. Its location within the South Land Park Hills subdivision of Sacramento has remained unchanged since its construction in 1964, and the property’s feeling and relationship with its surroundings are intact. The property's hidden courtyard entry and Mid-Century Modern-Contemporary architectural style contribute to its historic context and retain its original form. The design, materials, and workmanship, including the use of patterned wood siding and concrete masonry veneer, are also original. The property's significance is intertwined with its association with the African American community and the notable contributions of the Leons and James C. Dodd. It maintains its original appearance from the associated period of significance. The property also retains its feeling of privacy, tranquility, and connection to the outdoors, exemplified by its semi-enclosed courtyard and indoor-outdoor living space. Overall, the property retains a high level of integrity and continues to embody the qualities that contribute to its significance under th e National Register of Historic Places criteria.
Conclusion
In summary, the property at 6390 South Land Park Drive meets the eligibility criteria for listing on the Sacramento Register of Historic and Cultural Resources under Criteria II and IV. It is associated with significant individuals, Wilmer and Edwina Leon, who made notable contributions to the cultural, social, economic, and political history of the community. The property also embodies the unique features and craftsmanship of renowned local African-American architect James C. Dodd, adding to its significance. The property retains a remarkable level of integrity in terms of its location, design, materials, and association, preserving its original appearance and maintaining a strong connection to its designated period of significance. The years fr om 1963 to 2001 encompass the Leons' residency at the property, during which they made noteworthy contributions to the community. Additionally, the property showcases Dodd's architectural style and craftsmanship, with its period of significance centered around its construction year of 1963. The property's historical and architectural significance, combined with its well-preserved appearance and connection to its period of significance, make it a compelling candidate for listing on the Sacramento Register of Historic and Cultural Resources.
B12. References (continued):
"6390 S Land Park Dr, Sacramento, CA 95831 - Google Maps." Google Maps.
*Recorded by Beatrice Cook and Ella Cross *Date April 28, 2023 Continuation Update DPR 523L (1/95) *Required Information
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________ CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial ____________________________________________ https://www.google.com/maps/place/6390+S+Land+Park+Dr,+Sacramento,+CA+95831/@38.5107497,121.5261971,15z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m6 !3 m5!1s0x809ad1e7bf491d8f:0xc6701a771e6eb9c0!8m2!3d38.5107334!4d-121.5159188!16s%2Fg%2F11c28tmnmf. "ANTHONY VAN WOLFEREN OBITUARY." Legacy.com. January 4, 2014. Sacramento Bee. https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/sacbee/name/anthony-vanwolferen-obituary?id=11209473.
Barrow, Genoa. "Gone, but Not Forgotten." The Observer (Sacramento, California), December 24, 2009 "Beyond the Built Environment- James C. Dodd Biography". 2023. https://www.beyondthebuilt.com/james-c-dodd Bridge, N. Architecture 101: From Frank Gehry to Ziggurats, an Essential Guide to Building Styles and Materials. Adams Media, 2015. https://books.google.com/books?id=8G4kDwAAQBAJ.
Burzon, Julia K. 2022. Welcome Home 3 (James C. Dodd Architect Sacramento, CA). https://www.hmvcgallery.com/product/welcome-home-3-james-c-doddarchitect-sacramento-ca/.
California State University, Sacramento. 2007. "Emeriti and Emeritae Faculty Listing: Edwina Leon (1964), Professor of Social Work Emeritus (1983)." Camayd, Laura, Certified Local Government Program Specialist, and Sarah Blankenship, Texas Main Street Program Project Design Assistant. "Identifying Mid-Century Residential Architecture." Texas Historical Commission. https://www.thc.texas.gov/public/upload/publications/Mid-Century-Resources.pdf Colley, Nathaniel S. Personal Letter Addressed to Wilmer Leon. Sacramento, April 23, 1969, Center for Sacramento History Nathan Colley Collection CSUS Retirees Association. 2009. "In Memoriam Archive for the Year 2009 (Edwina Leon)." https://www.csus.edu/org/retirees/in_memory/2009_mem.html.
Davila, Robert. "Social worker spent her life teaching and aiding poor, elderly." Sacramento Bee, The (CA), March 26, 2009: B4. NewsBank: Acc ess World News – Historical and Current. https://infoweb-newsbank-com.proxy.lib.csus.edu/apps/news "EDWINA LEON OBITUARY." Legacy.com. March 26, 2009, Sacramento Bee. https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/sacbee/name/edwina-leonobituary?id=12659850.
Fisher, Damany Morris. "Far from Utopia: Race, Housing, and the Fight to End Residential Segregation in Sacramento, 1900–1980." ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 2008.
GEI Consultants, Inc.; Mead & Hunt, Inc. 2017. "City Of Sacramento." Mid-Century Modern in the City of Sacramento Historic Context Statement and Survey Results. September 30. http://www.cityofsacramento.org/-/media/corporate/files/cdd/planning/urban-design/preservation/mcm-contextstatement-report_update-website.pdf. “Ghetto Housing Is 1st Unitarian Meeting Topic: Minority Housing: Ghettos Black And White,” Sacramento Bee (Sac ramento, California), July 20, 1968: 15.
NewsBank: Access World News – Historical and Current. https://infoweb-newsbank-com.proxy.lib.csus.edu/apps/news Greene, Fayal. 1991. The Anatomy of a House: A Picture Dictionary of Architectural and Design Elements . New York: Doubleday.
Hope, Andrew. Tract Housing in California, 1945-1973: A Context for National Register Evaluation. California Department of Transportation, 2011.
Hopkins, Owen. Architectural Styles: A Visual Guide. Laurence King Publishing, 2014.
Kreiss, Margaret, “Pencil Me In: Stepping Stones” Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, California), August 1, 1971: 76. NewsBank: Access World News – Historical and Current. https://infoweb-newsbank com.proxy.lib.csus.edu/apps/news "Kyles Temple Named Historic Site." The Observer 52 (Sacramento, California), no. 15, March 19, 2015 “Letter From the People: Like Race Tab,” Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, California), October 3, 1969: 16. NewsBank: Access World News – Historical and Current. https://infoweb-newsbank-com.proxy.lib.csus.edu/apps/news Leon, Edwina. The Melting Pot Fable: Achieving Effective Social Work Practice with Minorities of Color. 1981. "Local AKA Chapter Started in 1958." The Observer (Sacramento, California), January 29, 2009.
Long, Elton. American Minorities: The Justice Issue [by] Elton Long [and Others]. Prentice-Hall Essentials of Law Enforcement Series. Englewood Cliffs, N.J:
Prentice-Hall, 1975.
*Recorded by Beatrice Cook and Ella Cross *Date April 28, 2023 Continuation Update DPR 523L (1/95) *Required Information
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________ CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial ____________________________________________ “LOTS: South Land Park Hills Unit 7.” Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, California), August 23, 1958, 31. https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/new McAlester, Virginia. A Field Guide to American Houses: The Definitive Guide to Identifying and Understanding America's Domestic Architecture / Virginia Savage McAlester; with Drawings by Suzanne Patton Matty and Photographs by Steve Clicque. 2nd ed. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2013.
McMorrough, Julia, and Dan Wheeler. The Architecture Reference & Specification Book: Everything Architects Need to Know Every Day. Osceola, UNITED STATES: Quarto Publishing Group USA, 2008. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/csus/detail.action?docID=3399923.
National Register of Historic Places. Primary Record, "James C. Dodd Residence, Sacramento, California," April 2020.
