City Landmark Assessment and Evaluation Report · City Landmark Assessment and Evaluation Report 1613 Lincoln Boulevard (APN: 4283-001-002) October 2012 Page 1 ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING

City Landmark Assessment and Evaluation Report

Santa Monica Municipal Bus Lines Garage (Santa Monica Antique Market, Inc.) 1613 Lincoln Boulevard (APN: 4283-001-002)

Santa Monica, California

Prepared for

City of Santa Monica Planning Division

Prepared by

Margarita Wuellner, Ph.D. Amanda Kainer, M.S.

Jon Wilson, M.A., M.Arch.

PCR Services Corporation Santa Monica, California

October 2012

City Landmark Assessment and Evaluation Report 1613 Lincoln Boulevard (APN: 4283-001-002)

October 2012 Page 1

ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING

The subject property, 1613 Lincoln Boulevard, is situated on the east side of Lincoln Boulevard between Colorado Avenue to the north, Olympic Boulevard to the south, Ninth Street to the east, and Seventh Street to the west. The legal description of the property is the Standard Tract, Lot 15. Based on Los Angeles County Tax Assessor records and Santa Monica building permits, it appears that the original improvements to the property, a 18,890 square foot Municipal Bus Garage, were made in 1933.

Regulatory Setting

The subject property has been identified and assessed under the City’s ongoing survey process on two previous occasions. The Municipal Bus Garage was first identified and recorded as part of the Phase 3 Survey in 1994.1 The subject property was recommended eligible as a Santa Monica Local Landmark and given a California Historic Resources Status Code of 5S1. The subject property was found eligible for its significant historical association with the economic development and transportation industry in Santa Monica, with the period of significance being 1875-1943:

This property is significant for its association with the transportation industry in Santa Monica. By the late 19th century, Santa Monica had several trolley lines within the town and was connected to Los Angeles by the Pacific Electric Company. By the late 1920s, however, it was apparent that the automobile would be the dominant form of transportation in the future. Two bus lines were established, one private, one city-owned. This bus barn was built to service the municipal line in 1933. In 1951, the Santa Monica Municipal Bus Lines bought out Bay City Transit, forming the company which still provides service in the City today.

The subject property was later reassessed during the 2006-07 Citywide Historic Resources Inventory Update.2 According to the survey, the subject property retained the prior recommendation (appears to be individually eligible for local listing or designation through survey evaluation) and was assigned a California Historic Resources Status Code of 5S3.

Records Review

PCR Services conducted a review of previous surveys conducted in Santa Monica and the larger Los Angeles Metropolitan Area for pertinent reports on the history of early bus transportation. A Determination of Eligibility Report for the Metro Division 2 Bus Repair Garage (Los Angeles Railway (LARy) 16th Street Bus Repair Garage), constructed in 1927, recommended the Los Angeles Railway (LARy) 16th Street Bus Repair Garage eligible for National Register listing under Criterion A for its association with the transportation history

1 City of Santa Monica Phase 3 Survey (1994). The property was recorded with the address of 1607 Lincoln

Boulevard. 2 Historic Resources Inventory Update for the City of Santa Monica (September 30, 1995).


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of Los Angeles and under Criterion C as an example of an important property type, an early bus repair facility.3

PCR also reviewed designated landmarks in Santa Monica and Los Angeles for related mass transit property types. In Los Angeles, there are number of Historic Cultural Monuments related to transportation including, Angel’s Flight, 4th Street and Hill (LAHCM# 4); Palms - Southern Pacific Railroad Depot, 3800 Homer Street (LAHCM# 22); Ivy Substation (LAHCM# 182); Watts Station, 1686-1690 E. 103rd Street, (LAHCM# 36); River Station Area, 1231 N. Spring Street, (LAHCM# 82); Los Angeles Union Station Passenger Terminal and Grounds, 800-850 N. Alameda Street (LAHCM# 101); Mount Washington Cable Car Station, 200-202 W. Avenue 43 (LAHCM# 269); Los Angeles Railway Huron Substation, 2640 N. Huron Street (LAHCM# 404); Canoga Park (original Owensmouth Southern Pacific R.R. Station, 21355 Sherman Way (LAHCM# 488); and Belmont Tunnel / Toluca Substation Yard, 1304 W 2nd St (LAHCM# 790). However, it appears that there are no bus garages designated as Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monuments or Santa Monica Landmarks.

ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION

The Santa Monica Municipal Bus Lines Garage was designed by architect Charles Burke and constructed by the City of Santa Monica in 1933.4 The floor plan of the building is trapezoidal and the building has scored concrete-slab floors. Structurally, the primary street-fronting elevation has reinforced masonry exterior walls (stuccoed) with engaged masonry piers and the secondary walls are masonry with reinforced, engaged brick piers on the interior supporting the wide-spanning steel trusses. The arched roof with skylights is of built-up wood frame construction and is covered by composite asphalt roofing. The primary façade (Figure 1) is covered in stucco and is structurally divided into five bays by six engaged wall piers topped by stylized pyramidal finials. There is an arched parapet over the large center bay between the engaged wall piers. The parapet was designed to hide the large arched roof behind the parapet and therefore mirrors the shape of roof. While in their original location, the windows and doors in the openings on the front elevation are later replacements. The window openings on the secondary elevations (Figure 2) have been filled with brick or concrete block and are stuccoed. The rear elevation has a reinforced concrete addition (stuccoed). There is a small parking lot in front and a parking lot at the rear of the building. Photographs documenting existing conditions are provided in the attached exhibit.

3 Determination of Eligibility Report for the Metro Division 2 Bus Repair Garage, Los Angeles, California,

prepared by ICF Jones & Stokes, September 2009; Historic Property Survey Report for the California Incline, Santa Monica, California, prepared by ICF Jones & Stokes, August, 2010.

4 Research in the historical Los Angeles Times, AIA Historical Directory of American Architects, Avery Index, California Index, Biographical Dictionary of American Architects (Deceased), Imagine Santa Monica, and Santa Monica Historical Resources Inventory Phase 2 Final Report (1985-1986) did not reveal other projects designed by Charles Burke. Charles Burke is listed as the architect on the Santa Monica “Application for Building Permit” Number 5004 for the construction of the Municipal Bus Garage. His address is listed as 2332 5th Street and no state license number is listed.


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Alterations

Several alterations and additions have occurred since 1933. On the primary façade, the original bus-sized garage door openings were in-filled with replacement windows and doors and arched awnings were inserted over the openings at an unknown date, most likely during the occupation of the Santa Monica Antique Market, about 1991. During the 1950s, a rear addition was constructed. In 1959, the front elevation was sandblasted and later recoated with a thin layer of stucco. From the comparison of historic photographs with existing conditions, it appears the exterior was originally painted or finished with stucco. In 1965, a building alteration permit records that three windows along the north elevation were in-filled with brick or concrete block. Subsequently all of the windows on the north elevation were in-filled with brick or concrete block. In 1970, Otto Zipper Alfa installed signage on the primary elevation. In 1991, the Santa Monica Antique Market occupied the building and earlier tenant improvements were removed and the interior of the building remodeled. Although the large, open-plan utilitarian garage space now accommodates partitioned commercial uses, the original exposed wide-spanning steel trusses supporting the roof remain extant. The intact arched roof system is still supported by the original steel-reinforced, exposed structural masonry exterior wall system. There are nineteen building permits on record with the City of Santa Monica for the property between 1933 and 1991 (see Table 1 below).

