San Luis Obispo City Council
December 2, 2025

43 City of San Luis Obispo Historic Context: Late 19th Century Citywide Historic Context Statement
HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP (2013)
REVISED BY PAGE & TURNBULL (2025)
Extant Examples: Late 19th Century Residential Development Hays-Latimer Adobe, 642 Monterey Street, 1860. Designated as a City of San Luis Obispo Historic Landmark.

Left image source: Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Special Collections (no date).

Right image source: City of San Luis Obispo (2013).

Dallidet Adobe, 1185 Pacific Street, 1860. Designated as a City of San Luis Obispo Historic Landmark.

Left image:source: San Luis Obispo County Historical Society. Right image source: City of San Luis Obispo (2013).

Righetti House, 1314 Palm Street, 1877. Designated as a City of San Luis Obispo Historic Landmark.

Source: City of San Luis Obispo (2013).

Anderson House, 532 Dana Street, 1898. Designated as a
City of San Luis Obispo Historic Landmark.

Source: City of San Luis Obispo (2013).

44 City of San Luis Obispo Historic Context: Late 19th Century Citywide Historic Context Statement
HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP (2013)
REVISED BY PAGE & TURNBULL (2025)
Late 19th Century Commercial Development
Prior to the late 19th century, Monterey Street developed as a transportation corridor and commercial thoroughfare.51 While the original mission settlement had not been formally planned and the early growth of San Luis Obispo conformed to the natural topography and Laws of the Indies, in 1850, William Hutton was authorized to survey and layout the town of San Luis Obispo in an American grid pattern.52 By the 1880s, Sanborn Fire Insurance maps document significant commercial development along Higuera, Monterey, and Chorro Streets.
1886 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map. Source: San Francisco Public Library. 51 Angel, History of San Luis Obispo County. 52 Nettles, “The Copelands Project,” 54.

45 City of San Luis Obispo Historic Context: Late 19th Century Citywide Historic Context Statement
HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP (2013)
REVISED BY PAGE & TURNBULL (2025)
During this period significant financial institutions were established in San Luis Obispo. The first was the Bank of San Luis Obispo in 1871; its permanent home was constructed on the northeast corner of Monterey and Court Streets in 1881. The Commercial Bank was organized in March 1888. Its first location was on Monterey Street; in 1899, it moved to the southeast corner of Chorro and Higuera Streets. Other significant commercial ventures were established during this period by some of San Luis Obispo’s most prominent residents. J.P. Andrews constructed a second hotel in downtown San Luis Obispo following the fire at the original Andrews Hotel. He also established a bank on the corner of Monterey and Osos Street which was constructed of brick, with granite and terracotta details. The Sinsheimer Brothers was founded in 1876 by Bernard and Henry Sinsheimer. The Sinsheimer Brothers building was completed in December of 1884. The first floor was a general store dealing in dry goods, groceries, and clothing; offices were housed at the rear of the building and on the second floor.

Bank of San Luis Obispo at Monterey and Court Streets, built 1881.

Source: San Luis Obispo County Historical Society (c. 1890).

46 City of San Luis Obispo Historic Context: Late 19th Century Citywide Historic Context Statement
HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP (2013)
REVISED BY PAGE & TURNBULL (2025)
Sinsheimer Brothers, 849 Monterey Street, built 1884.

Source: Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Special Collections (early 20th century).

On April 18, 1886, the Andrews Hotel burned to the ground along with the Bank of San Luis Obispo, the post office, the town's principal livery stable, and a number of small shops and offices. As a result of the loss of the Andrews Hotel, the newly formed California Southern Hotel Company constructed the grand Ramona Hotel in 1888 to provide accommodations for railroad passengers. The financial panic of 1893 and the depression that followed it impacted the railroad and the commercial development in San Luis Obispo. After reorganizing its management, the hotel reopened in 1895 to great fanfare. In1905, the Ramona Hotel was completely destroyed by fire.

Andrews Bank Building, 998 Monterey, built 1894. Designated as a San Luis Obispo Historic Landmark. Left image source:

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Special Collections (no date). Right image source: City of San Luis Obispo (2013).

47 City of San Luis Obispo Historic Context: Late 19th Century Citywide Historic Context Statement
HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP (2013)
REVISED BY PAGE & TURNBULL (2025)
Hotel Ramona, built1888. Source: Cal Poly Special Collections (1905).

According to historic Sanborn maps, a series of brothels labeled as "female boarding houses," were constructed on Morro Street near Palm Street sometime between 1874 and 1886. The buildings were owned by Mrs. Nancy Emeline Call, a widow who began to invest in real estate following her husband Silas Call's death in 1880. Although it is unclear if Mrs. Call knew that her tenants were engaging in prostitution, proprietors of the houses were frequently arrested for liquor offenses and the properties were regularly cited in the local newspaper. By 1895, the Progressive movement had begun to take hold in San Luis Obispo and there was growing opposition to the operation of the houses only one block north of Monterey Street, the town's main thoroughfare. Mrs. Call herself was arrested twice in 1895 and charged with knowingly renting houses for purposes of prostitution; she was found guilty at the first trial and was acquitted at the second. By 1900, citizens began to petition the San Luis Obispo City Council to close down the brothels, and Sanborn maps confirm that the female boarding houses were demolished by 1903.

The city’s Chinatown developed nearby on Palm Street between Chorro and Moro streets. Chinese immigrant and entrepreneur Ah Louis used wealth he had acquired recruiting Chinese workers to build railroads, roads, and wharves in the region to purchase property at the corner of Palm and Chorro streets. The Ah Louis Store, which first opened as a wood framed building in 1874, was the first Chinese commercial establishment in the County. In 1885, Louis rebuilt the store as a two-story fireproof brick building on the corner of Palm and Chorro streets. The Ah Louis Store became the center of Chinese life in San Luis Obispo, serving as the residence of Ah Louis and his family from 1885 to 1936, as well as a pharmacy, general store, post office, bank, employment office, and

48 City of San Luis Obispo Historic Context: Late 19th Century Citywide Historic Context Statement
HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP (2013)
REVISED BY PAGE & TURNBULL (2025)
gathering place.53 The city’s Chinatown also included several boarding houses, restaurants, and residences.

The Ah Louis Store was built with bricks manufactured from Louis’ own brickyard, which was located between Bishop's Peak and Cerro San Luis and featured one of the first brick kilns in the area. In addition to the Ah Louis Store, Louis’ bricks were used construct several other buildings in San Luis Obispo, including the Southern Pacific roundhouse, the old courthouse, and the east wing of the San Luis Obispo Mission.54
Commercial development during this period was in a transitional state: there were still modest adobes being constructed, along with the grand railroad hotels and more elaborate banks and other businesses that were populating the commercial core. Wood frame and brick construction were becoming more prevalent, and more elaborate details and materials were used. Commercial architectural styles represented in San Luis Obispo during this period include Commercial Vernacular, Italianate, and Romanesque Revival. Local architects associated with this period include William Evans, Hilamon Spencer Laird, W.C. Phillips, and Alfred Walker.

Detail from 1886 Sanborn Map Company fire insurance map, showing the city's Chinatown.

Source: Library of Congress.
53 Emily Pan, “Ah Louis Store,” Central Coast Asian American History, January 3, 2021, https://www.centralcoastasianhistory.org/post/ah-louis-store. 54 “A History of Chinese Americans in California,” National Park Service, November 17, 2004, https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/5views/5views3h2.htm.

49 City of San Luis Obispo Historic Context: Late 19th Century Citywide Historic Context Statement
HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP (2013)
REVISED BY PAGE & TURNBULL (2025)
Buildings in San Luis Obispo’s Chinatown, including the Ah Louis Store, on the west side of Palm Street between Chorro and Moro streets. Source: Cal Poly Library Special Collections (c. 1910).

Evaluation Criteria
Associated Property Types: Examples of commercial buildings from this period may include markets, hotels, and low-rise storefront buildings. Examples range from modest one-story commercial storefronts, many with pioneer “false fronts,” to more elaborate two-story banks and hotels. The commercial center continued to grow along with the City’s population. Commercial buildings constructed during this period are typically located within the downtown center and represent some of the earliest extant commercial buildings that represent the establishment of San Luis Obispo as a City.

Period of Significance: 1846-1900
Criteria for Eligibility: A/1/1 (Events), B/2/2 (Persons), C/3/3 (Architecture) Criteria Significance Integrity Standards
A/1/1 (Events) • As a rare, intact example of late
19th century commercial
development.
• For its association with the
early growth of the city's
original commercial core.

Commercial properties from this
period eligible under Criterion
A/1/1 (Events) should retain
integrity of location, design,
feeling, and association.

50 City of San Luis Obispo Historic Context: Late 19th Century Citywide Historic Context Statement
HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP (2013)
REVISED BY PAGE & TURNBULL (2025)
Criteria Significance Integrity Standards
B/2/2 (Persons) • For its association with a
significant person in San Luis
Obispo’s history
A commercial property significant
under Criterion B/2/2 (Persons)
should retain integrity of design,
feeling, and association, at a
minimum, in order to convey the
historic association with a
significant person.

C/3/3
(Architecture)
• As a rare remaining example of
adobe commercial construction.
• As a good or rare example of a
particular architectural style
associated with the period.
• As the work of a significant
architect or designer.
• A collection of commercial
buildings from this period that
are linked geographically may
be eligible as a historic district.

In order to be eligible for listing at
the federal, state, or local levels, a
property must retain sufficient
integrity to convey its historic
significance under the Late 19th
Century Commercial Development
theme.

Commercial properties significant
under Criterion C/3/3
(Architecture) should retain
integrity of location, materials,
workmanship, and feeling. Any
remaining examples of adobe
construction from this period with
fair integrity would likely be
eligible. In general, the adobe walls
should remain largely intact and
the building should retain the
majority of the character-defining
features associated with an adobe
structure of its age.

51 City of San Luis Obispo Historic Context: Late 19th Century Citywide Historic Context Statement
HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP (2013)
REVISED BY PAGE & TURNBULL (2025)
Extant Examples: Late 19th Century Commercial Development Goldtree Block-Hotel Wineman, 849 Higuera Street, built 1883. Designated as a San Luis Obispo Historic
Landmark. Source: Historic Resources Group (2013).

Sinsheimer Brothers, 849 Monterey Street, built 1884.

Designated as a San Luis Obispo Historic Landmark.

Source: Historic Resources Group (2013).

Ah Louis Store, 800 Palm Street, built 1884. Designated as a San Luis Obispo Historic Landmark.

Source: Page & Turnbull (2025).

Call Hotel, 1703 Santa Barbara Street, built1895. Designated as a San Luis Obispo Historic Landmark.

Source: Historic Resources Group (2013).

52 City of San Luis Obispo Historic Context: Late 19th Century Citywide Historic Context Statement
HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP (2013)
REVISED BY PAGE & TURNBULL (2025)
Late 19th Century Civic & Institutional Development
During this period, the City’s civic and institutional development began in earnest. Prior to this period, rooms in the Mission served a wide variety of civic functions, including jails, court, and barracks. San Luis Obispo was the location of the first public school in the County, which was established in the early 1850s and originally housed in the Mission. The first official post office in the county was established at San Luis Obispo in 1856, with Alexander Murray as postmaster. In 1871, Walter Murray, editor of the San Luis Obispo Tribune opined that:
…beyond a good jail we really have nothing to show for the large revenue annually drawn from the taxpayers. San Luis Obispo should be possessed of a decent courthouse, yet when the county and district court happen in session together, one or the other has to go gerrymandering about town to find a room to sit in. This was the case last month and doubtless will be again. The old adobe building called a courthouse is a marvel of repulsiveness, and that court room with its wretched appointments is a disgrace to the county.55
As a result of Murray’s editorial, and with the support of other progressive citizens, in 1872 County supervisors allocated funds for a courthouse and jail. J. P. Andrews and Ernest Cerf donated the land for the construction of a courthouse.

San Luis Obispo County Courthouse, built 1873, with Andrews Hotel in background, Osos and Monterey Streets.

Source: Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Special Collections (1915).

Numerous social and fraternal institutions were established during this period. The Oddfellows Hall was constructed on the southwest corner of Monterey and Court Streets between 1870 and 1874.

The Masonic lodge was organized in San Luis Obispo in 1861. The first I. O. O. F. lodge in the county 55 The jail was located on Palm Street, and is non-extant. San Luis Obispo Tribune, 1871.

53 City of San Luis Obispo Historic Context: Late 19th Century Citywide Historic Context Statement
HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP (2013)
REVISED BY PAGE & TURNBULL (2025)
was instituted in 1870 and named Chorro Lodge. A Rebekah Lodge was established in 1877. The first hospital was completed in 1878, and the original City Hall was constructed in 1879.56 Other institutions established during this period include the included the Methodist Episcopal Church, constructed in 1873 on Garden Street, which was the first Protestant church in the county.57 In 1874, the first Presbyterian services were held in San Luis Obispo; a church was erected in 1884 on the corner or Morro and Marsh Streets.58
In the fall of 1876, Mission School, which later became known as the Court School, was constructed on the corner Mill and Santa Rosa Streets, on land donated by J.P. Andrews specifically for the construction of a school. That same year, the Convent School, operated by the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, was established on ground that was once part of the Mission lands.

Court School, built 1876, at Mill and Santa Rosa Streets.

Source: Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Special Collections (1917). 56 Despite the proliferation of social and fraternal institutions during this period, it appears that the Oddfellows Hall may be the earliest extant property associated with the City’s social and fraternal institutional development during this period. 57 Morrison and Haydon, History of San Luis Obispo County and Environs, 128. 58 This building was later moved to the adjoining lot and was used for social meetings, and Sunday school; in 1905 a new church building was constructed.

54 City of San Luis Obispo Historic Context: Late 19th Century Citywide Historic Context Statement
HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP (2013)
REVISED BY PAGE & TURNBULL (2025)
Evaluation Criteria
Associated Property Types: Examples of civic and institutional buildings from this period include courthouses, post offices, libraries, schools, and a sanitarium. Non-governmental institutional buildings include churches, meeting halls, and other buildings associated with social organizations. Civic and institutional buildings from this period represent some of the earliest institutional development in San Luis Obispo, and represent the establishment of San Luis Obispo as a City and the County seat.

Note on intangible cultural heritage: Civic and institutional properties, including social halls, religious buildings, and other community gathering spaces, may also be associated with intangible cultural heritage, such as annual festivals, parades, and/or other cultural events and practices.

Period of Significance: 1846-1900
Criteria for Eligibility: A/1/1 (Events), B/2/2 (Persons), C/3/3 (Architecture) Eligibility Considerations
• For listing in the National Register of Historic Places, religious properties must meet Criteria Consideration A, which states that a religious property is eligible if it derives its primary significance from architectural or artistic distinction or historical importance.59 Criteria Significance Integrity Standards
A/1/1 (Events) • As a rare example of civic or
institutional development from
the period.
• For its association with an
important religious, social,
cultural, or civic institution.
• For its association with a
particular cultural or ethnic
community in San Luis Obispo.

A property may be associated
with migration or community
formation in San Luis Obispo, a
community-serving or religious
organizations or intangible
cultural heritage.

Civic and institutional properties
significant under Criterion A/1/1
(Events) should retain integrity of
location, design, feeling, and
association.
59 National Register Bulletin 15.

55 City of San Luis Obispo Historic Context: Late 19th Century Citywide Historic Context Statement
HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP (2013)
REVISED BY PAGE & TURNBULL (2025)
Criteria Significance Integrity Standards
C/3/3
(Architecture)
• As a good or rare example of a
particular architectural style
associated with its period.

Civic and institutional properties
significant under Criterion C/3/3
(Architecture) should retain
integrity of location, materials,
workmanship, feeling, and
association.

Extant Examples: Late 19th Century Civic & Institutional Development St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 1344 Nipomo Street, built 1873. Designated as a City of San Luis Obispo Historic
Landmark. Source: Historic Resources Group (2013).

Hageman Sanitarium, 1716 Osos Street, built 1885.

Designated as a City of San Luis Obispo Historic Landmark.

Source: City of San Luis Obispo (2013).

56 City of San Luis Obispo Historic Context: Late 19th Century Citywide Historic Context Statement
HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP (2013)
REVISED BY PAGE & TURNBULL (2025)
Late 19th Century Agricultural & Industrial Development Long/Bonetti Ranch, 3897 South Higuera Street, established 1880. Designated as a City of San Luis Obispo Historic Landmark. Source: City of San Luis Obispo (2013).

The Mexican ranchos were used for farming and raising cattle, a tradition that continued as Americans settled in the area through the mid- and late-19th century. San Luis Obispo County was an important agricultural center in California, with farming, including vineyards, and ranching forming a significant part of the local economy.

In 1858, a French Army “soldier of fortune” named Pierre Hippolyte Dallidet settled in San Luis Obispo. He built an adobe home on the grounds of the Mission San Luis Obispo and purchased the failing vines of the Mission San Miguel Arcangel. Dallidet is credited with revitalizing the wine industry in San Luis Obispo County that had begun during the Mission era.

Wool, flour, and dairy products were important income-producers for the region, and beans were also a valuable crop, grown primarily to the south of the city. However, wheat and barley were the most significant agricultural crops for the region in the late 1800s. Several mills were constructed to process the grains from nearby ranchos and increase the area’s cultivation of wheat. The first mill outside the mission was constructed by the Branch Brothers around 1854. The grist mill was located on the Arroyo Grande and processed grain from the southern ranchos. As San Luis Obispo was the only major settlement in the area, many ranchers would bring their grains into the city to be milled, at times traveling from up to forty miles away. In 1868, Pollard, Childs, & Sauer constructed the El Chorro mill, a water-powered mill with a much greater capacity than the Arroyo Grande, which the proprietors hoped would encourage wheat cultivation in the region. At the same time, recent technological innovations allowed new mills to be designed using steam power, which allowed for a more efficient method of milling and did not require the mill to be located near a water source. The technology was widely adopted in San Luis Obispo in response to the increased demand for milling,

57 City of San Luis Obispo Historic Context: Late 19th Century Citywide Historic Context Statement
HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP (2013)
REVISED BY PAGE & TURNBULL (2025)
and by 1883 there were two water-powered grist mills in the city, four steam-powered grist mills, and two steam-powered sawmills. Sawmills, including the Pacific Steam Sawmill, were introduced in San Luis Obispo as early as 1869 to meet the building and construction needs of the city's growing population. Both the grist and sawmilling industries continued to flourish throughout the late 1800s as rail transport and coastal access expanded the market for regional goods.

A severe drought in 1862 marked a dramatic shift in the agricultural development of San Luis Obispo.

The drought lasted for three years, killing most of the rancheros’ cattle and destroying the majority of the crops grown in the region. Many rancheros could not afford to replenish their livestock and replant their crops and many sold their ranch land at a loss to dairy farmers seeking grazing land for their herds. The first dairy farmers to capitalize on the deal were the Steele Brothers, who moved their herd from Marin County to the Corral de Piedra rancho in 1864. A dairy boom was ignited and several prominent creameries and cheese factories were established in San Luis Obispo. Many of these operations continued to flourish throughout the early 1900s.

From the 1870s to the 1890s, much of the agricultural workforce of the San Luis Obispo region consisted of Chinese laborers, many of whom had originally come to California to help build the state’s system of railroads. Between 1870 and 1890, the number of Chinese residents in San Luis Obispo County jumped from 59 in 1870 to 153 in 1880 and then more than doubled to 386 in 1890, 297 of whom lived in the city of San Luis Obispo.60 After the completion of the railroads, these workers dispersed around the state in search of work. Many Chinese immigrants had been farmers in their homeland and migrated to rural areas, including San Luis Obispo, where they became agricultural laborers, helping to drain swamps, dig irrigation ditches, plow, plant, and harvest much of the grain and, later, vegetables, produced in the state.61 In the 1880s, Ah Louis, one of the founding figures of San Luis Obispo’s Chinatown who had initially gained wealth helping to build the Pacific Coast Railway and wharves at Avila Beach and Port San Luis, leased more than 1,000 acres of land in the Edna Valley and began cultivating vegetable and flower seeds for sale.62 Following the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882 and decline in Chinese immigration, Chinese agricultural workers were replaced by Japanese workers, who became the largest proportion of California’s agricultural labor force by the start of the 20th century.63
During the same period, the number of Black residents in San Luis Obispo County also exploded from 23 in 1880 to 457 in 1890 before dropping precipitously to 77 in 1900. Census records show that many of these individuals came to the area from states in the South and worked as day laborers64.

The large increase of Black residents in the San Luis Obispo County area between 1880 and 1890 coincided with the extension of the Southern Pacific Railroad to San Luis Obispo and the passage of the first Jim Crow laws in the South, which may have driven many Black families to the region in search of work, both in the railroad and agricultural industries. The completion of the Southern 60 United States Department of the Interior, Census Office, Compendium of the Eleventh Census; United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of the Census, Twelfth Census of the United States Taken in the Year 1900. 61 Jenzen, Growing Conflict, 60-63. 62 “Ah Louis in San Luis Obispo,” Central Coast Asian American History, March 14, 2022, https://www.centralcoastasianhistory.org/post/ah-louis-in-san-luis-obispo. 63 Page & Turnbull and Donna Graves, “Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in California, 1850-1970,” E-203; Jenzen, Growing Conflict,

71. 64 United States Department of the Interior Census Office, Statistics of the Population of the United States at the Tenth Census (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1882); United States Department of the Interior Census Office, Compendium of the Eleventh Census: 1890, Part I – Population (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1892).

58 City of San Luis Obispo Historic Context: Late 19th Century Citywide Historic Context Statement
HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP (2013)
REVISED BY PAGE & TURNBULL (2025)
Pacific Railroad to San Luis Obispo in 1894 may have led Black residents to leave the area in search of other work opportunities by 1900.

Evaluation Criteria
Associated Property Types: Agricultural and industrial property types include remnant rancho properties, farmhouses, grain and other warehouses, mills, barns, and other related agricultural or industrial outbuildings.

Period of Significance: 1846-1900
Criteria for Eligibility: A/1/1 (Events), C/3/3 (Architecture) Criteria Significance Integrity Standards
A/1/1 (Events) • As a rare example of early
agricultural or industrial
development in San Luis
Obispo.

Agricultural properties significant
under Criterion A/1/1 (Events)
should retain integrity of location,
design, feeling, and association.

Remnant outbuildings may remain
eligible in the absence of the
original farmhouse or other related
buildings.

C/3/3
(Architecture)
• As a rare example of adobe
construction, or a good example
of a vernacular, wood frame
farmhouse, agricultural
building (such as a barn, tank
house, or equipment shed), or
industrial structure.

Due to the rarity of this type, a
greater degree of alteration may be
acceptable.

Agricultural properties significant
under Criterion C/3/3
(Architecture) should retain
integrity of location, design,
materials, workmanship, and
feeling. In general, the exterior
should be relatively unaltered, and
the building should retain the
majority of the character-defining
features associated with its style
and/or construction method. It is
expected that the setting may have
been compromised by later
development.

59 City of San Luis Obispo Historic Context: Late 19th Century Citywide Historic Context Statement
HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP (2013)
REVISED BY PAGE & TURNBULL (2025)
Extant Examples: Late 19th Century Agricultural & Industrial Development Long-Bonetti Ranch, 3897 South Higuera Street, built 1880. Designated as a San Luis Obispo Historic Landmark.

Source: Oasis Associates (2012).

Barn at Froom Ranch. Source: City of San Luis Obispo
(2013).

Barn on Granada Drive. Source: City of San Luis Obispo
(2013).

60 City of San Luis Obispo Historic Context: Late 19th Century Citywide Historic Context Statement
HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP (2013)
REVISED BY PAGE & TURNBULL (2025)
Late-19th Century Transportation and Infrastructure Development Southern Pacific Railroad, Horseshoe Curve near San Luis Obispo.

Source: San Luis Obispo Profile, epondunk.com (no date).

There were significant advances in transportation during this period, enabling the local economy and allowing for increased access to the region. Transportation-related development was centered on the completion of the rail lines from northern and southern California through San Luis Obispo, improvements to the harbor, the construction of roadways, including a road through the Cuesta Pass in 1876, and the implementation of the streetcar system downtown. Significant civic improvements included the construction of the first bridge across San Luis Obispo Creek in 1868, followed by additional bridges across the creek at Mill, Court, Morro, Chorro, Nipomo, and Broad Streets by 1871.

The City also installed sidewalks and planted street trees. The horse-drawn street car system was established in 1887, which provided important access between the Southern Pacific Depot, downtown hotels such as the Ramona Hotel, and the Pacific Coast Railway.

Although San Luis Obispo had gained prominence as a regional hub for civic and economic activity by the mid-1800s, the area’s overall economic growth was restricted due to its geographical isolation.

Due to the surrounding mountain ranges, transportation for goods and passengers was limited to horseback, stagecoach, and wagon. In the 1850s and 1860s, wharfs were established at Avila Beach, facilitating the transport of goods via steamship. However, the region still lacked an efficient method of ground transportation to connect the economic activities of the coast with those further inland.

In 1873, businessman John Harford organized the San Luis Obispo Railroad Company, which established a new wharf, Point Harford, at Point San Luis and constructed a narrow-gauge, horsepowered railroad connecting the new wharf to the mouth of San Luis Obispo Creek. The local railroad, which was constructed on a 30-inch gauge, was one of the first narrow-gauge railroads in the state.

The development of the railroad and the growth of the harbor are intimately connected, as the new rail line allowed farmers access to steamships for the export of goods. In 1874, Harford’s facilities,

61 City of San Luis Obispo Historic Context: Late 19th Century Citywide Historic Context Statement
HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP (2013)
REVISED BY PAGE & TURNBULL (2025)
including the railroad, were purchased by the Pacific Coast S. S. Company. The Pacific Coast Company re-graded the land and relocated the railroad closer to the water, constructing a new, wider-gauge track that could accommodate a steam engine. The company also extended the new track all the way from Point Harford to San Luis Obispo, where a new rail depot was constructed at the southwest corner of Higuera and South Streets. Completed in 1876, the extension of the local line ended the land locking of San Luis Obispo’s economy, opening the area to trans-regional trade with other ports along the California coast and increasing the marketability of the region’s agricultural products. In 1881, the rail line was extended to Arroyo Grande; in April, 1882, it reached Santa Maria, which was then called Central City; in October, 1882, it reached Los Alamos; and in 1883 it was built to Los Olivos.

The Pacific Coast Depot was established at the lower end of Higuera Street in the 1870s. As a result, the area around the depot was developed with other railroad-related facilities, including storage facilities, freight sheds, and lumber yards. Despite having a major impact through the Central Coast Region, the Pacific Coast Railway was a relatively small operation. It could not match the resources of larger competitors and the company did not offer a direct link to major trade centers, such as San Francisco or Los Angeles. The railroad’s reliance on an increasingly obsolete, non-standard gauge rail also hastened the demise of the company, as it could not connect with other railroads using the standard gauge, such as the Southern Pacific Railroad. Following the completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869 and the merger with Central Pacific Railroad in 1870, the Southern Pacific Railroad dominated the California landscape, with a network of railways stretching across the state.