Oland, Dana "A Vision of a Better Quality of Life." SACRAMENTO BEE, October 22, 1995, D5 https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/ Pagoda Red. "Under the Influence: Modernism's Debt to Asia." Pagoda Red Blog, August 10, 2016 https://www.pagodared.com/blog/2016/08/10/under-theinfluence-modernisms-debt-to-asia/ “Race Relations Will Be Topic For Workshop,” Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, California), October 6, 1967: 7. NewsBank: Access World News – Historical and Current. https://infoweb-newsbank-com.proxy.lib.csus.edu/apps/news “Reagan Meets With Capital Area Negroes,” Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, California), March 30, 1968: 17. NewsBank: Access World News – Historical and Current. https://infoweb-newsbank-com.proxy.lib.csus.edu/apps/news Rental Listing for 6390 South Land Park Drive, 2023, https://www.apartments.com/6390-s-land-park-dr-sacramento-ca/5n1gekm/.
Rutland, Ginger. "Social Worker extraordinaire." The Sacramento Bee, August 4, 2001: B6. NewsBank: Access World News – Historical and Current. https://infoweb-newsbank-com.proxy.lib.csus.edu/apps/news Sacramento County Assessor. 1962. Building Division- Building Inspector's Report Card: Permit No. E-1253.
Sacramento County Assessor. 1967. Building Division- Building Inspector's Report Card: Permit No. F-6175.
Sacramento County Assessor's Office. Assessor's Map Book 024, Page 029. https://assessorparcelviewer.saccounty.gov/jsviewer/assessor.html#.
Sacramento County. 1959. "Clerk/Recorder Public Index Search." 680 Deed Transfer Between Van Walferen and the Leons. October 20. https://recordersdocumentindex.saccounty.net/#!/searchResult#!%2Fdisclaimer. —. 1959. "Clerk/Recorder Public Index Search." 690 Deed Transfer Van Walferen Initial Purchase. April 7. https://recordersdocumentindex.saccounty.net/#!/searchResult#!%2Fdisclaimer. —. 1963. "Clerk/Recorder Public Index Search." 306 Notice of Completion on 6390 South Land Park Drive. February 26. https://recordersdocumentindex.saccounty.net/#!/searchResult#!%2Fdisclaimer. "Sacramento’s 100 Most Influential Blacks.” The Observer. (Sacramento, California), February 1984, 15. "South Land Park Hills Historic District Plan, Proposed Eichler District." City of Sacramento. https://www.cityofsacramento.org/Community-Development/Planning/Urban-Design/Preservation/Eichler-Historic-District. “State FEPC Office IS Opened In Capital.” Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, California), December 19, 1966: 8. NewsBank: Access World News – Historical and Current. https://infoweb-newsbank-com.proxy.lib.csus.edu/apps/news "Stepping Stones Hold Fundraising Frolic." The Observer 8, no. 39 (Sacramento, California) September 9, 1971 Turnbull, Page &, and Damany M. Fisher. 2022. "Sacramento African American Experience History Project: Historic Context Statement." Sacramento. “Two Minority Group Members Are Nominated For Draft Board Posts.” Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, California), February 13, 1968, 28. https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news
White, Lynell Hanzel. "Civil Rights Activists and California Politicians Challenge Housing Discrimination in Sacramento, 1950-1966." California State University, Sacramento, 2016.
“White Racism Is Hit In Panel Discussion,” Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, California), October 28, 1968: 24. NewsBank: Access World News – Historical and Current. https://infoweb-newsbank-com.proxy.lib.csus.edu/apps/news Williams, James, "The NAACP Reports: The NAACP Fund Raiser." The Observer 9, no. 1, December 2, 1971
*Recorded by Beatrice Cook and Ella Cross *Date April 28, 2023 Continuation Update DPR 523L (1/95) *Required Information
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________ CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial ____________________________________________ Wade, Alan D. Personal Letter to Nathan Colley in Response to Promotion Recommendation for Edwina Leon, Sacramento, November 8, 1971, Center for Sacramento History Nathan Colley Collection
Weinstein, Dave. "Eichlers in South Land Park, Sacramento." Eichler Network. https://www.eichlernetwork.com/article/eichlers -southland-park-sacramento?page=0,2. "WILMER LEON OBITUARY." Legacy.com. December 20, 2011, Sacramento Bee. https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/sacbee/name/wilmer-leonobituary?id=9982323&fhid=8300.
York, Jennifer M., and T. D. Jakes. Who's Who among African Americans. Vol. 16th ed, Detroit, MI: Gale Group, 2003. Book. https://login.proxy.lib.csus.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=87632.
*Recorded by Beatrice Cook and Ella Cross *Date April 28, 2023 Continuation Update DPR 523L (1/95) *Required Information
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________ CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial ____________________________________________ Photographs (continued):
Photograph 2: Front Façade, Entry Courtyard, Camera facing northwest.
Photograph 3: Front Façade, camera facing west.
*Recorded by Beatrice Cook and Ella Cross *Date April 28, 2023 Continuation Update DPR 523L (1/95) *Required Information
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________ CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial ____________________________________________ Photograph 4: Front Façade, detail shot of entry courtyard and second-floor wooden slate exterior window screen. Camera facing west
*Recorded by Beatrice Cook and Ella Cross *Date April 28, 2023 Continuation Update DPR 523L (1/95) *Required Information
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________ CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial ____________________________________________ Photograph 5: North-facing side, camera angle facing south west.
*Recorded by Beatrice Cook and Ella Cross *Date April 28, 2023 Continuation Update DPR 523L (1/95) *Required Information
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________ CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial ____________________________________________ Photograph 6: Detached Shed located on the north side of the property, camera angle facing southwest.
*Recorded by Beatrice Cook and Ella Cross *Date April 28, 2023 Continuation Update DPR 523L (1/95) *Required Information
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________ CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial ____________________________________________ Figure 1: Google Maps screenshot of 6390 S Land Park Dr, Sacramento, CA 95831
*Recorded by Beatrice Cook and Ella Cross *Date April 28, 2023 Continuation Update DPR 523L (1/95) *Required Information
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________ CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial ____________________________________________ Figure 2: Sacramento County Assessor's Office, Assessor's Map Book 024, Page 029
*Recorded by Beatrice Cook and Ella Cross *Date April 28, 2023 Continuation Update DPR 523L (1/95) *Required Information
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________ CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial ____________________________________________ Figure 3: Building Inspectors Card, Initial Construction
*Recorded by Beatrice Cook and Ella Cross *Date April 28, 2023 Continuation Update DPR 523L (1/95) *Required Information
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________ CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial ____________________________________________ Figure 4: Building Inspectors Card, Addition Construction
*Recorded by Beatrice Cook and Ella Cross *Date April 28, 2023 Continuation Update DPR 523L (1/95) *Required Information
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________ CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial ____________________________________________ Figure 5: Painting of Residence at 6390 South Land Park Drive Welcome Home 3 (James C. Dodd Architect), Julia K. Burzon
*Recorded by Beatrice Cook and Ella Cross *Date April 28, 2023 Continuation Update DPR 523L (1/95) *Required Information
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________ CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial ____________________________________________ Figure 6: Personal Correspondence from Nathan Colley to Wilmer J Leon Jr.