Table 1

City of Santa Monica Building Permits for 1613 Lincoln Boulevard

No. Date Address Owner Architect Contractor Description Valuation 5004 4/5/1933 1613‐

1621 Lincoln Blvd

City of Santa Monica

Chas Burke

City of Santa Monica

Occupant: Municipal Bus Line. Masonry exterior walls, composition roof, 27' height, 1 story, 115' x 170', 18,000 sq ft

24,000

B14815 12/17/1953 1613 Lincoln

General Telephone

Parr Construction, Co.

Construction 2 interior rooms for storage, 40'x38' and 32'x28'

4,500

B19873 6/5/1956 1613 Lincoln

General Telephone

Enlargement of shop area within the rear portion of the warehouse

6,500

B25748 4/3/1959 1613 Lincoln

General Telephone

Aero ‐‐‐ For sandblasting face of building

B28755 10/10/1960 1613 Lincoln

General Telephone

George H. Lenell

New partitions to enclose calibration room. Building used for equipment repair.

1,400

B35846 10/22/1964 1613 Lincoln

General Telephone

John H. Burt RME

Add wall and ceiling to 12'x62' interior

1,500


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Table 1

City of Santa Monica Building Permits for 1613 Lincoln Boulevard

No. Date Address Owner Architect Contractor Description Valuation room.

B36371 3/1/1965 1613 Lincoln

Sam Posen Sam Posen Fill in 3 window openings with brick or cement block on the secondary north elevation.

150

B39105 4/17/1967 1613 Lincoln

General Telephone

M&C Construction

Enlarge existing room inside building.

1,800

B452128 12/31/1969 1613 Lincoln

Sam Posen Scott E. Campbell

Installation of automatic fire sprinkler system.

12,000

B42444 4/23/1970 1613 Lincoln

Otto Zipper Alfa

A‐1 Sign Company

Marquee Sign. Supporting structure: 3/16" x 3" brass studs. Frame of sign: metal w/ 4" retainer. Plexiglas with metal stud mounts. Dimensions 2'x24', 42'x45'. Height approx 35'.

435

B44482 3/17/1972 1613 Lincoln

International Auto Parts Inc.

A‐1 Sign Company

Interior partitioning ‐ temporary not ones 3/4 height. 2x4 at 16" and plywood.

550

B45931 6/21/1973 1613 Lincoln

Otto Zipper Walter J. Drazan, Inc.

Construction of car port in rear.

1,600

B46152 8/30/1973 1613 Lincoln

Otto Zipper Loed Nu/Prensuca Engineer

Wall Sign. 1,000

B47645 4/17/1975 1613 Lincoln

Otto Zipper Alfa Inc.

Replace existing windows.

500

52175 7/6/1979 1607 Lincoln

Hill and Vaughn

Owner Spray booth 14 1/2' x 26' 8"

1,125

52176 7/6/1979 1607 Lincoln

Hill and Vaughn

Owner Build 2‐96 sq. ft. offices and hallway.

1,125

56896 8/8/1984 1607 Lincoln

Hill and Vaughn

Owner Improved stairway and exit to meet fire code.

2,000

62278 8/2/1991 1613 Lincoln

Russ Anderson (Applicant)

AE Schmidt Temporary shoring for tank removal

9,500

62309 8/16/1991 1607‐1613 Lincoln

Santa Monica Antique Market, Inc.

Eric Parlee Garrett Construction

Tenant Improvements, new Bathrooms, rebuild storage/office, new open partition

100,000


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Figure 1. 1613 Lincoln Boulevard, Primary (West) Elevation, View to Northeast (A. Kainer, PCR 2012)

Figure 2. 1613 Lincoln Boulevard, North Elevation, View to Southwest (A. Kainer, PCR 2012)


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Figure 3. 1613 Lincoln Boulevard, Interior (A. Kainer, PCR 2012)


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HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

Development of Santa Monica

In 1875, the original town site of Santa Monica was surveyed, including all the land extending from Colorado Street on the south to Montana on the north, and from 26th Street on the east to the Pacific Ocean on the west. Between 1893 and the 1920s, the community operated as a tourist attraction, visited mostly by wealthy patrons. Those areas located just outside of the incorporated city limits were semi-rural in setting and populated with scattered residences. The City’s commercial district was established between Wilshire and Colorado, at Second, Third, and Fourth Streets. A deep arroyo south of the commercial district divided north and south Santa Monica. The southern section of Santa Monica remained fairly undeveloped during the late and early nineteenth century, while improvements in northern Santa Monica burgeoned.

The close proximity to the ocean was a strong attraction for prospective year-round residents and tourists looking to enjoy the resort environment. As early as 1896, a reliable interurban rail line made it possible to commute to Los Angeles, as well for city dwellers to go to the beach for recreation. Beginning in the 1910s, automobiles started to become a source of transportation, but in its infancy it was more of a sport than a reliable means of transport. Wilshire Boulevard was paved in 1909, an artery leading from downtown Los Angeles to Santa Monica.5 Automobile races were held in Santa Monica between 1909 and 1918, organized by the Automobile Dealers Association of Southern California, and competitors would race around a course that began on Ocean Avenue, went up Nevada (Wilshire) to the Veteran’s Complex, then back down San Vicente to Ocean Avenue.6

After World War I, automobiles and buses brought visitors and residents to Santa Monica, which in turn resulted in the paving of roads, the construction of infrastructure, and businessmen invested in the establishment of automobile dealerships. The new modes of transportation allowed for the development of the City beyond the earlier turn-of-the-century development area, in the commercial district and along the coastline, with homes being constructed in the tracts north of Montana and east of Seventh Street for year-round residents. The rapid growth of Santa Monica during the 1920s generated an increased need for transportation connectivity and the Main Street Bridge, erected circa 1926, created a link via Main Street, between the City’s growing commercial core and Ocean Park. Upon completion, the Main Street Bridge extended across the arroyo that previously had divided north and south Santa Monica. During the late 1930s, the former Southern Pacific Railroad’s passage in the arroyo was converted to automobile use as Olympic Boulevard, now the location of the Santa Monica I-10 freeway. Olympic Boulevard ran through the McClure Tunnel until it was rerouted in the 1960s. In 1966, the Santa Monica Freeway reached the Pacific Coast Highway via the tunnel. In 1936, Route 66 was extended from Downtown Los Angeles to Santa Monica, terminating at the intersection of Olympic Blvd and Lincoln Blvd (a segment of State Route 1). The 600-foot Colorado Avenue Viaduct, constructed in 1939,

5 Paula A. Scott, Santa Monica: A History on the Edge (Charleston SC: Arcadia Pub, 2004): 62. 6 Ibid., 97.


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was one facet of the complex transportation project, the Colorado Grade Separation Project, designed to improve access between the coast and city streets.7 Reported by state highway engineers as one of the most “dangerous traffic snarls,” the Colorado Grade Separation Project untangled the three routes that carried traffic from Ocean Avenue to the coast.