By 1886, the Southern Pacific Railroad terminated at Santa Margarita, just north of San Luis Obispo.

For many years, expansion into San Luis Obispo was considered unlikely due to the costly and dangerous prospect of constructing tracks across the Cuesta Grade, which called for the construction of seven tunnels, a horseshoe curve, and a long steel trestle across Stenner Creek Canyon. However, prominent San Luis Obispo businessmen formed a Board of Trade and lobbied strongly for a track extension into the city.

Although an agreement between the Southern Pacific Company and San Luis Obispo was not officially reached until 1890, the prospect of the railroad’s expansion was enough to spur speculative land development across the city throughout the late 1880s. In 1888, Southern Pacific began to purchase land for a depot and machine shops as well as acquire property for a railway right-of-way through the city. The Andrews Hotel, the Ramona Hotel, and the Central Addition subdivision in which they were located were speculative ventures based purely on the arrival of the Southern Pacific Railroad, which created an “instant tourism industry” in San Luis Obispo. The upscale Ramona Hotel in particular relied heavily upon the presence of the railroad, constructing its own Southern Pacific Train Depot. The hotels’ successes were short-lived: the Andrews Hotel was completely destroyed by fire only seven months after opening in 1886; the Ramona Hotel, which opened in 1888, also burned to the ground in 1905. 65 Its depot was relocated to the grounds of the Dallidet Adobe and Gardens at 1185 Pacific Street in the 1960s.66
65 The Ramona Hotel and its grounds originally occupied an entire City block bounded by what is now Higuera, Marsh, Johnson, and Pepper Streets. When the Ramona Hotel was destroyed, the property was subdivided into residential lots. 66 “Ramona Depot Move Approved by City,” San Luis Obispo Telegram-Tribune, 12 May 1964: 1.

62 City of San Luis Obispo Historic Context: Late 19th Century Citywide Historic Context Statement
HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP (2013)
REVISED BY PAGE & TURNBULL (2025)
The Ramona Depot on the grounds of the Dallidet Adobe and Gardens. Source: Page & Turnbull (2025).

Southern Pacific Trestle Bridge across Stenner Creek. Source: Cal Poly Special Collections (c. 1900-1940).

Construction on the extension of the Southern Pacific Railroad began in 1892 and was completed in 1894. The depot, roundhouse, and other facilities were completed by 1895. The first steam engine arrived in San Luis Obispo on May 5, 1894, finally linking the city to San Francisco. A passenger depot was established across town from the Pacific Coast Depot near the Southern Pacific Railroad main line. At the same time, the road from the south was underway, and on March 31, 1901 trains could

63 City of San Luis Obispo Historic Context: Late 19th Century Citywide Historic Context Statement
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finally run all the way from San Francisco to Los Angeles. The arrival of the railroad transformed the landscape of the city, shifting the city’s economic center away from the historic core.67 In order to continue railroad expansion during the late 19th-century, many prominent land-holders along the railroad route granted rights-of-way; this included the Dana family in San Luis Obispo.

Establishing a right-of-way for the railroad significantly impacted the landscape of San Luis Obispo.

While many new subdivisions were developed, existing subdivisions were drastically altered and streets and other access routes were destroyed to create at-grade crossings. The existing configuration of the city was essentially cut in half, and several subdivisions had to be re-platted, including the Central Addition and the Loomis tract.

Although there were numerous buildings and structures associated with the development of the railroad in San Luis Obispo, remnant examples are increasingly rare. The Pacific Coast Railway grain warehouse is the lone surviving building from the company’s headquarters. The building was the trans-shipment port from farm wagon to local narrow gauge trains which led to steamer wharves at Port Harford (now known as Port San Luis/Avila Beach). The grain storage warehouse was in continuous use by the Pacific Coast Railway from its construction in the late 19th century through the closure of the railroad in 1942. It is the only remaining grain storage warehouse in San Luis Obispo.

In 1872, Dr. Hays, C. W. Dana, and M. Benrino obtained a franchise for water works; the next year A.

M. Loomis and Alfred Walker bought the franchise and started to work on improvements. A small reservoir was built on Murray Hill, about a mile and a half north of the town, and water was brought in a flume from the upper San Luis Creek. In 1874, the San Luis Obispo Water Company was formed. Water was transported by a 2-mile open flume that brought water to the City’s reservoir; from there it was distributed to properties in the town center via pipes that ran beneath the primary streets in the City. In 1876, a large reservoir was built in the Stenner Creek canyon.68 In the late 19th century, the City embarked on significant upgrades to the sewer system, which previously had largely been accommodated by San Luis Obispo Creek. In 1892, a sewer system was installed, which was upgraded in 1899. At the same time, the City embarked on improvements to San Luis Obispo Creek. Concrete retaining walls were added to help control the creek, allowing for the expansion of commercial development along Higuera Street. 67 Dandekar and Jordan, “The Railroads and San Luis Obispo’s Urban Form,” 51. 68 Subsequent reservoirs were built to increase capacity in the mid-1880s and again in 1910.

64 City of San Luis Obispo Historic Context: Late 19th Century Citywide Historic Context Statement
HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP (2013)
REVISED BY PAGE & TURNBULL (2025)
Evaluation Criteria
Associated Property Types: Transportation and infrastructure-related property types from this period include rail stations and their ancillary buildings, warehouses, rail yards, rail lines, and rail spurs. Some early industrial buildings that were constructed in immediate proximity to rail lines and designed to take advantage of rail technology may also be significant under this theme. This theme also includes buildings associated with public infrastructure agencies such as those providing power and water.

Period of Significance: 1846-1900
Criteria for Eligibility: A/1/1 (Events), C/3/3 (Architecture) Criteria Significance Integrity Standards
A/1/1 (Events) • As a rare, intact example of
railroad or other transportationrelated development from the late 19th century.
• As an industrial property directly
associated with the development
of the railroad in the area (e.g.
railroad warehouse).
• As an infrastructure-related
property directly associated with
the operation of early water and
utility systems in the city.

Transportation- and infrastructurerelated development significant under Criterion A/1/1 (Events)
should retain integrity of location,
design, feeling, and association.

C/3/3
(Architecture)
• As a rare or unique property type
associated with the railroad.
• As the work of a significant
architect or designer
Transportation-related development
significant under Criterion C/3/3
(Architecture) should retain integrity
of location, materials,
workmanship, feeling, and
association.

65 City of San Luis Obispo Historic Context: Late 19th Century Citywide Historic Context Statement
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Extant Examples: Late-19th Century Transportation and Infrastructure Development Pacific Coast Railway Company Grain Warehouse, 65 Higuera Street, built late 19th century. Designated as a San Luis Obispo Historic Landmark. Left image source: City of San Luis Obispo (no date). Right image source: Historic Resources Group (2013).

Southern Pacific Railroad Warehouse, 1940 Santa Barbara Avenue, built c. 1895. Designated as a San Luis Obispo Historic Landmark. Source: Historic Resources Group (2013).

66 City of San Luis Obispo Historic Context: Early 20th Century Citywide Historic Context Statement
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EARLY 20TH CENTURY DEVELOPMENT (1900-1929)
Panorama of San Luis Obispo from Terrace Hill. Source Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Special Collections (1907).

In the early 20th century, the development of San Luis Obispo was characterized by three major factors: the introduction of the Southern Pacific Railroad line, the founding of California Polytechnic School, and the widespread use of the automobile. The former factors spurred a considerable increase in population, but it was the latter factor – the automobile – that allowed urban planners to respond to the increased population growth by expanding development outside of the central city.

By 1920, the City population had grown to 5,805 residents.69 The establishment of California Polytechnic Institute (now Cal Poly) at the beginning of the 20th century and its continued growth is an important component of this theme. The Polytechnic School was the realization of Myron Angel’s vision that was supported by Assemblyman Warren Johns and Senator S.C. Smith. In 1896, Angel published a letter in the Breeze urging the establishment of a normal school in San Luis Obispo. After several years of political maneuvering, the bill to establish a normal school was finally passed in 1901. Land for the school was donated by Mr. Lowe. Early in 1903 the corner stone of the main building was laid, and in October of that year the first students were welcomed.

In the early 20th century, San Luis Obispo’s population of ethnic communities continued to grow.

The decline in Chinese laborers left a vacuum that other immigrant groups quickly filled in the early 20th century to meet the continuing demand for low-wage workers. Starting in the late 19th century, 69 United States Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Fourteenth Census of the United States Taken in the Year 1920, Volume III – Population: 1920 (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1922).

67 City of San Luis Obispo Historic Context: Early 20th Century Citywide Historic Context Statement
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Japanese workers began arrived in the United States in search of work. The end of Japanese isolationist policies and opening of Japan to trade with the United States in 1853, followed by the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882 and the annexation of Hawaii in 1898, which had a large Japanese population, contributed to the influx of Japanese people into California in the late 19th century. Japanese immigrants arrived in California in two phases, first following the Chinese Exclusion Act, and second following the signing of the 1907-1908 Gentlemen’s Agreement between the U.S. and Japan, which restricted the entry of male workers but allowed wives and certain classes of professional workers to enter.70
Steamship lines and labor contracting companies
recruited Japanese workers initially from Hawaii
and later directly from Japan. Japanese immigrants
arrived in port cities, such as San Francisco, and
migrated to rural areas along the coast, including
the Central Valley, in search of agricultural work.

By 1890, 2,038 Japanese people lived in the United
States, more than half of whom lived in California.

No Japanese people were recorded as residents of
San Luis Obispo County until 1900, at which time
16 Japanese residents lived in the county. In 1910,
that number skyrocketed to 154, and by 1920, it
grew to 434.71 Japanese residents of San Luis
Obispo worked primarily along the Southern
Pacific Railroad route as farm laborers, until they
were eventually able to purchase their own land.

Other important advancements during this period
include the establishment of a Carnegie Library in
1904 (completed in 1905). Designed by architect
William Weeks, the library was located adjacent to
the Mission. William Weeks was the most prolific
designer of Carnegie libraries in California, responsible for twenty-two libraries throughout the state, eighteen of which are extant.72 Weeks designed numerous buildings in San Luis Obispo, including the original campus of the Polytechnic School.
70 Page & Turnbull and Donna Graves, “Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in California, 1850-1970,” E-36. 71 United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of the Census, Twelfth Census of the United States Taken in the Year 1900 (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1901); United States Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Thirteenth Census of the United States Taken in the Year 1910 (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1913); Bureau of the Census, Fourteenth Census of the United States Taken in the Year 1920.
72 Carnegie Libraries of California Project, “By Architect - Who Built the Libraries,” accessed December 2, 2024, http://www.carnegielibraries.org/california/architect/index.html.

Tameji Eto. Source: History Center of San Luis Obispo
County (no date).

68 City of San Luis Obispo Historic Context: Early 20th Century Citywide Historic Context Statement
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Carnegie Library, 696 Monterey Street. Source: carnegielibraries.org (1905).

The Southern Pacific Railroad continued to thrive in San Luis Obispo through the early years of the 20th century, diversifying the economy and expanding the city’s potential trade market. By the 1920s, however, railroad activity began to decline due to the expansion of automobile use and improvement of road networks.

In 1915, the first state highway came through San Luis Obispo County. During this period, automobile tourism became popular in California. During the 1920s newly paved roads, affordable cars, aggressive promotional campaigns directed at tourists, and new roadside conveniences (including gas stations and auto camps) were a boon to seaside communities and kept local boosters optimistic.

In the early 1920s, Southern California architect Arthur Heineman opened the world’s first “motel,” the Milestone Mo-tel, in San Luis Obispo, pioneering a new type of accommodation that became popular with travelers worldwide. The leading San Luis Obispo newspaper carried the hopeful masthead, “California’s Next Big City.”73
With the city’s government firmly established, influence in San Luis Obispo in the early 20th century shifted to those individuals who operated businesses in the city or were involved in community affairs. Individuals active in civic affairs during this period included Benjamin Brooks, who was an esteemed journalist and owner/editor the San Luis Obispo Tribune from 1886 to 1922. Dr. Richard Bradbury was a prominent local physician who established the Bradbury Sanitarium next door to his personal residence. Another successful doctor, William Stover, constructed the San Luis Obispo Sanitarium around 1912 and later served as mayor. Grace Barneberg, early president of the ladies’ Monday Club, was instrumental in expanding the organization and securing the services of architect 73“’California’s Next Big City’ is Slogan,” San Luis Obispo Daily Telegraph, 14 April 1926.

69 City of San Luis Obispo Historic Context: Early 20th Century Citywide Historic Context Statement
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Julia Morgan to design the organization’s new clubhouse. In 1925, Father Daniel Keenan established “La Fiesta de las Flores,” a community celebration to raise funds for the restoration of the mission that continued annually for the next seventy years.

Muzio’s Grocery, 868 Monterey Street, built 1912. Designated as a San Luis Obispo Historic Landmark. Muzio’s moved from its original location to a new storefront in the Wineman Hotel on Higuera Street in 2010; it has since closed.

Source: City of San Luis Obispo (2013).

70 City of San Luis Obispo Historic Context: Early 20th Century Citywide Historic Context Statement
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Early 20th Century Residential Development
San Luis Obispo’s population continued to
grow in the early 20th century. Residences
from this period range from small, vernacular
cottages to more elaborate two-story
residences. There are few examples of multifamily residential development in the City built during this period. Toward the end of
this period there was an increasing
accommodation for the automobile. A
prominent example of this is the J.J. Dunne
House on Benton Way, which was constructed
in 1927 when the area was considered
suburban. Dunne was a local car dealer, and
he had his house and garage constructed to
accommodate several automobiles.

During this period, residential architecture
began to shift from the Victorian-era styles
imported from the east and new regional
styles began to emerge. In California, the most
notable new residential architecture was
inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement and
the development of the California bungalow,
which was a simple, garden-oriented house
uniquely suited for the climate and lifestyle of
the region.

Designs for the bungalow were promulgated throughout the country through popular magazines like House Beautiful, Good Housekeeping, and Ladies Home Journal. Pattern books with a wide variety of bungalow designs and complete mail order house kits soon followed, allowing the style to spread quickly across the country. The three largest manufacturers of kit homes in the United States were Aladdin, Sears, and Pacific Ready Cut Homes, which was based in Los Angeles. Kit homes were sold from 1908 until 1940. Shipped by boxcar, each kit contained framing members and all architectural details.

Architectural styles during this period are more eclectic than those represented in the late 19th century. Residential architecture from this period in San Luis Obispo includes American Colonial Revival, Mediterranean Revival, Craftsman, Spanish Colonial Revival, Tudor Revival, and Storybook.

The dominant type of single-family residence in the early 20th century is the one-story bungalow.

Some Craftsman houses in San Luis Obispo feature clinker brick. Named for the distinctive sound they make when banged together, clinker bricks are the result of wet bricks placed too close to the fire. Overbaking produced rich, warm colors as well that ran the gamut from reds, yellows, and oranges to deep, flash-burned browns, purples, and blacks. In the early 20th century clinkers became popular when avant-garde architects started building houses with them precisely because they were so unusual. During the Arts & Crafts era, clinker bricks were used to create visual interest in focal Pacific Ready Cut Homes, Style #85. Source: Internet
Archive.

71 City of San Luis Obispo Historic Context: Early 20th Century Citywide Historic Context Statement
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points such as chimneys, porch supports, and garden walls. There are examples of clinker brick in Monterey Heights and near Broad and Chorro. A prominent example is the 1928 Faulstich House at 2243 Santa Ynez Avenue, constructed for Paul and Mary Faulstich of the Faulstich Brothers brickyard.

There are intact residential neighborhoods that developed during this period. While some are located in proximity to downtown, during this period neighborhoods also developed in what was considered the outskirts at that time, in areas newly accessible by the automobile. One example is found along Murray Street, a wide street with a center median with mature landscaping. Houses in the neighborhood were constructed in the 1920s and are primarily one-story; architectural styles include several Period Revival styles and some Minimal Traditional examples.

Architects whose work is represented in San Luis Obispo during this period include: Abrahms & Simms, Santa Barbara; E.D. Bray; John Chapek; Orville Clark; W.H. Crias, W.E. Erkes, San Francisco; G.A. Meuss-Dorffer, San Francisco; G.M. Eastman; Thorton Fitzhugh; John Davis Hatch; Alfred and Arthur Heineman, Los Angeles; J.P. Kremple; Fred Logan; Charles McKenzie, San Francisco; Parkinson & Bergstrom; Righetti & Headman, San Francisco; William H. Weeks; James Wetmore; and K.C.

Wilson.

Context View, Murray Street. Source: Historic Resources Group (2013).

From approximately 1910 to 1950, the area roughly bordered by South Street, Eto Street (now Brook Street), Higuera Street, and Madonna Road developed into a nihonmachi, or Japantown, where Japanese residents found community, safety, welcome, and access to commercial businesses and services that catered to their needs. A small commercial strip of Japanese businesses developed on Higuera Street between South Street and Madonna Road in the late 1920s. By the early 1930s, the area was commonly referred to in local newspapers as the “Nippon Tract,” reflecting its association with the Japanese community. Homes specifically for Japanese residents were introduced to the Nippon Tract by 1931, when Tameji Eto, a prosperous farmer with a successful farm in Los Osos, built or relocated several small wood-framed cottages to the one-block stretch of Eto Street south of

72 City of San Luis Obispo Historic Context: Early 20th Century Citywide Historic Context Statement
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South Street and to the west of the commercial strip on Higuera Street.74 Other former sites associated with the Japanese population in San Luis Obispo include the Buddhist Temple and Japanese School, which occupied ten acres near the Madonna Inn from the 1920s to 1960.

Cottages on the east side of Brook Street, reportedly built or relocated by Tameji Eto. Source: Page & Turnbull (2024).

During this period there was also a significant Italian and Swiss/Italian population in the City, with activities centered on the area referred to as “Little Italy.” This area was generally located along Broad Street, in what was originally part of the Imperial Addition subdivided in the late 1880s. Most of the men worked for either the Southern Pacific Railroad or the Union Oil Company. Among the early residents of this section of the city were Andrew Yager, a carpenter living at 2231 Broad Street; James Genovini, a Southern Pacific boilermaker living at 2231 Broad Street; James Margaroli, a Union Oil truck driver living at 2315 Broad Street; Frederick C. Macha, a Pacific Coast foreman living at 2344 Lawton Avenue; J. D. Duchesi, a Southern Pacific engineer living at 2502 Victoria Avenue; and John Luini, a Southern Pacific foreman living at 2546 Victoria Avenue. 74 History Center San Luis Obispo County, “Eto Park and Brook Street in San Luis Obispo,” accessed June 19, 2024, https://www.historycenterslo.org/uploads/1/2/5/3/125313011/walkingtourhandout-v8.pdf.

73 City of San Luis Obispo Historic Context: Early 20th Century Citywide Historic Context Statement
HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP (2013)
REVISED BY PAGE & TURNBULL (2025)
Evaluation Criteria
Associated Property Types: Residential property types include single-family residences; multi-family residences (duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, apartment buildings, bungalow courts, etc.); and residential neighborhoods
Period of Significance: 1900-1929
Criteria for Eligibility: A/1/1 (Events), B/2/2 (Persons), C/3/3 (Architecture) Criteria Significance Integrity Standards
A/1/1 (Events) • As an excellent example of a
significant or influential turnof-the-20th-century residential development or pattern of
development in San Luis
Obispo.
• As a rare example of multifamily residential development or an excellent example of a
particular multi-family
residential property type from
the period.
• A collection of residences from
this period that are linked
geographically may be eligible
as a historic district.

Residential properties from this
period eligible under Criteria A/1/1
(Events) should retain integrity of
location, design, feeling, and
association.

B/2/2 (Persons) • For its association with a
significant person in local
history.

A residential property significant
under Criterion B/2/2 (Persons)
should retain integrity of design,
feeling, and association, at a
minimum, in order to convey the
historic association with a
significant person.

74 City of San Luis Obispo Historic Context: Early 20th Century Citywide Historic Context Statement
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Criteria Significance Integrity Standards
C/3/3
(Architecture)
• As an excellent or rare local
example of particular
architectural style. Houses with
a proven association to a
specific kit home model may
also be eligible under this
criterion.
• As a rare example of multifamily residential development or an excellent example of a
particular multi-family
residential property type from
the period.
• As the work of a significant
architect or designer
• A collection of residences from
this period that are linked
geographically may be eligible
as a historic district.

Residential properties significant
under Criterion C/3/3
(Architecture) should retain
integrity of location, design,
setting, materials, workmanship,
and feeling.

Extant Examples: Early 20th Century Residential Development Muscio House, 1330 Mill Street, built 1909. Designated
as a City of San Luis Obispo Historic Landmark. Source:

Historic Resources Group (2013).

Sandercock House, 535 Islay Street, built 1910. Designated as a City of San Luis Obispo Historic Landmark. Source: City of San Luis Obispo (2013).

75 City of San Luis Obispo Historic Context: Early 20th Century Citywide Historic Context Statement
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Payne House, 1144 Palm Street, built 1911. Designated as a City of San Luis Obispo Historic Landmark. Source: City of San Luis Obispo (2013).

Crossett House, 896 Buchon, built 1914. Designated as a City of San Luis Obispo Historic Landmark. Source: City of San Luis Obispo (2013).

Faulstich House, 2243 Santa Ynez, built 1928. Designated as a City of San Luis Obispo Historic Landmark. Source: City of San Luis Obispo (2013).

Righetti Apartments, 1305 Palm Street, built1929.

Designated as a City of San Luis Obispo Historic
Landmark. Source: City of San Luis Obispo (2013).

Dunne House, 59 Benton Way, built 1927. Designated as a City of San Luis Obispo Landmark. Source: City of San Luis Obispo (2013).

76 City of San Luis Obispo Historic Context: Early 20th Century Citywide Historic Context Statement
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Early 20th Century Commercial Development
Higuera Street. Source: Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Special Collections (c. 1910-1919).

During the early 20th century, the commercial center continued to flourish, and there were numerous commercial enterprises established during this period. By this period, the downtown commercial core had grown significantly, and there were numerous commercial establishments organized on several business blocks; the downtown commercial core is recognized by the City as a historic district. Commercial development continued particularly in the years between World War I and the arrival of the Great Depression.

One of the city’s earliest 20th-century businessmen was W. H. Schulze, who opened the W. H. Schulze Haberdashery in 1904 as one of the first tenants of the Johnson commercial block; Schulze continued to operate his store for the next forty years. East Coast dairyman August Jensen opened the Central Creamery in 1910. In 1912, Italian immigrant David Muzio and Italian-Swiss immigrant Fernando Chiesa constructed a building to house Muzio’s Grocery and Chiesa’s Restaurant. Entrepreneur Jefferson Anderson operated the men’s clothing company J. L. Anderson before closing the store to build the upscale Anderson Hotel in 1923. A. F. Fitzgerald, the president of the San Luis Brick Company, was also involved with several local oil companies, as well as serving as president of the Chamber of Commerce and lobbying to establish the California Polytechnic School.

Local theaters also hosted minstrel and vaudeville performances. Some of these theatres—including the Elks Theater, Monterey Theater, and Elmo Theater—featured male or female impersonators in the 1910s, actors who portrayed members of the opposite gender on stage. These performances

77 City of San Luis Obispo Historic Context: Early 20th Century Citywide Historic Context Statement
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represented early instances in which non-conformance with traditional gender norms occurred publicly anywhere in San Luis Obispo.75
Commercial development in San Luis Obispo during the first decades of the twentieth century also included the establishment or expansion of commercial centers that catered specifically to individual ethnic groups. In the 1920s and 1930s, a nihonmachi or Japantown, with Japanese-owned or operated commercial businesses and services emerged along Higuera Street between South Street and Madonna Road. Yoroku Watanabe and Tameji Eto are credited as key figures in the development of San Luis Obispo’s nihonmachi in the 1920s and 1930s. Between 1923 and 1928, Watanabe leased a one-acre site at 158 Higuera Street, located across from passenger depot, freight sheds, and shops of the Pacific Coast Railway. Due to the 1913 Alien Land Law, Watanabe could not purchase the property himself and had to lease it from the estate of a Prussian immigrant. Watanabe’s development included a one-story hotel, rooming house, pool room, restaurants, commercial garage, fish market, and a wholesale and retail grocery, Y&M Grocery at 198 Higuera Street. With the selection of Higuera Street as part of the newly designated route of Highway 101 in 1925, the nihonmachi became the southern gateway to the city.76 In 1929, Watanabe’s complex was acquired by a young Japanese-American man named Robert Fukunaga, who upgraded the buildings and expanded the hotel into a two-story brick building.77 By the 1930s, the area included two hotels, a barber shop, two groceries, and a fish and meat market. Although geographically small in size, San Luis Obispo’s nihonmachi was not just the center of commercial businesses and services for local Japanese residents but also for Japanese farming communities in the surrounding rural areas, including Arroyo Grande, Los Osos, Pismo Beach, Nippomo, and the port at Avila Beach.78
This period also saw a marked increase in automobile use; by 1916 there were five automobile service stations in San Luis Obispo. New commercial construction directly tied to the automobile increased in the early 1920s. Liveries were converted into automobile showrooms that sold specific brands. Purpose-built showrooms were built on commercial streets in the central business district and typically featured large entrance doors and windows to show of the automobiles waiting to be purchased inside.
75 “Putting One Over on the Elks’ Minstrels by Printing the Criticism in Advance,” San Luis Obispo Tribune, 5 May 1913; “Cavazos, Genuine Top Liner Pleases Large Audience,” San Luis Obispo Tribune, 25 June 1914. 76 History Center San Luis Obispo County, “Eto Park and Brook Street in San Luis Obispo,” accessed June 19, 2024, https://www.historycenterslo.org/uploads/1/2/5/3/125313011/walkingtourhandout-v8.pdf. 77 “Japantown - San Luis Obispo,” LocalWiki, accessed Jun 19, 2024, https://localwiki.org/slo/Japantown. 78 “Japantown Atlas - Central California - San Luis Obispo,” 2022, accessed June 19, 2024, http://japantownatlas.com/map-sanluis.html.

78 City of San Luis Obispo Historic Context: Early 20th Century Citywide Historic Context Statement
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Yoruko Watanabe's fruit and vegetable grocery (1928). Source: History Center of San Luis Obispo County. Courtesy of Shizue Seigel.

Auto-tourism and recreation spurred new types of commercial development in San Luis Obispo. The Exposition Park Race Track, with a one-mile course that was billed as the fastest in the world, opened at the south end of the city in 1922. Early automobile tourists camped along the roadside on the outskirts of towns across the country, including San Luis Obispo. Auto camping as an idyllic, antiestablishment pursuit dwindled by World War I, as farmers, schools and other property owners grew tired of the increasing numbers of tourists who camped for free on their land, creating pollution, damaging property, stealing produce, and leaving trash and debris in their wake. In response, private and municipal camps were established to capture the romantic essence of the roadside camps, while offering more conveniences and amenities. Usually consisting of a group of modest cabins and tents for camping, early examples of auto camps in San Luis Obispo included a municipal auto camp and private auto camp at the intersection of Monterey, Palm, and Grand streets.79 These camps were also short-lived, as increasing numbers of motorists overwhelmed the sites, and more affluent travelers sought upgraded accommodations.
79 Sanborn Map Company, “San Luis Obispo,” 1926, Library of Congress.