Center for Sacramento History Nathan Colley Collection
*Recorded by Beatrice Cook and Ella Cross *Date April 28, 2023 Continuation Update DPR 523L (1/95) *Required Information
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________ CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial ____________________________________________ Figure 7: Personal Correspondence to Nathan Colley in reference to Edwina T. Leon Center for Sacramento History Nathan Colley Collection
*Recorded by Beatrice Cook and Ella Cross *Date April 28, 2023 Continuation Update DPR 523L (1/95) *Required Information
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________ CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial ____________________________________________ Figure 8: The Observer “Sacramento’s 100 Most Influential Blacks”; Cover of Story Figure 9: Edwina Leon, named as one of “Sacramento’s 100 Most Influential Blacks ”
*P11. Report Citation: (Cite survey report and other sources, or enter “none.”) None *Attachments: None Location Map Sketch Map Continuation Sheet Building, Structure, and Object Record Archaeological Record District Record Linear Feature Record Milling Station Record Rock Art Record Artifact Record Photograph Record Other (list)
DPR 523A (1/95) *Required Information
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________ PRIMARY RECORD Trinomial _____________________________________ NRHP Status Code
Other Listings _______________________________________________________________ Review Code __________ Reviewer ____________________________ Date ___________ P1. Other Identifier: 4991 Warwick Avenue
*P2. Location: Not for Publication Unrestricted *a. County Sacramento and (P2b and P2c or P2d. Attach a Location Map as necessary.) *b. USGS 7.5’ Quad Sacramento East Date 1947 (photorevised 1966) T 8N; R 5E; SW ¼ of Sec 20; Mount Diablo B.M. c. Address 4991 Warwick Avenue City Sacramento Zip 95820 e. Other Locational Data:
Assessor Parcel Number: 022-0103-024
*P3a. Description: (Describe resource and its major elements. Include design, materials, condition, alterations, size, setting, and boundaries) This 1,027 square-foot single-family residence at 4991 Warwick Avenue is located on a .17-acre lot in the South Oak Park neighborhood in Sacramento, California. It is a single-family Minimal Traditional house that was built in 1955 with a roughly rectangular plan. It is a wood-framed building, and all walls are clad in stucco with little to no decorative detailing.
The building has a low-pitched roof with two hipped elements and extends over the attached garage. The roof is clad in composition shingles and features narrow boxed eaves throughout. There is a shed-style awning that extends from the roof and provides shelter over the front porch; the awning has two wood support beams. The front-façade features a small, offset concrete entry porch with two large steps and one smaller step. There is one medium-sized window located on either side of the flushed front door. There is a 1 x 1 sliding square window with aluminum framing to the right of the front doorway and a 1 x 1 sliding rectangular window with aluminum framing to the left of the front door that is covered by a solar shade. (See Continuation Sheet)
*P3b. Resource Attributes: (List attributes and codes) HP2–Single-Family Residence *P4. Resources Present: Building Structure Object Site District Element of District Other (Isolates, etc.) P5b. Description of Photo: (View, date,
accession #) Photo#1. Camera facing east,
April 13, 2023
*P6. Date Constructed/Age and Sources:
Historic Prehistoric Both
1955 (Sacramento County Assessor’s
Office)
*P7. Owner and Address:
Lakeitha Shaver
4991 Warwick Ave, Sacramento CA,
95820
*P8. Recorded by: (Name, affiliation, address)
Ella Cross, CSUS. 6000 J Street
Sacramento, CA 95819.
*P9. Date Recorded: April 13, 2023
*P10. Survey Type: (Describe)
Intensive
P5a. Photo or Drawing (Photo required for buildings, structures, and objects.)
*Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder) Francis House DPR 523B (1/95) *Required Information
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________
BUILDING, STRUCTURE, AND OBJECT RECORD
B1. Historic Name: Francis House
B2. Common Name: 4991 Warwick Avenue
B3. Original Use: Residential B4. Present Use: Residential *B5. Architectural Style: Minimal Traditional
*B6. Construction History: (Construction date, alteration, and date of alterations) The property located at 4991 Warwick Avenue was built in 1955. Building permits indicate that the building was reroofed in 1998 and show that new windows were installed in 2016 by the current owner. (City of Sacramento’s Citizen Permit Portal) *B7. Moved? No Yes Unknown Date: Original Location:
*B8. Related Features: None
B9. Architect: Unknown b. Builder: Unknown
*B10. Significance: Theme n/a Area South Oak Park, Sacramento Period of Significance n/a Property Type Residence Applicable Criteria n/a The property at 4991 Warwick Avenue appears to meet the criteria for listing in the Sacramento Register of Historic and Cultural Resources under Criterion II because of its association with the life of Anthony Francis, a lifelong community organizer and social worker who was a founding member and the first president of the Oak Park Neighborhood Council and Museum.
The property does not appear to be eligible for inclusion in the Sacramento Register of Historic and Cultural Resources under Criteria I, III, IV, V or VI. (See Continuation Sheet) B11. Additional Resource Attributes: (List attributes and codes) *B12. References:
Page & Turnbull, Damany M. Fisher Ph.D, City of Sacramento, “Sacramento African American Experience History Project:
Historic Context Statement.” October 28, 2022; City of
Sacramento, “Oak Park Historic District Plan”;
Property records of the Sacramento County Assessor’s Office; City of Sacramento’s Citizen Permit Portal; USGS, Sacramento East, Calif., 7.5-minute quadrangle, 1947; Anthony Francis, Interview by X Pasha . 31 December 2021. CSUS Oral History Project, CSU Sacramento; City of Sacramento, “A Community Plan for Fruitridge,” July 1965.
B13. Remarks:
*B14. Evaluator: Ella Cross
*Date of Evaluation: May 2023
(This space reserved for official comments.)
*Recorded by Ella Cross *Date May 2023 Continuation Update DPR 523L (1/95) *Required Information
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________ CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial ____________________________________________ P3a. Description (continued):
The southern wall of the building appears to have a large, multi-paned window, but it is difficult to distinguish from the public right of way and satellite imagery. There is a brick chimney on the northern side of the building with a noticeable chimney pot, and the northern wall of the building features a small 1 x 1 sliding window with aluminum paneling. There is an attached two-car garage located on the southwest corner of the building, south of the main entryway; a concrete driveway on the right side of the front-facade leadsto the garage. The garage is double-doored and front-facing and is set into the main body of the house. There is a small shed in the backyard placed near the northern fence line that is only visible using satellite imagery. The garage and front yard are enclosed by a wrought iron fence.
B10. Significance (continued):
Historic Context
The property at 4991 Warwick Avenue is located in the South Oak Park neighborhood of Sacramento, California, near Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and State Route 99. During the second half of the nineteenth century, Irish immigrant William Doyle owned the 230-acre William Doyle Ranch situated in present-day Oak Park. In 1887, developer Edwin K.
Alsip and his company Alsip Realty subdivided the Doyle ranch and renamed it Oak Park. Alsip also owned the Central Street Railway Company and extended a streetcar line from 2 nd and H streets in the West End of Downtown Sacramento to the newly established Oak Park development. While growth was initially slow, the creation of Joyland—an amusement park in Oak Park that featured a dance floor, concert stage, roller coasters, and a roller rink—in 1894 and the addition of a second streetcar line led to a small influx of middle-class residents at the turn of the twentieth century. Furthermore, in 1906, the California State Fair relocated to a fairground off Stockton Boulevard situated east of Oak Park. Shortly after, Oak Park was officially annexed into the City of Sacramento in 1911; this was the first time the city had expanded since it had been platted in 1848.
Figure 1: Newspaper clipping advertising new land tracts in Oak Park circa 1924. Source: Sacramento Bee.
From 1900 to 1930, Oak Park experienced substantial growth. Thisincluded the development of its own commercial district around Sacramento Avenue (called Broadway today) that featured brick shopfronts, theaters, and other institutional buildings. Although the demographics of Oak Park during this period primarily consisted of people with European ancestry, African Americans and Latinos always maintained smaller communities throughout Oak Park. Blue-collar jobs at the
*Recorded by Ella Cross *Date May 2023 Continuation Update DPR 523L (1/95) *Required Information
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________ CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial ____________________________________________ California State Fair, the Southern Pacific and Western Pacific railroads, canneries, and State of California agencies such as the California State Highway Commission employed many of Oak Park’s residents prior to World War II.