Los Angeles Metropolitan Area Transportation History

The history of transportation in Santa Monica is better understood within the larger context of metropolitan Los Angeles. The streetcar era began in Los Angeles at a time when the downtown core was surrounded by wide open lands but geographically complicated by the area’s hilly topography. The earliest streetcar districts began south of 7th Street downtown and traveled west along Pico Boulevard. These first land expansions inside and outside City limits consisted of subdivisions of agricultural land suddenly made more valuable by the extension of a horse car line, often funded by speculative land developers. The cable car and later, the electric railcar, replaced the horse car line.

In 1895, the Los Angeles Railway Company (LARy) was created from the consolidation of several independent rail lines, including the lines from William Workman’s cable railway, and was purchased by Henry Huntington in 1898. The LARy, also known as “yellow cars,” contained over 20 streetcar lines and 1,250 trolleys, most running through the core of Los Angeles and serving such nearby neighborhoods as Echo Park, Westlake, Hancock Park, Exposition Park, West Adams, the Crenshaw district, Vernon, Boyle Heights, and Lincoln Heights. In 1901, Henry E. Huntington and Isaias W. Hellman created the Pacific Electric Railway Company (PE) known as the “red car,” which connected downtown Los Angeles to Santa Monica. Metropolitan Los Angeles was thus expanded significantly with the broad success of the streetcar and electric Interurban transportation systems.

The City’s population grew from 11,183 at the beginning of the streetcar era to 576,673 in 1920. At its peak, the Los Angeles Railway alone operated some 83 route miles of line just inside the city limits. The first wave of suburbanization close to downtown was completed during the 1920s, and with hundreds of millions of dollars available for investment came a second wave of fast interurban electric cars, often running in multiple-car trains and making commute distances of ten, twenty and thirty miles feasible.8

During the 1920s, rail mass transit began losing ridership to private automobiles, bus operators, and jitneys. Angelinos owned one car for every 3.6 residents, compared to one car per 13 residents in the rest of the United States.9 Because bus companies had less overhead (they did not have to pay property tax and right-of-way maintenance fees associated with the railway), bus line transit became a popular and economical mode of transportation. As a result, the State Railroad Commission began requiring rail franchisees to operate fixed bus

7 Los Angeles Times, “Overpass Span in Operation: Santa Monica Developed to Solve Coast Traffic Snarl,”

(May 28, 1939): E4. 8 Survey LA, Los Angeles Historic Resources Survey, 2009. 9 Scott, 62.


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routes and publish fares and timetables, thus handing bus operations back over to the trolley companies.

The Los Angeles Railway and the Pacific Electric Railway operated a number of their own bus lines and jointly owned and operated both the Los Angeles Motor Bus Company (1923-1927) and the Los Angeles Motor Coach Company (1927-1949). These companies solely invested in bus operations, leaving railway equipment and lines to decay, and eventually the State Railroad Commission approved the substitution of bus lines for rail lines. Local Santa Monica bus lines were operated by Santa Monica Municipal Bus Lines (Big Blue Bus) and Bay Cities Transit Company which extended into Los Angeles. The West Side Transit Company in Santa Monica and West Los Angeles, and the Culver City Municipal Bus Line also extended into Los Angeles. Additional regional bus lines included El Segundo Transit Company Lines; Highland Transportation Company; Independent Motor Coach Company in San Pedro and Wilmington; Lang Motor coach Company; Motor Transit Company; Pasadena-Ocean Park Motor Coach Line; Pickwick and Original Stage Lines operating the interurban lines to and from Los Angeles; and West Coast Rapid Transit Company Lines. Most of these bus operations were funded and managed by private companies until the 1950s.10

In 1933, a “Report on a Rapid Transit System for Los Angeles California” was prepared on the state of mass transit in Los Angeles. Rather than supplementing rail transportation, bus lines were found to be competing with the rail lines for business. Overall, the performance of privately-owned bus lines in Los Angeles was described as unsatisfactory; however, the Santa Monica bus lines were described as excellent:

This multiplicity of independently owned and operated transit services has resulted in expensive and unsatisfactory transportation for the most part. Franchises have been secured in the areas having the greatest population, and little has been accomplished in the way of furnishing services to the areas where, from the standpoint of development might be desirable. Instead, lines have been established where, to a considerable extent, they interfere and compete with the original transit service to the detriment of both.

There are, however, certain lines whish are furnishing excellent service and which may be said to be desirably located and are heavily used. Examples of these are certain lines of the Bay Cities Transit Company and the Santa Monica Municipal Bus Lines (Big Blue Bus) extending on Pico Boulevard from the end of the Los Angeles Railway Pico line near Vineyard to Santa Monica and the intervening area.”11

10 ICF Jones & Stokes, Determination of Eligibility for Section 106 and CEQA Initial Study Cultural

Resources Section for Metro Division 2 Bus Repair Garage, Prepared for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (September 18, 2008): 3-4.

11 Donald M. Baker, engineer, Report on a Rapid Transit System for Los Angeles California, Prepared for the Central Business District Association (November 15, 1933): 26-27.


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In 1936, transportation was divided between street and interurban rail lines, motor buses, taxicabs, and passenger automobiles. The statistics for transportation facilities operating at the time are provided in Table 2 below:12

Table 2

Transportation Facilities Statistics, 1936

The Los Angeles Railway Corporation

Miles of track operated 374.78

Car miles operated 30,809,959

Total passengers carried (all classes) 241,983,411

Average haul per passenger (estimated) 5 miles

Total passenger miles 1,209,917,055

Pacific Electric Railway Company

Miles of track operated 872.91

Car miles operated 18,276,962

Total passengers carried (all classes) 64,810,400


Total passenger miles 647,104,000

Los Angeles Motor Coach Company

Miles of street operated upon 117

Bus miles operated 7,989,299

Number of passengers carried (all classes) 25,222,879



Pacific Electric Railway Bus Lines

Miles of street operated upon 211.09

Bus miles operated 7,569,770

Number of passengers carried (all classes) 21,151,402



While in 1937, the Los Angeles Railway Corporation and Pacific Electric Railway Company operated more miles and carried more passengers, local bus lines were increasing surface area and gaining passengers. Los Angeles Railway stopped operating rail service in 1945, and the Pacific Electric ceased rail operations in 1953. There are a number of reasons behind the elimination of rail service in Los Angeles, including huge capital costs to replace aging