79 City of San Luis Obispo Historic Context: Early 20th Century Citywide Historic Context Statement
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Exposition Park Race Track, built 1923. Left image: 1923, Right image: Filming in 1926; source for both Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Special Collections.

Milestone Mo-tel, 2223 Monterey Street, built 1925. Source: Huntington Library, San Marino.

80 City of San Luis Obispo Historic Context: Early 20th Century Citywide Historic Context Statement
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1926 Sanborn Map Company fire insurance map, showing parcels containing auto-related development (highlighted in blue) near the intersection of Monterey and Santa Rosa streets (1926).

Source: San Francisco Public Library.

In the early 1920s, Southern California-based architect Arthur Heineman proposed a solution for the automobile traveler that would become the roadside motel. Based on the concept of the bungalow court, Heineman proposed eighteen motels from San Diego to Seattle, each approximately one day’s drive apart. The motels would be located on the outskirts of the cities, with easy access on and off the main highways along the Pacific coast. This new venture would be called the Milestone Mo-tel, based on the term “motor hotel.” San Luis Obispo was selected as the inaugural site, as it was a logical stopover between Los Angeles and San Francisco.80 The Milestone Mo-tel was situated on the northern end of San Luis Obispo, immediately off of the Pacific Coast Highway. Mission Revival imagery was co-opted for the motel to “recapitulate to a marked degree the history of the Franciscan Friars and the early lore of California.”81 A 1925 article in Pacific Travel announcing the construction of the Milestone Mo-tel directly tied the route of the missionaries with the location of the motels:

If Junipero Serra is looking down today on the California he loved so well, he is noting the fact that King’s Highway, with its old missions a day’s horseback ride apart, has become a thoroughfare for teeming millions, and that along this shining pathway 80 “Milestone Company to Build San Jose Motel,” Mercury News, November 24, 1925. 81 Charles Estey, “Hotel for Motorists,” Pacific Coast Travel, October 1925.

81 City of San Luis Obispo Historic Context: Early 20th Century Citywide Historic Context Statement
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through an earthly Paradise there is now being established a chain of remarkable hotels for motorists, which has been given the names ‘Milestone Mo-tels.82 Motels and “motor courts” with cabins or buildings arranged in rows, or U- or L-shaped configurations replaced the earlier auto camps with tents in the 1930s.

Architectural styles represented in local commercial architecture during this period include Mission Revival, Mediterranean Revival, and Spanish Colonial Revival. There are also modest vernacular commercial buildings that may have minimal stylistic detailing and do not represent a particular style.

Architects whose work is represented in San Luis Obispo during this period include: Abrahms & Simms, Santa Barbara; E.D. Bray; John Chapek; Orville Clark; W.H. Crias, W.E. Erkes; San Francisco; G.A. Meuss-Dorffer, San Francisco; G.M. Eastman; Thorton Fitzhugh; John Davis Hatch; Alfred and Arthur Heineman, Los Angeles; J.P. Kremple; Fred Logan; Charles McKenzie, San Francisco; Parkinson & Bergstrom; Righetti & Headman, San Francisco; William H. Weeks; James Wetmore; and K.C.

Wilson.

Evaluation Criteria
Associated Property Types: Commercial properties include one- and two-story commercial blocks; hotels; low-rise storefront buildings; and historic districts Period of Significance: 1900-1929
Criteria for Eligibility: A/1/1 (Events), B/2/2 (Persons), C/3/3 (Architecture) Criteria Significance Integrity Standards
A/1/1 (Events) • As an intact example of a
significant or influential early
20th century commercial
development
• For its direct association with
as automobile-related
development in San Luis Obispo
Commercial properties from this
period eligible under Criteria A/1/1
(Events) should retain integrity of
location, design, setting, feeling,
and association.
.

B/2/2 (Persons) • For its association with a
significant person in San Luis
Obispo’s early history
A commercial property significant
under Criterion B/2/2 (Persons)
should retain integrity of design,
feeling, and association, at a
minimum, in order to convey the
historic association with a
significant person.
82 Estey, Pacific Coast Travel.

82 City of San Luis Obispo Historic Context: Early 20th Century Citywide Historic Context Statement
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Criteria Significance Integrity Standards
C/3/3
(Architecture)
• As an excellent or rare example
of a particular architectural
style associated with the period
• The work of a significant
architect or designer
• As a rare intact example of an
early commercial property
type.

Commercial properties significant
under Criterion C/3/3
(Architecture) should retain
integrity of location, design,
setting, materials, workmanship,
and feeling.

Extant Examples: Early 20th Century Commercial Development Johnson Building, 796 Higuera Street, built 1903-1904.

Designated as a San Luis Obispo Historic Landmark.

Source: Historic Resources Group (2013).

Park/Reidy Hotel, 1815 Osos Street, built 1907.

Designated as a San Luis Obispo Historic Landmark.

Source: Historic Resources Group (2013).

83 City of San Luis Obispo Historic Context: Early 20th Century Citywide Historic Context Statement
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Union Hardware, 1119 Garden Street, built 1912.

Designated as a San Luis Obispo Historic Landmark.

Source: City of San Luis Obispo (2013).

Anderson Hotel, 955 Monterey Street, built 1922-1923.

Designated as a San Luis Obispo Historic Landmark.

Source: City of San Luis Obispo (2013).

84 City of San Luis Obispo Historic Context: Early 20th Century Citywide Historic Context Statement
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Early 20th Century Civic & Institutional Development
Postcard of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Source: historyinslocounty.org (no date).

In 1901, the California State Legislature authorized “An Act to Establish the California Polytechnic School,” with the express stipulation that the school focus on agricultural and vocational training.

Construction began in early 1903, and in October of that year, California Polytechnic opened its doors to welcome the first students. Initially, the school offered a secondary-level, three-year Course of Study. By 1904, enrollment at the school had already tripled from twenty students to sixty.

Enrollment at the school continued to increase, and by the end of its first decade Cal Poly’s student body had grown to 176 students. The 1910s proved to be a challenging time for the school, as the compulsory military training and the Selective Service Act saw 147 students join the armed services.

Enrollment dipped as many students went off to war, and those who remained behind participated in war relief projects.

In the years following World War I, many veterans relocated to the area to take advantage of Cal Poly’s vocational training. Faced with growing enrollment after the war, Cal Poly focused primarily on developing its academic plan. The Course of Study program was extended from three years to four years, and an Academic Department for college preparatory work was added to the original Agriculture, Mechanics, and Household Arts Departments. In 1921, however, the school’s board of trustees was disbanded and the State Superintendent of Public Instruction assumed direct supervision of the institution. Although a course of study in printing was introduced in 1923, drastic budget cuts that same year reduced the available programs to agriculture, mechanics, and printing.

Classes were not restored in other departments until 1926.

85 City of San Luis Obispo Historic Context: Early 20th Century Citywide Historic Context Statement
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In 1905, a Carnegie Library was constructed in San Luis Obispo, which was the first dedicated library building in the County. In 1906, a new building for San Luis Obispo High School, which previously was held in the Court School, was constructed on Marsh Street. Other institutional buildings were constructed during this period, including a new church for the Methodist Episcopal Congregation on the corner of Morro and Pacific Streets.

In 1920, a fire in the Mission Church Sacristy broke out which destroyed most of the Mission roof.

The structures themselves were saved by the original oak rafters, which prevented the adobe walls from caving in. In 1925, Father Daniel Keenan established La Fiesta de las Flores (“Festival of the Flowers”), a community celebration intended to raise funds to repair the Mission’s roof. La Fiesta became an annual fundraising event which continued for seventy years until 1995. The funds raised during the early years of La Fiesta helped renovate the Church in 1933 when, under the stewardship of Father John Harnett, the Church was restored to its original Spanish-style appearance. The wooden clapboard siding was removed, and the Mission roof was replaced with clay tile. The original portico and belfry were reconstructed of reinforced concrete and plaster, and in 1937, the colonnade lining the convento was rebuilt to resemble the original. A final addition made to extend the annex in 1948 was funded by the Hearst Foundation, a longtime supporter of La Fiesta.

Evaluation Criteria
Associated Property Types: Civic property types include city hall, courthouses, post offices, libraries, and schools. Non-governmental institutional buildings include churches, meeting halls, and other buildings associated with social organizations.

Note on intangible cultural heritage: Civic and institutional properties, including social halls, religious buildings, and other community gathering spaces, may also be associated with intangible cultural heritage, such as annual festivals, parades, and/or other cultural events and practices.

Period of Significance: 1900-1929
Criteria for Eligibility: A/1/1 (Events), C/3/3 (Architecture)

86 City of San Luis Obispo Historic Context: Early 20th Century Citywide Historic Context Statement
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Criteria Significance Integrity Standards
A/1/1 (Events) • As a rare example (first, last
remaining, only) of civic or
institutional development from
the period
• For its association with an
important religious, social,
cultural, or civic institution
• For its association with a
particular cultural or ethnic
community in San Luis Obispo.

A property may be associated
with migration or community
formation in San Luis Obispo, a
community-serving or religious
organizations or intangible
cultural heritage, or civil rights
activism.

Civic and institutional properties
from this period eligible under
Criterion A/1/1 (Events) should
retain integrity of location, design,
feeling, and association.

C/3/3
(Architecture)
• As an excellent or rare example
of a particular architectural
style associated with its period
• As the work of a significant
architect or designer
Civic or institutional properties
significant under Criterion C/3/3
(Architecture) should retain
integrity of location, design,
setting, materials, workmanship,
and feeling.

Extant Examples: Early 20th Century Civic & Institutional Development Stover’s Sanitarium,1160 Marsh Street, built 1911.

Designated as a San Luis Obispo Historic Landmark. Source:

Historic Resources Group (2013).

Carnegie Library, 696 Monterey Street, built 1905.

Designated as a San Luis Obispo Historic Landmark.

Source: Historic Resources Group (2013).

87 City of San Luis Obispo Historic Context: Early 20th Century Citywide Historic Context Statement
HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP (2013)
REVISED BY PAGE & TURNBULL (2025)
Masonic Temple, 859 Marsh Street, built 1913.

Designated as a San Luis Obispo Historic Landmark.

Source: Historic Resources Group (2013).

U.S. Post Office, 893 Marsh Street, built 1925. Designated as a San Luis Obispo Historic Landmark. Source: Historic
Resources Group (2013).

88 City of San Luis Obispo Historic Context: Early 20th Century Citywide Historic Context Statement
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REVISED BY PAGE & TURNBULL (2025)
Early 20th Century Agricultural & Industrial Development San Luis Obispo Tank Farm Source: Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Special Collections (c. 1910).

The development of ranching and agriculture as the region’s main commercial enterprises influenced the development of San Luis Obispo. California’s agricultural industries expanded in scale and production at a rapid rate in the early 20th century. San Luis Obispo County farms contributed to the California Central Valley’s emergence as one of the largest agricultural producing regions in the United States. In the early 20th century, the primary agricultural crops in San Luis Obispo County ranged from flower seeds to winter peas, bush beans, pole beans, and celery.83 As these industries continued to grow, so did the demand for cheap labor. The majority of this labor need was met by immigrants from regions around the world, resulting in the continued diversification of the San Luis Obispo’s population.

Due to the decline of Chinese immigration and reduction in Chinese laborers that followed the passage of the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, other groups stepped in to meet the demand for agricultural labor. By 1910, a majority of agricultural workers in San Luis Obispo County were of nonEuropean descent. More than half of agricultural workers were Japanese.84 Japanese farm laborers arrived in San Luis Obispo in notable numbers in 1904 after finishing work on the Pacific Coast Railway in Guadalupe.85 Many became known for their skill at growing green vegetables, sugar beets, grapes, fruits, and nuts, though Japanese farmers gained particular success and a high reputation for growing peas.86 Japanese farmers followed a graduated strategy to move up the agricultural employment ladder, often starting as contracted labor-for-hire, then rising through the ranks as sharecroppers, tenant farmers, and finally for a small number of individuals, as landowners of their own farms. However, like Chinese immigrants before them, racism again reared its head in the first decade of the 20th century to tamp down the surge of Japanese immigration. In 1907, the United States and Japan enacted the so-called Gentlemen’s Agreement, in which Japan agreed to stop the 83 Stan Harth, Dan Krieger, and Liz Krieger, War Comes to the Middle Kingdom, 1939-1942 (San Luis Obispo: EZ Nature Books, 1998). 84 Jenzen, Growing Conflict, 71. 85 Ann Fairbanks, "Historical Moment for Japanese Sites," San Luis Obispo Telegram-Tribune, 7 July 1980, B-1. 86 Jenzen, Growing Conflict, 74-75.

89 City of San Luis Obispo Historic Context: Early 20th Century Citywide Historic Context Statement
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immigration of laborers into the United States. Six years later, passage of the 1913 Alien Land Law made itillegal for Japanese immigrants to own property or lease agricultural land for more than three years, largely cutting off these pathways to landowning. However, some families evaded the law by forming corporations in the names of their American-born children or friends and purchasing property through these corporations.87 The Eto family, which was responsible for developing much of San Luis Obispo’s Japantown, provides such an example. The family, led by Tameji Eto, purchased farming land in Morro Bay under the name of a white friend. There, the Eto family became the first to grow winter peas in the San Luis Obispo area and introduced truck farming to the region. Tameji Eto became a founding figure in the local vegetable industry and was a leader in the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce and county farm bureau.88
With the United States entrance into World War I in 1917, there was an enormous demand for agricultural products, which proved an economic boon to Central California. During the War, many farmers turned to the production of navy beans, since these were subsidized by the War Relief Administration. Before reliable refrigeration, beans could be shipped to the troops in Europe without spoiling, and San Louis Obispo County’s economy boomed. With anti-immigration laws limiting the influx of workers from Asia, the United States initiated the first Bracero Program to recruit agricultural workers from Mexico. The program lasted until 1921 before being reinstated during World War II. These programs brought a new wave of Mexican immigrants to the San Luis Obispo area.89 By 1930, nearly 2,000 Mexican people lived in San Luis Obispo County.90 Passage of the Immigration Act of 1924 further cut off the flow of immigrants from Europe and Asia into the United States in the early 20th century. California’s farms and agricultural industries, which were rapidly expanding during this period and depended heavily on immigrant labor, faced a shortage of workers. While Mexican Bracero workers helped meet the demand, labor contractors turned primarily to the Philippine Islands—which became a United States territory following the Spanish-American War in 1898 and were, therefore, not subject to anti-immigration laws—to fill the void. After arriving by ship in San Francisco, Filipino workers were dispersed to work in farms across the state, including San Luis Obispo County. Filipino labor encampments formed in Pismo Beach, Ocean View Drive, along Highway 1, Avila Beach, Nipomo, Arroyo Grande, and the Edna Valley. By the 1930s, Filipino workers overtook Japanese workers as the largest proportion of the county’s agricultural workforce, comprising 46% of the total number of farm laborers. The cycle of racism and anti-immigrant sentiment again repeated itself in response to the rapid influx of Filipino workers. In 1934, the United States divested of its possession of the Philippine Islands, giving the island its independence. Filipinos went from being considered U.S. nationals to aliens, making them subject to immigration restrictions.91
In the early 20th century, oil derricks were erected in the San Luis Obispo area and drilling for oil began. The most lucrative oil fields were located south of San Luis Obispo and were controlled by families from outside of the region, including the Doheny family from Los Angeles. The Producers Transportation Company represented the largest oil interest in San Luis Obispo County, 87 Page & Turnbull and Donna Graves, E-37; Jenzen, Growing Conflict, 74. 88 Emily Pan, “Take Eto's Story up to World War II, Told by her Daughter,” Central California Asian American History, January 4, 2021, https://www.centralcoastasianhistory.org/post/take-eto-s-story-up-to-world-war-2-told-by-her-daughter. 89 Sarah Linn, “Rooted in Struggle: Meet Mexican Americans Working in the Wine Industry,” PBS SoCal, September 27, https://www.pbssocal.org/shows/the-migrant-kitchen/mexican-americans-working-in-the-wine-industry. 90 United States Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Fifteenth Census of the United States: 1930, Population, Volume III, Part 1 (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1932).
91 Jenzen, Growing Conflict, 77-81.

90 City of San Luis Obispo Historic Context: Early 20th Century Citywide Historic Context Statement
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accommodating the transport of oil from the Union Oil Company and the Independent Producers Agency via 500 miles of pipeline to the Port of San Luis. Pumping stations in San Luis Obispo County were located in Shandon, Creston, Santa Margarita, Tank Farm, Avila and Port San Luis. There was a 250-acre Tank Farm just south of San Luis Obispo, which was constructed for the storage of oil while it awaited transport to the port for shipment. The oil business of the Producers Transportation Company made of Port San Luis the greatest oil shipping port in the world and provided employment to hundreds of men in the county. At Port San Luis the Pacific Coast Railway built a special wharf to handle the oil shipments.

Industrial buildings may be associated with agriculture and are likely located in areas with easy access to transportation corridors, with earlier examples clustered along the railroad. There may be some remnant agricultural-related buildings and structures, such as remnant chicken coops and other utilitarian structures. There are likely few remaining properties directly associated with the oil industry, although it had an effect of the development of the area, and in particular the importance of Port San Luis. There may be some remnant industrial and agricultural properties that were initially located outside of the City limits but have since been annexed. In the late 19th and early 20th century, it was illegal to accommodate “noxious” businesses such as brick works and slaughterhouses inside City limits.

In general, agricultural and industrial properties are not associated with particular architectural styles. Vernacular industrial buildings of brick and reinforced concrete are the predominate form, and significance is frequently derived from historic association rather than from aesthetic qualities.

Agricultural and industrial resources from this period may be eligible under several early 20th century themes.

Evaluation Criteria
Channel Commercial Company, 1880 Santa Barbara Avenue. The Channel Commercial Company was a wholesale grocery outlet that facilitated shipment of produce via the railroad. Photo date unknown. Source: Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Special Collections (c. 1912).

91 City of San Luis Obispo Historic Context: Early 20th Century Citywide Historic Context Statement
HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP (2013)
REVISED BY PAGE & TURNBULL (2025)
Associated Property Types: Agricultural and Industrial properties Property Type Summary: Industrial types include warehouses, factories, ice houses, and other light industrial types. Agricultural property types include warehouses, farmhouses, and related outbuildings.

Period of Significance: 1900-1929
Criteria for Eligibility: A/1/1 (Events), C/3/3 (Architecture) Criteria Significance Integrity Standards
A/1/1 (Events) • As a rare, intact example of a
particular type of agricultural
or industrial development
• For its association with the
development of an important
local industry
Agricultural and industrial
properties from this period eligible
under Criterion A/1/1 (Events)
should retain integrity of location,
design, feeling, and association.

C/3/3
(Architecture)
• As a rare example of a specific
agricultural or industrial
property type
• As the work of a significant
architect or designer
Agricultural and industrial
properties significant under
Criterion C/3/3 (Architecture)
should retain integrity of location,
design, materials, workmanship,
and feeling

92 City of San Luis Obispo Historic Context: Early 20th Century Citywide Historic Context Statement
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REVISED BY PAGE & TURNBULL (2025)
Extant Examples: Early 20th Century Agricultural & Industrial Development Golden State Creamery, 570 Higuera Street, built 1910. Designated as a San Luis Obispo Historic Landmark.

Source: Page & Turnbull (2025).

Channel Commercial Company, 1880 Santa Barbara Avenue, built 1912. Designated as a San Luis Obispo Historic Landmark. Source: City of San Luis Obispo (2013).

93 City of San Luis Obispo Historic Context: Early 20th Century Citywide Historic Context Statement
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Harmony Creamery, 991 Nipomo, built 1929. Designated as a San Luis Obispo Historic Landmark.

Source City of San Luis Obispo.(2013).

94 City of San Luis Obispo Historic Context: Early 20th Century Citywide Historic Context Statement
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Early 20th Century Transportation & Infrastructure
Transportation-related development in San Luis Obispo in the early 20th century was dominated by a marked increase in automobile use. Although the Southern Pacific Railroad continued to thrive and constructed some of its most significant buildings during this era, including the Signal Repair Shop (non-extant) and the Transportation Company Building, railroad activity began to decline by the 1920s due to the advent of the automobile and advances in technology for commercial transportation, such as refrigerated trucks. Americans embraced the freedom and personal mobility that accompanied traveling by car, and the creation of the interstate freeway system increased access and created more direct travel routes.

Road improvements and auto-oriented development accompanied the growing popularity of automobiles. In 1912, San Luis Obispo was chosen as the location of the district headquarters of the California Highway Commission for the counties of San Luis Obispo, Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Barbara, making the city a center for regional highway planning and construction.92 The first state highway in the area, Legislative Route 2, came through San Luis Obispo County in 1915. Within one year, there were five service stations in San Luis Obispo, and by the 1920s all the major roads in town were paved. The original wood bridges over the creek were also replaced with a series of concrete bridges, and alleyways were improved to accommodate the automobile.93 In 1925, Legislative Route 2 was designated U.S. Highway 101. The original highway route ran through San Luis Obispo on Higuera Street to Chorro Street, before jogging one block over to Monterey Street and continuing north along Santa Rosa Street.94 By the late 1920s, clusters of autorelated development existed along the route of the highway through San Luis Obispo. Fire insurance maps published by the Sanborn Map Company in 1926 show garages, gas stations, automobile service and repair shops, and used car lots on Higuera Street where it was intersected by Carmel, Nipomo, Walker, and Pacific streets; on Monterey Street between Osos Street and Toro Street near the County Courthouse; and on the block between Palm, Moro, Monterey, and Chorro streets. Gas stations, often small one-story buildings with an office and a roof that extended over a driveway with a pump, were built, often at street corners along the route. 95
92 Galadriel Bree Highhouse, "Madonna Inn: A Hotel in Context," Master of Arts thesis, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, 2011.
93 City of San Luis Obispo, “Completion Report: Historic Resources Survey,” July 1983, 22. 94 "US Highway 101," California Highways, accessed October 4, 2024, https://www.cahighways.org/ROUTE101.html. 95 Sanborn Map Company, “San Luis Obispo,” 1926, Library of Congress.

95 City of San Luis Obispo Historic Context: Early 20th Century Citywide Historic Context Statement
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1923 map, showing the original routing of U.S. Highway 101 (red line), streets, and railroads through San Luis Obispo.

Source: David Rumsey Map Collection (1923).

96 City of San Luis Obispo Historic Context: Early 20th Century Citywide Historic Context Statement
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Evaluation Criteria
Associated Property Types: Transportation-related property types include rail lines (including spur lines and switches); railroad company‐owned freight or storage buildings; support structures, such as turntables, equipment mounts, and crossing structures; vestiges of demolished railroad buildings; bridges and culvert crossings; and other transportation-related infrastructure.

Infrastructure-related property types include buildings and features associated with public infrastructure agencies such as those providing power and water.

Period of Significance: 1900-1929
Criteria for Eligibility: A/1/1 (Events), C/3/3 (Architecture) Criteria Significance Integrity Standards
A/1/1 (Events) • As an example of an important
transportation- or
infrastructure- related property
that influenced the
development of San Luis
Obispo.
• As an early and/or influential
transportation-related
development.
• For historic districts, as a
cohesive group or collection of
properties developed for or
used by the transportationrelated commercial businesses or industries.

Transportation-related properties
from this period eligible under
Criterion A/1/1 (Events) should
retain integrity of location, design,
feeling, and association.

97 City of San Luis Obispo Historic Context: Early 20th Century Citywide Historic Context Statement
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Criteria Significance Integrity Standards
C/3/3
(Architecture)
• As a rare or unique example of a
particular type of
transportation- or
infrastructure-related
development.
• As a rare or unique example of
transportation-related type or
method of construction.
• As the work of a significant
architect or designer
In order to be eligible for listing at
the federal, state, or local levels, a
property must retain sufficient
integrity to convey its historic
significance under the Early 20th
Century Transportation-Related
Development theme.

Transportation-related properties
significant under Criterion C/3/3
(Architecture) should retain
integrity of location, design,
materials, workmanship, and
feeling
Extant Examples: Early 20th Century Transportation & Infrastructure Southern Pacific Warehouse, built c. 1900. Designated as a San Luis Obispo Historic Landmark. Source: City of San Luis Obispo, Master List Properties Story Map.

Southern Pacific Transportation Company Building, 1021
Railroad Avenue. Designated as a San Luis Obispo Historic Landmark.

Old Gas Works, 280 Pismo Street, built 1902. Designated as a San Luis Obispo Historic Landmark. Source: Historic Resources Group (2013).

98 City of San Luis Obispo Historic Context: Great Depression & WWII Citywide Historic Context Statement
HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP (2013)
REVISED BY PAGE & TURNBULL (2025)
THE GREAT DEPRESSION AND WORLD WAR II (1930-1945)
The stock market crash of 1929 precipitated an economic depression in the United States that would last until the Second World War. San Luis Obispo County’s agricultural diversity shielded it from the worst of the Great Depression of the 1930s; however, there was little residential or commercial growth in the area during this period. The County benefited from the domestic policies of the administration of U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt – popularly called the “New Deal” – which marshaled direct government investment to alleviate the problems of poverty, unemployment, and the disintegration of the American economy during the Great Depression.

The Public Works Administration (PWA), which began in 1933 and the Works Progress (later Work Projects) Administration (WPA), which began in 1935, funneled significant financial resources to communities across the United States for the construction of roads, bridges, parks, and civic and institutional buildings. Through the involvement of these agencies, the County received a new Courthouse, flood-control projects, and highway improvements.96 During this period, architect Julia Morgan spent a great deal of time in San Luis Obispo while working on Hearst Castle in nearby San Simeon.97 In the 1920s, Morgan was commissioned by the local Monday Club to design a new clubhouse for the rapidly growing membership. Morgan inspected the lot on Monterey Street that the club had purchased and consented to designing a clubhouse without charge, in return for Monday Club members arranging her room and board when she came to San Luis Obispo. The clubhouse was dedicated on May 11, 1934.98 Cal Poly went through several reorganizations during this period, until 1940 when the school was granted collegiate status by the California State Board of Education and began to offer Bachelor of Science degrees in agriculture and engineering. During World War II, the campus played a part in the war effort by serving as the site of a Naval Flight Preparatory School, which graduated more than 3,600 cadets. By 1945, civilian enrollment had skyrocketed from eighty to just over 800 students, primarily returning veterans studying under the G.I. Bill. Just four years later, enrollment had increased to over 2,900 students.

There are several military establishments near San Luis Obispo, the most significant of which is Camp San Luis Obispo (formerly Camp Merriam). The site now known as Camp San Luis Obispo was first established in 1927, when the state of California secured a 25-year lease for 2,000 acres of ranch land, known as the Jack Ranch, located along Highway 1. The lease marked the establishment of a formal training camp for the California National Guard, which had previously been forced to conduct their summer training sessions on private ranches, in state parks, or in some cases, on land belonging to other federal military installations.