Post-World War II
After World War II and into the 1950s, many of Oak Park’s middle-class families and businessesrelocated to newer suburbs that were made accessible by the increasing popularity and reliance on the automobile; this exodus opened the door for new residentsto move into Oak Park. African Americans, who had previously lived in the West End of Downtown Sacramento, were being forced out of their communities because of increasingly restrictive racial covenants, urban redevelopment in the West End following the California Redevelopment Act of 1945, and the creation of multiple highways, including U.S.
Highway 50 and Interstate 80, which cut through neighborhoods that largely consisted of minority groups. These events made Oak Park a new destination for those being displaced. Moreover, as newly constructed postwar subdivisions were increasingly segregated, Oak Park became a site where African Americans, Asians, and Latinos could purchase and own homes. Along with the changing demographics, Oak Park witnessed other notable changes throughout the 1950s and 1960s:
the California State Fair relocated to its current location at Cal Expo on Exposition Boulevard, streetcar service ended, many of the blue-collar jobs previously in the area disappeared, racial tensions began to grow, and while many of the original businesses in Oak Park closed, they were frequently replaced by Black-owned businesses, churches, and social organizations.
Minimal Traditional
The Minimal Traditional architectural style rose to prominence after 1935 amid the Great Depression. These homes are simple in design, small in stature, usually clad in one material, and easier to build in comparison to some of the more detailed and grand architectural styles. Therefore, Minimal Traditionals could be built using the Federal Housing Administration-insured loans (FHA) that began during the Great Depression. Created in 1934, the FHA sought ways to produce small homes that the average working American could afford. With architects increasingly desperate for work throughout the 1930s, many worked alongside the FHA to design a small yet efficient house that qualified for the FHA loan insurance. Minimal Traditional buildings generally have restrained detailing, hipped or gabled roofs with subtle eaves, and an off-centered doorway. Built in 1955 and owned by Anthony Francis until 1969, the property at 4991 Warwick Avenue resembles the characteristics of the Minimal Traditional architectural style and follows post-war residential development trends.
Anthony Francis
Anthony Francis was born on February 14th, 1927, in New Orleans, Louisiana. After growing up in an impoverished and segregated section of New Orleans, Francis moved to Vallejo, California, where he first worked for the Office of Price Administration, an agency within the Office for Emergency Management that was established during World War II, and then the State of California’s Department of Employment. In 1947, he relocated to Oak Park and began working at McClellan Air Force Base in North Highlands while he waited for a job appointment with the state. Francis worked various jobs for the Department of Education before being drafted by the Army and fought in Europe during WWII. Following his discharge from the Army, Francis returned to his clerk position at the State Department of Employment. In 1954 he began attending Sacramento State College (California State University, Sacramento) while continuing to work. Francis graduated in 1957 with a bachelor’s degree in social science. He later earned a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Southern California.
*Recorded by Ella Cross *Date May 2023 Continuation Update DPR 523L (1/95) *Required Information
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________ CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial ____________________________________________ Figure 2: Anthony Francis in the French Club at Sacramento State College circa 1957. Source: Sacramento Bee.
Francis and his wife, Noella, purchased the home at 4991 Warwick Avenue in 1959 and lived there until 1969; it was during this period that Francis began his professional career. His first job after graduating from Sac State was as a social worker for Sacramento County’s Welfare Department. He then transferred to the county’s probation department where he worked as a probation officer. After these two county positions, Francis found work at California’s Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation as a parole agent but transferred to the California State Personnel Board. Finally, Francis took a job at the California Department of Justice working in the attorney general’s office.
During the 1960s, Francis served as a founding member and first president of the Oak Park Neighborhood Council. Francis described the Council as “an aggressive organization for improvement of life” in community. The Council’s office under Francis also housed a lending library and a museum which highlighted the contributions of Black Americans to inspire pride and to spur achievement in local community members. It seems that this museum was unique in Sacramento for its focus on Black American achievement. The goal of the Council was to teach the community how to effectively organize so that they could then challenge city and local leaders to commit to equitable treatment of African Americans. Francis served as president of the council until 1969. Francis also volunteered for the Catholic Social Services serving as a liaison between the African American community, the Catholic churches in Oak Park, and the larger Sacramento region. Additionally, Francis was appointed to the Sacramento County Commission on Ageing where he was the first African American to serve. In this role, Francis encouraged diversity and provided outreach to other agencies.
On October 31, 1969, Anthony and Noella Francis granted the deed to 4991 Warwick Avenue to Neola Thomas. Neola worked as a nurse and owned the house until her death in 2009. Afterwards, the Estate of Neola Thomas (Neola Thomas Tyson) granted the property to Denise A. Thomas, who sold the property to the current owner in 2012.
*Recorded by Ella Cross *Date May 2023 Continuation Update DPR 523L (1/95) *Required Information
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________ CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial ____________________________________________ Evaluation
Under Sacramento Register of Historic and Cultural Resources, Criterion I, the property at 4991 Warwick Avenue does not have important associations with significant events in local, state, or national history. The residence was built in 1955 during a period of general growth in Sacramento and the Oak Park neighborhood following the end of World War II. The property is a part of a subdivision that was built during the 1950s and follows typical development patterns of this period.
The property is eligible under Sacramento Register of Historic and Cultural Resources, Criterion II because it is associated with persons who made demonstrably important contributions to history. Anthony Francis, who owned the home from 1959 to 1969, was the first African American appointed to the Sacramento County Commission on Aging, bringing much needed new perspectives to the Commission and its work. Much of his work focused on providing medical and financial aid to low income, African American senior citizens in Sacramento’s West End. Following the destruction of the West End, Mr.
Francis’s volunteer work with the Catholic Social Services organization focused on connecting African American senior citizens and young people with social services. Concurrently, in his professional career at the State of California Attorney General’s Office, he worked to promote community safety and civil rights protections. Mr. Francis dedicated his entire adult life to civic service aimed at improving the lives of African Americans in Sacramento, including his time as the first president of the Oak Park Neighborhood Council and Museum. Through his work, both professionally and as a volunteer, Mr. Francis played an important role in community organizing in Sacramento’s Black community.
The building at 4991 Warwick Avenue does not possess distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction, and it is not an important work of a master architect as outlined under Sacramento Register of Historic and Cultural Resources Criteria III, IV or V. Minimal Traditional was a common architectural style during the middle of the twentieth century. The building features many characteristics of the Minimal Traditional style, such as a low-pitched, hipped roof, and restrained traditional details. Additionally, the overall elements are modest and lack high artistic value, and the property does not resemble the work of a master.
The property has not yielded and is not likely to yield information important to history or prehistory and therefore does not meet the criteria required for listing under Sacramento Register of Historic and Cultural Resources Criterion VI. The building is representative of common construction techniques and building materials.
B12. References (continued):
Burg, William. “A Brief History of Oak Park.” Midtown Monthly, February 1, 2010. http://www.midtownmonthly.net/life/a -briefhistory-of-oak-park/.
City of Sacramento. “Oak Park Historic District.” Accessed April 20, 2023. https://www.cityofsacramento.org/- /media/Corporate/Files/CDD/Planning/Urban-Design/Preservation/Adopted-Historic-District-Plans/Oak-Park-HDP.pdf?la=en.
