Memorandum
TO:
Roxanne Tanemori, City of Santa Monica
DATE: October
3, 2007
CC:
FROM:
Jon L. Wilson, LEED AP, M.Arch., Architectural Historian
RE:
Preliminary Historic Assessment: 417 Colorado,
Boulevard, 1554-1558 5th Street, and 1550 5th Street
(APN 4291-025-011).
As requested by City’s staff, PCR Service Corporation (PCR), has conducted a site visit of
417 Colorado Boulevard, 1554-1558 5th Street, and 1550 5th Street, and also reviewed archival data
relevant to the commercial property. The legal description of the subject property is Lots J, K, and
L, Block 195 of the City of Santa Monica Tract. The subject property was originally constructed as
one building, but was later divided by partitions into three individual units: 417 Colorado Boulevard
and 1558 5th Street were originally identified in the City’s Historic Resources Inventory in 1983
during Phase 1; and 1550 5th Street was surveyed in Phase 3 of the City’s Historic Resources
Survey. The individual units were determined to be contributors to a potential historic district called
the “Central Business District.” At that time, the subject properties were assigned a National
Register status code of “5D1," individually eligible for local listing as a contributor to a local district
or eligible for local listing. The Central Business District includes the 100 - 700 blocks of Broadway,
Colorado, Santa Monica, Wilshire, and the 1200-1500 blocks of 2nd, 4th, and a small section of
5th Street. Following the 1994 Northridge earthquake, the subject property was resurveyed and
evaluated for historical significance in 1995 as part of the City’s assessment to determine the
earthquake’s overall effects to those properties listed in the City’s Historic Resources Inventory at
the time. Although it was determined that the three units on the subject property remained a
contributor to the proposed district, the earthquake caused major cracking to the unreinforced brick
walls on the two 5th Street units, and therefore, the building was green tagged by the City of Santa
Monica. Green tagged buildings were buildings damaged by the earthquake that presented no
apparent hazard, but repairs were needed. According to the Historic Resources Inventory Update for
the City of Santa Monica dated September 30, 1995, repairs following the earthquake included steel
reinforcing bars and gunnite finished with painted plaster on the exterior walls and columns and new
barrel clay tile roofing. Most of the Spanish Colonial decoration on the facade was not damaged.1
The subject property was surveyed again in 1996 as part of the Inventory update, and was
determined eligible as a contributor to the potential Central Business District Historic District. The
status code for 1550 5th Street was changed to the National Register Code 5B1, which states that the
building is both individually eligible for local designation and a contributor to a local district.
The area that includes the subject property was part of the original town of Santa Monica.
According to Sanborn Maps, the area developed slowly as a residential neighborhood. Building
1
Historic Resources Inventory Update for the City of Santa Monica, 1995.
233 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 130, Santa Monica, CA 90401
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Memorandum
RE:
PRELIMINARY HISTORIC ASSESSMENT: 417 COLORADO,
BOULEVARD, 1554-1558 5TH STREET, AND 1550 5TH STREET
(APN 4291-025-011).
activity began to pick-up in the years after the turn of the twentieth century. Like most residential
neighborhoods in early twentieth-century Santa Monica, the Victorian Cottage and Craftsman
Bungalow were the dominant building types in this area. Construction in this mode continued,
spreading a few blocks to the north and east, although by 1918, few buildings had been erected east
of Lincoln Boulevard. Although the neighborhood was substantially developed previous to World
War II, a marked change in character occurred in the mid-1950s and early 1960s, when older
buildings were replaced by multi-family and commercial buildings. Today, the area includes a mix
of building types, with historic resources usually isolated or clustered in small groups.
According to the 1996 Historic Resources Inventory Update for the City of Santa Monica,
there were 77 existing contributing buildings in the Central Business District. All 77 properties were
listed in the City’s Historic Resources Inventory as contributors to the potential district.
Contributing properties are diverse in size and style. Most of the contributors are one and two
stories, but several have multiple stories. The most common architectural styles in the Central
Business District include brick vernacular commercial buildings constructed during the 1920s and
1930s, Spanish Colonial Revival, and Art Deco or Streamline Moderne. The proposed historic
district is characterized by its busy streets and its store-lined streetscape. A high degree of integrity
characterizes the contributing buildings in the district.