Construction began on Camp San Luis Obispo in 1928, and the first official encampment took place in 1929. That same year, the state exercised its power of eminent domain and purchased the camp lands it had been leasing up to that point. By 1932, the camp had grown to 5,800 acres and had been renamed Camp Merriam, after then-Lieutenant Governor Frank F. Merriam, who had campaigned vigorously for the establishment of the camp while serving as Speaker of the California State 96 Living New Deal Project, “San Luis Obispo Sites,” accessed December 2, 2024, https://livingnewdeal.org/?s=san+luis+obispo. 97 Julia Morgan designed a playhouse in San Luis Obispo for the driver who took her to San Simeon each day. The house has been relocated to Mill & Johnson Street and is not visible from the public right-of-way. 98 “The Monday Club, San Luis Obispo, California,” Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Robert E. Kennedy Library, accessed December 2, 2024, https://lib.calpoly.edu/search-and-find/collections-and-archives/architectural/julia-morgan/.

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Assembly. The site proved ideal for military training purposes, as it was equidistant to both Los Angeles and San Francisco, adjacent to both major railroads and a major highway, and featured rugged terrain that allowed for the creation of realistic military training exercises. Many soldiers stationed at Camp Merriam (and, later, Camp San Luis Obispo) found the area so appealing that they returned to settle in the area following their release from active duty.

Activity at Camp Merriam increased sharply in the late 1930s as war broke out across Asia and Europe. To accommodate the increased training efforts, the camp was divided into an artillery camp and a separate, larger infantry camp. In 1940, in anticipation of further military engagement, the United States government exercised its preemptive right to lease Camp Merriam from the state of California, at which point the site was re-christened as Camp San Luis Obispo in honor of the nearby Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa.

In the 1940s, the pace of development increased dramatically in San Luis Obispo, in large part due to the expansion of Camp Merriam into Camp San Luis Obispo in 1940. A property tax increase was approved to fund the construction of a United Service Organization (USO) center. Many former agricultural workers relocated from the San Joaquin Valley and other farming areas in search of employment at the camp and other military manufacturing sites along the coast, which offered federally guaranteed wages. Expansion efforts during this period were directed towards mitigating the strain placed on existing facilities and services by the sudden influx of residents, as there was still little new residential development.99
The United States’ entrance into World War II effectively ended the Depression in California and boosted the regional economy. California received almost 12% of the government war contracts and produced 17% of all war supplies.100 California also acquired more military installations than any other state by a wide margin, and military bases were opened throughout the state. Aircraft, shipbuilding, and numerous other industries were booming due to the war effort, and unemployment was virtually eliminated.

During World War II, Camp San Luis Obispo was expanded to serve as a training base for multiple combat divisions deployed to both Europe and the Pacific, and much of the site’s development took place during 1940-1941. The site was also expanded to over 15,000 acres, and camp construction transitioned from the erection of temporary structures and tents to more permanent buildings.

Extant structures from this period consist entirely of artillery camp facilities; there are no remaining extant infantry camp facilities. At its peak during World War II, Camp San Luis Obispo housed approximately 20,000 soldiers.

A second, off-post facility, the Baywood Park Training Camp, was also acquired during World War II.

The Baywood Park Training Camp was located approximately thirteen miles northwest of the City of San Luis Obispo and consisted of about 8,800 acres used primarily as a maneuver area and as a site 99 The USO building was constructed on the site of the Court School, which by that time was vacant and in disrepair. By 1944, there were 3,000 USO buildings strategically located throughout the world. After the war, the City of San Luis Obispo leased the property from the Federal government until acquiring title in 1957.

Source: Patti Taylor and Suzette Lees, 75 SLO City Sites: An Informative Self-Guided Architectural Tour in Historic San Luis Obispo. San Luis Obispo, CA: Graphic Communication Institute at Cal Poly, California Polytechnic State University, 2010. 100 State of California Capitol Museum, “California’s Infrastructure,” accessed December 3, 2024, https://capitolmuseum.ca.gov/exhibits/called-to-action-californias-role-in-ww2/californias-infrastructure/.

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for bivouacs, or campsites. In 1946, the site was declared as excess by the government, and all of the Baywood Park lands were returned to their original owners in 1947.

World War II had a significant impact on the population and demographics of San Luis Obispo. The city’s Japanese community continued to grow until the outset of the war. In 1931, officers of the Guarantee Building and Loan Association created a small subdivision known as the Nippon Tract around what is now known as Brook Street. From 1934 to 1942, Brook Street was known as Eto Street, after the Tameji Eto family, who, along with the Tsutsumi family, helped develop San Luis Obispo’s Japantown along Higuera Street between South and French streets. On the eve of the United States’ entrance into World War II, there were seven homes on the 32 lots of the Nippon Tract.101 In 1942, after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which forced all people of Japanese descent living in California into internment camps, based on the fear that they posed a security risk to the United States. It is estimated that approximately 800 Japanese American residents from San Luis Obispo County were sent to internment camps around the country during the war. 102 San Luis Obispo’s Japantown was erased virtually overnight. The Tsusumi family was compelled to sell their property along Higuera Street, which was worth an estimated $150,000, to a local realtor for $2,000. Concurrently, Eto Street was renamed Brook Street in 1942.

While the war resulted in the expulsion of one community, it was the major driver in increasing the population of others. World War II brought thousands of African American military servicemen and their families to the San Luis Obispo area. Most African American servicemen were assigned to the Corps Area Service, Unit 1947 (renamed the Service Command Unit in 1942), stationed at Camp San Luis Obispo, or the 54th Coast Artillery Battalion, which was stationed at Morro Bay State Park to protect the coastal oil terminals in Morro Bay and Port San Luis.103 A Filipino battalion was also stationed Camp San Luis Obispo in 1942. So many men enlisted that a second Filipino regiment was formed at Camp Cook (now Vandenberg Air Force Base).104 The infusion of these African American and Filipino servicemen into the San Luis Obispo region changed its demographics, particularly in the postwar period as many veterans chose to permanently settle in San Luis Obispo. 101 Harth, Krieger, and Krieger, War Comes to the Middle Kingdom, 1939-1942; History Center San Luis Obispo County, “Eto Park and Brook Street in San Luis Obispo.”
102 Ryan Cooley, “Imprisoning Our Own: SLO County Families and Executive Order 9066,” San Luis Obispo New Times, April 6, 2017, https://www.newtimesslo.com/news/imprisoning-our-own-slo-county-families-and-executive-order-9066-2978896; History Center San Luis Obispo County, “Eto Park and Brook Street in San Luis Obispo.” 103 Daniel M. Sebby, “San Luis Obispo’s ‘Colored’ USO, 1941-1945,” Historic California Posts, Camps, Stations and Airfields, February 8, 2016, https://www.militarymuseum.org/SLOAAUSO.html. 104 Jenzen, Growing Conflict, 97.

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Map of San Luis Obispo's Japantown. Source: Japantown Atlas (2022).

Important people during this period in San Luis Obispo’s history include several individuals who were instrumental in the expansion of military establishments in the area. Major General Richard E.

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Mittelstaedt, State Adjutant General; Major General Walter P. Story, Commanding General 40th Division; and State Senator Chris N. Jespersen were all influential in persuading the California State Legislature to establish Camp Merriam near San Luis Obispo. Frank F. Merriam had also lobbied vigorously for the camp while serving as Speaker of the California State Assembly, and the camp was named in his honor.

Julian A. McPhee was instrumental in the growth of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo during this period.

McPhee was the school’s longest-serving president, holding the position from 1933 to 1966. He used his influence in the state’s Board of Agriculture to prevent the struggling school from being closed by the state, and he played a key role in the reorganization of the school during the Depression. He served concurrently as both university president and as the head of the Bureau of Agricultural Education for the California State Department of Education. He continued to hold positions in California’s educational bureaus throughout his time at Cal Poly, including serving as chief of California’s War Food Training Program and later, as director of Vocational Education for the state.

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Residential Development, 1930-1945
Most residential construction projects were halted during the Great Depression and many residents faced layoffs and foreclosures. Land use was focused on re-purposing existing properties in more useful ways, such as utilizing vacant lots and yards to create gardens and raise rabbits and chickens.

When residential development did occur, it was on an individual basis rather than on the massive scale seen in the post-World War II era. Through most of the 1930s, the average contractor in California built no more than four homes per year.105 In San Luis Obispo, there were no annexations and only three subdivisions during the 1930s: the Nippon tract, recorded in 1931; the California Park tract, recorded in 1938; and the Escuela Alta tract, recorded in 1939. All told, less than 200 additional residential lots were created during the entire decade.

After the forced removal of Japanese American residents to internment camps after the United States’ entrance into World War II, family members of the Black military unit, the 54th Artillery Battalion, moved into the cottages and Pacific Hotel along Brook and Higuera streets that had belonged to interned Japanese Americans.106 The Pacific Hotel became the only hotel that was run by and welcomed Black people.107 San Luis Obispo’s former Japantown, thus, evolved into a primarily African American neighborhood, starting in the 1940s.

Residences from this period range from small, one-story Minimal Traditional houses, to one- and two-story residences designed in popular architectural styles. Residential architecture from this period in San Luis Obispo includes American Colonial Revival, Mediterranean Revival, Spanish Colonial Revival, and Tudor Revival.
105 California Department of Transportation, Tract Housing in California, 1945-1973: A Context for National Register Evaluation, Sacramento, 2011, 4 106 History Center San Luis Obispo County, “Eto Park and Brook Street in San Luis Obispo.” 107 Liz and Dan Krieger, “Blacks, Blues and Blood,” San Luis Obispo Telegram-Tribune, 19 January 1991: 23.

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Map indicating the three subdivisions recorded in San Luis Obispo in the 1930s.

Source: San Luis Obispo GIS data.

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Evaluation Criteria
Associated Property Types: Single-family residences; multi-family residences (duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, apartment buildings, bungalow courts, etc.); and residential neighborhoods
Period of Significance: 1930-1945
Criteria for Eligibility: A/1/1 (Events), B/2/2 (Persons), C/3/3 (Architecture) Criteria Significance Integrity Standards
A/1/1 (Events) • As an excellent example of
1930s residential development
in San Luis Obispo
• As a rare example of a multifamily residential development or a particular multi-family
residential property type from
the period
• A collection of residences from
this period that are linked
geographically may be eligible
as a historic district.

There was minimal residential
development during this period;
therefore, there are likely relatively
few eligible properties related to
this theme.

Residential properties from this
period eligible under Criteria A/1/1
(Events) should retain integrity of
location, design, feeling, and
association.

B/2/2 (Persons) • For its association with a
significant person in San Luis
Obispo’s history.

A residential property significant
under Criterion B/2/2 (Persons)
should retain integrity of design,
feeling, and association, at a
minimum, in order to convey the
historic association with a
significant person.

C/3/3
(Architecture)
• As a rare example of a multifamily residential development or a particular multi-family
residential property type from
the period
• As an excellent or rare local
example of particular
architectural style associated
with the period.
• A collection of residences from
this period that are linked
geographically may be eligible
as a historic district.

There was minimal residential
development during this period;
therefore, there are likely relatively
few eligible properties related to
this theme.

Residential properties significant
under Criterion C/3/3
(Architecture) should retain
integrity of location, design,
setting, materials, workmanship,
and feeling.

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Extant Examples: Residential Development, 1930-1945
822 Murray Street, built 1930. Listed on the San Luis
Obispo Inventory of Historic Resources. Source: Historic Resources Group (2013).
752 Mission Street, built 1931. Listed on the San Luis
Obispo Inventory of Historic Resources. Source: Historic Resources Group (2013).

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Commercial Development, 1930-1945
There was little new commercial development in the years leading up to and during World War II. A notable exception is the Fremont Theater, designed by nationally-prominent architect S. Charles Lee and located in downtown San Luis Obispo. The Fremont Theater retains its original neon sign, one of a small number of neon signs in the city which date from the 1940s through the post-World War II era. Architectural styles from this period include Mediterranean Revival, Spanish Colonial Revival, Streamline Moderne, and Art Deco. Architects whose work is represented in San Luis Obispo during this period include S. Charles Lee, Walker & Eisen, and Julia Morgan.

Evaluation Criteria
Associated Property Types: Associated property types include one- and two-story commercial blocks, theaters, low-rise storefront buildings, and other commercial properties.

Period of Significance: 1930-1945
Criteria for Eligibility: A/1/1 (Events), B/2/2 (Persons), C/3/3 (Architecture) Criteria Significance Integrity Standards
A/1/1 (Events) • As an intact and significant or
influential example of 1930s
commercial development
Commercial properties from this
period eligible under Criteria A/1/1
(Events) should retain integrity of
location, design, setting, feeling,
and association.

B/2/2 (Persons) • For its association with a
significant person in San Luis
Obispo’s history
A commercial property significant
under Criterion B/2/2 (Persons)
should retain integrity of design,
feeling, and association, at a
minimum, in order to convey the
historic association with a
significant person.

C/3/3
(Architecture)
• As a good or rare example of a
particular architectural style
associated with the period
• As the work of a significant
architect or designer
• Historic signs may also be
eligible under this theme, as
excellent or rare examples of
commercial neon signs
Commercial properties significant
under Criterion C/3/3
(Architecture) should retain
integrity of location, design,
setting, materials, workmanship,
and feeling.

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Extant Examples: Commercial Development, 1930-1945
Doton Building, 777 Higuera Street, built 1931. Designated as a San Luis Obispo Historic Landmark. Source: Historic Resources Group (2013).

Fremont Theater, 1035 Monterey Road, built1942.

Designated as a San Luis Obispo Historic Landmark.

Source: City of San Luis Obispo (2013).

Gas station at 311 Higuera Street, built 1937. Source: Page & Turnbull (2025).

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Civic & Institutional Development, 1930-1945
San Luis Obispo County Courthouse, 976 Osos Street, built 1941. Source: courthousehistory.com (no date).

Civic and institutional development in San Luis Obispo continued in the 1930s, some of which was the result of New Deal programs and funding. This theme also encompasses military-related properties constructed during this period, including buildings used by the United Service Organizations (USO) during World War II. The Edward G. and Ida E. Ludwick Community Center at the corner of Santa Rosa Street and Mill Street was the USO for white soldiers from Camp San Luis Obispo. The city also had two USOs for Black soldiers. Unlike in most cities in the United States, the Black USOs in San Luis Obispo were not relegated to an outlying or segregated part of town. One was located in the city center at 879 Morro Street, one block from Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa, the County Courthouse, and City Hall and adjacent to Chinatown. A second Black USO was located on the 900 block of Higuera Street.108
Properties significant under this theme may also be significant examples of a particular architectural style. Architectural styles associated with this period include Art Deco, Streamline Moderne, PWA Moderne, and period revival styles including Mediterranean Revival, Spanish Colonial Revival, and Tudor Revival. Architects whose work is represented in San Luis Obispo during this period include S. Charles Lee, Walker & Eisen, and Julia Morgan.
108 Sebby, “San Luis Obispo’s ‘Colored’ USO, 1941-1945.”

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Evaluation Criteria
Associated Property Types: Civic and institutional property types include city halls, post offices, fire stations, auditoriums, and office buildings for public agencies. Non-governmental institutional buildings include churches, meeting halls, and buildings associated with social organizations. Infrastructural improvements and other civic amenities may also be eligible under this theme, as roadways, bridges, and other improvements were funded by the WPA and the PWA during this period. This theme also encompasses military-related properties constructed during this period.

Note on intangible cultural heritage: Civic and institutional properties, including social halls, religious buildings, and other community gathering spaces, may also be associated with intangible cultural heritage, such as annual festivals, parades, and/or other cultural events and practices.

Period of Significance: 1930-1945
Criteria for Eligibility: A/1/1 (Events), C/3/3 (Architecture) Criteria Significance Integrity Standards
A/1/1 (Events) • For its direct association with
New Deal funding or
employment programs
• For its association with the
military establishments in the
area
• For its association with an
important religious, social,
cultural, or civic institution
• A property may also be
significant for its association
with a particular cultural or
ethnic community in San Luis
Obispo. A property may be
associated with migration or
community formation in San
Luis Obispo, a communityserving or religious
organizations or intangible
cultural heritage, or civil rights
activism.

Civic and institutional properties
from this period eligible under
Criterion A/1/1 (Events) should
retain integrity of location, design,
feeling, and association.

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Criteria Significance Integrity Standards
C/3/3
(Architecture)
• As an excellent or rare example
of a particular architectural
style associated with the period
• As the work of a significant
architect or designer
Civic and institutional properties
significant under Criterion C/3/3
(Architecture) should retain
integrity of location, design,
materials, workmanship, and
feeling.

Extant Examples: Civic & Institutional Development, 1930-1945 Sunny Acres, built 1931. Source: San Luis Obispo Tribune (c. 2003).

Monday Club, 1815 Monterey Street, built 1933-1934.

Designated as a San Luis Obispo Historic Landmark.

Source: Historic Resources Group (2013).

San Luis Obispo County House, 976 Osos Street, built
1936-1941. Designated as a San Luis Obispo Historic
Landmark. Source: Historic Resources Group (2013).

Fire Station, 750 Pismo Street, built 1941. Designated as a San Luis Obispo Historic Landmark. Source: Historic
Resources Group (2013).

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San Luis Obispo High School Gymnasium, 1499 San Luis Drive, built 1936. Designated as a San Luis Obispo Historic Landmark. Source: City of San Luis Obispo (2013).

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Transportation and Infrastructure, 1930-1945
Although the Great Depression slowed private development across the country, New Deal agencies, such as the PWA and WPA, pumped federal money into large-scale public works projects to put unemployed citizens back to work during the 1930s. San Luis Obispo County received federal aid for highway improvements. The headquarters of the State Department of Public Works’s Highway District 5—which comprised the counties of San Luis Obispo, Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Barbara—were located in San Luis Obispo at 50 Higuera Street, making the city the regional hub of state highway construction during the Depression. President Roosevelt attended the Grand Opening of Highway 1 between Morro Bay and Carmel on June 27, 1938. Originally estimated to cost $1.5 million, the 139-mile section of Highway 1 included 33 bridges and was completed at a cost of $10 million. The project to build the highway was begun in 1919 and completed in 1937.109 In spite of these improvements, most residential streets in San Luis Obispo were still unpaved and lacked street signs in 1940. In 1941, however, the city’s first public bus system, operated by Jones Transportation Company, began regular service.110
Other infrastructure projects completed in San Luis Obispo under New Deal programs included laying water pipes to improve the city’s water supply (c. 1930s), paving eight blocks of Chorro street between Pacific and High streets, which included construction of the Chorro Street Bridge (1939- 1940), constructing the Stenner Creek Bridge (1936-1937, demolished in 1971), and building a stone retaining wall at the west side of Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa (1939).111 The railroad industry suffered during the Depression, when many Americans could not afford the luxury of leisure travel. However, World War II drew increased rail traffic on the Southern Pacific as passengers traveled to visit family members stationed at Camp San Luis Obispo. A new Mission 109 California Department of Transportation, “About District 5,” accessed December 3, 2024, https://dot.ca.gov/caltrans-nearme/district-5/district-5-popular-links/d5-about. 110 Dan Krieger, “World War II Brought Changes to Transportation in the County,” San Luis Obispo Tribune, 9 September 2014, https://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/times-past/article39496002.html. 111 “San Luis Obispo Sites,” Living New Deal, https://livingnewdeal.org/?s=san+luis+obispo.

Southern Pacific Roundhouse. Source: San Luis Obispo County Historical Society (1953).

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Revival-style railroad depot opened for the Southern Pacific Railroad at 1011 Railroad Avenue in 1943 to replace the railroad’s outdated 1894 station (demolished in 1971).112 Despite transporting record numbers of passengers throughout the 1940s, the Southern Pacific Railway suffered another decline in the years following World War II, when automobile ownership increased in the postwar economic boom. Although the company attempted to upgrade their services by replacing steam locomotives with more efficient diesel engines, the new engines required less maintenance and many railroad workers were made redundant. As the demand for skilled railroad labor diminished and ridership declined even further, the area surrounding the now-obsolete Southern Pacific roundhouse (demolished in 1959) began to transform from railroad to other industrial and warehouse uses. Meanwhile, the local landscape began to be transformed by an even newer form of transportation: the airplane. In 1939, the San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport opened, with a single hangar and dirt runways. The airport was established by Earl Thomson, who leased land from the County. During World War II, the airport was run by the government as part of the war effort. In 1940 hard surface runways and lights were installed, and from 1940 to 1941 the airport served as a training ground for a federally sponsored Civilian Pilot Training Program for the armed services. The airport was returned to County control in 1946.

San Luis Obispo Airport, established in 1939. Source: San Luis Obispo Tribune (1963).

Evaluation Criteria
Associated Property Types: Examples of transportation -related property types from this period include railroad depots, warehouses, railyards, rail lines, 112 Krieger, “World War II Brought Changes to Transportation in the County.”

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and rail spurs; highway interchanges and infrastructure; airports, hangars, and air strips; bridges, culverts and other transportation-related infrastructure.

Infrastructure-related property types may include buildings and structures related to operation of municipal services such as water or power utilities.

Period of Significance: 1930-1945
Criteria for Eligibility: A/1/1 (Events), C/3/3 (Architecture) Criteria Significance Integrity Standards
A/1/1 (Events) • As an example of an important
transportation-related property
that influenced the
development of San Luis
Obispo.
• As an early and/or influential
transportation-related
development.
• For historic districts, as a
cohesive group or collection of
properties developed for or
used by the transportationrelated commercial businesses or industries.

Transportation-related properties
from this period eligible under
Criteria A/1/1 (Events) should
retain integrity of location, design,
feeling, and association.

C/3/3
(Architecture)
• As a rare or unique example of a
particular type of
transportation-related
development
• As a rare or unique example of
transportation-related type or
method of construction.
• As the work of a significant
architect or designer
Transportation-related properties
significant under Criterion C/3/3
(Architecture) should retain
integrity of location, design,
materials, workmanship, and
feeling

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Extant Examples: Transportation and Infrastructure, 1930-1945 Division of Highways District 5 Office, 50 Higuera Street, built 1931. Designated as a San Luis Obispo Historic Landmark. Source: Page & Turnbull (2025).

Southern Pacific Railroad Depot, built 1943. Designated as a San Luis Obispo Historic Landmark.

Source: City of San Luis Obispo

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MID-LATE 20TH CENTURY GROWTH (1945-1980)
In the immediate post-World War II period, California experienced unprecedented growth as many people who came west to participate in the war effort, including former military personnel, decided to settle permanently. San Luis Obispo’s growth during this period was further influenced by the opening of the California Men’s Colony correctional facility and the transition of Cal Poly to a coeducational institution.

Between 1940 and 1950, California’s population increased by fifty-three per cent, which was partially accounted for by the 850,000 veterans who took up residence after the War.113 The population of San Luis Obispo grew over 59%, from 8,881 in 1940 to 14,180 in 1950.114 Two new subdivisions were recorded in San Luis Obispo in the 1940s: the Mira Monte subdivision with 83 parcels in 1946, and the Hagen subdivision with 38 parcels in 1949.

Camp San Luis Obispo was returned to the state of California in 1946. For the next several years, the camp served as the primary training site for the 40th and 49th Infantry divisions of the California National Guard. However, when the Korean War broke out in 1950, the site was reactivated by the federal government and the Signal Corps training center was established. The camp was maintained in “inactive” status by the United States government following the Korean War until 1965, when it was returned to the California National Guard and developed in part as an academic complex for the Guard’s California Military Academy. In 1972, a portion of the camp land was deeded to the county under President Nixon’s “Legacy of Parks” program and now serves as El Chorro Regional Park.

Today, Camp San Luis Obispo continues to host large-scale military exercises, as well as provide operational, training, and logistical support to a variety of civilian and military agencies.

Many of the area’s wartime visitors became permanent residents in the ensuing decade. Soldiers who had been stationed at Camp San Luis Obispo opted to return with their families and settle in the area following their release from active duty. The G.I. Bill and the proximity of Cal Poly also provided an attractive incentive to veterans thinking of relocating to the area. As a result, development in San Luis Obispo in the 1950s was largely in response to this sudden and substantial need for single-family housing.

Among these new residents were African American military servicemen who had been stationed in the San Luis Obispo area during World War II and chose to permanently settle in the area and start families. Black troops that served in the area included the 54th Artillery Battalion and the Corps Area Service, Unit 1947 (later renamed the Service Command Unit). The scale of African American migration was smaller than other cities across the country due to the comparative lack of large-scale industry and manufacturing that could provide substantial employment bases to attract workers to San Luis Obispo both during and after the war.115 Nevertheless, between 1940 and 1950, the number of African American residents in San Luis Obispo County grew from just 25 to 335; in the City of San Luis Obispo, those numbers increased from only four to 144.116 As the number of Black residents 113 Kevin Starr, Embattled Dreams: California in War and Peace, 1940-1950. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002, 193-194. 114 United States Department of Commerce Bureau of the Census, Sixteenth Census of the United States: 1940, Population, Volume II (Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office, 1943); United States Department of Commerce Bureau of the Census, A Report of the Seventeenth Decennial Census of the United States, Census of Population: 1950, Volume II (Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office, 1952).
115 Joshua Michael Harmon, "'But Not In Vain:' The Civil Rights Movement in San Luis Obispo, California 1947-1969," Master of Arts thesis, California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo, 2009, 14. 116 United States Department of Commerce Bureau of the Census, Sixteenth Census of the United States: 1940, Population, Volume II; United States Department of Commerce Bureau of the Census, A Report of the Seventeenth Decennial Census of the United States, Census of Population: 1950, Volume II.

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slowly grew, a true community, albeit small in size, developed, which included residential enclaves, churches, and other services. In 1948, a local branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was formally established at an event at the Madonna Inn to support San Luis Obispo’s small community, which needed the broader support network of a national organization like the NAACP to enact change.117
Significant civic improvements were undertaken during this era, most notably in downtown and the Mission Plaza. As early as the 1940s, residents of San Luis Obispo were expressing concern over the dilapidated appearance of the historic mission landscape as well as the layout of some of the city’s early streets. The demolition of the Mission Garage at the corner of Monterey and Chorro Streets improved safety conditions downtown and restored the area’s early vistas, which spurred further beautification efforts. The Mission Garden Association was formed in 1961 and played a key role in the development of the plan for Mission Plaza throughout the 1960s. Landscape architect Robert B.

Taylor was hired in 1968 to design the Mission Plaza, which closed the area surrounding the mission to vehicular traffic, restored and beautified the creek, and created a landscaped public park. The redesigned plaza was dedicated at a ceremony in 1971.118 Mission Plaza during construction. Source: Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Special Collections (1970).

Mission Plaza. Source: Page & Turnbull (2025).