Datel, Robin. “Central Oak Park Walking Tour.” Department of Geography, CSU Sacramento. Center for Sacramento History. http://www.centerforsacramentohistory.org/-/media/CSHistory/Files/exhibits/tours/Central--Oak-Park-Walking-TourBrochure.pdf?la=en.
Federal Housing Administration. “Principles of Planning Small Houses,” Washington D.C. 1940,University of Michigan.Accessed May 6, 2023. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015037428375&view=1up&seq=3 Francis, Anthony. Interview by X Pasha . 31 December 2021. CSUS Oral History Project, CSU Sacramento. https://www.cityofsacramento.org/-/media/Corporate/Files/CDD/Planning/AAHF/CSUS-Oral-HistoryTranscripts_with_TOC.pdf?la=en.
*Recorded by Ella Cross *Date May 2023 Continuation Update DPR 523L (1/95) *Required Information
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________ CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial ____________________________________________ Hubert, Cynthia. “Legacy and Wisdom of Anthony Francis, 95, Carry on 66 Years After he Graduated from Sac State.” CSU Sacramento, Newsroom. https://www.csus.edu/news/newsroom/stories/2022/6/nonagenarian-blb.html.
Lions, Diana. “European Tour Is Planned By College Unit For This Summer.” Sacramento Bee, March 30, 1957. https://infowebnewsbank-com.proxy.lib.csus.edu/apps/news/documentMcAlester, Virginia Savage. A Field Guide to American Houses: The Definitive Guide to Identifying and Understanding America's Domestic Architecture. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 2021.
Michael, Michelle, Adam Smith, and Jennifer Sin. “The Architecture of the Department of Defense: A Military Style Guide.” Department of Defense Legacy Resource Management Program. December 2011.
Page & Turnbull, Damany M. Fisher, Ph.D, City of Sacramento. “Sacramento African American Experience History Project: Historic Context Statement.” City of Sacramento. October 28, 2022.
Sacramento County Assessor Parcel Viewer. 4991 Warwick Avenue, Sacramento CA, 95820.
Sacramento County Assessor’s Records for Assessor’s Parcel Numbers 022-0103-024.
Sacramento City Directory. R. L. Polk & Co. Publishers, 1982.
Sacramento City Directory. Sacramento Directory Co., 1959.
U.S. Geological Survey. Sacramento East, California. 7.5-minute quadrangle 1947.
Photographs (continued):
Photograph 2: 4991 Warwick Avenue, Camera facing northeast, April 13, 2023.
*Recorded by Ella Cross *Date May 2023 Continuation Update DPR 523L (1/95) *Required Information
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________ CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial ____________________________________________ Photograph 3: 4991 Warwick Avenue, Camera facing southeast, April 13, 2023.
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_______________ DPR 523A-Test (8/94) *These items consist of required information.
P1. Other Identifier:
*P2. Location: *a. County: Sacramento
b. Address: City: Sacramento Zip:
*c. USGS 7.5' Quad Sacramento West Date:
*e. Other Locational Data: APN#:
*P3a. Description (See Continuation Sheet)
*P3b. Resource Attributes: HP2
*P4. Resources Present: ◼Building Structure Object Site District Element of District Other (Isolates, etc.) P5b. Description of Photo:
*P6. Date Constructed/Age and
Source: ◼Historic
Prehistoric Both
*P7.Owner and Address:
*P8. Recorded by:
*P9. Date Recorded:
*P10. Survey Type:
Intensive
P11. Report Citation*:
None
*Attachments: NONE Location Map
Sketch Map Continuation Sheet
◼Building, Structure, and Object Record
Linear Resource Record
Archaeological Record District Record
Milling Station Record Rock Art
Record
Artifact Record Photograph Record
Other (List)
State of California ⎯ The Resources Agency Primary #______________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI#__________________________________________
BUILDING, STRUCTURE, AND OBJECT RECORD
DPR 523B-Test (8/94) *These items consist of required information.
*Resource Address:
B1. Historic Name: Clarence Canson Office, NAACP Credit Union B2. Common Name:
B3. Original Use: Commercial B4. Present Use:
*B5. Architectural Style:
*B6. Construction History:
*B7. Moved? ◼No Yes Unknown Date: Original Location:
*B8. Related Features:
B9a. Architect: -- b. Builder:
*B10. Significance: Theme: Significant persons associate with civil rights era Area:
Period of Significance: Property Type: Applicable Criteria: City Code17.604.210.(A)1.a.ii.
City Code17.604.210.(A)1.b & c
The subject residence is eligible for Sacramento Register of Historic & Cultural Resources (Sacramento Register) per Criterion ii for its close association with Clarence Canson, an African-American civil rights attorney of local and statewide preeminence (City Code17.604.210.(A)1.a.ii). (See Continuation sheet) B11. Additional Resource Attributes:
*B12. References:
(See Continuation Sheet)
B13. Remarks:
*B14. Evaluator:
*Date of Evaluation:
Recorded by :
*P3a. Description (continued):
*B10. Significance (continued)
Recorded by :
*B10. Significance (continued)
Significance of Clarence Colley
(This space reserved for official comments.)
State of California ⎯ The Resources Agency Primary #______________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI#___________________________________ CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial________________________
Recorded by :
*B10. Significance (continued)
Recorded by :
*B10. Significance (continued)
State of California ⎯ The Resources Agency Primary #______________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI#___________________________________ CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial________________________
Canson supporting the presidential campaign for Lyndon B. Johnson, c.1960 Left to right: Sen. Clair Engle, Eddie Hall, Nathaniel Colley, Sen. Lyndon B. Johnson, Clarence Canson, Rev. Joseph Williams, Gov.
Edmund G. “Pat” Brown
B12. References
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_______________ DPR 523A-Test (8/94) *These items consist of required information.
P1. Other Identifier:
*P2. Location: *a. County: Sacramento
b. Address: City: Sacramento Zip:
*c. USGS 7.5' Quad Sacramento West Date:
*e. Other Locational Data: APN#:
*P3a. Description (See Continuation Sheet)
*P3b. Resource Attributes: HP2
*P4. Resources Present: ◼Building Structure Object Site District Element of District Other (Isolates, etc.) P5b. Description of Photo:
*P6. Date Constructed/Age and
Source: ◼Historic
Prehistoric Both
*P7.Owner and Address:
*P8. Recorded by:
*P9. Date Recorded:
*P10. Survey Type:
Intensive
P11. Report Citation*:
None
*Attachments: NONE Location Map
Sketch Map Continuation Sheet
◼Building, Structure, and Object Record
Linear Resource Record
Archaeological Record District Record
Milling Station Record Rock Art
Record
Artifact Record Photograph Record
Other (List)
State of California ⎯ The Resources Agency Primary #______________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI#__________________________________________
BUILDING, STRUCTURE, AND OBJECT RECORD
DPR 523B-Test (8/94) *These items consist of required information.
*Resource Address:
B1. Historic Name: Harrison Crump Residence
B2. Common Name:
B3. Original Use: Residential B4. Present Use:
*B5. Architectural Style:
*B6. Construction History:
*B7. Moved? ◼No Yes Unknown Date: Original Location:
*B8. Related Features:
B9a. Architect: -- b. Builder:
*B10. Significance: Theme: Significant persons associate with civil rights era Area:
Period of Significance: Property Type: Applicable Criteria: City Code17.604.210.(A)1.a.ii.