The subject properties at 417 Colorado Boulevard, 1554-1558 5th Street, and 1550 5th Street
comprise a single building that was designed and constructed in 1928 by architect, H. Vernon
George and P. Whitehall, and contractor, H. M. Roth Construction. The project was commissioned
by Goodrum and Vincent, Inc., who opened a Buick dealership in the building. The building's
highly decorative Spanish Colonial Revival style was described on the eve of its opening in the
Santa Monica Evening Outlook as resembling "an old Spanish castle."2 Both the interior and
exterior of the main show room was covered with decorative Spanish Colonial Revival detailing.
The three spaces of the original building were organized by use with 1554-1558 5th Street being the
primary showroom, 417 Colorado Boulevard housing the used car showroom, and 1550 5th Street
functioning as the repair garage. It is unclear when the Buick dealership closed.
Based on information in the city directories for Santa Monica, City of Santa Monica building
permits, and Waterman’s Autobiography, it appears that aviator, Waldo Waterman, leased a portion
of the subject property from 1935 to 1937, and obtained ownership of all three sections of the
building from 1940 to 1976.3 Waldo Dean Waterman was a longtime Santa Monica resident and sole
proprietor of the early W.D. Waterman Aircraft Manufacturing Company, originally established in
2
3
Santa Monica Evening Outlook, July 26, 1928.
Although the building permits for the subject property do not provide a clear picture of who owned the building,
Waterman is listed as the owner on the building permits for 1550 and 1554-1558 5th Street in the 1950s and 1960s.
He is also listed as the tenant in a 1941 city directory. Waterman is not listed as the owner of 417 Colorado
Boulevard on any of the available building permits for the property. Research of the Los Angeles Tax Assessor
records would document the owner shop of the property.
PCR Services Corporation
Page 2
October 3, 2007
Memorandum
RE:
PRELIMINARY HISTORIC ASSESSMENT: 417 COLORADO,
BOULEVARD, 1554-1558 5TH STREET, AND 1550 5TH STREET
(APN 4291-025-011).
Venice, California in 1919.4 Waterman was a brilliant pioneer in the development of aviation
engineering and design, and was an early innovator of Southern California aviation technology. The
son of Robert W. Waterman, a Republican Governor of California from 1887 to 1891, W.D.
Waterman was devoted to the development of the modern California aviation industry and to the
United States military’s aviation defense program. Waterman both lived and worked in Santa
Monica and maintained a long association with Clover Field Airport, where he was able to test his
ideas.
Waterman was instrumental in the early development of a personal-use hybrid airplane, for
which he earned a U.S. patent, by combining automobile and airplane technology. The
“Arrowplane” incorporated a 100-hp five-cylinder Kinner K-5 radial engine, and used parts from the
Studebaker Company for many of the internal components.5 His early designs incorporated wheel
landing gear for both take off and landing. His tricycle formation landing gear remains an industry
standard on aircraft used today.
Waterman moved Waterman Aircraft Manufacturing into the subject property located at the
corner of 5th Street and Colorado Boulevard in the Central Business district in Santa Monica
between 1935 and 1937. According to Waterman,
Santa Monica’s Buick dealer had a very handsome building at 5th and Colorado-over 35,000 square feet. But
cars weren’t selling and they’d been unable to make the mortgage payments and were now in default. The bank
had taken over, but Buick still had over a year’s obligation due. So after some horse-trading, we agreed for me
to move into the upstairs of their building while they’d assume the remaining balance on my option to renew.
After moving, I found myself in a much better neighborhood for building airplanes with twice the area about
11,000 square feet, windows all around, and a lovely overlook to the ocean only four blocks away.6
It appears Waterman did eventually design and assemble “on the first such aircraft assembly line in
the United States,” his most important Arrowobile aircraft from the 5th and Colorado site, which he
called his “Waterman Arrowplane factory.”7 Waterman owned the building that currently includes
the addresses 417 Colorado Boulevard, 1550 5th Street, and 1554-1558 5th Street, from 1940 to 1976.