The presence of Cal Poly also bolstered the local Black and LGBTQ+ communities and became a hotbed for local activism and community organizing. Black students at Cal Poly led much of the push for equal rights in the 1960s in San Luis Obispo. Following the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968, the local Black residents and Cal Poly students from the university’s Black Student Alliance united to organize a march to the Springfield Baptist Church. Forty students, many wearing the black berets and black armbands of the Black Panther Party, participated.119 Cal Poly was also the birthplace of the city’s first visible LGBTQ+ community. Inspired by the Stonewall Uprisings in New York City, which sparked a nationwide Gay Liberation Movement, students at Cal Poly formed some of the earliest known openly LGBTQ+ social and activist groups in the area. In 1971, approximately 30 students collaborated with the Gay Liberation Front (GLF) in Los Angeles to establish a local 117 Harmon, "'But Not In Vain:' The Civil Rights Movement in San Luis Obispo, California 1947-1969," 14, 18-19. 118 Elliot Curry, “City Flag to Wave at Dedication,” San Luis Obispo Tribune, 9 September 1971. 119 Harmon, "'But Not In Vain:' The Civil Rights Movement in San Luis Obispo, California 1947-1969," 45, 58-61.

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chapter of the GLF at Cal Poly.120 A Gay Student Union formed at Cal Poly by the end of the same year.121 Although the Student Affairs Council and Associated Students Inc. supported formation of the GSU, university administrative officials opposed formal authorization.122 The GSU filed a lawsuit against the university that was finally settled by the State Attorney General in 1976, after which the Cal Poly GSU received official university recognition.123 Very few openly LGBTQ+ spaces are documented in San Luis Obispo prior to 1980, though spaces that openly welcomed members of the LGBTQ+ community existed in the city. Most of the cruising locations where gay men could meet were located at Cal Poly, including the men’s gym, Fine Arts Building, and Architectural Building. Local beaches—such Diamond Cove, Pirates Cove Beach, and Pismo Dunes—and public parks, including Laguna Lake Park and Santa Rosa Park, were also popular local cruising areas.124 The formation of early LGBTQ+ groups and spaces laid the groundwork for further community development and activism in the later decades of the 20th century.

San Luis Obispo’s population growth rate reached its peak to date in the wartime and post-war decade between 1940 and 1950, of with 59.7% growth. Growth slowed in subsequent decades. The population in 1960, 20,437, reflected growth of 44.1% over 1950. 125 Between 1960 and 1970, San Luis Obispo’s population grew from 20,437 to 28,036 (a 37.2% increase), 3,930 of which were residents of areas annexed by the growing city.126 In 1980, the city’s population of 34,252 reflected only a 22.2% increase.127
Commercial and residential developments were gradually developed at the margins of the city through the 1970s and 1980s in newly annexed areas as well as some portions of the existing city limits which had previously been undeveloped. Neighborhoods at the south side of the City annexed and developed between 1970 and 1979 included Vista Grande, Prefumo Canyon, and Higuera Street Annexation No. 2 in 1970, Higuera Street Annexation No. 3 in 1972. At the northwest side of the City, annexed areas include the Foothill subdivision and Ferrini Subdivision No. 3 in 1978 (both developed in the 1980s). Also developed in the 1980s was the Exposition Park area near the south end of the City’s original limits.

An area prone to flooding since its earliest days of settlement, San Luis Obispo experienced major floods in January 1969, with more than ten inches of rain over two days, and again in January 1973 with over six inches of rain in a single day. Extensive property and infrastructure damage resulted from these events, particularly in areas adjacent to San Luis Obispo Creek and its tributaries. 120 “'Gay Lib' in SLO," Mustang Daily, XXXIII, No. 128, 24 May 1971. 121 "Gays Explain Themselves to A Curious Radio Audience," Daily Mustang, XXXIV, No. 40, 9 November 1971. 122 Bruce Kyse, "SAC Backs Gay Students," Mustang Daily XXXIV No. 96, 10 March 1972; "The Kennedy Interview II," Daily Mustang 40, No. 13 21 October 1975.
123 “Gay Student Union Approved,” Mustang Daily 40, No. 40, 13 January 1976. 124 Mapping the Gay Guides, accessed October 11, 2024, https://mappingthegayguides.org/viz/map/. 125 U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, The Eighteenth Decennial Census of the United States, Census of Population: 1960 (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1961). 126 U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, 1970 Census of Population, Volume 1: Characteristics of the Population, Part 6:

California (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1973). 127 U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, 1980 Census of Population, Volume 1: Characteristics of the Population, Part 6:

California (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1982).

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Mid-20th Century Residential Development
There was a great deal of residential development in San Luis Obispo from the 1940s to the 1960s.

Development from this period included some infill construction in previously-established neighborhoods, along with new residential subdivisions. The presence of nearby military installations, overall post-World War II growth throughout California, and the continued influence of the California Polytechnic Institute (by this time known as the California Polytechnic State University, or Cal Poly) all played a role in the City’s post-World War II residential development. The growth of Cal Poly during this period resulted in custom houses designed for professors (many of whom lived in Monterey Heights), along with the proliferation of work by graduates of the architecture program.

The National Housing Act of 1934 created the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), which was meant to reignite the construction of single family homes by establishing mortgage terms that were conducive to the average American family and would regulate the interest rates and terms that had ballooned in the aftermath of the stock market crash. During the 1940s, FHA programs also helped finance military housing and homes needed for returning veterans. While the FHA rose to prominence because of these financial incentives, it also influenced how homes and neighborhoods were designed. In particular, FHA guidelines promoted a 624-square-foot dwelling type termed the basic plan or minimum house: “In the design of small, low-priced houses, the principles of efficiency, economic use of materials, and proper equipment, which are important in any class of dwellings, become paramount.”128
As early as 1936, the FHA embraced the principles of modern community planning, advocating for well-designed comprehensive communities at the neighborhood scale. This development model would become the standard approach for the rapid development of the suburbs after the War. The FHA published a series of informational pamphlets to help spread these ideas and to inform land developers and speculative builders of the economic advantages of good planning in the creation and maintenance of real estate values. These pamphlets also outlined concepts of proper street patterns, planning for parks, playgrounds, and commercial areas, and recommending a buffer zone of multifamily dwellings and commercial buildings between major arterials and minor interior streets.”129
In 1944, the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act (more commonly known as the G.I. Bill) helped military families attain the dream of home ownership. The G.I. Bill allowed veterans to purchase a home with no down payment using the FHA mortgage guarantee program. With the FHA’s low down payment requirements and attractive loan terms, for many returning G.I.s and other middle-class workers, owning a home became as affordable as renting an apartment.130 In spite of the small size of the African American community, Black residents experienced racism, social exclusion, employment and housing discrimination, just as Black people did across the United States. Though not written into law, Black residents experienced informal, de facto, segregation thanks to the housing shortage, high price of homes, and real estate industry’s practice of steering residents of color away from desirable neighborhoods. As a result, Arthur Glover, one of the founders of the local branch of the NAACP, stated that 97 percent of San Luis Obispo’s Black population lived 128As quoted in Hise, Greg. Magnetic Los Angeles (Baltimore and London: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997), 68. 129Hise, Magnetic Los Angeles, 34. 130 California Department of Transportation, Tract Housing in California, 1945-1973, 17.

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in a one-square block “ghetto,” presumably the former Japantown around Higuera and Brook streets.131
Constructing single-family residences in the numbers required by the post-war population boom also necessitated developing large parcels of land, and this led to an increase in both the size and number of subdivisions and annexations recorded in San Luis Obispo in the 1950s; over half of the fifty-four subdivisions recorded between 1935 and 1965 were established between 1950 and 1959.132 While annexations extended the city boundary further south along Broad and Higuera Streets, tract development typically remained relatively close to the city’s center and usually tended to be clustered together. Subdivisions were frequently recorded adjacent to each other as larger residential areas developed. There were three tracts subdivided in the 1950s with over one hundred parcels each: the McMillan No. 9 subdivision with 123 parcels, recorded in 1950; the Park View Homes No. 1 subdivision with 139 parcels, recorded in 1952; and the McMillan Manor No. 18 subdivision with 144 parcels, also recorded in 1952.

The city continued to subdivide and annex land in the 1960s and 1970s, usually on a much larger geographic scale than in previous periods. An additional 2.95 square miles was annexed in the 1960s, establishing the San Luis Obispo City boundary recognized today.133 There were also new subdivisions recorded in the 1960s, with development focused on the tracts south of Southwood Street and the Laguna Lake area. The Lakewood subdivision, recorded in 1960, was the largest of the 1960s subdivisions with 196 residential lots. In the 1970s, several new subdivisions of varying sizes were recorded. The largest were Ferrini at the north side of the city, which included 51 acres for residential development and 148 acres for open space, and South Higuera Street and Prefumo Canyon at the south side of the city.134
By the mid-1960s, San Luis Obispo faced a serious housing shortage, caused by high prices, the demolition of old housing that did not meet city building standards, Cal Poly’s growing student population, and a limited supply of new housing that did not keep up with the pace of the city’s population growth. A 1967 study showed that approximately 10 percent of the city’s housing stock was not up to code. The following year, the City Housing Authority was created and began constructing new low-income apartment developments with funding from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), including two on High Street, on King Street, and one on Los Osos Valley Road.135
The housing squeeze within the city limits of San Luis Obispo pushed some people who worked in the city to move to move to other surrounding communities.136 Cal Poly’s student body far outstripped its supply of student housing, prompting the university to build new residence halls in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Still, university-owned housing was inadequate to meet the demand.

Students snatched up housing wherever they could find it, including living in their cars, World War II-era military cabins at Camp Ranch El Chorro, spare rooms in family homes, and local motels, which 131 Harmon, "'But Not In Vain:' The Civil Rights Movement in San Luis Obispo, California 1947-1969," 28. 132 Information in this section related specifically to post-World War II subdivisions is drawn from Allison Dean Zike, “Mid-Twentieth Century Residential Development in San Luis Obispo (master’s thesis, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, 2012). 133 The City boundary may continue to change as additional land is annexed. 134 San Luis Obispo Local Agency Formation Commission, “History of Annexations,” accessed November 15, 2024, https://slo.lafco.ca.gov/history-of-annexations. 135 “First Low-Rent Housing to be Open on Saturday,” San Luis Obispo Tribune, 10 July 1970; David Middlecamp, "1970s Housing Crisis Conditions Worried SLO City Leaders," San Luis Obispo Tribune, 28 March 2022. 136 “Housing Shortage is More Desperate Than Ever,” San Luis Obispo Tribune, 18 September 1970.

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offered discounted student rates during the tourism offseason. In some cases, parents of Cal Poly students purchased houses for their children to live in during school, rented spare rooms to other students, and sold the houses after their children graduated at a profit.137 The demand for student housing attracted private developers, who constructed new apartment buildings near the university’s campus.138
Postwar subdivisions typically reflect modern community planning principles that grew out of the Progressive Era. These principles were best articulated in 1929 by Clarence Perry’s neighborhood unit theory, which proposed a self-contained residential development bounded by major arterial streets to accommodate through traffic, while curvilinear internal streets offered residential access only. The typical postwar subdivision is immediately distinguishable from older city neighborhoods by the street layout, which typically included curvilinear street patterns and culs-de-sac. Nearly all of the tracts developed between 1935 and 1965 in San Luis Obispo, particularly in those areas developed outside the original city boundaries, feature curved streets with elongated blocks and fewer intersections.

Despite the focus on mass housing throughout the 1950s, there were also neighborhoods developed with custom-designed residences. These were usually concentrated away from the city center, located at higher elevations than typical residential subdivisions, and featured greater architectural variety. In San Luis Obispo, the McAllen Heights and Piedmont Estates subdivisions (recorded in 1957 and 1958 respectively) exemplify this trend, with a number of custom homes situated in the low hills lining the eastern boundary of the city. Tract development during this period can be found in the Terrace Hill neighborhood, which includes a cohesive collection of one-story Mid-century Modern houses along Greta Place.

Architectural styles associated with this period include Mid-century Modern, Ranch, and Minimal Traditional. Architects who are represented in San Luis Obispo during this period include Frank Lloyd Wright (Dr. Karl Kundert Medical Clinic at 1106 Pacific Street) and Craig Ellwood, along with local architects Mackey Deasy, Homer Delawie, George Hasslein, Warren Leopold, Paul Neel, and Piercy K. Reibsamen.139 Notable local builders include Stan Bell, Leonard Blazer, Roger Brown, Alex Madonna, Patrick Smith, Arnold Volney, and Jack Westerman.140 137 Roger Vincent, “Housing: Rolling Into Town with No Place to Stay,” San Luis Obispo Tribune, 25 September 1975. 138 “Cal Poly: 12,400 Students, Only 2,400 Beds,” San Luis Obispo Tribune, 22 September 1970. 139 There are reportedly two works by Richard Neutra in San Luis Obispo. The first is now part of the Ludwick Center on Santa Rosa and Mill Streets, and it has been substantially altered. The second is on the campus of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. 140 Local builders played a significant role in the development of San Luis Obispo in the post-World War II era, developing both custom homes and housing tracts. Stan Bell in Laguna Shores, Leonard Blazer in Cuesta Highlands, Roger Brown with custom homes primarily in the Johnson Heights area, and Patrick Smith, Jack Westerman, and Arnold Volney with custom homes in various areas throughout the City including Ferrini Heights.

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Map indicating subdivisions recorded in San Luis Obispo in the 1950s. Source: San Luis Obispo GIS data.

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Map indicating subdivisions recorded in San Luis Obispo from 1960-1965. Source: San Luis Obispo GIS data.

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Evaluation Criteria
Associated Property Types: Single-family residences; multi-family residences (duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, apartment buildings, etc.), and residential subdivision developments
Period of Significance: 1945-1980
Criteria for Eligibility: A/1/1 (Events), B/2/2 (Persons), C/3/3 (Architecture) Criteria Significance Integrity Standards
A/1/1 (Events) • An individual residential
property from this period may
be significant for its association
with Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
• In general, tract houses are not
individually significant, but a
geographically-linked collection
may be eligible as a historic
district. A post-World War II
residential historic district may
be eligible for playing an
important role in the post-war
suburbanization of San Luis
Obispo.

Resources eligible under Criterion
A/1/1 (Events) should retain
integrity of location, design,
setting, materials, and feeling.

In historic districts, some
alterations to individual buildings,
such as replacement windows in
original openings, replacement of
roof materials, and replacement
garage doors may be acceptable as
long as the district as a whole
continues to convey its significance.

The district overall should convey a
strong sense of time and place.

B/2/2 (Persons) • For its association with a
significant person in San Luis
Obispo’s history
A residential property significant
under Criterion B/2/2 (Persons)
should retain integrity of design,
feeling, and association, at a
minimum, in order to convey the
historic association with a
significant person.

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Criteria Significance Integrity Standards
C/3/3
(Architecture)
• As an excellent or rare example
of a particular architectural
style associated with the period
• As the work of noted architect
Custom-designed buildings
designed or influenced by a Cal
Poly professor.
• In general, tract houses are not
individually significant, but a
geographically-linked collection
may be eligible as a historic
district. A post-World War II
residential historic district may
be eligible for collectively
representing postwar planning
and design principles.

Individual residential properties
significant under Criterion C/3/3
(Architecture) should retain
integrity of location, design,
setting, materials, workmanship,
and feeling.

In historic districts, some
alterations to individual buildings,
such as replacement windows in
original openings, replacement of
roof materials, and replacement
garage doors may be acceptable as
long as the district as a whole
continues to convey its significance.

The district overall should convey a
strong sense of time and place.

Extant Examples: Mid-20th Century Residential Development 1944 Corralitos, built 1950. Source: Historic Resources Group (2013).
2554 Greta Place, built 1951. Source: Historic Resources Group (2013).

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314 San Miguel Avenue, built c.1960. Source: Historic
Resources Group (2013).

Ken Schwartz House, 201 Buena Vista Avenue, built 1964.

Designated as a San Luis Obispo Historic Landmark.

Source: Historic Resources Group (2013).

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Mid-20th Century Commercial Development
Downtown San Luis Obispo. Source: Hemmings Daily (c. 1950s).

During the post-World War II period, Americans, including rapidly suburbanizing Californians, became ever more reliant on personal automobiles for transportation. Automobiles were more affordable than ever and new housing subdivisions and retail environments such as shopping malls were constructed with personal vehicles in mind. Many existing commercial buildings in the original downtown core were modified with contemporary storefronts during this period. New commercial development during this period included a small number of low-density commercial retail and office buildings located outside of the historic core. Many of these low-density office buildings were developed for use as medical offices and health services. The most prominent of these is the Kundert Medical Building, which was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and completed in 1956. During the 1950s, San Luis Obispo saw its share of suburban sprawl within geographically defined borders, and the first mall was built just a few miles from downtown. The Madonna Plaza shopping mall opened at the south side of the city in 1968. In the 1970s, another mall was added. But unlike in other communities in California, the two shopping centers proved to be little competition for downtown San Luis Obispo as the major commercial center.

In 1958, the U. S. Highway 101 was completed, which became a major thoroughfare for automobile tourism in the area. San Luis Obispo’s location near California’s Central Coast and at the mid-point between San Francisco and Los Angeles continued to make it an attractive destination for automobile tourism. Additional motels were developed around the San Luis Obispo that were easily accessible from the freeway in the 1950s and 1960s. The 1950 Sanborn Map Company fire insurance maps show a proliferation of motels, auto camps, and tourist courts at the north end of the city along Monterey Street between the railroad tracks along Pepper Street and the State Highway. These mid-century iterations of the earlier auto camps of the early 20th century typically consisted of connected rows of guest rooms with parking directly in front of each unit, rather than individual cabins. Mid-century motels often used creative architectural elements on their front facades and signs to differentiate them and draw the attention of passing motorists.

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The most prominent example is the Madonna Inn, developed by local construction magnate and entrepreneur, Alex Madonna. Madonna opened the Madonna Inn in 1961 and ran the hotel until his death in 2004; the inn is still owned and operated by the Madonna family today. The Madonna Inn exemplifies the eye-catching designs and prominent signage that characterized roadside motel design of the 1950s and 1960s.

In 1950, the Sunset Drive-In opened in San Luis Obispo. The first drive-in theater opened in New Jersey in 1933. The drive-in reached the height of its popularity in the 1950s and 1960s, as over 4,000 outdoor theaters were opened across the country, accounting for 25% of the nation's movie screens.

By the late 1980s, more than three-quarters of the country’s drive-ins closed as multiplexes proliferated. As of January 2013, drive-ins only accounted for 1.5% of the nation’s theaters. In California, fewer than twenty of the state’s more than two hundred theaters remain. Of those that are extant, many have been substantially altered or no longer operate as theaters. The Sunset Drive-In still operates as a drive-in theater today, representing a rare remaining example in California.

Detail from 1950 Sanborn Map Company fire insurance map, showing a group of motels and motor courts (parcels highlighted blue) at the intersection of Monterey, Palm, Grand, and Murray streets. Source: San Francisco Public Library.

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Milestone Mo-tel under construction, 2223 Monterey
Street, built 1924. Source: Huntington Library, San Marino.

Madonna Inn, 100 Madonna Road, 1961-1969. Source:
madonnainn.com.

During the postwar economic boom, several San Luis Obispo families established long-running enterprises. In 1947, brothers William and Pino Cattaneo founded the Cattaneo Brothers sausage company, and William Cattaneo’s wife, Mary (Piantanida) Cattaneo, worked as the company’s bookkeeper. Paul Piantanida built an auto repair shop, Paul’s Garage, in 1948 which now serves as the San Luis Obispo Children’s Museum. Today, Cattaneo Brothers is run by descendants of the Piantanida and Cattaneo families. The first openly LGBTQ+ business in the city, the Journey’s Inn bar and club, opened in 1979 at 2115 Broad Street. In 1982, the local chapter of the LGBTQ+ friendly church, the Metropolitan Community Church was located above the bar.141 Architectural styles associated with this period include Mid-century Modern. Architects who are represented in San Luis Obispo during this period include Frank Lloyd Wright and Craig Ellwood, along with local architects Mackey Deasy, Homer Delawie, George Hasslein, Warren Leopold, Paul Neel, and Piercy K. Notable local builders include Stan Bell, Leonard Blazer, Roger Brown, Alex Madonna, Patrick Smith, Arnold Volney, and Jack Westerman.

Evaluation Criteria
Associated Property Types: Mid-20th century commercial development typically includes retail storefronts, I haven’t service stations, motels, banks, grocery stores, motels, drive-ins, coffee shops, bowling alleys, car washes, department stores, theaters, retail strips, and office buildings. San Luis Obispo has a collection of low-density commercial/professional buildings that also housed medical clinics and related services.

Period of Significance: 1945-1980
Criteria for Eligibility: A/1/1 (Events), B/2/2 (Persons), C/3/3 (Architecture) 141 Mapping the Gay Guides, accessed October 11, 2024, https://mappingthegayguides.org/viz/map.

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Criteria Significance Integrity Standards
A/1/1 (Events) • For a significant and/or
influential role in post-World
War II commercial
development
Commercial properties from this
period eligible under Criteria A/1/1
(Events) should retain integrity of
location, design, materials,
feeling, and association.

B/2/2 (Persons) • For its association with a
significant person in San Luis
Obispo’s history
A commercial property significant
under Criterion B/2/2 (Persons)
should retain integrity of design,
feeling, and association, at a
minimum, in order to convey the
historic association with a
significant person.

C/3/3
(Architecture)
• As an excellent or rare example
of a particular architectural
style associated with the period
• As the work of a significant
architect or designer
• As an excellent example of a
post-World War II commercial
property type
• Historic signs may also be
eligible under this theme, as
excellent or rare examples of
commercial neon signs
Commercial properties significant
under Criterion C/3/3
(Architecture) should retain
integrity of location, design,
setting, materials, workmanship,
and feeling.

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Extant Examples: Mid-20th Century Commercial Development Madonna Inn. 100 Madonna Road, built 1961-1969.

Designated as a San Luis Obispo Historic Landmark. Source:

Historic Resources Group (2013).

Office Building, 84 Santa Rosa Street, built 1967.

Source: Historic Resources Group (2013).

Sunset Drive-In, 225 Elks Lane, built 1950. Source Historic Resources Group (2013). Kundert Medical Building, 1106 Pacific, built 1956.

Designated as a San Luis Obispo Historic Landmark.

Source: Page & Turnbull (2025).

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Mid-20th Century Civic and Institutional Development
The population growth in the post-World War II era resulted in increased demand for civic and institutional buildings, including schools and a new city hall. Cal Poly expanded during this period, as returning veterans enrolled in great numbers under the G.I. Bill. One of the most significant buildings on the Cal Poly campus from this period is the “Weekend House.” The Weekend House was originally designed by Craig Ellwood in 1964; it was constructed by Cal Poly students in 1967-1968 as part of a class led by Ellwood, who was serving as a visiting professor. In the 1970s, the San Luis Coastal Unified School District pursued an extensive building program—which included expanding the facilities of existing schools in the San Luis Obispo area and constructing new elementary, junior high, and high schools— though it was slowed by a nationwide recession.142 New institutions formed and were founded to serve the needs of San Luis Obispo’s diversifying population, as well. The Springfield Baptist Church was constructed by the local African American community at 160 Brook Street and began services in 1947. It became an important community gathering place and center for local civil rights activity through the 1960s. Some members split off and formed a second church, St. Luke Missionary Baptist Church at 272 Pacific Street. The congregation of St. Luke Missionary Baptist Church returned to the original church site on Brook Street in the late 1960s143 In 1976, a local chapter of the Metropolitan Community Church, headed by lesbian minister Tere Anne Roderick, began religious services at 793 Higuera Street (extant). The MCC welcomed all people but had a special focus on reaching out to and providing a spiritual outlet for the LGBTQ+ community.144
Evaluation Criteria
Associated Property Types: Civic and institutional property types include schools, libraries, post offices, and fire and police stations. Non-governmental institutional buildings include churches and meeting halls.

Note on intangible cultural heritage: Civic and institutional properties, including social halls, religious buildings, and other community gathering spaces, may also be associated with intangible cultural heritage, such as annual festivals, parades, and/or other cultural events and practices.

Period of Significance: 1945-1980
Criteria for Eligibility: A/1/1 (Events), C/3/3 (Architecture) 142 Bob Anderson, “November Vote Likely on $1 School Tax Hike,” San Luis Obispo Tribune, 19 June 1974. 143 History Center San Luis Obispo County, “Eto Park and Brook Street in San Luis Obispo,” accessed June 19, 2024, https://www.historycenterslo.org/uploads/1/2/5/3/125313011/walkingtourhandout-v8.pdf. 144 “Worship in the Church of Synagogue of Your Choice," San Luis Obispo Tribune, 10 April 1976.

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Criteria • Significance Integrity Standards
A/1/1
(Events)
• For its role in post-World War II
civic or institutional development
• For its association with a
particular cultural or ethnic
community in San Luis Obispo. A
property may be associated with
migration or community
formation in San Luis Obispo, a
community-serving or religious
organizations or intangible
cultural heritage, or civil rights
activism.

Individual properties significant under
Criterion A/1/1 (Events) should retain
integrity of location, design,
materials, feeling, and association.

C/3/3
(Architecture)
• As an excellent example of a postWorld War II property type • As an excellent example of a
particular architectural style
• As the work of noted architect
Individual properties significant under
Criterion C/3/3 (Architecture) should
retain integrity of location, design,
setting, materials, workmanship,
and feeling.

Extant Examples: Mid-20th Century Civic and Institutional Development San Luis Obispo City Hall, 990 Palm Street, built 1951. Designated as a San Luis Obispo Historic Landmark.

Source: Page & Turnbull (2025).

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George Hasslein, Mount Carmel Lutheran Church, 1701 Fredericks Street, built 1958.

Source: Page & Turnbull (2025).

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Mid-20th Century Transportation and Infrastructure, 1945-1980 Transportation and infrastructure-related development in the postwar decades continued to be oriented around the automobile. By the mid-1940s, the city’s streets were rutted, pockmarked, and in need of repairs.145 The city embarked on a program to raise funds for street improvements. In 1948, the City passed Ordinance No. 298, regulating street parking, loading zones, and one-way street traffic.146 During and immediately following World War II federal legislation, including the FederalAid Highway Acts of 1944 and 1956, provided funding mechanisms for a national system of highways.

In 1958, the U. S. Highway 101 was completed, which became a major thoroughfare for automobile tourism in the area.

However, by the 1970s, California Governor Jerry Brown encouraged a shift from highway building to mass transit. In 1974, San Luis Obispo Transit (SLO Transit) began operating local bus service. The San Luis Obispo Regional Transit Authority introduced intercity bus transportation between cities in San Luis Obispo County in the 1980s.147
In spite of the State’s encouragement of public transit, the automobile continued to dominate.