City Code17.604.210.(A)1.b & c
The subject residence is eligible for Sacramento Register of Historic & Cultural Resources (Sacramento Register) per Criterion ii for its close association with Clarence Canson, an African-American civil rights attorney of local and statewide preeminence (City Code17.604.210.(A)1.a.ii). (See Continuation sheet) B11. Additional Resource Attributes:
*B12. References:
(See Continuation Sheet)
B13. Remarks:
*B14. Evaluator:
*Date of Evaluation:
Recorded by :
*P3a. Description (continued):
*B10. Significance (continued)
Recorded by :
*B10. Significance (continued)
Significance of Harrison Crump
(This space reserved for official comments.)
State of California ⎯ The Resources Agency Primary #______________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI#___________________________________ CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial________________________
Recorded by :
*B10. Significance (continued)
Recorded by :
*B10. Significance (continued)
B12. References
*P11. Report Citation: (Cite survey report and other sources or enter “none.”) none *Attachments: None Location Map Sketch Map Continuation Sheet Building, Structure, and Object Record Archaeological Record
District Record Linear Feature Record Milling Station Record Rock Art Record Artifact Record Photograph Record Other (list)
DPR 523A (1/95) *Required
Information
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________ PRIMARY RECORD Trinomial _____________________________________ NRHP Status Code
Other Listings _______________________________________________________________ Review Code __________ Reviewer ____________________________ Date ___________ P1. Other Identifier: Lewis Nelson Crawford House
*P2. Location: Not for Publication Unrestricted *a. County Sacramento and (P2b and P2c or P2d. Attach a Location Map as necessary.) *b. USGS 7.5’ Quad Sacramento East Date 1929 T_8N__; R _5E__; ___ ¼ of Sec ___; _____ B.M. c. Address 2685 26th Street City Sacramento, CA Zip 95818 e. Other Locational Data: (e.g., parcel #, directions to resource, elevation, etc., as appropriate) Assessor Parcel Number: 01003550140000 *P3a. Description: (Describe resource and its major elements. Include design, materials, condition, alterations, size, setting, and boundaries) The property located at 2685 26th Street is a single-story, 1,027 square foot building with cement foundation on the north end of the residential neighborhood Curtis Park. The building is a Spanish Colonial Revival influenced craftsman bungalow. The building is defined by its asymmetrical stucco clad façade, eaves with little overhang, and a moderately pitched side gabled roof intersecting with an overlaid hipped roof with ridge clad in composite shingles (Photograph 1 and Sketch Map). The building also features a front gabled recessed arched entryway porch with one stucco column and two sets of three-step concrete stairs on either side of the stucco porch column. One set of steps faces the street elevation while the second set faces the driveway to the south. (Photograph 2). The porch gable additionally features a circle attic vent. The primary entryway door is a south facing glass door. The north side of the building features an exterior chimney clad in stucco on the gable wall (Photograph 1). (See Continuation Sheet)
*P3b. Resource Attributes: (List attributes and codes) HP2 Single Family Property *P4. Resources Present: Building Structure Object Site District Element of District Other (Isolates, etc.) P5b. Description of Photo: (View, date,
accession #) Photo#1. Camera facing
southeast on 26th Street, April 16, 2023, Photo
1. *P6. Date Constructed/Age and Sources:
Historic Prehistoric Both
Sacramento County Assessor Parcel Viewer
(1929)
*P7. Owner and Address:
unknown
*P8. Recorded by: Michelle Laguna,
Sacramento State University and Ella Cross,
Sacramento State University.
*P9. Date Recorded: April 30, 2023
*P10. Survey Type: Intensive
P5a. Photo or Drawing (Photo required for buildings, structures, and objects.)
*Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder) Lewis N. Crawford 2685 DPR 523B (1/95) *Required Information
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________
BUILDING, STRUCTURE, AND OBJECT RECORD
B1. Historic Name: Crawford House
B2. Common Name: None
B3. Original Use: Residential B4. Present Use: Residential *B5. Architectural Style: Spanish Colonial Revival
*B6. Construction History: Building constructed in 1929 per Sacramento County Assessor.
Fire damage repair 1982 (Per county Assessor, no details), Permit 2021 Interior remodel (Per county Assessor, no details).
The Stucco façade of building appears to have been repaired in 2021 based on Google maps images.
South and north facing windows are metal replacement windows in original placement based on visual assessment. *B7. Moved? No Yes Unknown Original Location:
*B8. Related Features: Parcel features a side garden. Part of the Garden and shed near property are on separate land parcel.
B9. Architect: Unknown b. Builder: Unknown
*B10. Significance: Theme African American Real Estate Area Curtis Park Neighborhood, Sacramento Period of Significance Crawford Residence approximately 1930-1955 Property Type Dwelling Applicable Criteria: Sacramento Register of Historic and Cultural Resources Criteria I and II.
B11. Additional Resource Attributes: (List attributes and codes) *B12. References:
Sacramento County Assessor’s Records, Sacramento County Directories B13. Remarks:
*B14. Evaluator: Michelle Laguna and Ella Cross
*Date of Evaluation: April 30, 2023
(This space reserved for official comments.)
*Recorded by Michelle Laguna and Ella Cross *Date April 30, 2023 Continuation Update
DPR 523L (1/95) *Required Information
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________ CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial ____________________________________________ P3a. Description (Continued):
Fenestration on the front (west facing) side of the building includes a four-part original wooden window including a central fixed window beneath a 1x3 fixed window, flanked by two double-hung 4x4 windows (Photograph 1 and 2). The west facing side of the building also includes two 6x6 wooden original windows within the entryway porch. The south side of the building (Photograph 3) features three separate double-hung metal replacement windows in their original placements. The north side of the building includes one 3x1 double hung wooden window and three double hung metal replacement window (Photograph 4). The rear (east facing) side of the building is not visible from public streets. The property includes a backyard surrounded by a chain-link fence.
The garden directly south of the building and the wooden shed southeast of the building are on separate land parcels and are community owned (Photograph 3 and Sketch Map). It is unclear if the garden parcel was historically connected to the property at 2685 26th Street.
B10. Significance (continued):
Architectural style
The building is a modest bungalow in Spanish Colonial Revival style created during the 1920’s Small Homes Movement. This movement was founded in 1919 by the American Institute of Architects’ (AIA) non-profit organization “The Architects’ Small House Service Bureau” which offered high quality blueprints for small, inexpensive, working-class homes, designed by AIA members. Some of the most famous residential architects of the 1920s designed these blueprints. Almost forgotten today, the Architects’ Small House Bureau and the Better Homes in America program which it immediately inspired, were promoted by the US Government and President Herbert Hoover in particular. Much has been written about the societal goals of the movement, which were to promote homeownership among the working-class as well as pride of place. However, very little about the architectural history of the homes themselves has been written. This almost forgotten typology of American home was designed to be high quality, well organized, beautiful and inexpensive, goals which remain compelling today. Although by its very nature, not a high style example, Spanish Colonial Revival influences are apparent in the stucco clad exterior and recessed arched entryway porch (Photograph 5).
Historic Context [Industry (real estate), social history (advancement), and African American Heritage]
CURTIS PARK/HIGHLAND PARK
The 2685 26th Street property is in the northernmost part of Curtis Park, sometimes referred to as Highland Park (Photograph 7). The City of Sacramento acquired Curtis Park in 1911. Greater transportation methods, such as the Sacramento streetcar, allowed for Sacramentans to live outside the immediate city boundaries and expand residential settlement to neighboring suburbs. Curtis Park became one of Sacramento’s first suburbs and quickly attracted middle class whites who wanted to escape the downtown area. Throughout the 1920s housing developers in Curtis Park created restrictive housing covenants that explicitly prohibited African American home ownership. For example, the developer Heilbron Oaks developed a large subdivision directly south of 2685 26th street that forbid anyone of, “Negro, Japanese, or Chinese…or any person of African or Mongolian descent,” from occupying the new development (Photograph 8). These restrictions were put in place to prevent the perceived devalue of properties and enforce the containment of non -whites to urban slums. In addition to city zoning, local real estate businesses often supported these covenants by refusing to assist n on-whites to acquire property in primarily white neighborhoods. Many realtors supported restrictive housing by refusing to assist black patrons to purchase homes or recommending housing options outside of white areas. This ideology was systematically supported through the National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB) Code of Ethics, Article 34 that stated, “a Realtor should never be instrumental in introducing into a neighborhood … members of any race or nationality … whose presence will clearly be detrimental to property values in that neighborhood.” This provision was introduced in 1924 and remained in effect until 1950.