The revolutionary Arrowplane design was originally designed at the subject property between 1935
and 1937. During World War II, work on the Arrowbile was postponed, as Waterman focused on
developing airplane technology to help the military. After the war, Waterman resumed work on the
4
5
6
7
William A. Schoneberger, California Wings: A History of Aviation In The Golden State (Woodland Hills: Windsor
Publications Inc., 1984) and, Waldo Dean Waterman, Waldo: Pioneer Aviator, A Personal History of American
Aviation 1910-1944, Carlisle: Arsdalen, Bosch and Company, 1988, 127.
Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Whatsit: http://www.nasm.si.edu/research/aero/aircraft/
waterman_what.htm, and, Waterman, Waldo: Pioneer Aviator, A Personal History of American Aviation 19101944, 371.
Waldo Dean Waterman, Waldo: Pioneer Aviator, A Personal History of American Aviation 1910-1944, Carlisle:
Arsdalen, Bosch and Company, 1988, 357.
Ibid. 370 and 380.
PCR Services Corporation
Page 3
October 3, 2007
Memorandum
RE:
PRELIMINARY HISTORIC ASSESSMENT: 417 COLORADO,
BOULEVARD, 1554-1558 5TH STREET, AND 1550 5TH STREET
(APN 4291-025-011).
Aerobile #6 from the subject property, which he purchased in 1940. Waterman’s Aerobile #6 had a
removable one piece-wing and an enlarged fuselage which seated three. This airplane, which was
conceived and developed at his Santa Monica 5th Street business location, is currently on exhibit at
The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s Garber Facility in Suitland, Maryland.8 It is
unclear how long Waterman’s company was located in the subject property, however it appears that
his Aerobile planes were designed from the subject property during both 1935 to 1937, and in the
postwar period. By 1953, Waterman had leased at least a portion of the building to Aerophysics
Development Corporation. The Aerophysics Development Corporation, were the primary leasers of
Waldo Dean Waterman’s property at 1554 5th Street, Santa Monica. Aerophysics Development
Corporation, a subsidiary of the Curtiss-Wright Corporation, was responsible for the development of
many innovative missile programs throughout the 1950s and 1960s.
1554-1558 5th Street
The 1554-1558 5th Street unit is located on the northwest corner of Colorado Boulevard and
5 Street. Originally, the building served as the main showroom for the Buick Dealership and had
elaborately detailed interiors in the Spanish Colonial Revival style. The original design of 15541558 5th Street had high glazed showroom walls set between the concrete columns. The glazed
storefront walls were removed and the space between the columns was filled in with stucco. Much
of the primary façade on 1554-1558 5th Street was retrofitted with gunnite after the 1994 earthquake.
There is an existing drive-in opening between the concrete columns on both the Colorado Boulevard
side and the 5th Street side. At the intersection of the first and second floors, a band course made
with either painted concrete plaster or terra cotta with a highly articulated Spanish Colonial Revival
ran along both the Colorado Boulevard and 5th Street facades on the exterior of the primary
elevation. The existing exterior has a corrugated metal covering over the decorative band. It is
unclear if the original decorative pattern exists beneath the metal cover. Above the band course, a
small octagonal tower extends above the second floor. There is one window on both the east and
south elevations of the tower and a decorative shield pattern on the corner elevation of the tower.
Originally the windows had decorative heads and sills with engaged columns on both sides. The
decorative heads, and a corner shield are still extant on the tower. There is a row of small windows
along the second floor on both the east and south elevations of 1554-1558 5th Street. There are
existing decorative heads above each of the second floor windows. The roof appears to be a truss
warehouse roof covered with red clay barrel tiles. It appears that most of the alterations to the unit
occurred during retrofitting after the 1994 earthquake.
th
417 Colorado Boulevard
The 417 Colorado Boulevard unit is located on the north side of Colorado Boulevard Avenue
between 4th Street to the west and 5th Street to the east. It is situated to the west of the main
8
Ibid.