12 E. E. East, Traffic Survey Los Angeles Metropolitan Survey, Engineering Department, Automobile Club of

Southern California (1937): 8-9.



power substations, catenary wire and rail cars. Buses had become the economical alternative, with rail-to-bus conversions beginning as early as 1925. There were no public subsidies for growth capital or operating costs available for local rail transportation. Publically funded highways and freeways were being widely constructed throughout the metropolitan area, allowing for easier bus and automobile travel. General Motors perfected and marketed the forty-five seat transit bus with air conditioning and air suspension, making buses a more comfortable and modern alternative. In conjunction with contemporary marketing trends and the wide popular acceptance of modern automobile culture, bus transit effectively ended the golden age of rail service in Los Angeles. In 1951, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority began operations in Los Angeles, ushering in a new era of public mass transit dominated by bus transportation.13

Santa Monica Transportation History

During the late nineteenth century, investors wanted to bring rail transportation and a large port to the City of Santa Monica. In 1875, railroad track for the Los Angeles and Independence Railroad (LA & IRR) was constructed to connect Santa Monica to Los Angeles and a wharf was constructed at the foot of Colorado Avenue (Railroad Avenue).14 The LA & IRR operated along Railroad Avenue (Colorado Avenue) and carried both passengers and freight. The railroad track was constructed while the Township of Santa Monica was laid out and the 1891 Sanborn map shows a depot for the LA & IRR at the intersection of Railroad Avenue (Colorado Avenue) and 12th Street. However, the LA & IRR went bankrupt during the panic of 1876, so the Southern Pacific Railroad purchased the abandoned railroad in 1877 to counter their rival, the Santa Fe Railroad, which was attempting to construct a port in Playa del Rey. The Southern Pacific ran two passenger trains per day from Santa Monica to Los Angeles, with an extra train on Sundays to handle crowds of beachgoers.15 The Southern Pacific also tore down the wharf at the foot of Railroad Avenue (Colorado Avenue). The 1895 Sanborn map shows two Southern Pacific depots for freight and passengers in Railroad Park located at the intersection of Railroad (Colorado) Avenue and Ocean Avenue. At the height of Southern Pacific Railroad operations, in 1889, the railroad transported roughly 200,000 tourists to Santa Monica.16 Southern Pacific constructed the Long Wharf in 1893 to maintain the shipping monopoly they controlled in Southern California.17 Officially named the Port of Los Angeles, the Long Wharf extended 4,720 feet into the Santa Monica Bay at Potrero Canyon (15100 W Pacific Coast Highway), north of the Santa Monica Canyon.18 After Collis Huntington, the owner of Southern Pacific, died in 1900, the Port Los Angeles fell into disuse and was destroyed in 1920.

13 Matthew Barrett, New Mass Transit Plans: Los Angeles 1951-Present, Prepared for Metro Research Center

Dorothy Peyton Gray Transportation Library Archive. 14 Scott, 38. 15 Ibid., 41-42. 16 Ibid., 61. 17 Ibid., 44. 18 The Long Warf was demolished in 1920.



In addition to the Southern Pacific, other rail transportation companies were influential in Santa Monica. In 1892, the Santa Fe Railroad constructed track to the southern part of Santa Monica in the Ocean Park area. In 1896, the Pasadena & Pacific Railway transformed the Soldiers Home horse car line into an electrified route linking Santa Monica to Hollywood and Los Angeles to allow for residential and commercial development in the area. The tracks followed a route along what would become Santa Monica Boulevard. In 1900, the Los Angeles-Pacific Railway (LA-P) constructed a streetcar line through the center of town called the North Loop, the precursor to the Pacific Electric, and soon after would also open a southern downtown loop. In 1902, the LA-P constructed the Venice Short Line, linking Santa Monica and Venice to Los Angeles, and acquired the Santa Fe route. Shortly after the acquisition, the LA-P electrified the lines. Sanborn maps from 1902 show a LA-P freight office at the intersection of 2nd (Main) Street and Hill Street, a LA-P car and power house at LA-P Right-of-Way (Pacific Avenue) and Sunset, a Southern California freight and passenger depot at LA-P Right-of-Way (Nielson Way) and Hill Street, and Southern Pacific freight and passenger depot at Railroad (Colorado) Avenue and Ocean Avenue. In 1906, the LA-P opened the Westgate Line (Brentwood), a six-mile electric route looping through Sawtelle and passing near the edge of the canyon. In 1908, the LA-P operated all of Santa Monica’s routes after it leased the Santa Monica Air Line from the Southern Pacific. The Sanborn maps from 1909 show a LA-P car house and substation at LA-P Right-of-Way (Pacific Avenue) and Sunset, a LA-P freight house at LA-P Right-of-Way (Nielson Way) and Hill Street, a LA-P freight and passenger depot at Railroad (Colorado) Avenue and Ocean Avenue, and a LA-P depot and substation in Playa del Rey. After the “great merger” of 1911, these lines and routes were consolidated into an enlarged Pacific Electric (PE) system under the ownership of Southern Pacific.19 The historical rail lines in Santa Monica and West Los Angeles are depicted in Figure 4.

However, as area residents turned to automobiles and buses during the late 1920s for modern transportation convenience, the allure of Red Cars began to fade. In 1929, the PE abandoned the North Loop.20 In 1940, the PE abandoned the secondary route from Los Angeles to Santa Monica via Sawtelle and Westgate. The remaining passenger service down Santa Monica Boulevard ended the following year. Although ridership on the Venice Short Line surged after America’s entry into World War II, the Venice Short Line was abandoned shortly after the war in 1950. By 1953, all railroading in Los Angeles was drawing to a close.

Southern Pacific was absorbed into the Pacific Electric system in 1965, thereby incorporating the Hollywood Line and Air Line. The Santa Monica Freeway opened in 1966, allowing cars and trucks to travel to downtown Los Angeles at an unprecedented speed. In 1972, rail freight service on Santa Monica Boulevard west of Sepulveda Boulevard in West Los Angeles ended.21

19 Joseph P. Schwieterman, When the Railroad Leaves Town (Kirksville, Mo: Truman State University Press,

2004): 77-78. 20 Pacific Electric constructed a P.E. Bus Service Station at the intersection of Ashland and Pacific Electric

Right of Way “Trolleyway” in 1940. The P.E. Bus Service Station is no longer extant. 21 Ibid., 78.