In addition, in 1933 the Home Owners Loan Corporation (HOLC) was created as a New Deal program used to appraise neighborhoods and assess loan risks. As part of their assessment, the portion of Curtis Park that includes 2685 26th Street was described as having, “Few scattered Negro families (six known) [that] do not affect values beyond adjoining property.” The HOLC listed the neighborhood as having, “Danger of subversive racial infiltration and encroachment of business.” As noted, some black families lived within restricted areas when covenants were not strictly enfor ced. As for the 2685 26th Street property, it remained technically outside the perimeter of exclusion to allow for some non-whites to live there starting in 1930 (Photograph 9).
To cope with racism, the Sacramento African American community relied on a philosophy of self-help and internal community assistance when government and courts were unreliable in assisting with economic and personal advancement. For example, the philosophies of W.E.B. DuBois promoted self-reliance, self-investment, and economic solidarity amongst blacks and was a popular ideology in the first half of the twentieth century. Community members confronted housing discrimination through the creation of African American real estate firms that would buy and sell property to people of color and make business deals with both white and black patrons . Through the creation of a black-owned business that served primarily black Sacramentans one could provide a vital resource to a community with few options. Crawford’s Business, Star Real Estate Company, may have been the first to do so in the Sacramento area.
CRAWFORD AND STAR REAL ESTATE COMPANY
Lewis Nelson Crawford was born in Salem, Kentucky in September 1880. He moved to Sacramento in 1911 during the First Great Migration of African Americans who left the American South and Midwest in search of better economic opportunities on the West Coast. Crawford married his first wife, Frances, the same year he arrived in Sacramento (Photograph 10). For most of his working life in Sacramento, Crawford’s occupation is listed as janitor and porter. However, this was not his only profession. In 1923 he opened Star Realty Business with a business partner, J. W. Mills. Star Real Estate was originally located at 601 ½ K Street in Sacramento, California between 1923 and 1926. Presently the K street location is no longer in existence and its association with Star Realty Estate was short-lived. Between 1927 and 1950, Star Real Estate Company is not listed in Sacramento directories, and it only reappears in directories between 1955 and 1965. According to Sacramento directories, Star Real Estate operated out of Crawford’s residences in the years between 1955 and 1965. Because there is no clear advertisement for an additional business address between 1927 and 1955, and Recorder records display
*Recorded by Michelle Laguna and Ella Cross *Date April 30, 2023 Continuation Update
DPR 523L (1/95) *Required Information
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________ CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial ____________________________________________ ongoing realty transactions in this period, it may be that Crawford operated his business primarily from his residences from 1927 to 1965 (see TABLE 1).
Based on Sacramento Recorders Office records, Crawford participated in several real estate transactions between 1916 and 1965 that included acquiring lots of land and reselling them to black buyers. Crawford had at least 29 business transactions as a Grantee in Sacramento County and the only gap in business TABLE 1
Applicable Years Star Real Estate Company Business Address 1923-1926 (3 years) 601 ½ K Street, Sacramento, CA
1927-1929 (2 years) 2675 26th Street, Sacramento, CA
1930-1958 (28 years) 2685 26th Street, Sacramento, CA
1959-1965 (6 years) 4308 Roosevelt Avenue, Sacramento, CA is between 1931-1938 when there are no recorded property transactions that include Crawford’s name. This may be attributed to the Great Depression that negatively affected the housing market. In addition, Crawford’s first wife, Frances, passed away in 1938 due to health problems. Therefore, the general economy and personal life challenges may have contributed to the lack of business transactions in this period. Despite this, Crawford had several notable land transactions during his productive life that display his industrial savvy, middle-man role, and grassroots activism.
For example, in 1916 and 1922 Crawford purchased land from C.M. Goethe. Charles Matthias Goethe was a well-known land developer in the Sacramento area who many consider controversial for his Eugenicist opinions. In November of 1922 Crawford sold several lots of land to the Pacific School District of Sacramento County for $2,000, approximately worth $36,000 today. In 1944 Crawford purchased property in Highland Park from Russel Cy Venezia, a white seller, and shortly afterward sold this same property to Ray Jenkins, a black buyer. In 1945, Crawford had several land transactions with William H.
Talley, a white property owner. In this instance, Talley seems to have purchased property from a white owner, then transferred the property to Crawford.
It’s unclear what Crawford did with the land in this specific instance, but it’s clear Crawford had several additional sales to black home buyers in the Sacramento area after this purchase. In 1946 Crawford sold property on the corner of 19th Street and T Street to the Negro Women’s Civic Improvement Club (NWCIC) who were forced out of Sacramento’s west end by urban renewal. The NWCIC was highly involved in civil rights and social services for Sacramento’s black community. It also offered housing for single black women who often found Sacramento housing options limited. These business transactions clearly demonstrate Crawford’s ability to build networks and make deals with both blacks and whites .
Through Star Real Estate Company, Crawford provided a service to the black community that few realtors were willing to provide. In addition to his role as a business middleman, Crawford’s longest personal residential location is at 2685 26th Street that falls directly on the edge of restrictive housing covenants. Crawford purchased the 2685 26th Street property in approximately 1930 and remained in this house until 1958. Based on this assessment, the majority of Crawford’s productive life was while residing at the 2685 26th Street house. Crawford died on November 3, 1965, at age 85 and is buried in Odd Fellows Lawn (Photograph 11). Although Crawford was married two additional times after his first wife’s death, Crawford does not appear to have had any children.
Evaluation
CRITERION I: ELIGIBLE
Crawford’s residence is historically significant for its association with his business, Star Real Estate Company, an African American owned and centered business in the Sacramento area that operated between 1923 and 1965. This business is relevant in the context of early African American settlement, African American business ownership, and African American housing sales in the Sacramento area. Historical records indicate that Star Real Estate Company operated out of 2685 26
th Street location for approximately 28 years (see TABLE 1 above). Crawford’s business contributed to the development of housing opportunities for African Americans in the Sacramento area and may be the first of its kind in Sacramento local history. These transactions were made necessary by discriminatory housing covenants and the systematic exclusion of black patrons in the real estate business. Crawford’s business transactions represent a trend in black business ownership that provided essential services to black patrons through middle-man business transactions in the early twentieth century. Therefore, this property is eligible under the Sacramento Register of Historic and Cultural Resources, Criterion I, as it is associated with broad patterns of African American history in Sacramento.