Throughout the 1970s, business owners and City officials sought solutions to the lack of sufficient parking in the downtown area through installing parking meters and plans to construct new parking garages.148 The City also embarked on several projects to widen key arteries through the city, including Broad Street, Santa Rosa Street, San Luis Drive/Johnson Avenue, Prefumo Canyon Road, Los Osos Valley Road, and others. The projects required the demolition of buildings along the streets and realignments of intersections.149
San Luis Obispo experienced repeated floods that caused millions of dollars in damage, including record-breaking events in 1969 and 1973.150 The city developed a flood plan that called for enlarging creek channels, culverts, and bridges. Subsequently, many infrastructure projects in the latter part of the 20th century focused on flood control.151
145 “City Rejects Petition on Street Work,” San Luis Obispo Tribune, 7 October 1947: 1. 146 “Ordinance No. 298 (New Series),” San Luis Obispo Tribune, 16 March 1948: 6. 147 “San Luis Obispo Transit,” Canadian Public Transit Discussion Board, accessed October 24, 2024, https://cptdb.ca/wiki/index.php/San_Luis_Obispo_Transit. 148 “Easing Pains of Parking,” San Luis Obispo Tribune, 21 June 1977; “New Parking Meters Will Go Up in SLO,” San Luis Obispo Tribune, 17 August 1977.
149 “City of San Luis Obispo State of California Notice to Bidders,” San Luis Obispo Tribune, 29 March 1975; “City of San Luis Obispo State of California Notice to Bidders,” San Luis Obispo Tribune, 19 November 1975. 150 “Flooding History,” Public Works, County of San Luis Obispo, accessed November 18, 2024, https://www.slocounty.ca.gov/departments/public-works/committees-programs/flood-control-zones/zone-9-%E2%80%93-san-luisobispo-creek-watershed/flooding-history. 151 Carl Neiburger, “Study Proposes Floodproof SLO,” San Luis Obispo Tribune, 28 June 1977.

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Aerial photograph taken in 1947. Source: Fairchild Aerial Surveys, Flight C-11252, University of California, Santa Barbara Libraries.

Aerial photograph taken in 1965, showing the completed route of Highway 101. Source: Mark Hurd Aerial Surveys, Inc., Flight HB-CX, University of California, Santa Barbara Libraries.

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Evaluation Criteria
Associated Property Types: Transportation and Infrastructure-Related Properties Property Type Summary: Transportation-related property types include segments of highways, overpasses, bridges, tunnels, traffic management features and roadside appurtenances.

Infrastructure-related property types include buildings and features associated with public infrastructure agencies such as those providing power and water.

Period of Significance: 1945-1980
Criteria for Eligibility: A/1/1 (Events), C/3/3 (Architecture) Criteria Significance Integrity Standards
A/1/1
(Events)
• As an example of an important
transportation-related property
that influenced the development
of San Luis Obispo.
• As an early and/or influential
transportation-related
development.
• For historic districts, as a
cohesive group or collection of
properties developed for or used
by the transportation-related
commercial businesses or
industries.

Transportation-related properties
from this period eligible under Criteria
A/1/1 (Events) should retain integrity
of location, design, feeling, and
association.

C/3/3
(Architecture)
• As a rare or unique example of a
particular type of transportationrelated development
• As a rare or unique example of
transportation-related type or
method of construction.
• As the work of a significant
architect or designer
Transportation-related properties
significant under Criterion C/3/3
(Architecture) should retain integrity
of location, design, materials,
workmanship, and feeling

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Extant Examples: Mid-20th Century Transportation and Infrastructure, 1945-1980 Examples of historic resources associated with this theme may be identified in future survey efforts.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY
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Anderson, Bob. “Noveer Vote Likely on $1 School Tax Hike.” San Luis Obispo Tribune. 19 June 1974.

Angel, Myron. History of San Luis Obispo County with Illustrations. Oakland, CA: Thompson & West, 1883. Reprinted by Fresno Valley Publishers, CA, 1979.

Biscarra, Sarah. "Diablo Ancestral Canyon Homelands Back." YouTube. Accessed December 2, 2024. https://yttnorthernchumashtribe.com/lifeways.
“Cal Poly: 12,400 Students, Only 2,400 Beds.” San Luis Obispo Tribune. 22 September 1970.

California Department of Transportation. “About District 5.” Accessed December 3, 2024. https://dot.ca.gov/caltrans-near-me/district-5/district-5-popular-links/d5-about. ___. Tract Housing in California, 1945-1973: A Context for National Register Evaluation. Sacramento, CA, 2011.
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City of San Luis Obispo. “Completion Report: Historic Resources Survey.” July 1983. ___. “Draft Historical and Architectural Conservation Element.” n.d. ___. “Guide to Architectural Styles in San Luis Obispo.” October 1982. ___. “Historic Preservation Program Guidelines.” November 2010. ___. “Historic Resources Inventory.” 2011-2012.
“City of San Luis Obispo State of California Notice to Bidders.” San Luis Obispo Tribune. 29 March 1975.

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“City of San Luis Obispo State of California Notice to Bidders.” San Luis Obispo Tribune. 19 November 1975.
“City Rejects Petition on Street Work.” San Luis Obispo Tribune. 7 October 1947.

Cooley, Ryan. “Imprisoning Our Own: SLO County Families and Executive Order 9066.” San Luis Obispo New Times. April 6, 2017. https://www.newtimesslo.com/news/imprisoning-ourown-slo-county-families-and-executive-order-9066-2978896.

Craigo, Steade R. “To Do No Harm: Conserving, Preserving, and Maintaining Historic Adobe Structures.” Getty Conservation Institute. Accessed December 2, 2024. http://www.getty.edu/conservation/publications_resources/pdf_publications/pdf/gsap_pa rt2d.pdf.

Curry, Elliot. “City Flag to Wave at Dedication.” San Luis Obispo Tribune. 9 September 1971.

Dandekar, Hemalata and Adrianna Jordan. “The Railroads and San Luis Obispo’s Urban Form.” Focus XVII. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. 2010.

Dartt-Newton, Deanna and Jon M. Erlandson. “Little Choice for the Chumash: Colonialism, Cattle, and Coercion in Mission Period California.” American Indian Quarterly 30. No. 3-4. Special Issue: Decolonizing Archaeology (Summer-Autumn, 2006): 416-430. “Easing Pains of Parking.” San Luis Obispo Tribune. 21 June 1977.

Estey, Charles. “Hotel for Motorists.” Pacific Coast Travel. October 1925.

Federal Register 48, no. 190 (September 29, 1983): 44738-44739.

Fairbanks, Ann. "Historical Moment for Japanese Sites." San Luis Obispo Telegram-Tribune. 7 July 1980.
“First Low-Rent Housing to be Open on Saturday.” San Luis Obispo Tribune. 10 July 1970. “Flooding History,” Public Works, County of San Luis Obispo. Accessed November 18, 2024. https://www.slocounty.ca.gov/departments/public-works/committees-programs/floodcontrol-zones/zone-9-%E2%80%93-san-luis-obispo-creek-watershed/flooding-history. "Gays Explain Themselves to A Curious Radio Audience." Daily Mustang XXXIV. No. 40. 9 November 1971.
“'Gay Lib' in SLO." Mustang Daily XXXIII. No. 128. 24 May 1971. “Gay Student Union Approved.” Mustang Daily 40. No. 40. 13 January 1976.

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Hamilton, M. Colleen, Kholood Abdo and Keith Warren. From Mission to Commercial District:

Archaeological Excavations at CA-SLO-1419H, San Luis Obispo, California. San Luis Obispo:

Prepared by Applied EarthWorks, Inc. for Copeland Properties, December 2017.

Harmon, Joshua Michael. "'But Not In Vain:' The Civil Rights Movement in San Luis Obispo, California 1947-1969.” Master’s thesis. California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo, 2009.

Harth, Stan, Dan Krieger, and Liz Krieger. War Comes to the Middle Kingdom, 1939-1942. San Luis Obispo: EZ Nature Books, 1998.

Highhouse, Galadriel Bree. "Madonna Inn: A Hotel in Context." Master's thesis. California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. 2011.

Historic American Buildings Survey. “Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa, 782 Monterey Street, San Luis Obispo, San Luis Obispo County, CA.” Accessed December 3, 2024. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/ca0799/.

History Center San Luis Obispo County. “Eto Park and Brook Street in San Luis Obispo.” Accessed June 19, 2024.
https://www.historycenterslo.org/uploads/1/2/5/3/125313011/walkingtourhandoutv8.pdf. “Housing Shortage is More Desperate Than Ever.” San Luis Obispo Tribune. 18 September 1970. "In 1852." San Luis Obispo Morning Tribune. 31 August 1892.

James, George Wharton. The Old Franciscan Missions of California. Boston: Little, Brown & Company, 1919.

Jordan, Adrianna. The Historical Influence of the Railroads on Urban Development and Future Economic Potential in San Luis Obispo. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Master’s Thesis, Master of City and Regional Planning, August 2011.
“Japantown - San Luis Obispo.” LocalWiki. Accessed Jun 19, 2024. https://localwiki.org/slo/Japantown.
“Japantown Atlas - Central California - San Luis Obispo.” 2022. Accessed June 19, 2024. http://japantownatlas.com/map-sanluis.html.

Jenzen, Douglas P. Growing Conflict: Agriculture, Innovation, and Immigration in San Luis Obispo County, 1837–1937. Master’s Thesis. California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, 2011.

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Johnson, John R. Descendants of Native Rancherías in the Diablo Lands Vicinity: A Northern Chumash Ethnohistorical Study. Santa Barbara: Prepared for the PG&E Diablo Canyon Power Plant, September 2020.
"The Kennedy Interview II." Daily Mustang 40. No. 13. 21 October 1975.

King, Chester. "The Names and Locations of Historic Chumash Villages." The Journal of California Anthropology 2. No. 2 (1975): 175.

Krell, Dorothy. The California Missions. Menlo Park, CA: Sunset Books, 1979.

Krieger, Dan. “World War II Brought Changes to Transportation in the County.” San Luis Obispo Tribune. 9 September 2014. Accessed October 24, 2024,
https://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/timespast/article39496002.html.

Krieger, Liz and Dan. “Blacks, Blues and Blood.” San Luis Obispo Telegram-Tribune. 19 January 1991.

Kyse, Bruce. "SAC Backs Gay Students." Mustang Daily XXXIV. No. 96. 10 March 1972.

Linn, Sarah. “Rooted in Struggle: Meet Mexican Americans Working in the Wine Industry.” PBS SoCal. September 27, 2022. https://www.pbssocal.org/shows/the-migrantkitchen/mexican-americans-working-in-the-wine-industry.

Lynch, John. “SLO County Combs Through ‘Millions of Documents’ to Remove Racist Language.” Mapping the Gay Guides. Accessed October 11, 2024. https://mappingthegayguides.org/viz/map/. “Milestone Company to Build San Jose Motel.” Mercury News. November 24, 1925.

Milliken, Randall and John R. Johnson. An Ethnogeography of Salinan and Northern Chumash Communities – 1769 to 1810. Davis, CA: Far Western Anthropological Research Group, Inc.

March 2005.

Middlecamp, David. “1970s Housing Crisis Conditions Worried SLO City Leaders." San Luis Obispo Tribune. 28 March 2022.
“The Monday Club, San Luis Obispo, California.” Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Robert E. Kennedy Library. Accessed December 2, 2024. https://lib.calpoly.edu/search-and-find/collectionsand-archives/architectural/julia-morgan/.

Morrison, Annie L. and John H. Haydon. History of San Luis Obispo County and Environs, California, with Biographical Sketches of the Leading Men and Women of the County and Environs Who Have Been Identified with the Growth and Development of the Section from the Early Days to the Present History. Los Angeles: Historic Record Company, 1917.

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National Park Service. National Register Bulletin 15: How to Apply the National Register Criteria for Evaluation. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of the Interior. 1997. ___. National Register Bulletin 16A. How to Complete the National Register Registration Form.

Washington D.C.: U.S. Department of the Interior. 1997. ___. National Register Bulletin 24: Guidelines for Local Surveys. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior, 1977. Revised 1985.

Neiburger, Carl. “Study Proposes Floodproof SLO.” San Luis Obispo Tribune. 28 June 1977. “New Parking Meters Will Go Up in SLO.” San Luis Obispo Tribune. 17 August 1977.

Nettles, Wendy M. “The Copelands Project: Neophytes, Shopkeepers, and the Soiled Doves of San Luis Obispo.” City of San Luis Obispo, Community Development Department. October 2006. “Obituary: George Hasslein, 83; Dean of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo School of Architecture.” Los Angeles Times. September 8, 2001.
“Ordinance No. 298 (New Series)” San Luis Obispo Tribune. 16 March 1948. “Our Home.” Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians. Accessed October 10, 2024. https://chumash.gov/the-santa-ynez-reservation.

Page & Turnbull and Donna Graves. “Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in California, 1850- 1970.” National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Documentation Form. 2023.

Pan, Emily. “A Timeline of the Chinese Population in San Luis Obispo.” Central Coast Asian American History. January 3, 2021. https://www.centralcoastasianhistory.org/post/a-timeline-ofthe-chinese-population-in-san-luis-obispo. ___. “Ah Louis Store.” Central Coast Asian American History. January 3, 2021. https://www.centralcoastasianhistory.org/post/ah-louis-store. ___. “Take Eto's Story up to World War II, Told by her Daughter.” Central California Asian American History. January 4, 2021. https://www.centralcoastasianhistory.org/post/take-eto-s-storyup-to-world-war-2-told-by-her-daughter.

Pavlik, Robert C. “Historical Architectural Survey Report for the Cuesta Grade Project.” California Department of Transportation. October 1994.
“Putting One Over on the Elks’ Minstrels by Printing the Criticism in Advance.” San Luis Obispo Tribune. 5 May 1913.
“Ramona Depot Move Approved by City.” San Luis Obispo Telegram-Tribune. 12 May 1964.

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Rigley, Colin. “The Long, Storied History of San Luis Obispo’s Historic Chinatown and the Artifacts Left Behind.” San Luis Obispo New Times. 1 October 2014. Accessed June 13, 2024. https://www.newtimesslo.com/news/the-long-storied-history-of-san-luis-obisposhistoric-chinatown-and-the-artifacts-left-behind-2935874.

Robinson, W.W. The Story of San Luis Obispo County. Los Angeles, CA: Title Insurance and Trust Company. 1957.

Sanborn Map Company. “San Luis Obispo.” 1926. Library of Congress.

San Francisco Planning Department. City Within a City: Historic Context Statement for San Francisco’s Mission District. San Francisco, November 2007.

San Luis Obispo Local Agency Formation Commission. “History of Annexations.” Accessed November 15, 2024. https://slo.lafco.ca.gov/history-of-annexations. “San Luis Obispo Sites.” Living New Deal. Accessed November 14, 2024. https://livingnewdeal.org/?s=san+luis+obispo.
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Sebby, Daniel M. “San Luis Obispo’s ‘Colored’ USO, 1941-1945.” Historic California Posts, Camps, Stations and Airfields. February 8, 2016.
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Taylor, Patti and Suzette Lees. 75 SLO City Sites: An Informative Self-Guided Architectural Tour in Historic San Luis Obispo. San Luis Obispo, CA: Graphic Communication Institute at Cal Poly, California Polytechnic State University. 2010.

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Vincent, Roger. “Housing: Rolling Into Town with No Place to Stay.” San Luis Obispo Tribune. 25 September 1975.
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Zike, Allison Dean. “Mid-Twentieth Century Residential Development in San Luis Obispo.” Master’s thesis, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, 2012.

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APPENDIX A: EVALUATION CRITERIA

NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES
The National Register of Historic Places is an authoritative guide to be used by Federal, State, and local governments, private groups, and citizens to identify the Nation's cultural resources and to indicate what properties should be considered for protection from destruction or impairment.152 The National Park Service administers the National Register program. Listing in the National Register assists in preservation of historic properties in several ways, including recognition that a property is of significance to the nation, the state, or the community; consideration in the planning for federal or federally assisted projects; eligibility for federal tax benefits; and qualification for Federal assistance for historic preservation, when funds are available.

To be eligible for listing and/or listed in the National Register, a resource must possess significance in American history and culture, architecture, or archaeology. Listing in the National Register is primarily honorary and does not in and of itself provide protection of a historic resource. The primary effect of listing in the National Register on private owners of historic buildings is the availability of financial and tax incentives. In addition, for projects that receive Federal funding, a clearance process must be completed in accordance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. State and local regulations may also apply to properties listed in the National Register.

The criteria for listing in the National Register follow established guidelines for determining the significance of properties. The quality of significance in American history, architecture, archeology, engineering, and culture is present in districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects:

A. That are associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history; or
B. That are associated with the lives of persons significant in our past; or C. That embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction, or that represent the work of a master, or that possess high artistic values, or that represent a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction; or D. That have yielded, or may be likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history. 153
Standard preservation practice evaluates collections of buildings from similar time periods and historic contexts as historic districts. The National Park Service defines a historic district as “a significant concentration, linkage, or continuity of sites, buildings, structures, or objects united historically or aesthetically by plan or physical development.”154 152 36CFR60, Section 60.2. 153 36CFR60, Section 60.3. 154National Register Bulletin 15. (5)

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CALIFORNIA REGISTER OF HISTORICAL RESOURCES
The California Register is an authoritative guide in California used by State and local agencies, private groups, and citizens to identify the State's historical resources and to indicate what properties are to be protected, to the extent prudent and feasible, from substantial adverse change.155 The criteria for eligibility for listing in the California Register are based upon National Register criteria. These criteria are:

1. Associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of local or regional history or the cultural heritage of California or the United States.

2. Associated with the lives of persons important to local, California or national history.

3. Embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, region or method of construction or represents the work of a master or possesses high artistic values.

4. Has yielded, or has the potential to yield, information important to the prehistory or history of the local area, California or the nation.

The California Register consists of resources that are listed automatically and those that must be nominated through an application and public hearing process. The California Register includes the following:
• California properties formally determined eligible for (Category 2 in the State Inventory of Historical Resources), or listed in (Category 1 in the State Inventory), the National Register of Historic Places.
• State Historical Landmarks No. 770 and all consecutively numbered state historical landmarks following No. 770. For state historical landmarks preceding No. 770, the Office of Historic Preservation (OHP) shall review their eligibility for the California Register in accordance with procedures to be adopted by the State Historical Resources Commission (commission).
• Points of historical interest which have been reviewed by the OHP and recommended for listing by the commission for inclusion in the California Register in accordance with criteria adopted by the commission.156
Other resources which may be nominated for listing in the California Register include:
• Individual historical resources.
• Historical resources contributing to the significance of an historic district. • Historical resources identified as significant in historical resources surveys, if the survey meets the criteria listed in subdivision (g) of Section 5023.1” of the Public Resources Code. 155 California PRC, Section 5023.1(a). 156 California PRC, Section 5023.1(d).

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• Historical resources and historic districts designated or listed as city or county landmarks or historic properties or districts pursuant to any city or county ordinance, if the criteria for designation or listing under the ordinance have been determined by the office to be consistent with California Register criteria.
• Local landmarks or historic properties designated under any municipal or county ordinance.157

LOCAL DESIGNATION
Individual resources and historic districts in San Luis Obispo may be designated according to the following categories:
• Landmarks are historic resources which are of the greatest importance at the local, regional, state, or national level in terms of age, architectural or historical significance, rarity, or association with important persons or events in the City’s past, which meet one or more of the significance criteria and which retain a high degree of integrity. Individual properties which have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places and/or California Register of Historical Resources are automatically included in the Inventory of Historical Resources as Landmarks.
• Local Register Resources are historic resources which are important locally for their architectural or historical significance, rarity, or association with important persons or events in the City’s past and which retain sufficient integrity to convey their significance. • Historic Districts are discrete areas or neighborhoods with concentrations of buildings, structures, objects, or sites which help define an area or neighborhood’s significant architectural, cultural, and historic character or sense of place and which meet one or more of the criteria outlined below, and which retain integrity. Historic districts consist of identified contributors and non-contributors within a defined boundary. Landmarks and Local Register Resources within the boundary of a historic district may be contributors or non-contributors to the district’s significance.

To be eligible for designation, a Landmark, Local Register Resource, or Historic District should be at least fifty years old (if less than fifty it must be demonstrated that sufficient time has passed to understand its historical importance), demonstrate significance under at least one of the following criteria, and retain integrity as defined below. These criteria match those used for evaluation for eligibility for the National Register and California Register.

1. Associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of local or regional history or the cultural heritage of California or the United States.

2. Associated with the lives of persons important to local, California, or national history. 157 California PRC, Section 5023.1(e).

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3. Embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, region, or method of construction, or represents the work of an architect or design professional of merit, or possesses high artistic values.

4. Information Potential: It has yielded, or has the potential to yield, information important to the prehistory or history of the local area, California, or the nation.

In addition to eligibility under one or more of these significance criteria, Historic Districts should also demonstrate a sufficient concentration of contributing resources (unless the district is discontiguous) and continuity of design or thematic associations to convey their character and significance.

INTEGRITY
In addition to meeting any or all of the designation criteria listed above, properties nominated must also possess historic integrity. Historic integrity is the ability of a property to convey its significance and is defined as “the authenticity of a property’s historic identity, evidenced by the survival of physical characteristics that existed during the property’s historic period.”158 The National Register recognizes seven aspects or qualities that comprise integrity, which are also referenced in the City’s local ordinance: location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association. These qualities are defined as follows:

Location is the place where the historic property was constructed or the place where the historic event took place.

Design is the combination of elements that create the form, plan, space, structure, and style of a property.

Setting is the physical environment of a historic property.

Materials are the physical elements that were combined or deposited during a particular period of time and in a particular pattern or configuration to form a historic property.

Workmanship is the physical evidence of the crafts of a particular culture or people during any given period in history or prehistory.

Feeling is a property's expression of the aesthetic or historic sense of a particular period of time.

Association is the direct link between an important historic event or person and a historic property.159
158 National Register Bulletin 16A. 159U.S. Department of Interior, National Park Service, National Register Bulletin 15: How to Apply the National Register Criteria for Evaluation. Washington D.C.: National Park Service, 1995.

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In assessing a property's integrity, the National Park Service recognizes that properties change over time. National Register Bulletin 15 provides:

To retain historic integrity a property will always possess several, and usually most, of the aspects. It is not necessary for a property to retain all its historic physical features or characteristics. The property must retain, however, the essential physical features that enable it to convey its historic identity.

A property that has lost some historic materials or details can be eligible if it retains the majority of the features that illustrate its style in terms of the massing, spatial relationships, proportion, pattern of windows and doors, texture of materials, and ornamentation. The property is not eligible, however, if it retains some basic features conveying massing but has lost the majority of the features that once characterized its style.160
For properties which are considered significant under National Register Criteria A and B, National Register Bulletin 15 states:

A property that is significant for its historic association is eligible if it retains the essential physical features that made up its character or appearance during the period of its association with the important event, historical pattern, or person(s).

A property important for illustrating a particular architectural style or construction technique must retain most of the physical features that constitute that style or technique.161 A property that has sufficient integrity for listing at the national, state, or local level will typically retain a majority of the identified character-defining features, and will retain sufficient integrity to convey its significance. The required aspects of integrity are dependent on the reason for a property’s significance. Increased age and rarity of the property type are also considerations when assessing integrity thresholds.

For example, for properties that are significant for their architectural merit, a higher priority is placed on integrity of design, materials, and workmanship. For properties that are significant for their association with important events or people, integrity of feeling and/or association may be more important.

To convey its historical significance, a property that has sufficient integrity for listing in the national or state register will generally retain a majority of its character-defining features. However, the necessary aspects of integrity also depend on the reason the property is significant. High priority is typically placed on integrity of design, materials, and workmanship for properties significant for their architectural design (Criterion C/3/3), while for properties significant in association with events or people (Criteria A/1/1 and B/2/2), these aspects are only necessary to the extent that they help the property convey integrity of feeling and/or association. Similarly, integrity of location and setting are crucial for properties significant in association with events (Criterion A/1/1) but are typically less important for properties significant in association with people (Criterion B/2/2) or architectural design (Criterion C/3/3).
160National Register Bulletin 15. 161National Register Bulletin 15.

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For properties significant under any of these criteria, it is possible for some materials to be replaced without drastically affecting integrity of design, as long as these alterations are subordinate to the overall character of the building. For example, minor alterations such as window replacement may be acceptable in residential districts, but not in an individual property designed by a notable architect or builder. Properties that are significant for their association with an ethnic or cultural group may be a rare extant property or may be associated with intangible cultural heritage, and it should be understood that these properties may have been altered over time to meet the changing needs of the community. As such, the aspects of integrity that are most important for these properties include location, feeling, and association, and design to a lesser degree. A property associated with an ethnic or cultural group may have some alteration to its design, but may remain eligible as long as the property has enough of its essential physical features to be able to convey its reason for significance.

A rule of thumb is that the property would be recognizable to a community member who was familiar with the property during its period of significance.

Evaluations of integrity should also include some basis of comparison. In other words, the evaluator should understand the relative levels of integrity associated with each property type. Some properties may rate exceptionally highly in all aspects of integrity; such properties should be given high priority in preservation planning efforts and are more likely to be eligible for listing in the National Register, in addition to the California and San Luis Obispo registers. Generally, a property with exceptional integrity will have undergone few or no alterations since its original construction and will not have been moved from its original location. Conversely, increased age and rarity of the property type may lower the threshold required for sufficient integrity.

Where properties have previously been altered, historic integrity can be increased if restoration or rehabilitation projects are conducted accurately based on documentary evidence, such as historic photographs and/or original drawings.

Finally, it should be stressed that historic integrity and condition are not the same. Buildings with evident signs of deterioration can still retain eligibility for historic listing if it can be demonstrated that they retain enough character-defining features to convey their significance.

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APPENDIX B: HISTORIC ARCHITECTURAL STYLES IN SAN

LUIS OBISPO
Introduction
This section describes the predominant construction methods and historic architectural styles represented in San Luis Obispo. This section can be used to supplement or expand the City’s existing Guide to Historic Architectural Styles in San Luis Obispo.162 The information below briefly describes the origin of each style, provides a list of character-defining features, and includes extant local examples.163 A property that is eligible for designation as a good example of its architectural style retains most -though not necessarily all - of the character-defining features of the style, and continues to exhibit its historic appearance. For guidance on the proper treatment of historic resources and appropriate alterations to specific architectural styles, refer to the City of San Luis Obispo Design Guidelines,164 and the Historic Preservation Program Guidelines.165 The diverse architectural character of San Luis Obispo reflects changes in popular tastes over time.

These include Victorian-era styles of the late 19th-century (Italianate, Gothic Revival, Stick/Eastlake, Queen Anne); the Craftsman style, a distinctly regional style that enjoyed widespread popularity in the first two decades of the 20th century; Period Revival styles of the 1920s and 1930s which made explicit references to their European predecessors (Mission Revival, Spanish Colonial Revival, Renaissance Revival, Tudor Revival, Colonial Revival, Classical Revival); and the Modern styles of the late 1930s through the 1950s (Streamline Moderne, Minimal Traditional, Mid-Century Modern, Ranch).

While some buildings are thorough representations of a particular architectural style, others are more restrained or subtle in their design. Many buildings display certain characteristics of popular styles of a period, but are less elaborated than their high-style counterparts. In some cases, buildings may display characteristics of more than one architectural style or type popular at the time of its construction.
162 City of San Luis Obispo, Historic Resources Survey Program, “Guide to Historic Architectural Styles in San Luis Obispo,” October, 1982. 163 All photographs in the “Architectural Character” section were taken 2012-2013. 164 City of San Luis Obispo, “Community Design Guidelines,” June 2010. 165 City of San Luis Obispo, “Historic Preservation Program Guidelines,” November 2010.