Figure 4. Map of Historical Rail Lines in Santa Monica and West Los Angeles (Joseph P. Schwieterman, When the Railroad Leaves Town, Kirksville, Mo: Truman State University Press, 2004, p. 79)

History of Santa Monica Bus System: Bay Cities Transit Company and Santa Monica Municipal Bus Lines (Big Blue Bus)

During the early twentieth century, interurban trolley lines and electric streetcars were the primary forms of mass transit in Santa Monica and the greater Los Angeles area. However, in 1914, Pacific Electric increased fares by two cents which caused outrage among riders. Private automobile owners took advantage of the fare increase by using their own cars to transport the public. These drivers were nicknamed “jitney” drivers because they charged a nickel for their service; “jitney” is slang for nickel. The jitney drivers traveled the route along Santa Monica Boulevard between Santa Monica beach and the Soldiers Home in the neighborhood of Sawtelle. Santa Monica was tolerant of the jitney drivers because they brought lower fares and local control over transportation. However, in retaliation, Pacific Electric secured state legislation requiring jitneys to receive approval from the Railroad Commission for most service expansions.22

In 1921, jitney drivers banded together to establish their own company, Bay Cities Transport Company, and sought to gain a franchise for City of Santa Monica local service. Jess Anderson, a former Pacific Electric brakeman, headed day-to-day operations and owned a garage located at the corner of Beloit and Ohio Avenues in the neighborhood of Sawtelle.23 In addition to the Santa Monica Boulevard line, the franchise requested routes along Wilshire, Montana, Lincoln, Pico, Fourth, and Twentieth.24 After winning the franchise to

22 Bob Ayer, History of Santa Monica’s Big Blue Bus (Santa Monica, CA: City of Santa Monica, 1992): 2. 23 Ibid., 16. 24 Ibid., 2. Pacific Electric won the right to operate along the developing Pico Boulevard between the ocean

and the terminus of the Los Angeles Railway “P” car near Rimpau Boulevard.



serve Santa Monica in 1923, the Bay Cities Transit Company constructed a new garage at Fourth Street and Michigan Avenue, where Santa Monica Civic Auditorium currently stands (Figures 5 to 8).25 The Bay Cities Transit Company Bus Garage was constructed of concrete, covered with a large wood-truss roof, with large doors at each end of the building for buses to enter. In 1944, the building was partially destroyed by fire.

Figure 5. Bay Cities Transit Company, Office and Garage Listing Showing Service Range and Location at 1726 4th Street in 1933 (The Santa Monica City Directory)

Figure 6. Bay Cities Transit Company, 1726 4th Street, Circa 1920s (Ayer, p. 17)

25 Ayer, 17.



Figure 7. Bay Cities Transit Company, 1726 4th Street, 1950 (1950 Sanborn Map)

In 1927, with Pacific Electric’s increase in local rates by seven cents, the City of Santa Monica decided to launch their own municipal bus line along Pico Boulevard. Inaugurated as Santa Monica Municipal Bus Lines, the City chose a blue color scheme for their buses, since red and green were already in use for rail transportation. The first City blue-and-white buses began operating along Pico on Saturday, April 14, 1927. The new Municipal bus line (Big Blue Bus) was immediately popular and had approximately 16,000 riders the first week. Soon, Santa Monica Municipal Bus Lines was competing with the Bay Cities Transit Company for transit customers. Also popular with local ridership, Bay Cities Transit Company expanded routes along Pico during the 1920s.

Between 1928 and 1933, the first City of Santa Monica blue buses were parked at Hendrick’s Corner, the Western Shell gasoline station at the intersection of Lincoln and Pico (Figures 9 and 10). To accommodate the growing fleet of blue buses, a garage was constructed in 1933 at the City yards located at 1613 Lincoln Boulevard.26

In 1934, the Ocean Park Boulevard route was transferred from Bay Cities Transit Company to the City’s Blue Bus and both bus lines agreed to honor transfers between the two systems. One year later, the City also took over the Pacific Palisades line. During the 1930s, Bay Cities Transit Company grew to a fleet of 34 buses and Santa Monica Municipal Bus Lines

26 Ibid., 17.



Figure 8. Picket Line in Front of Bay Cities Transit Company Garage, August 8, 1951 (USC Digital Library, Record ID# examiner-m4286)

grew to a fleet of 17 buses. In 1935, the City won the Pacific Palisades route. During World War II, Douglas Aircraft located along Ocean Park Avenue and was a major employer of Santa Monica residents. Santa Monica’s Blue Bus ousted Bay Cities Transit and won the contract for the new line to Douglas Aircraft’s plant, adding around-the-clock service to the plant.27 The loss of the Douglas Aircraft contract and labor problems resulted in serious financial issues for the Bay Cities Transit Company. In 1944, the Bay Cities Transit Company offered to sell the company to the City’s Big Blue Bus, but a fire at the Bay Cities garage ended negotiations.28

By 1947, the regular bus rate was 10 cents, but costs kept rising and both the City of Santa Monica and the Bay Cities Transit lines were losing money. In 1951, negotiations resumed and the City purchased the Bay Cities Transit Company for the value of its assets. Since the combined fleet of buses could no longer be accommodated at the 1613 Lincoln Boulevard bus garage, the City abandoned it and moved into the larger Bay Cities Transit Company Bus Garage at 1726 Fourth Street. Under the new management of William F. Farrell, the City bus system became very successful. He established internal management information procedures

27 Ibid., 3-4. 28 Ibid., 4.



and controls; promoted the system to merchants, the public and the press; and upgraded the fleet of buses. In 1963, William F. Farrell left Santa Monica to head the Long Beach transit system and was replaced by Thomas O. Prior, his successor. During this period the cash bus fare climbed to 20 cents.29

Figure 9. Santa Monica Municipal Buses Parked at Hendrick’s Corner 1928-1933 (Santa Monica Historical Society)

Figure 10. The City’s First Eight Buses, Purchased July 1928, Parked at Hendrick’s Corner (Ayer, p. 16)

In the spring of 1962, a new larger bus facility on Sixth Street with improved facilities for bus maintenance was constructed. The new bus facility had an improved storeroom, a large driver’s reception room, expanded machine shop area, and a separate fueling location with

29 Ibid., 4.



improved vacuuming equipment. The shop area had five hoists, and the second building included a body, paint, tire, and upholstery shops.30

During the 1970s there were changes to the fare structure and increased ridership. In 1971, the state established a permanent fund for subsidizing mass transit using one-quarter percent of state sales tax. With the state funding available, the City was able to maintain its 25-cent fare.31 Several fuel shortages during the 1970s increased the ridership of the City Buses. During the 1974 fuel shortage, ridership increased and two new bus lines were introduced to downtown Los Angeles. Another fuel shortage in 1979 led to record ridership.