PCR Services Corporation
Page 4
October 3, 2007
Memorandum
RE:
PRELIMINARY HISTORIC ASSESSMENT: 417 COLORADO,
BOULEVARD, 1554-1558 5TH STREET, AND 1550 5TH STREET
(APN 4291-025-011).
showroom. Originally, this section of the building served as the used-car show room for the Buick
Dealership. After the Buick dealership closed, the glazed show room storefronts were enclosed, and
the building was converted into a warehouse and later into office space. The original glazed walls
on the primary elevation were removed and enclosed with stucco surfaces, windows, and two
doorways. The doors are wood paneled, with a decorative paneled casing and door surround. The
wood doors and their casing appear to predate the building, and they are not Spanish Colonial
Revival in style. Therefore, they appear to have been moved there from another location. There are
several types of existing windows including aluminum and block glass, none of which appear
original. Although the glazed showroom storefront bays were enclosed, the changes appear largely
reversible. The minimally decorated surface of the masonry primary elevation retains much of its
original integrity. The building is constructed with concrete columns with unreinforced brick infill
finished with painted stucco. There is a metal truss roof and a high parapet.
1550 5th Street
The 1550 5th Street unit is located on the west side of 5th Street between Colorado Boulevard
to the south and Broadway to the north. It is situated to the north of the main showroom.
Originally, this section of the building served as the repair shop for the Buick Dealership. The
primary elevation of the unit retains most of its original character-defining features. The
1550 5th Street unit of the subject property is a two-story autobody shop with a ramp that connects
the ground floor to the second floor. The primary elevation is divided into four large bays divided
by thick concrete columns and unreinforced brick infill finished with painted stucco. There is a
decorative band course that runs horizontally near the top of the primary façade. At the top of each
concrete column, there is a decorative terra cotta cap. It appears that many of the metal windows
and window frames are original to the building. The windows appear to be both fixed and operable
awning windows. The unit at 1550 5th Street originally had two drive-in entrances. The north drivein entrance has been filled in with aluminum windows and a door, which is a reversible alteration.
The roof appears to be a truss warehouse roof and is covered by red clay barrel tiles.
CONCLUSION
Based upon the results of the preliminary historic assessment, the subject property is
recommended eligible for further consideration as a City Landmark. According to the City’s
significance criteria for individual recognition as a potential City of Santa Monica Landmark, the
subject property including 417 Colorado Boulevard, 1554-1558 5th Street, and 1550 5th Street,
appears to rise to the threshold of significance for Landmark designation due to is historical
importance in association with aviator, Walter Waterman who leased a portion of the subject
property from 1935 to 1937, and obtained ownership of all three sections of the building from 1940
to 1976. Waterman converted the subject property into the Waterman Arrowplane factory and
developed several of his most innovative projects during his tenure at the 5th Street and Colorado
PCR Services Corporation
Page 5
October 3, 2007
Memorandum
RE:
PRELIMINARY HISTORIC ASSESSMENT: 417 COLORADO,
BOULEVARD, 1554-1558 5TH STREET, AND 1550 5TH STREET
(APN 4291-025-011).
Boulevard location. His Aerobile #6, on display at the Smithsonian in Washington D.C., was
developed and constructed at the subject property.
The subject property is also potentially significant for its association with early automobile
culture in Santa Monica. Constructed in 1928, the Buick dealership was an early automobile
dealership in the city of Santa Monica. The form, plan, structural character, and relationship of
spaces still convey its original use as an early automobile dealership. The integrity of the building is
substantially intact and it is a good representative example of a Spanish Colonial Revival
commercial architecture with distinctive features such as a center tower, decorative terra cotta or
concrete plaster, and red clay barrel tile roofing. 1550 and 1554-1558 5th Street retain enough
architectural integrity to convey their significance, while 417 Colorado Boulevard is substantially
altered, although the alterations appear reversible.
PCR Services Corporation
Page 6
October 3, 2007
ATTACHMENTS
Sanborn Map 1918
Sanborn Map, paste-up 1950
Tax Assessor Map
Current Photographs
Historic Image (1928)
Primary (Northwest Corner) Elevation1554-1558 5th Street, View Northwest.
Primary (East) Elevation 1550 5th Street, View West.
Primary (South) Elevation 417 Colorado Boulevard, View West.
Interior, Spanish Colonial Details.
Southeast Elevation, Detail.
Historic Photograph from Santa Monica Evening Outlook, July 26, 1928.