CRITERION II: ELIGIBLE
Crawford is significant to early African American settlement, African American business ownership, and African American housing sales in Sacramento local history through his operation of Star Realty Business between 1923 and 1965. Crawford ran his business from his residences, primarily at 2685 26th Street for approximately 28 years (see TABLE 1 above). Therefore, this property is representative of Crawford’s productive life and eligible for inclusion on the Sacramento Register of Historic and Cultural Resources under Criterion II. Star Real Estate Company appears to be the first major African American realty business in the Sacramento area and contributed to the betterment of the black community by providing a vital resource to black patrons. In addition, this property is Crawford’s longest held residence throughout his life in Sacramento and therefore holds significant association with Crawford and Star Realty Business. Crawford’s ownership and operation of his realty business stood in contrast to commonly held exclusionary practices supported by realtors and their associations. In addition, Crawford opened h is business in 1923, during the First Great Migration of African Americans, when the black population in Sacramento was relatively small. Despite being a minority, Crawford created his business and negotiated business deals with white landowners as early as 1916 and continued to negotiate deals until his death in 1965. Therefore, this property is also eligible under Criterion II for its association with Crawford.
CRITERIA III – ELIGIBLE The Crawford home embodies the distinctive characteristics of the 1920’s Small House and Better Homes in America Movements. This understudied typology of working-class American architecture was promoted nationally by the US Government, the American Institute of Architects, popular magazines and by the innovative use of model homes built in cities across America which prospective homeowners could tour, not necessarily to purchase the model home itself, but to purchase blueprints for such a home. Working -class Americans such as the Crawfords would have then purchased a lot and hired a builder, or if they had construction experience, the homeowner may have built the house themselves. These architect-designed small homes were created with a variety of societal goals in mind. The most important of these were to
*Recorded by Michelle Laguna and Ella Cross *Date April 30, 2023 Continuation Update
DPR 523L (1/95) *Required Information
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________ CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial ____________________________________________ improve living conditions among the working-class, to beautify America’s rapidly developing automobile centered suburbs and to improve household efficiency for American housewives. Although small and inexpensive, these homes were made of quality materials, logically organized, and attractive. Fostering the American dream of home ownership and the architectural goal of well-designed and beautiful homes for all, the Small House Movement of the 1920s helped to create beloved neighborhoods across the country for the working-class.
CRITERON IV: NOT ELIGIBLE The Crawford house, as a representative of the Small House Movement of the 1920’s which included the Better Homes in America program, may with further research be shown to be the work of a master architect participating in the era’s push for low cost, high quality housing for the working class. The movement was founded in 1919 by the American Institute of Architects ’ non-profit organization , The Architects Small House Service Bureau. The Bureau sold high quality blueprints through the mail, for homes which could be built by average working-class Americans. These blueprints were created by some of the nation’s best architects . However, this will require further research. At this time the Crawford house is not eligible under Criteria IV.
CRITERIA V and VI: NOT ELIGIBLE
The property does not possess high artistic values nor has it yielded, and is not likely to yield, important information for history and is therefore not significant under Criteria V or VI. The building represents common construction techniques and practices that have been well researched and studied. For those reasons the Crawford house is not be eligible under Criteria V or VI.
INTEGRITY
Sanborn maps from 1952 display consistent building layout and location as suggested in present day aerial maps (Photographs 12 and Sketch Map). Based on this information, the location remains intact, the building design does not appear to be significantly altered, the setting remains within a residential suburb of Sacramento, and the workmanship appears consistent. The metal replacement windows on the north and south sides of the house, and fire damage repair conducted in 1982 may have diminished the building integrity based on materials used. In addition, despite the construction of major highways in the surrounding area, they are not visible from the property and therefore do n ot compromise the feeling of the building. The building is clearly associated with Crawford and is his longest held residence.
B12. References (continued):
Bibliography
Caesar, Clarence. “An Historical Overview of the Development of Sacramento’s Black Community 1850-1983.” Masters thesis, Sacramento State University, 1985.
“C. M. Goethe to Lewis N. Crawford,” The Sacramento Bee. December 9, 1916. Accessed April 30, 2023 from the California Digital Newspaper Collection "Code of Ethics, National Association of Real Estate Boards, Article 34." California Real Estate Magazine. June, 1939. “Colored Baptists Open Convention: Naming of Chairmen of Committees is First Works of Annual Conference.” The Sacramento Bee. October 8, 1924, accessed via NewsBank digital archive.
“Curtis Park History,” website by Dan Murphy https://curtphist.blogspot.com/2019/05/how-to-find-information-about-history.html “Elizabeth Whightman,” United States of America, Bureau of the Census Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950 Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Website Inflation Calculator. https://www.minneapolisfed.org/about-us/monetary-policy/inflation-calculator Find a Grave, “Lewis Crawford,” accessed April 27, 2023. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/49110560/lewis-crawford Fisher, Damany. “Far From Utopia: Race, Housing, and the Fight to End Residential Segregation in Sacramento, 1900-1980,” PhD diss., University of California, Berkeley, 2008. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global.
Green, Fayal. The Anatomy of a House: A Picture of Architectural and Design Elements . New York: Doubleday, 1991.
Google Maps, “2685 26th Street, Sacramento CA, 95818,” Accessed April 30, 2023. “Jennie B. Crawford.” The Sacramento Bee. January 5, 1961, accessed via NewsBank digital archive. “Leatha Jewell,” 1940 United States Federal Census
“Lewis N. Crawford.” The Sacramento Bee. November 6, 1965, accessed via NewsBank digital archive.
Page and Turnbull with Damany Fisher. “Sacramento County African American Experience History Project: Historic Context Statement,” October 28, 2022. “Ray Jenkins,” 1940 United States Federal Census.
“Real Estate Partnership Formed.” The Sacramento Bee. February 10, 1923, accessed via NewsBank digital archive. “Real Estate Transfers.” Sacramento Daily Union. December 9, 2016, https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=SDU19161209.2.144&srpos=1&e=-------en--20--1--txttxIN-%22lewis+n.+crawford%22------- “Real Estate Transfers.” The Sacramento Bee. July 3, 1922, accessed via NewsBank digital archive.
*Recorded by Michelle Laguna and Ella Cross *Date April 30, 2023 Continuation Update
DPR 523L (1/95) *Required Information
State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________ CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial ____________________________________________ “Russel Cy Venezia,” 1950 United States Federal Census.
Sacramento County Assessor’s Office.
Sacramento County Clerk Recorder Public Index Search, “Crawford L N”.
Sacramento County Clerk Recorder, Marriage Certificate for Lewis N. Crawford and Frances Crawford.
Sacramento County Clerk Recorder, Death Certificate for Frances Crawford.
Sacramento County Directories years 1911-1965, accessed in the Sacramento Room Archive. “Sacramento Women are Elected.” The Sacramento Bee. October 12, 1936, accessed via NewsBank digital archive. “San Diego Modernism: Historic Context Statement,” Accessed from: California State Parks, Office of Historic Preservation, Historic Context Library.
Smith, Valerie. “The Small House Movement of the 1920’s: Preserving Small “Better” Houses.” https://santabarbaraca.gov/sites/default/files/2022- 07/SmithValerie_GSAPP_2022_Thesis.pdf
“Star Real Estate Co.” The Sacramento Bee. December 31, 1923, accessed via NewsBank digital archive.
Mapping Inequality, Redlining a New Deal America website, Accessed April 30, 2023. https://dsl.richmond.edu/panorama/redlining/#loc=12/38.574/- 121.554&city=sacramento-ca&text=about
McAlester, Virginia S. A Field Guide to American Houses. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2015.
Murphy, Dan. Images of American: Sacramento Curtis Park. New Hampshire: Arcadia Publishing, 2005.
National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior, Historic Residential Suburbs, 56. “Porter W House,” United States of America, Bureau of the Census; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950.
Sanborn Maps 1952, Accessed in the Sacramento Room Archive. “Wm E Talley,” 1940 United States Federal Census.
Photographs (continued):
Photograph 2: Photo of west and south sides of building. Camera facing northeast.