As a result of the increased ridership, plans were made to expand both administrative and maintenance facilities in the late 1970s.32 In 1982, a new maintenance facility was constructed, designed by DeLeuw, Cather of Chicago, a nationally prominent architectural and engineering firm. The new facility increased the number of bus hoists to ten, substantially expanded the component work area and created a specialized area for repair of air-conditioners. In 1984, a new administration/operations headquarters, designed by architect Rex Lotery, was opened.33

Currently, the Santa Monica Municipal Bus Lines, locally known as the Big Blue Bus, has a fleet of approximately 210 buses and carries 21 million passengers a year. The name was officially changed to "Santa Monica's Big Blue Bus" in 1999, at which time the agency also changed the graphic design to the eye-catching "ice blue" currently on each bus.34

Between 1980 and 2000, the Big Blue Bus won a number of prestigious awards, including: the American Public Transportation Association’s Outstanding Achievement Award (1987); North American Transit Research Group’s award for the “#1 transit system of its size in the nation” (1990, 1991); and the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission’s award for efficiency and cost effectiveness (1991); American Public Transportation Association Outstanding Achievement Award (1992); Lancer Insurance Company Safety Excellence Award (1997); Metro Award for Efficiency, Los Angeles County Transportation Commission (1997); American Public Transportation Association Outstanding Achievement Award and Outstanding Safety Award (1998); Tranny Award for providing services to the disabled community (Voice Annunciation system for the hearing impaired) (1998); Number One Urban Transit System Comparative study conducted by University of North Carolina at Charlotte (cost effective performance) (1998); American Public Transportation Association Outstanding Achievement Award (2000); Outstanding Achievement Award, Ad Wheel Award for Big Blue Bus System Map, Ad Wheel Award "No One Likes A Traffic Jam" (2001); and Ad Wheel Award "Big Blue Buzz" Employee Newsletter (2004).35

30 Ibid., 17. 31 Ibid., 5. 32 Ibid., 5. 33 Ibid., 18-19. 34 Big Blue Bus, About Us ( http://www.bigbluebus.com/aboutus/index.asp, accessed August 14, 2012). 35 Ibid.; and Ayer, 6.



Santa Monica Municipal Bus Lines Garage, 1613 Lincoln Boulevard (1933)

In 1928, the first Santa Monica municipal buses were parked at the Western Shell gasoline station at the intersection of Lincoln and Pico boulevards, known as Hendricks Corner (shown in Figures 9 and 10 above). 36 As the municipal bus fleet grew, the buses were moved and house at the City Yards, located at the intersection of Colorado and Lincoln. The Santa Monica Municipal Garage (Figures 11 and 12) was constructed in 1933 to accommodate the growing fleet and housed up to twenty-five buses. The bus garage included fuel tanks, repair pits, a machine shop, and a small office for management staff. The City bus service began operation out of the new facility on July 1, 1933. The building had concrete floors, steel trusses, and steel-reinforced engaged structural wall piers. The lots behind the Municipal Bus Garage along Colorado Avenue were used for the Santa Monica Corporation yards and there were buildings for an incinerator, general repair shop, and storage. There were three smaller structures in the rear of the building: an office, oil storage shed, and a miscellaneous shed. Adjacent to the Municipal Garage, was the garage for Santa Monica City School District’s buses.

Figure 11. Arrival of Twelve Buses Photographed for the Occasion in Front of the Municipal Garage, 1933 (Ayer, p. 17)

Figure 12. Santa Monica Municipal Garage, ca. 1935 (Carolyn Bartlett Farnham Collection, Santa Monica Image Archives)

36 Ayer, 16-19.



After the Bay Cities fleet was acquired by the City in 1951, a new site was needed to accommodate the increased bus fleet, so the equipment and personnel were moved to the Bay Cities garage at 1726 4th Street. The maintenance and operations facility was the home of the municipal buses throughout the 1950’s. In 1962, a new bus facility was constructed on 6th Street, south of Colorado Avenue, and twenty year later a new maintenance facility and administration/operations headquarters was constructed.

Occupancy History, 1613 Lincoln Boulevard

The Santa Monica Municipal Bus Lines Garage at 1613 Lincoln Boulevard was occupied by the City of Santa Monica between 1933 and 1951.37 The General Telephone Company occupied 1613 Lincoln Boulevard between 1954 and approximately 1965. In 1970, Otto Zipper Alfa, automotive dealer and owner of a car racing team, occupied the property for five years. In 1979, Hill and Vaughn (Figure 13), a classic car restoration business, were occupants for six years. In 1991, the Santa Monica Antique Market, Inc., the current occupant, moved into 1613 Lincoln. Occupancy history for the property is presented in Table 3 below.

Figure 13. Interior of 1613 Lincoln Blvd; Hill and Vaughn, Classic Car Restoration, Were Occupants of the Building Between 1979 and 1990 (Email Correspondence with Glenn Vaughn, son of Ken Vaughn, March 27, 2012)

37 Santa Monica City Directories document 1613 Lincoln Boulevard was occupied by the Municipal Bus Line

between 1933 and 1938; however Santa Monica City Directories are unavailable at the Santa Monica Main Library between 1938 to 1947 and 1948 to 1952. On page seventeen of The History of Santa Monica’s Big Blue Bus notes “Blue Bus personnel and equipment moved into the Bay cities garage on 4th Street” in 1951.



Table 3

Santa Monica City Directory Research for 1613 Lincoln Boulevard

Year Entry

1933 Municipal Bus Line (garage)

1936 City Transportation Department – Municipal Bus Line Garage

1938 City Transportation Department – Municipal Bus Line Garage

1947‐48 No reference for 1613 Lincoln listed in directory.

1952‐53 Vacant

1954 General Telephone Co Warehouse

1958‐59 General Telephone Co Warehouse

1960‐61 General Telephone Co Warehouse

May 1965 No reference for 1613 Lincoln listed in directory.

October 1965 No reference for 1613 Lincoln listed in directory.



October 1970 Otto Zipper Alfa

October 1971 Otto Zipper Alfa

October 1972 Otto Zipper Alfa and Global Auto Parts Inc.

1973‐1979 Otto Zipper Alfa

1980 xxx. No tenants listed.

1981‐1990 1607: Hill & Vaughn

1613: xxx. No tenants listed.

1991‐1992 xxx. No tenants listed.

1992‐1993 1607: Santa Monica Antique Market


1993‐1997 1607: Santa Monica Antique Market and Combs & Combs Studio of Design


1998‐2000 1607: Santa Monica Antique Market




Bus Facilities in the Metro Area

Research indicates that bus maintenance facilities and garages reused and adapted old Pacific Electric and Rail maintenance and storage facilities during the 1950s and 1960s, which were easily repurposed. Included in Table 4 below are Los Angeles Metropolitan area bus facilities exhibiting the same pattern of adaptive reuse:

Table 4

Metro Los Angeles Bus Facilities38

Bus Garage Photograph

Old Pasadena Car House, demolished

Division 3 Carhouse, 630 W Avenue 28, modified for bus service, demolished

1960

38 Metro Library Photograph Archive (http://www.flickr.com/photos/metrolibraryarchive).




Date unknown

Aerial View 1938

375 E 55th Street, South Park Shops, extant




Long Beach Fairbanks Yard after conversion to Bus Garage in 1961, demolished




Van Nuys Division MTA, current building status unknown

Division 20 Carhouse, current building status unknown

Pasadena Car House, converted PE station, in operation until 1971, demolished

On rare occasions, facilities for buses were designed and constructed specifically for bus garage and maintenance use during the 1920s and 1930s. The Los Angeles Railway (LARy) 16th Street Bus Repair Garage was constructed in 1927 (Figures 16 and 17). The bus garage is described, as follows:

By the late 1920s, the transit system in Los Angeles was shifting from rail to bus. The Los Angeles Railway, recognizing the need to maintain and service a modern bus fleet, designed and constructed a purpose-built facility to meet this new business model. Unlike their earlier 19th-century style brick buildings, LARy used the latest materials and design principles to create an



industrial edifice that was unlike anything the company had seen before. Company engineers examined the needs of the bus fleet mechanic and answered them with split-level workbenches and pits, special lighting, and efficient egress and siting. The pioneering blend of modern design and efficiency was to become common place in the 1930s. So well thought through was the 16th Street bus garage that Metro still operates it unmodified today for bus repair, but while the LARy built a number of bus garages around the system, it never built another maintenance facility such as the one on 16th Street.39

Designed by the LARy engineering department, the LARy 16th Street Bus Repair was designed with a number of innovative features. Company engineers examined the needs of the bus fleet mechanic and answered them with split-level workbenches and pits, special lighting, and efficient egress and sitting. The building is of fireproof concrete construction, even the roof is constructed of cast-in-place concrete. Also, the building has extant innovative features, such as in-floor repair pits with built-in lighting and niches for tools, three-level arrangement of locker rooms, offices, and parts depot with elevator, and built-in gantry cranes running the length of the main space. The Santa Monica Municipal Bus Lines Garage was not designed with innovative features nor does it have any of the extant in-floor repair pits, mechanical equipment, offices, locker-rooms, part departments, or any specialized bus garage features.

The LARy 16th Street Bus Repair Garage was determined eligible in 2008 for National Register listing, under Criterion A for its association with the transportation history of Los Angeles, and under Criterion C as an example of an important property type, an early bus repair facility.40

Figure 16. Los Angeles Railway (LARy) 16th Street Bus Repair Garage, 720 E. 15th Street, Satellite Photo, ca. 2006-2007 (ICF Jones & Stokes, Determination of Eligibility for Section 106 and CEQA Initial Study Cultural Resources Section for Metro Division 2 Bus Repair Garage, p. 4)

39 ICF Jones & Stokes, Determination of Eligibility for Section 106 and CEQA Initial Study Cultural

Resources Section for Metro Division 2 Bus Repair Garage, 18. 40 Ibid., 1.



Figure 17. Interior of Los Angeles Railway (LARy) 16th Street Bus Repair Garage, ca. 2009 (ICF Jones &Stokes, p. 33)

EVALUATION OF SIGNIFICANCE

Is the structure representative of a style in the City that is no longer prevalent?

1613 Lincoln Boulevard, constructed in 1933, is an early example of a bus garage built to service Santa Monica’s Municipal Bus Lines (Big Blue Bus) in Santa Monica. After the Municipal Bus Lines and Bay Cities Transit Company consolidated in 1951, the City abandoned the 1613 Lincoln Boulevard bus garage and moved into the larger Bay Cities Transit Company Bus Garage at 1726 Fourth Street. Nearly fifty years later, in 1982, a new maintenance facility on Sixth Street was constructed for the Big Blue Bus. Other early bus-related facilities in the City of Santa Monica are no longer extant, including the Bay Cities Transit Company facilities (demolished) and the Greyhound Station, 1433 Fifth Street (altered). Because of the removal of some key character-defining features of the bus garage property type, the architecture of the Santa Monica Municipal Bus Garage reads as a purely utilitarian industrial building and not as a bus garage. Utilitarian industrial buildings are relatively common in Santa Monica and Los Angeles. Therefore, the subject property is not representative of a style in the City that is no longer prevalent.

Does the structure contribute to a potential historic district?

1613 Lincoln Boulevard does not contribute to a potential historic district.



CONCLUSION

The period of significance identified for the Santa Monica Municipal Bus Lines Garage is 1933 through 1951, beginning with the construction of the bus garage and ending when the City purchased the Bay Cities Transit Company and moved the blue buses to the larger Bay Cities Transit Company’s garage at 1726 Fourth Street. The Santa Monica Municipal Bus Lines Garage is associated with the following historical themes: Development of Santa Monica; Los Angeles Metropolitan Area Transportation History, Santa Monica Transportation History; History of Santa Monica Bus System: Bay Cities Transit Company and Santa Monica Municipal Bus Lines (Big Blue Bus); Santa Monica Municipal Bus Lines Garage, 1613 Lincoln Boulevard (1933); and Bus Facilities in the Metro Area.

Based on current research and the evaluation below, the property located at 1613 Lincoln Boulevard does not appear to meet any of the City of Santa Monica Landmark criteria for two primary reasons. Firstly, while the Big Blue Bus is a highly significant part of Santa Monica history for its public use and role in transportation history and urban development of the City, the public use of the bus system is not directly tied to the subject property. Because the Santa Monica Municipal Bus Garage served as a maintenance site and bus yard away from its public use, the subject property was supportive rather than proactive, and is not directly connected to the significance of the Big Blue Bus system. Spaces and improvements that might be connected to the Big Blue Bus’ significance would be tied to its public use, such as the roadways and bus stops that served the customers.

Secondly, the existing building was originally constructed to serve as a bus garage. While this is a rare building type in the City, because of the removal of exterior and interior key character-defining features of the bus garage use, the architecture of the Santa Monica Municipal Bus Garage reads from the public street and interior as a purely utilitarian industrial building and not as a bus garage. Utilitarian industrial buildings are relatively common in Santa Monica and Los Angeles.

The property was evaluated according to statutory criteria as follows:

Landmark Criteria Evaluation

9.36.100(a)(1) It exemplifies, symbolizes, or manifests elements of the cultural, social, economic, political or architectural history of the City.

In applying the City’s significance criteria for individual recognition as a potential City of Santa Monica Landmark, the subject property does not appear to possess sufficient historical importance to warrant such designation. The development of Santa Monica and the Los Angeles area is associated with the history of transportation. Santa Monica’s early twentieth-century history as a destination of leisure and recreation was largely due to the development of rail transportation to Santa Monica from downtown Los Angeles. However, as the area’s population grew, demands for transportation increased and buses became an additional alternative mode of transit regionally. Santa Monica Municipal Bus Lines began operating in



1927, competing for business with the privately-owned Bay Cities Transit Company, which began operations earlier in 1921. Originally, Santa Monica Municipal blue buses were stored and maintained at the Western Shell gasoline station at Hendricks Corner (Southwest Corner of Lincoln Boulevard and Pico Boulevard). With increases in service and expansion of the City’s bus lines came the need for a modern facility to maintain City buses. In 1933, the subject municipal bus garage was constructed at the City Yards and remained in operation until 1951 when Santa Monica Municipal Bus Lines (Big Blue Bus) merged with Bay Cities Transit Companies and moved to the larger Bay Cities Transit Company garage at 1726 Fourth Street. After the Santa Monica Municipal Bus Lines (Big Blue Bus) purchased its competitor, the Bay Cities Transit Company, in 1951, Santa Monica Municipal Bus Lines (Big Blue Bus) became the sole bus operator in Santa Monica and is recognized for its success. The City’s Big Blue Bus remains the main source of mass transit in Santa Monica and West Los Angeles.

