SUBJECT: DOWNTOWN
HISTORIC RESOURCE SURVEY PHASE I – REQUEST INITIATION FOR BUILDINGS ELIGIBLE
FOR CITY LANDMARK STATUS
COUNCIL DISTRICT: 3
RECOMMENDATION
The Historic Landmarks Commission recommends that the City Council adopt a resolution initiating proceedings to consider the following properties as landmarks of special historic, architectural, cultural, aesthetic or engineering interest or value of a historic nature. The Historic Landmarks Commission further recommends that the City Council refer these proposed nominations back to the Historic Landmarks Commission for its recommendation.
1. Center for the Performing Arts, 241-271 Park Avenue
2. Commercial Building, 22 N. First Street
3. Knights of Columbus Building, 34-40 N. First Street
4. Farmer’s Union Building, 151 W. Santa Clara Street
5. Realty Building, 19 N. Second Street
6. Masson Building, 161 W. Santa Clara Street
7. Porter Stock Building, 85-91 S. First Street
8. St Claire Building, 301 S. First Street
9. Rucker House, 418 S. Third Street
10. Twohy Building, 200-210 S. First Street
11. Anglo-California National Bank, 101 W. Santa Clara Street
12. Pratt/Brackett House, 469 S. Third Street
13. Stern/Fischer House, 132 Pierce Street
14. W. Prussia Building, 371 S. First Street
15. Wright/Bailey House, 312-314 S. Third Street
16. Pritchard/Renzel House, 524 S. Almaden Avenue
17. Sunol Building, 127-145 Post Street
18. Costa & Miller Building, 520 S. First Street
These actions by the Council will enable the Historic Landmarks Commission to hold a public hearing on the designation of these proposed Landmarks at its next available meeting. Once the proposed nominations are referred back to the Historic Landmarks Commission for a public hearing, a report and recommendation will be forwarded to the City Council for its consideration at a public hearing to be set for October 2, 2001 at 1:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers.
BACKGROUND
In 1998 City Council directed Planning staff to conduct historic resource surveys in the downtown to ensure the careful consideration of historic resources in land use and development planning. Phase I consisted of the Downtown Core Area.
In September 2000 the Historic Resource Survey for the Downtown Core, Phase I, was completed and submitted to Planning and the Redevelopment Agency. The City Council reviewed and accepted these survey results on May 2, 2001. The purpose of the survey was to gain an accurate inventory of the existing historic resources within the Core Area and to identify potential City Landmarks as well as those buildings eligible for the California and National registers. The boundaries for the survey were State Highway 87 on the west, Interstate 280 on the south, North and South Fourth Street on the east and the historic alignment of East and West Julian Street on the north.
The Historic Landmarks Commission discussed the survey at their September 2000 meeting. The consultants, the Dill Design Group, surveyed 281 properties in the Core Area. Of the 281 properties, 143 were found to be potentially eligible for the San Jose Inventory. Of these properties 22 are potentially eligible as City Landmarks and 64 of the properties are potentially eligible for the California and/or National registers.
ANALYSIS
The Planning Department and Redevelopment Agency held several public workshops during the fall and winter to discuss the survey findings. From these workshops it was generally agreed that the Historic Landmarks Commission would move forward with the designation of the qualifying City Landmark properties, with four exceptions. The exceptions include two modern buildings (170 Park Center Plaza and 55 S. Market Street) and two properties where the Redevelopment Agency plans future activity (494 S. Almaden Avenue and 47 Notre Dame Avenue).
The Landmarks Commission recommended initiation of the remaining 18 Candidate City Landmark properties at their June 6, 2001 meeting (5-0-1, Bloom absent). The Commission requests City Council initiation of the individual designations in one group.
Public workshops on the Downtown Core Historic Resources Survey were held during the fall and winter. Copies of the survey have been sent to the Redevelopment Agency, the California Room of the Martin Luther King Junior Library, History San Jose and to the Preservation Action Council of San Jose. The Planning Department has added all San Jose Inventory eligible sites to its Inventory of historic properties, which is used by the Department of Planning, Building and Code Enforcement for reviewing development permits. In addition, Planning staff is working to provide copies of all prior surveys to the Redevelopment Agency, the California Room of the Martin Luther King Junior Library, and History San Jose for greater public access.
This memorandum has been coordinated with the Redevelopment Agency.
JOSEPH HORWEDEL, ACTING DIRECTOR
Planning, Building and Code Enforcement