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Adobe Construction
From the 1820s to the mid-1800s, adobe construction was the primary building type in San Luis Obispo. Early adobe buildings were typically small, single-story structures, with thick adobe walls, low sloping tile roofs, and wood detailing. Adobe construction consists of thick walls composed of large sun-dried bricks, usually made from clay, sand, and straw and covered with whitewash. The unreinforced adobe walls typically vary from one and one-half to six feet thick, resting on a dirt or rock foundation. Roofs are typically tile or wood shingle, resting on wooden roof timbers. Door and window openings are normally surrounded by heavy timbers, often with a prominent timber lintel above the openings. There are examples with second story additions that are referred to as Monterey Style adobes. Adobe construction demonstrates a continuation of indigenous building traditions that were passed down from generation to generation of craftsmen. Adobe construction used locally available resources, and was appropriate for the climate in the Southwest, staying cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

The majority of the extant adobes in and around San Luis Obispo were built in the second half of the 19th century. Following California’s annexation to the United States in 1850, there was a migration of settlers from the east. During this period many adobe structures were destroyed to make way for new development. Many were altered during this period, with the addition of wood siding, composition roofing, and exterior finishes that may have obscured the adobe structure beneath.

Clapboard siding was commonly used to protect adobe blocks from weathering, or to create a more stylish, ornamental appearance. In some cases, adobes were covered with a stucco or plaster finish.

Character-defining features include:
• Rectangular plan
• Thick masonry walls of adobe brick
• Simple, unadorned exteriors (often with stucco cladding) • Few, small window openings
• Simple arrangement of interior spaces
Murray Adobe, 747 Monterey Street, built 1850.

Source: City of San Luis Obispo.

Butron Adobe, 466 Dana Street, built 1860.

Source: City of San Luis Obispo.

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Commercial Vernacular
Although not an officially recognized style, “commercial vernacular” describes simple commercial structures with little decorative ornamentation, common in American cities and towns of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They are typically brick in construction, with minimal decorative detailing.

Character-defining features include:
• Simple square or rectangular form
• Flat roof with a flat or stepped parapet
• Brick exterior wall surfaces, with face brick on the primary facade • First-story storefronts, typically with a continuous transom window above • Wood double-hung sash upper-story windows, often in pairs • Segmental arch window and door openings on side and rear elevations • Decorative detailing, if any, may include cornices, friezes, quoins, or stringcourses 1901 Broad Street.

Source: Historic Resources Group (2013).
1401 Osos Street.

Source: Historic Resources Group (2013).

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Gothic Revival (Carpenter Gothic)
Like the Italianate style, Gothic Revival emerged in England as part of the Picturesque Movement.

Often termed “Carpenter Gothic” in the United States, this style commonly was applied to both residences and churches. Buildings may be of wood or masonry construction, but wood-frame predominates in domestic examples.

Character-defining features include:
• Asymmetrical façade
• Vertical emphasis
• Steeply-pitched roof, often with cross gables and overhanging eaves • Often features a square or octagonal tower
• Typically have horizontal wood exterior cladding
• Tall narrow windows, commonly with pointed arches
• One-story entry or full-width porch, often supported by flattened Gothic arches • Fanciful wood ornamentation, including decorative vergeboards McManus House, 639 Pismo Street, built 1901.

Source: City of San Luis Obispo.

Biddle House, 552 Pismo Street, built 1889.

Source: City of San Luis Obispo.

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Stick/Eastlake
The Stick style is an architectural link between the earlier Gothic Revival and later Queen Anne style, all of which are adapted from Medieval buildings traditions. The Stick style is defined primarily by its decorative detailing, where the wall surface itself is treated as a decorative element, frequently with visible stick work. The term “Eastlake” typically refers to the decorative ornamentation found on Victorian-era residences, such as those designed in the Stick style.

Character-defining features include:
• Steeply-pitched gabled roof, usually with cross gables • Decorative trusses at the gable apex
• Overhanging eaves with exposed rafters
• Wood exterior wall cladding with applied decorative stick work • Entry or full-width porches with diagonal or curved braces • May incorporate Eastlake detailing
Shipsey House, 1266 Mill Street, built 1890.

Source: Historic Resources Group (2013).

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Queen Anne
The Queen Anne style was one of the most popular Victorian-era styles for residential buildings in California. Like the Stick style that it quickly replaced, Queen Anne uses exterior wall surfaces as a primary decorative element.

Character-defining features include:
• Asymmetrical façade
• Steeply-pitched roof of irregular shape, usually with a dominate front-facing gable • Wooden exterior wall cladding with decorative patterned shingles • Projecting partial-, full-width or wrap-around front porch, usually one story in height • Cut-away bay windows
• Wood double-hung sash windows
• Towers topped by turrets, domes or cupolas
• Tall decorative brick chimneys
• Ornamentation may include decorative brackets, bargeboards and pendants, as well as Eastlake details, such as spindle work
Crocker House, 793 Buchon Street, built 1901-1902.

Source: City of San Luis Obispo.

Stanton House, 752 Buchon Street, built 1903-1905.

Source: City of San Luis Obispo.

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Neo-Classical Cottage
The term “Neo-Classical Cottage” is used to describe simple house forms or cottages with fewer decorative features than other styles from the period. While vernacular residences may display certain characteristics of recognizable styles, decorative detailing is typically confined to the porch or cornice line.

Character-defining features include:
• Symmetrical façade
• Simple square or rectangular form
• Gabled or hipped roof with boxed or open eaves
• Wood exterior cladding
• Simple window and door surrounds
• Details may include cornice line brackets
• Porch support with turned spindles or square posts
1203 Pismo Street, built c.1900.

Source: Historic Resources Group (2013).
1211 Pismo Street, built 1908.

Source: Historic Resources Group (2013).

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Residential Vernacular
The term “Residential Vernacular” is used to describe simple houses or cottages with little or no distinguishing decorative features. These buildings are characterized by their simplicity and lack of any characteristics of recognizable styles.

Character-defining features include:
• Simple square or rectangular form
• Gabled or hipped roof with boxed or open eaves
• Wood exterior cladding
• Simple window and door surrounds
Fitzpatrick House, 670 Islay Street, built 1880.

Source: Historic Resources Group (2013).

Anderson House, 532 Dana Street, built 1898.

Source: City of San Luis Obispo.

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Mission Revival
The Mission Revival style is indigenous to California. Drawing upon its own colonial past, Mission Revival was the Californian counterpart to the Colonial Revival of the Northeastern states. Never common beyond the Southwest, its regional popularity was spurred by its adoption by the Santa Fe and Southern Pacific Railways as the preferred style for train stations and resort hotels. Features of the California Missions were borrowed and freely adapted, often in combination with elements of other revival styles.

Character-defining features include:
• Red clay tile roofs with overhanging eaves and open rafters • Shaped parapets
• Stucco exterior wall cladding
• Arched window and door openings
• Details may include bell towers, quatrefoil openings or patterned tiles Old Gas Works, 280 Pismo Street, built 1902.

Source: Historic Resources Group (2013).

Milestone Motel, 2223 Monterey Street, built 1925.

Source: City of San Luis Obispo.

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Craftsman
Craftsman architecture in America grew out of the late-19th century English Arts and Crafts movement. It stressed simplicity of design, hand-craftsmanship, and the relationship to the climate and landscape. Craftsman architecture was widely published in architectural journals and pattern books, popularizing the style throughout the country. Affordable and easily constructed from local materials, the mostly one- or one-and-a-half-story homes were often referred to as “bungalows” and dominated middle-class residential design during the first quarter of the 20th century.

Character-defining features include:
• Horizontal massing
• Low-pitched gabled roof
• Widely overhanging eaves with exposed rafters, beams, or braces • Wood exterior wall cladding (shingle, shake, or clapboard) • Projecting partial-, full-width or wrap-around front porch • Heavy porch piers, often of river stone or masonry
• Wood-frame casement or double-hung sash windows, often grouped in multiples • Widely-proportioned front doors, often with a beveled light • Wide window and door surrounds, often with extended lintels • Extensive use of natural materials (wood, brick or river stone) Burch House, 1333 Mill Street, built 1915.

Source: Historic Resources Group (2013). Residence, 863 Islay Street, built c. 1915.

Source: Historic Resources Group (2013).

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Tudor Revival
The Tudor Revival style is loosely based on a variety of Medieval English building traditions. In the United States, these traditions are combined freely, but retain the steeply-pitched front-facing gable which is almost universally present as a dominant façade element. The style’s popularity expanded dramatically in the 1920s and early 1930s, when masonry veneering techniques allowed even the most modest examples to mimic closely the brick and stone exteriors seen on English prototypes.

The Storybook cottage is a more whimsical version of Tudor Revival. Storybook residences typically feature roofs laid in irregular patterns and rolled eaves to suggest thatching, eyebrow arches over entries and dormers, and exterior walls with irregular plaster finish. The Storybook style was particularly popular in Hollywood where motion picture set designers sometimes moonlighted as architects.

Character-defining features include:
• Asymmetrical facade
• Steeply-pitched gabled roof with a prominent front-facing gable • Stucco or brick exterior wall cladding, typically with half-timbering • Tall, narrow divided-light windows, casement or double-hung sash, often arranged in multiples
• May display picture windows with leaded diamond panes • Small gabled entry porch, often with arched openings
• Details may include stone or brick accents or faux quoining Dunne House, 59 Benton Way, built 1927.

Source: City of San Luis Obispo. 1167 Marsh Street, built 1930.

Source: Historic Resources Group (2013).

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American Colonial Revival
The Colonial Revival style proliferated during the first half of the 20th century. This style incorporates traditions from the Georgian, Adam and early Classical Revival styles that were prevalent during the English colonial period. Dutch colonial influences were also incorporated, which often include a gambrel roof. Earlier examples were rarely accurate recreations but were instead free interpretations with details inspired by colonial precedents, while later examples shifted to more historically correct proportions and details.

Character-defining features include:
• Side gable or hipped roofs
• Wood exterior wall cladding, typically horizontal
• Accentuated front entry or portico, featuring decorative pediments supported by pilasters or slender columns
• Wood double-hung sash windows with multi-pane glazing • Front doors flanked by sidelights with fanlights above • Fixed wooden shutters
1727 Corralitos Avenue, built c.1940.

Source: Historic Resources Group (2013).
1624 Morro Street.

Source: Historic Resources Group (2013).

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Classical Revival
The Classical Revival style did not achieve the broad popularity of its closely-related Colonial Revival contemporary. The style is best identified by its symmetrical façade, which is typically dominated by a full-height porch with the roof supported by classical columns. Like the Renaissance Revival, this style was widely used for imposing civic buildings, institutional buildings, and banks.

Character-defining features include:
• Symmetrical façade
• Front- or side-gabled roof
• Wood or masonry exterior wall cladding
• Full-height gabled or pedimented front porch
• Porch roof supported by slender fluted columns with Ionic or Corinthian capitals • Wood double-hung sash windows with multi-pane glazing • Details may include dentils, a wide frieze beneath the cornice, and roofline balustrades Stover’s Sanitarium, 1160 Marsh Street, built 1911.

Source: Historic Resources Group (2013). Masonic Temple, 856 Marsh Street, built 1913.

Source: Historic Resources Group (2013).

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Italianate
The Italianate style began in England as part of the Picturesque Movement. As used in the United States, this style generally followed the informal model of the simple Italian farmhouse, but was adapted into an indigenous style. This style did not enjoy the widespread popularity of other Victorian-era styles, and relatively few Italianate buildings were built.

Character-defining features include:
• Symmetrical façade
• Low pitched hipped or flat roof
• Widely overhanging eaves with large decorative brackets • Tall narrow windows, commonly arched or curved above
• Elaborated window crowns
• One-story entry porch, often supported by square posts with beveled corners • Centrally-placed square tower or cupola
Jack House, 536 Marsh Street, built 1880.

Source: Historic Resources Group (2013).

Fitzgerald House, 794 Buchon Street, built 1902.

Source: Historic Resources Group (2013).

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Renaissance Revival
Renaissance Revival buildings were often fairly literal interpretations of the Italian originals, unlike the free interpretations of the preceding Italianate style. Its formal, symmetrical facades and Classical or Beaux Arts details including quoins, roofline balustrades, pedimented windows, molded cornices and belt courses were often used for imposing civic buildings, institutional buildings, and banks. • Character-defining features include:
• Symmetrical facade
• Tiled low-pitched hip roof, sometimes flat roof
• Boxed eaves with decorative brackets
• Stucco or masonry exterior wall cladding
• Arched window and door openings on the first story
• Wood divided-light casement or double-hung sash windows in the upper stories • Front entry accentuated with slender classical columns or pilasters Andrews Building, 998 Monterey Street, built 1893-1906.

Source: Historic Resources Group (2013).

Sinsheimer Building, 849 Monterey Street, built 1884.

Source: Historic Resources Group (2013).

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Spanish Colonial Revival
Enormously popular in Southern California from the late 1910s through the late 1930s, the Spanish Colonial Revival style emerged from a conscious effort by architects to emulate older Spanish architectural traditions, and break with Eastern colonial influences. At the peak of its popularity, design features of other regions of the Mediterranean were often creatively incorporated, including those of Italy, France, and North Africa. The result was a pan-Mediterranean mélange of eclectic variations on Spanish Revival styles.

Character-defining features include:
• Asymmetrical facade
• Red clay tile hip or side-gable roof, or flat roof with a tile-clad parapet • Stucco exterior cladding, forming uninterrupted wall planes • Wood-frame casement or double-hung windows, typically with divided lights • Arched colonnades, window or door openings
• Decorative grilles of wood, wrought iron, or plaster
• Balconies, patios or towers
• Decorative terra cotta or tile work
M.F. Avila House, 1443 Osos Street.

Source: Historic Resources Group (2013). Division of Highways District 5 Office, 50 Higuera Street, built 1931.

Source: City of San Luis Obispo.

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Art Deco
Art Deco was the first popular style in the United States that consciously rejected historical precedents. Most commonly used in public and commercial buildings, Art Deco was rarely used in domestic architecture. The highly decorative style employed stylized floral, figurative and geometric motifs s as decorative elements on the façade. Towers, piers and setbacks were employed to give the buildings a vertical emphasis.

Character-defining features include:
• Smooth wall surfaces, usually of stucco
• Stylized decorative floral and figurative elements
• Geometric decorative motifs such as zigzags and chevrons • Towers, piers and other vertical elements
• Setbacks as design elements
Doton Building, 777 Higuera Street, built 1931.

Source: Historic Resources Group (2013).

Fremont Theatre, 1035 Monterey Street, built 1941.

Source: Historic Resources Group (2013).

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Streamline Moderne
Characterized by smooth surfaces, curved corners, and sweeping horizontal lines, Streamline Moderne is considered to be the first thoroughly Modern architectural style to achieve wide acceptance among the American public. Inspired by the industrial designs of the period, the style was popular throughout the United States in the late 1930s, particularly with the Federally-funded projects of the Works Progress Administration; buildings executed under those programs are often referred to PWA Moderne. Unlike the equally modern but highly-ornamental Art Deco style of the late 1920s, Streamline Moderne was perceived as expressing an austerity more appropriate for Depression-era architecture.

Character-defining features include:
• Horizontal massing
• Asymmetrical façade
• Flat roof with coping
• Smooth wall surfaces, typically clad in stucco
• Curved end walls and corners
• Glass block and porthole windows
• Flat canopy over entrances
• Horizontal grooves or stringcourses
• Pipe railings along exterior staircases and balconies 1259 Palm Street.

Source: Historic Resources Group (2013).
1219 Monterey Street.

Source: Historic Resources Group (2013).

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Minimal Traditional
The Minimal Traditional style is defined by simple exterior forms and a restrained use of traditional architectural detailing. The Minimal Traditional house was immensely popular in large suburban residential developments throughout the United States during the World War II and postwar periods.

The style had its origins in the principles of the Modern movement and the requirements of the FHA and other Federal programs of the 1930s. Its open plan reflected the developer’s desire for greater efficiency. Modern construction methods addressed the builder’s need to reduce costs and keep homes affordable to the middle class. Conventional detailing appealed to conservative home buyers and mortgage companies.

Character-defining features include:
• One-story
• Simple rectangular plan
• Medium or low-pitched hip or side-gable roof with shallow eaves • Smooth stucco wall cladding, often with wood lap or stone veneer accents • Wood multi-light windows (picture, double-hung sash, casement) • Projecting three-sided oriel
• Shallow entry porch with slender wood supports
• Fixed wooden shutters
• Minimal decorative exterior detailing
Example of a Minimal Traditional House.

Source: Historic Resources Group (2013).

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Ranch
The Ranch style enjoyed enormous popularity throughout the United States during the late 1950s and 1960s, becoming the predominant domestic style in Southern California’s postwar suburbs. The Ranch style emerged from the 1930s designs of Southern California architect Cliff May, who merged modernist ideas with traditional notions of the working ranches of the American West. The resulting architectural style – characterized by its low horizontal massing, sprawling interior plan, and wooden exterior detailing - embodied the mid-century ideal of “California living.” Character-defining features include:
• One-story configuration
• Sprawling plan, often with radiating wings
• Low, horizontal massing with wide street facade
• Low-pitched hip or gable roof with wide open eaves and wood shakes • Wood lap or board-and-batten cladding, often with brick or stucco accents • Large wood multi-light windows (picture, double-hung sash, diamond-pane) • Wide recessed front porch with wood supports and balustrades • Attached two-stall garage
• Details may include wooden shutters, attic vents in gable ends, hipped dovecote, extended gables, or scalloped barge boards
• Common sub-styles include California Ranch and Modern Ranch 1755 Tanglewood.

Source: Historic Resources Group (2013).
1749 San Luis Drive.

Source: Historic Resources Group (2013).

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Mid-Century Modern
Mid-century Modern is a term used to describe a post-World War II iteration of the International Style in both residential and commercial design. The International Style was characterized by geometric forms, smooth wall surfaces, and an absence of exterior decoration. Mid-century Modern represents the adaptation of these elements to the local climate and topography, as well as to the postwar need for efficiently-built, moderately-priced homes and buildings.

The Mid-century Modern building is characterized by its clear expression of structure and materials, large expanses of glass, and open interior plan.

Character-defining features include:
• One or two-story configuration
• Simple geometric forms
• Expressed post-and-beam construction, in wood or steel • Flat roof with wide overhanging eaves and cantilevered canopies • Unadorned wall surfaces
• Exterior panels of wood, stucco, brick or stone
• Flush-mounted metal frame full-height and clerestory windows • Exterior staircases, decks, patios and balconies
• Little or no exterior decorative detailing
• Expressionistic/Organic subtype: sculptural forms and geometric shapes, including butterfly, A-frame, folded plate or barrel vault roofs
2525 Augusta Street, built 1951.

Source: Historic Resources Group (2013).
201 Buena Vista Street, built 1964.

Source: Historic Resources Group (2013).

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Googie
Googie has been described as Modernism for the masses. With its swooping lines and organic shapes, the style attempted to capture the playful exuberance of postwar America. Named for the John Lautner-designed Googie’s Restaurant in Los Angeles, the style was widely employed in roadside commercial architecture of the 1950s, including coffee shops, bowling alleys, and car washes.

Character-defining features include:
• Expressive rooflines, including butterfly, folded-plate, and cantilevers • Organic, abstract, and parabolic shapes
• Clear expression of materials, including concrete, steel, asbestos, cement, glass block, plastic, and plywood
• Large expanses of plate glass
• Thematic ornamentation, including tiki and space age motifs • Primacy of signage, including the pervasive use of neon SLO Coast Diner (former Denny’s), 1460 Calle Joaquin, built c. 1960.

Source: City of San Luis Obispo.

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APPENDIX C: PROPERTIES DESIGNATED AT THE STATE

AND NATIONAL LEVEL
National Register of Historic Places

HISTORIC NAME NR REGISTRATION
NUMBER

ADDRESS
Ah Louis Store 08000203 800 Palm Street
Myron Angel House 82000988 714 Buchon Street
Robert Jack House 92000312 536 Marsh Street
Pacific Coast Railway Company
Grain Warehouse
88000921 65 Higuera Street
The Powerhouse 93000670 Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, northeast corner of South Perimeter Road &
Cuesta Avenue
San Luis Obispo Carnegie Library 95000357 696 Monterey Street Tribune-Republic Building 93000548 1763 Santa Barbara Street William Shipsey House 10000115 1266 Mill Street
The Monday Club 16000230 1815 Monterey Street
Pereira Octagon Barn 13001068 4400 Octagon Way
California State Landmarks

HISTORIC NAME REGISTRATION
NUMBER

ADDRESS
Ah Louis Store 802 800 Palm Street
Dallidet Adobe 720 1185 Pacific Street
Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa 325 751 Pam Street
California Register of Historical Resources*

HISTORIC NAME ADDRESS
San Luis Obispo Southern Pacific Station 1076 Railroad Avenue Anderson Hotel 955 Monterey Street
Sunset Drive-In Theater 255 Elks Lane
Kundert Medical Building 1106 Pacific Street
Masonic Temple 859 Marsh Street
872 Morro Street 872 Morro Street
Teass House / Carpenter Building 890 Osos Street
* Based on listing in the Office of Historic Preservation Built Environment Resource Directory (BERD), dated September 2022.

San Luis Obispo Historic Context Statement Update Revisions Summary August 22, 2025
1 of 2
Section Comment
Purpose Acknowledgement of intangible heritage added, as has become standard in historic context statements.

Historic Resource Surveys Information added about each previously identified historic district as these are not discussed further in the HCS.

Guidelines for Evaluation Section revised to provide more specific guidance separate from the criteria, which are provided in appendices. Some guidance which was repeated in each set of evaluation criteria has been moved to this section to reduce redundancy.

Summary of Contexts and
Themes
Themes have been modified to include discussion of infrastructure development, where relevant, and to extend into additional time periods not included in the 2013 HCS.

Historical Overview Overview revised to better reflect current scholarship regarding indigenous cultural affiliations, and the preferred terminology to refer to the earliest residents of the location of the City of San Luis Obispo.

Reworded to communicate the nature of the mission system and the perpetuation of Native American peoples and cultures throughout (rather than extinction, the previously prevailing narrative.)
Early History Section revised to reflect ethnohistorical documentation of the Indigenous peoples of the City of San Luis Obispo. Discussion of impact of Mission system on Indigenous peoples moved to the Mission period context. Discussion of Indigenous residents in post-mission period moved to the Mexican Rule section.

Mid-Late 20th-Century Growth Discussion of the broad development patterns in the city, particularly suburban areas, has been expanded slightly to include the years up to around 1980.

Discussion of transportation-related developments in the 20th- century has been expanded, particularly to reflect the growth of personal automobile use and the responding changes in the city’s transportation infrastructure.

Appendix B The “Architectural Styles” section has been moved to an appendix.

Appendix C The list of “Master List Properties” has been removed. Revised, updated lists of Landmarks and Local Register Resources can be produced as addenda following adoption of the revised categories

San Luis Obispo Historic Context Statement Update Revisions Summary August 22, 2025
2 of 2
Section Comment
recommended in the Historic Preservation Ordinance update, and after an audit of designated resources to include properties added since 2013 and remove those which are non-extant or have lost integrity.

Throughout document The context discussion, example images, and historic images have been revised throughout to focus on the area within the city limits of San Luis Obispo and under the City’s authority. Built environment examples within Cal Poly campus, and discussion of development across the broader county, have been reduced where not necessary to provide directly relevant context for the city’s history Evaluation Criteria and Integrity Considerations have been revised in all sections throughout this document to reflect revisions to the local criteria in the Historic Preservation Ordinance Update, to enhance ease of use, and remove redundancy.

The previously separate discussion of ethnic communities has been integrated into the relevant timeperiod and thematic sections of the document.

RESOLUTION NO. 1111-25

A RESOLUTION OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF

SAN LUIS OBISPO, CALIFORNIA, RECOMMENDING THE CITY
COUNCIL REPEAL CHAPTER 14.01 (HISTORIC PRESERVATION

ORDINANCE) OF THE SAN LUIS OBISPO MUNICIPAL CODE IN ITS

ENTIRETY AND RECOMMENDING THE COUNCIL INTRODUCE AND
ADOPT A REPLACEMENT CHAPTER 14.01 TO INCLUDE

RECOMMENDED UPDATES AND AMENDMENTS AS REFLECTED IN
THE ATTACHED EXHIBIT A; AND RECOMMENDING THE CITY

COUNCIL ADOPT A RESOLUTION APPROVING AN UPDATED

HISTORIC CONTEXT STATEMENT AS REFLECTED IN THE
ATTACHED EXHIBIT B (CODE-0758-2025)
WHEREAS, the Cultural Heritage Committee of the City of San Luis Obispo held a public hearing on September 29, 2025, to review proposed amendments to the City’s Historic Preservation Ordinance and Historic Context Statement and recommended the Planning Commission recommend adoption and approval of the updates to the City Council; and
WHEREAS, the Planning Commission of the City of San Luis Obispo conducted a public hearing in the Council Chambers of City Hall, 990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo, California on October 22, 2025, to review and make recommendations to the City Council of San Luis Obispo regarding updates to the Historic Preservation Ordinance and Historic Context Statement; and
WHEREAS, the recommended updates to the Historic Preservation Ordinance and Historic Context Statement are Phase 1 of the Council authorized Historic Resources Inventory Update project (Project) and provides updated significance criteria and guidance for the Phase 2 of the Project, which will include review and update of the existing Historic Resources Inventory and surveys for new potential historic resources; and,
WHEREAS, notices of said public hearing were made at the time and in the manner as required by law; and
WHEREAS, the Planning Commission has duly considered all evidence presented by City staff and public commentors at said hearing.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Planning Commission of the City of San Luis Obispo as follows:

SECTION 1. Findings. Based upon all the evidence presented, the Planning Commission makes the following findings:

1. The proposed updates to the Historic Preservation Ordinance and Historic Context Statement are consistent with and implement Land Use Element

Planning Commission Resolution No. PC-1111-2025
CODE-0758-2025 (Citywide)

Implementation Policy 12.4 since the updates support the review and identification of historic resources.

2. The proposed updates are consistent with and implement General Plan Conservation and Open Space Element Goal 3.2 since the proposed amendments update the Historic Preservation Ordinance and Historic Context Statement, which provide the framework and guidance for the determination of properties that are historically significant.

3. The proposed amendments are consistent with and implement General Plan Conservation and Open Space Element Policy 3.3.1 by updating documents that are used to identify significant historic resources.

4. The proposed amendments are consistent with and implement General Plan Conservation and Open Space Element Program 3.6.1 by assisting the Cultural Heritage Committee with the identification and development of information on historical resources.

5. The proposed amendments are consistent with Certified Local Government requirements from the Office of Historic Preservation (OHP) to keep and maintain an updated historic resources inventory based on the criteria of a local ordinance.

SECTION 2. Environmental Review. The recommended updates to the Historic Preservation Ordinance and Historic Context Statement consist of actions by a regulatory agency authorized by the state or local ordinance, to assure the maintenance, restoration, or protection of the environment, and are therefore categorically exempt from environmental review (Section 15308, Actions by Regulatory Agencies for Protection of the Environment).

SECTION 3. Recommended Actions. The Planning Commission does hereby recommend the City Council:

1. Introduce and adopt an ordinance repealing Chapter 14.01 of the Municipal Code (Historic Preservation Ordinance) in its entirety and replacing it with the updated Chapter 14.01 consistent with modifications from existing as shown in the attached Exhibit A.

2. Adopt a resolution approving the updated 2025 Historic Context Statement as shown in the attached Exhibit B.

On motion by Commissioner Cooley, seconded by Commissioner Kahn, and on the following roll call vote:

Planning Commission Resolution No. PC-1111-2025
CODE-0758-2025 (Citywide)

AYES: Commissioner Cooley, Commissioner Flores, Commissioner Kahn, and Chair Houghton
NOES: None
REFRAIN: None
ABSENT: Commissioner Jorgensen, Commissioner Munoz-Morris, and Vice Chair Tolle
The foregoing resolution was passed and adopted this 22nd day of October, 2025. ___________________________
Tyler Corey, Secretary
Planning Commission

14.01.070 Evaluation criteria for historic resource listing.

When determining if a property should be designated as a listed historic or cultural resource, the CHC and city council shall consider this chapter and State Historic Preservation Office (“SHPO”) standards. In order to be eligible for designation, the resource shall exhibit a high level of historic integrity, be at least fifty years old (less than fifty if it can be demonstrated that enough time has passed to understand its historical importance) and satisfy at least one of the following criteria:

A. Architectural Criteria. Embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, region, or method of construction, or represents the work of a master, or possesses high artistic values.

1. Style. Describes the form of a building, such as size, structural shape and details within that form (e.g., arrangement of windows and doors, ornamentation, etc.). Building style will be evaluated as a measure of:
a. The relative purity of a traditional style;
b. Rarity of existence at any time in the locale; and/or current rarity although the structure reflects a once popular style;
c. Traditional, vernacular and/or eclectic influences that represent a particular social milieu and period of the community; and/or the uniqueness of hybrid styles and how these styles are put together.

2. Design. Describes the architectural concept of a structure and the quality of artistic merit and craftsmanship of the individual parts. Reflects how well a particular style or combination of styles are expressed through compatibility and detailing of elements. Also, suggests degree to which the designer (e.g., carpenter-builder) accurately interpreted and conveyed the style(s). Building design will be evaluated as a measure of:
a. Notable attractiveness with aesthetic appeal because of its artistic merit, details and craftsmanship (even if not necessarily unique);
b. An expression of interesting details and eclecticism among carpenter-builders, although the craftsmanship and artistic quality may not be superior.

3. Architect. Describes the professional (an individual or firm) directly responsible for the building design and plans of the structure. The architect will be evaluated as a reference to:
a. A notable architect (e.g., Wright, Morgan), including architects who made significant contributions to the state or region, or an architect whose work influenced development of the city, state or nation.
b. An architect who, in terms of craftsmanship, made significant contributions to San Luis Obispo (e.g., Abrahams who, according to local sources, designed the house at 810 Osos—Frank Avila’s father’s home—built between 1927 – 1930).

B. Historic Criteria.

1. History—Person. Associated with the lives of persons important to local, California, or national history. Historic person will be evaluated as a measure of the degree to which a person or group was:
a. Significant to the community as a public leader (e.g., mayor, congress member, etc.) or for his or her fame and outstanding recognition—locally, regionally, or nationally. b. Significant to the community as a public servant or person who made early, unique, or outstanding contributions to the community, important local affairs or institutions (e.g., council members, educators, medical professionals, clergymen, railroad officials).

2. History—Event. Associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of local or regional history or the cultural heritage of California or the United States. Historic event will be evaluated as a measure of:
a. A landmark, famous, or first-of-its-kind event for the city—regardless of whether the impact of the event spread beyond the city.
b. A relatively unique, important or interesting contribution to the city (e.g., the Ah Louis Store as the center for Chinese-American cultural activities in early San Luis Obispo history).

3. History—Context. Associated with and also a prime illustration of predominant patterns of political, social, economic, cultural, medical, educational, governmental, military, industrial, or religious history. Historic context will be evaluated as a measure of the degree to which it reflects:

a. Early, first, or major patterns of local history, regardless of whether the historic effects go beyond the city level, that are intimately connected with the building (e.g., County Museum).
b. Secondary patterns of local history, but closely associated with the building (e.g., Park Hotel).

C. Integrity. Authenticity of a historical resource’s physical identity evidenced by the survival of characteristics that existed during the resource’s period of significance. Integrity will be evaluated by a measure of:

1. Whether or not a structure occupies its original site and/or whether or not the original foundation has been changed, if known.

2. The degree to which the structure has maintained enough of its historic character or appearance to be recognizable as a historic resource and to convey the reason(s) for its significance.

3. The degree to which the resource has retained its design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling and association. (Ord. 1557 § 3 (part), 2010)

City of San Luis Obispo, Council Memorandum
City of San Luis Obispo
Council Agenda Correspondence
DATE: December 2, 2025
TO: Mayor and Council
FROM: Aaron Floyd, Public Works and Utilities Director
Prepared By: Chris Lehman, Deputy Director - Wastewater VIA: Whitney McDonald, City Manager
SUBJECT: ITEM 6b - GENERAL PLAN AMENDMENT FOR WASTEWATER

COLLECTION SYSTEM CAPACITY CONSTRAINED MAP AND

ADOPTION OF LATERAL REBATE PROGRAMS
Staff received a request to explain if and how the proposed Water and Wastewater Element Amendment, recommended Private Sewer Lateral Inspection Program, and expanded Private Sewer Lateral Replacement Rebate Program would financially impact a resident living in a home built in the 1960s, which is served by a very long sewer lateral, and is in a wastewater collections system constrained area.

Staff Response:

All properties in the City are subject to ownership, maintenance, repair, inspection, and replacement requirements for private sewer laterals, as mandated by Municipal Code Section 13.08.395.

Water and Wastewater Element Amendment – No Financial Impact. Properties located within a wastewater collections system capacity constrained area, as approved by City Council and incorporated into the General Plan Water and Wastewater Element, are subject to the Wastewater Flow Offset program, currently mandated by Municipal Code Section 13.08.396. If approved, the proposed Water and Wastewater Element Amendment would change the boundaries of the capacity constrained areas. No changes to the Municipal Code are currently proposed, and the Amendment alone would not financially impact property owners, unless additional actions are required by the Municipal Code, as summarized in the scenarios below.

New Proposed Sewer Lateral Inspection Rebate – Beneficial Financial Impact. If the property owner of a single-family residence located within a capacity-constrained area completes a private sewer lateral CCTV inspection, whether voluntarily or as required by the Municipal Code, they may apply for a Sewer Lateral Inspection Rebate up to $350.

The total cost of the private sewer lateral inspection depends on site-specific factors; however, it would likely be covered by the rebate.

Item #6b - Capacity Constrained Map Amendment and Lateral Rebate Programs Page 2 Expanded Sewer Lateral Replacement Rebate – No Change to Current Beneficial Financial Impact. Council’s approval of the proposed expanded Sewer Lateral Replacement Rebate would not change how the program is administered for single-family residences. No changes to the Municipal Code regulations governing the replacement of sewer laterals or the Wastewater Flow Offset Program are currently proposed.

The Municipal Code currently requires replacement of an existing private sewer lateral in “poor” or “failed” condition if a property owner proposes a project that would add a bedroom, bathroom, or kitchen, result in upsizing the existing domestic water meter or the addition of a new domestic water meter, or subdivides the property. The property owner may apply for a Sewer Lateral Replacement Rebate up to $4,000. The total cost of the lateral replacement depends on site-specific factors; however, the cost would be offset by the rebate up to $4,000.

If the property owner’s project meets the Municipal Code definition of “intensified development”, the project is subject to the Wastewater Flow Offset Program:
“’Intensified development’ means the development of a property, site or area through development, redevelopment, infill or expansion or conversion of existing buildings resulting in any of the following conditions: development results in a higher residential density than currently exists; development results in an increase in habitable residential or nonresidential building area of four hundred fifty square feet or greater than currently exists (excluding garages, gazebos and sheds without plumbing fixtures); or development would increase the plumbing fixture count by ten percent or more.”
As noted in the Municipal Code, “sewer capacity offsets within the same parcel boundary (on-site) may be considered as an offset credit for a residential intensification project, at the discretion of the Utilities Director.” The property owner may apply for the Sewer Lateral Replacement Rebate (up to $4,000) for the on-site offset (replacement of the existing sewer lateral).

In addition, a property owner may apply for the Sewer Lateral Replacement Rebate if their lateral is in poor or failed condition and is replaced by another party, such as a developer of an off-site development that is subject to the requirements of the Wastewater Flow Offset Program. The rebate must go to the property owner of the physical parcel where the private lateral is replaced. Financial agreements between the property owner and developer for the lateral replacement would be privately negotiated.

Item 6b
Department: Utilities
Cost Center: 6002
For Agenda of: 12/2/2025
Placement: Business
Estimated Time: 45
FROM: Aaron Floyd, Public Works & Utilities Director
Prepared By: Chris Lehman, Deputy Director - Wastewater SUBJECT: GENERAL PLAN AMENDMENT FOR WASTEWATER COLLECTION

SYSTEM CAPACITY CONSTRAINED MAP AND ADOPTION OF

LATERAL REBATE PROGRAMS

RECOMMENDATION

1. Adopt a Draft Resolution entitled, "A Resolution of the City Council of the City of San Luis Obispo, California Approving Amendments to the Water and Wastewater Element of the General Plan (GENP-0762-2025)"; and

2. Adopt a Draft Resolution entitled, "A Resolution of the City Council of the City of San Luis Obispo, California, Amending the Private Sewer Lateral Replacement Rebate Program and Establishing a Private Sewer Lateral Inspection Rebate Program"; and

3. Find the actions exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act.

REPORT-IN-BRIEF
As directed by Council, this report carries forward analysis and updated staff recommendations from the August 19, 2025, City Council Study Session discussion (Item 8a), which provided an update on the 2025 Wastewater Collection System Infrastructure Renewal Strategy (Renewal Strategy) project. This project produced a long-range plan that includes updated evaluations of the City's publicly owned wastewater collection system. The study session also presented updates on the City's Private Sewer Lateral Programs and potential recommended changes. Three recommendations from the study session have been brought forward in this item to be considered for adoption via resolutions: 1) an update to the Water and Wastewater Element of the General Plan, including an updated wastewater collection system capacity-constrained map, and, 2) expanded rebate eligibility to the existing Private Sewer Lateral Replacement Rebate Program, and 3) adoption of a new rebate for Private Sewer Lateral Inspections, and creation of a Private Sewer Lateral Rebate Inspection Program.

Item 6b

POLICY CONTEXT
The primary goal of the Water and Wastewater Element Capacity-Constrained Areas Map in the City's General Plan and the City's Private Sewer Lateral Rebate Program remains the reduction and management of inflow and infiltration (I&I) from private sewer laterals, thereby reducing the potential for sewer spills, while also accommodating housing development and advancing the City's Major Goal of Housing and Neighborhood Livability—Healthy, Safe, and Affordable. I&I is groundwater that enters the wastewater collection system through damaged pipes and illicit connections.

The State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) adopted statewide General Waste Discharge Requirements (GWDR) for publicly owned sanitary sewer systems on June 5, 2023. The updated GWDR requires the development and implementation of a systemspecific local sewer system management plan that documents a comprehensive program for sewer system operation, maintenance, repair, and reporting of all sanitary sewer overflows in the California Integrated Water Quality System (CIWQS) reporting database.

The City is required to comply with these statewide requirements, which include adopting a Sewer System Management Plan (SSMP). The City Council approved the (current) SSMP on March 4, 2025. Section eight of the SSMP describes the City's approach to system evaluation and capacity assurance, which is determined through system flow modeling and forecasting.

Recently, the City updated the current and future capacities of its wastewater collection system through the 2025 Renewal Strategy project, which was completed in July 2025.

The report for this long-range plan was finalized and published on the City's website in September 2025, including an updated map of capacity-constrained areas. This map is presented as Figure 2, and in Attachment B (Exhibit A) of this report, for consideration in addition to other minor updates to the Water and Wastewater Element of the City's General Plan, which include updated long-range plan references and reflect completion of the Water Resource Recovery Facility (WRRF) project.

DISCUSSION
Background
General Plan Amendment
The Water and Wastewater Element (WWE) of the City's General Plan states:
"The City decided to adopt an element addressing water resources and wastewater services because of the vital role of these resources and the farreaching impacts of water policies on community growth and character. This element translates the Land Use Element's capacity for development into potential demand for water supply and wastewater services. This element outlines how the City plans to provide adequate water and wastewater services for its citizens, consistent with the goals and policies of other General Plan elements."

Item 6b
Because the General Plan provides the framework and long-range plan for the City based on the capacity of urban services, including wastewater collection, the WWE includes the map depicting wastewater collection system capacity-constrained areas in the city (Figure 1), which was incorporated into the WWE in May 2018.

Figure 1: 2018 WWE Capacity Constrained Areas Map

Item 6b
As part of the study session held during the August 19, 2025, City Council meeting (identified as Study Session Item #2 presented in the August 19, 2025 staff report), staff recommended updating the wastewater collection system capacity-constrained areas map based on the outcomes of the 2025 Renewal Strategy. The 2025 Renewal Strategy builds on a prior 2015 report. It is the most current and complete forecast of the city's ability to accommodate housing growth and the conditions identified in the 2035 General Plan. The proposed new map removes some areas identified in the 2015 report and adds one new area.

The changes to the capacity-constrained areas identified in the 2025 Renewal Strategy are shown in Figure 2 and include the removal of the Laguna Lake and Downtown capacity-constrained areas, and the addition of new capacity-constrained Areas 2 and 3.

Figure 2: 2025 Capacity Constrained Area Map and Comparison with 2018 Capacity Constrained Areas
Area 1 retains much of the original boundaries and includes minor revisions to reflect the system's current operating conditions. Updated conditions include consideration of the buildout and future flow conditions of the California Polytechnic State University, including development of the University's Water Reclamation Facility (i.e., wastewater treatment plant), which is anticipated to be commissioned sometime in 2026 and will initially reduce flows to the City's sewer system (but later increase with campus buildout).

Item 6b
Area 2 is not recommended for inclusion in the WWE Capacity-Constrained Area Map because it is small enough to be addressed through City capital improvement projects that are currently funded in the adopted 25-27 Financial Plan. This is the most efficient way to address current and forecasted capacity constraints in this area, without placing an additional burden on property owners and developers. At the Council Study session, the City Council supported this recommendation.

Area 3 is a new area that represents a significant shift of the Downtown capacityconstrained area. This northern shift reflects the system's current operating conditions.

The conditions and capacities of the city's wastewater collection system change over time due to dynamic factors. Collectively, reasons for the removal of the Downtown capacityconstrained area and the development of a new capacity-constrained area further north include 1) significant replacement of public and private infrastructure in the formerly capacity-constrained downtown area, 2) aging private and public infrastructure in the northern area, as it has been ten years since the last assessment, 3) ground settlement and impacts from drought, such as increased root intrusion into legacy materials such as vitrified clay pipe, and 4) significant differences in the severity of weather monitored between the two flow studies (2012 vs 2023-24).

At the August study session, staff recommended the following changes to the capacityconstrained area map in the WWE: 1) removing the Laguna Lake and Downtown capacity-constrained areas and 2) including Proposed Areas 1 and 3. While ongoing issues persist in the previously identified capacity-constrained areas recommended for removal, sufficient public and private improvements and risk management systems have been implemented to accommodate the 2035 General Plan's forecasted growth in these areas while controlling sewer spills.

On August 19, 2025, the City Council directed staff to proceed to the Planning Commission to evaluate the proposed General Plan amendments. On October 22, 2025, staff presented the proposed WWE Amendments and General Plan consistency analysis to the Planning Commission.

In addition to the recommended change replacing the capacity-constrained areas map with the updated version presented to Council as part of the August 19th study session, staff also recommend minor text updates to the WWE to update the Wastewater Service section. These minor text amendments 1) reflect the results of the 2025 Renewal Strategy and associated 2024 flow and modeling study, and 2) provide an updated summary of the Water Resource Recovery Facility (WRRF) upgrade, which was completed in October 2025 and increased average daily dry weather capacity from 5.1 to 5.4 million gallons per day. An excerpt of the majority of the proposed amendments and updated capacityconstrained area map (WWE Figure 3) is shown below in Figure 3 (refer to Attachment B, Exhibit A, which includes the Legislative Draft of the WWE Amendment). No changes to policy or program language are proposed.

Item 6b
Figure 3: Excerpt of Proposed WWE Amendments

Item 6b
Figure 4: Proposed General Plan Capacity Constrained Areas Map

Item 6b
On October 22, 2025, the City Planning Commission adopted Resolution No. PC-1112- 2025 recommending the City Council adopt amendments to the Water and Wastewater Element of the General Plan (GENP-762-2025). The Planning Commission did not recommend any modifications to staff's recommended legislative draft of the WWE Amendment.

Staff recommend that the City Council adopt the proposed amendments to the WWE, inclusive of recommended minor text updates and replacement of current WWE Figure 3 Wastewater Collection System Capacity Constrained Areas with proposed WWE Figure 3 Wastewater Collection System Peak Wet Weather Capacity Constrained Areas Due to Inflow and Infiltration (Attachment B).

New Private Sewer Lateral Inspection Rebate
Study Session Item #3, presented in the August 19, 2025, Staff Report proposed considering the establishment of a new Private Sewer Later Inspection Rebate.

Inspections are required for certain conditions, including tenant improvements, property sales (before escrow close), and enforcement following events such as a sewer spill.

As one of the remaining limitations to further
progress in reducing sewer capacity issues is the
condition assessment of private sewer laterals, staff
recommend establishing a new $350 rebate for
Private Sewer Lateral Inspections. This
recommendation stems from numerous requests
from public stakeholders to develop a funding
source to enhance the quality and quantity of the
City's existing dataset of private sewer lateral
conditions, which is publicly available at
www.slocity.org/laterals. Currently, approximately
62 percent of private sewer laterals in the newly
proposed capacity-constrained areas of the
wastewater collection system are in "unknown"
condition. That is, the City does not have a recent
record of the condition of these private laterals.

Incentivizing private property owners to complete
condition assessments of these sewer laterals will
increase awareness of private infrastructure
conditions, which is expected to lead to more
replacements. Additionally, this will improve the
City's database of private sewer lateral conditions,
which is utilized for Wastewater Flow offset "match-making" – a requirement to offset the impacts of intensified development in capacity-constrained areas of the wastewater collection system. Property owners completing a tenant improvement that increases water fixture counts or developers seeking to add additional housing in these areas must locate and replace faulty laterals to offset the impact of additional wastewater generation.

Figure 5: Private Sewer Lateral
with Root Intrusion

Item 6b
Additional data obtained through increased private sewer lateral inspections will help locate these "offsets" as laterals in "unknown" condition are characterized.

The proposed Private Sewer Lateral CCTV Inspection Rebate of $350 is substantial enough to cover most or all inspection costs for lateral inspections in the City. The Private Sewer Lateral Inspection Rebate is recommended to be available to any property located within the Capacity-Constrained Areas (Figure 4) for which the City's database indicates an "unknown" condition. This would include all residential (single and multi-family) as well as all commercial properties in these areas. Due to the unknown funding impacts resulting from a forecasted increase in private sewer lateral replacement rebates, staff are not recommending retroactive rebates, and only one rebate per parcel will be issued. The rebate amount would not exceed the cost of the inspection. If the price of an inspection is less than $350, the maximum rebate amount awarded would be 100% of the inspection cost.

Staff are not recommending the mandatory replacement of private sewer laterals determined to be faulty through this voluntary inspection program, or through the Inspection Upon Sale Program (inspection requirement before close of escrow).

However, staff are optimistic that these laterals will be replaced voluntarily or by others through a condition of the Wastewater Flow Offset Program. The Wastewater Flow Offset Program requires projects that include intensified development in capacity-constrained areas to "offset" the increased wastewater flow by replacing other faulty laterals in the same area. Property owners would be incentivized to complete a condition assessment of their (unknown condition) sewer lateral in order to qualify for a potential offset-driven replacement. Voluntary replacement would also be encouraged through the Private Sewer Lateral Replacement Rebate Program discussed next, which would be offered to all properties qualifying for this inspection rebate (Attachment C).

Lateral Inspection Trigger Replacement
Mandatory?1 Qualified for Rebate?
Inspection Upon Sale No Yes, in capacity-constrained areas Voluntary Inspection No Yes, in capacity-constrained areas Intensified Development Yes Yes, in capacity-constrained areas Enforcement Yes Yes, in capacity-constrained areas2
Table 1: Private Sewer Lateral Inspection Triggers for Lateral Replacement

1 If found to be defective as defined by SLOCMC 13.08.395. 2 Rebates associated with enforcement may be awarded or denied at the discretion of the Public Works & Utilities Director.

Item 6b
Expanded Sewer Lateral Replacement Rebate Eligibility
Study Session Item #4, presented in the August 19, 2025, Staff Report, proposed consideration of expanding rebate eligibility in the newly identified capacity-constrained areas, while retaining existing eligibility in the current program for all single-family residences City-wide. Staff were initially unsure of program participation and funding requirements when the rebate program was first created in August 2019. Since that time, Council has approved increased funding for the program, allowing staff to expand participation. To accelerate improvement in capacity-constrained areas (Figure 4), staff recommend expanding eligible property types beyond single-family residences to include multi-family residences and commercial properties. Staff recommend that all other terms of the rebate program remain the same, including the maximum rebate amount of $4,000 and availability in capacity-constrained areas only. The draft Resolution provided in Attachment C incorporates the proposed revised Sewer Lateral Replacement Rebate Program.

At the August 19th study session, Council requested that staff consider and evaluate a potential tiered rebate amount based on land use type. There is a wide range of potential project costs associated with replacing a private sewer lateral. Replacing the private sewer laterals of a multi-unit residential structure could be more expensive than replacing those tied to a single-family home. There are, however, instances where replacement of a private sewer lateral serving a single-family residence would cost more than a private sewer lateral serving a multi-family residential development due to the length of pipe and local conditions. Determining an appropriate and fair amount that reasonably considers all potential scenarios is challenging due to the wide variety of property configurations and private sewer lateral size, age, and material type. At this time, staff have not identified a multi-tiered rebate structure that could be administered in a reasonable and fair manner, and recommend the maximum $4,000 rebate for all residential and commercial developments. Table 2, below, illustrates what property types currently qualify for a private sewer lateral replacement rebate, and what property types will be eligible under the expanded rebate eligibility criteria.

Property Type Lateral Replacement Rebate? New/Existing
Single Family Residence Yes, city-wide Existing
Multi-Family Residence Yes, in capacity-constrained areas New Commercial Property Yes, in capacity-constrained areas New Table 2: Private Sewer Lateral Replacement Rebates
Previous Council or Advisory Body Action
The City Council approved an update to the Water and Wastewater Element of the General Plan in May of 2018 via Resolution No. 10893 (2018 Series), which included the identification of capacity-constrained (sewer conveyance) areas.

Item 6b
On September 3, 2024, City Council approved an increased rebate amount for singlefamily residential private sewer lateral replacements to $4,000 (Resolution No. 11517).

This resolution included updated administrative requirements for rebate processing and considered the increased costs of construction associated with replacements related to inflation and other market conditions.

On August 19, 2025, staff held a study session with the City Council, which, among other discussion items, provided a draft updated capacity-constrained boundary map and updates on the city's private sewer lateral programs. Council directed staff to proceed to the Planning Commission for consideration of a Water and Wastewater Element Amendment, including the updated capacity-constrained boundaries map. Council also directed staff to evaluate further the potential expansion of the existing private sewer lateral replacement rebate program and the creation of a new private sewer lateral inspection rebate.

On October 22, 2025, the Planning Commission adopted Resolution No. PC-1112-2025 recommending the City Council adopt amendments to the Water and Wastewater Element of the General Plan (GENP-762-2025) and find the action categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act. The Planning Commission did not recommend any modifications to staff's recommended legislative draft of the WWE Amendment.

Public Engagement
Utilities Department staff have and continue to conduct outreach to realtors, developers, plumbers, and property owners. Specific outreach events include presentations at the Developer's Roundtable (July 1, 2025, and November 13, 2025), to the SLO Coastal Association of Realtors (August 13, 2025), and to the Chamber of Commerce Legislation Committee (August 14, 2025). Additional public engagement has been achieved through the receipt and analysis of public comments at various City Council meetings, including those received during the August 19, 2025, City Council meeting. The proposed Water and Wastewater Element Amendment was provided to local tribal representatives as required by Senate Bill 18, and no comments were received. If adopted, staff plan to conduct additional targeted outreach to all properties in capacity-constrained areas identified in Figure 4 to maximize participation.

CONCURRENCE
The Community Development Department concurs with the proposed General Plan amendment. The City Attorney's Office has reviewed the legislative draft amendment and has approved to form. The City Attorney's Office has evaluated and approves to form the legal basis and findings for offering expanded rebates to private property owners.

Item 6b

ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The proposed General Plan Amendment and rebate programs are exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Sections 15307 (Actions by Regulatory Agencies for Protection of Natural Resources) and 15308 (Actions by Regulatory Agencies for the Protection of the Environment) because the intent of the capacity-constrained area map is to identify these areas in the City's general plan such that land use planning can occur with these capacity limitations in mind. In addition, the updated map and policies provide a basis in the General Plan for programs that reduce I&I and the potential for sewer system overflows. Implementation of programs, including the proposed rebate program expansions, that address these capacity-related issues would have a beneficial impact on the environment by better informing the City's evaluation of capacity-constrained areas and reducing the potential for I&I and overflows due to reduced flows from groundwater and stormwater.

FISCAL IMPACT
Staff are proposing to fund expanded eligibility for the Private Sewer Lateral Replacement Program and a new Private Sewer Lateral Inspection Rebate through existing funding appropriated for project number 2001024 (Sewer Inflow and Infiltration Reduction) for Fiscal Years 2025-2026 ($420,000) and 2026-2027 ($420,000). If rebate applications are received after funding for the programs has been depleted, the application will be placed on a waiting list and receive first priority at the start of the next fiscal year (July 1).

The financial impacts of this expanded eligibility and new rebate are not certain. During the development of the 2027-29 Financial Plan, or before then if prudent, staff will evaluate the effectiveness of the new rebate program and analyze competing demands associated with private sewer lateral replacement rebates before determining whether to recommend to Council that the Private Sewer Lateral Inspection Rebate be continued and corresponding funding adjustments be made.

All metrics displayed in Table 3 below provide a track record of rebates issued since 2019, when the current replacement rebate program was established. The total amount dispersed includes $19,000 of retroactive rebate payments made following the Council's adoption of Resolution No. 11517 on September 3, 2024. Resolution No. 11517 also increased rebates from $2,000 (outside of capacity-constrained areas) and $3,000 (inside capacity-constrained areas) to $4,000 for all single-family property private sewer lateral replacements. Upon adoption of staff’s recommendations in this report, the rebate program would expand to include single-family properties city-wide, and all properties located within capacity-constrained areas (see Table 2).