The Santa Monica Municipal Bus Lines Garage at 1613 Lincoln Boulevard is connected to the early history of the Big Blue Bus. While the Big Blue Bus is a highly significant part of Santa Monica history, it appears that the connection between the significance of the Big Blue Bus and the Santa Monica Municipal Bus Lines Garage is not conclusive. The Big Blue Bus is significant for providing public transportation, which directly contributed to the cultural, social, and economic history of the City. While the Big Blue Bus is a highly significant part of Santa Monica history for its public use and role in transportation history and urban development of the City, the public use of the bus system is not directly tied to the subject property. Because the Santa Monica Municipal Bus Garage served as a maintenance site and bus yard away from its public use, the subject property was supportive rather than proactive, and is not directly connected to the significance of the Big Blue Bus system. Spaces and improvements that might be connected to the Big Blue Bus’ significance would be tied to its public use, such as the roadways and bus stops that served the customers. Therefore, the subject property does not appear to meet this criterion.

9.36.100(a)(2) It has aesthetic or artistic interest or value, or other noteworthy interest or value.

The resource does not have aesthetic or artistic interest or value, therefore the property does not appear to meet this criterion.

9.36.100(a)(3) It is identified with historic personages or with important events in local, state or national history.

The subject property does not appear to meet this criterion. Current research does not indicate that the building is identified with historic personages, including previous tenants, owners, or with important events in local, state, or national history.



9.36.100(a)(4) It embodies distinguishing architectural characteristics valuable to a study of a period, style, method of construction, or the use of indigenous materials or craftsmanship, or is a unique or rare example of an architectural design, detail or historical type valuable to such a study.

The Santa Monica Municipal Bus Lines Garage was constructed in 1933, specifically for use as a bus maintenance facility, and was designed by architect Charles Burke.41 The garage was in use by the City of Santa Monica for bus maintenance between 1933 and 1951. The existing building was originally constructed to serve as a bus garage which is a rare building type in the City. The character-defining features of the bus garage property type, include a large open interior garage space with a wide-span steel-truss roofing system, original large openings along the primary elevation for buses to enter, steel sash windows and bay doors, reinforced masonry exterior walls supporting the roof, utilitarian concrete-slab floors, and in-floor repair pits and other interior features customized for bus repair. The Municipal Bus Garage has some of those character-defining features, however many of those design elements are altered. Alterations include infilled bus garage openings on the primary elevation, installation of arched awnings above the bus garage openings, infilled windows on the secondary elevations, as well as significant interior tenant improvements and a rear addition. Although the large, open-plan utilitarian garage space now accommodates partitioned commercial uses, the original exposed wide-spanning steel trusses supporting the roof remain extant. The intact arched roof system is still supported by the original steel-reinforced, exposed structural masonry exterior wall system. All original interior features designed for bus repair, including in-floor repair pits, were removed after bus use ceased. Because of the removal of exterior and interior key character-defining features of the bus garage use, the architecture of the Santa Monica Municipal Bus Garage reads from the public street and interior as a purely utilitarian industrial building and not as a bus garage. Utilitarian industrial buildings are relatively common in Santa Monica and Los Angeles. Therefore, the subject property is not an important historical type valuable to a study of a period, style, method of construction, or the use of indigenous materials or craftsmanship, or a unique or rare example of an architectural design. The Santa Monica Municipal Bus Garage does not appear eligible under Criterion 4.

9.36.100(a)(5) It is a significant or a representative example of the work or product of a notable builder, designer or architect.

The Municipal Bus Garage was designed by architect Charles Burke. Research in the historical Los Angeles Times, AIA Historical Directory of American Architects, Avery Index, California Index, Biographical Dictionary of American Architects (Deceased), Imagine Santa Monica, and Santa Monica Historical Resources Inventory Phase 2 Final Report (1985-1986) did not reveal other projects designed by Charles Burke. The subject property does not appear eligible under this criterion.

41 Other projects designed by the architect Charles Burke are unknown, see Criterion 5 below.



9.36.100(a)(6) It has a unique location, a singular physical characteristic, or is an established and familiar visual feature of a neighborhood, community or the City.

The subject property does not appear to meet this criterion. At the time of construction, the Municipal Bus Garage was one of the largest industrial warehouse structures along Lincoln Boulevard, but as a result of subsequent urban infill of similar size and scale, the structure now blends into the boulevard streetscape. The property does not have a unique location and is not an established and familiar visual feature of a neighborhood, community or the City.



BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Baker, Donald M., engineer. Report on a Rapid Transit System for Los Angeles California. Prepared for the Central Business District Association, November 15, 1933.

Bali, Eli. From railway to freeway: Pacific Electric and the motor coach. Glendale, California: Interurban Press, 1984.

Barrett, Matthew. New Mass Transit Plans: Los Angeles 1951-Present. Prepared for Metro Research Center Dorothy Peyton Gray Transportation Library Archive.

Blow, Ben. California Highways: A Descriptive Record of Road Development by the State and by Such Counties as Have Paved Highways. San Francisco, Ca: H. S. Crocker Company, 1920.

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Brodsly, David. LA Freeway. Berkeley, California: University of California, 1981.

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Historic Resources Group. Historic Resources Survey Update Ocean Park, Prepared for the City of Santa Monica, June 2004.

ICF Jones & Stokes. Determination of Eligibility for Section 106 and CEQA Initial Study Cultural Resources Section for Metro Division 2 Bus Repair Garage, Prepared for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, September 18, 2008.

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ATTACHMENTS

Current Photographs

Assessor Map

Sanborn Map 1918

Sanborn Map 1950

Current Photographs

1613 Lincoln Boulevard, Primary (West) Elevation, View to Southeast (A. Kainer, PCR 2012)

1613 Lincoln Boulevard, West and South Elevations, View to Northeast (A. Kainer, PCR 2012)

1613 Lincoln Boulevard, South Elevation, View to North (A. Kainer, PCR 2012)

1613 Lincoln Boulevard, Rear (East) Elevation, View to South (A. Kainer, PCR 2012)

A.Kainer

Rectangle

A.Kainer

Rectangle

Documents

City Landmark Assessment and Evaluation Report · City Landmark Assessment and Evaluation Report 1613 Lincoln Boulevard (APN: 4283-001-002) October 2012 Page 1 ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING