Christiansen and Grow Filling Station, Orange
Built for proprietors Fritz J. Christiansen and Carl Emerson Grow, the rare and diminutive building was constructed ca. 1928 and designed in a Storybook or Provincial Revival style. The style reflected the pre-1930 trend in filling stations to mimic the residential architecture of the neighborhood.
It is believed to be eligible for the National Register under criterion A for its association with the early rise of the automobile and roadside commerce in Southern California in the first decades of the 20th century; and under criterion C for embodying the distinctive characteristics of a pre-1930s gas station, and is a rare example of its type. (Photograph taken February 2021.)
305 S. Main Street, Orange
UPDATE: January 2022
In 2021, Preserve Orange County commissioned Architectural Resources Group to prepare a nomination to the National Register of Historic Places of the Christiansen and Grow Filling Station. Several organization members and preservation supporters from throughout the region contributed to funding the writing and research necessary to prepare the nomination. The local preservation group in Orange, Old Towne Preservation Association, demonstrated their support by donating a substantial portion of the funds.
On October 29, 2021, the State Historical Resources Commission unanimously recommended that the historic gas station be determined eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, and on December 28, 2021 the property was officially determined eligible by the Keeper of the National Register. As a result of being determined eligible for the National Register, the property has been listed in the California Register of Historical Resources.
The property owners formally objected to the nomination so the property could not be listed on the National Register. However, because it qualified (“determined eligible”) it could be listed on the California Register. The property remains vulnerable because although the building is a historic resource as defined by the California Environmental Quality Act, local law determines the level of project scrutiny and therefore protection. In the case of the City of Orange, the demolition ordinance only provides public review of projects that impact historic resources that are located within historic districts or listed on the National Register.
National Register nomination document
UPDATE: March 2, 2021
The property owner withdrew their application for the Northern Gateway project which would have involved moving the filling station and impacting its historic significance.
Preserve Orange County is still pursuing a National Register nomination because the building is located outside a historic district. The City of Orange does not currently require a public review before approving a demolition permit if a historic resource is outside a historic district, unless the resource is listed on the National Register.
Preserve Orange County began a fundraising campaign in February to hire a preservation consulting firm to prepare a nomination. Donations may be made to the fund by clicking here.
February 24, 2021
The City of Orange Design Review Committee voted unanimously to reject the Northern Gateway project. The project’s fate will be decided at the Planning Commission meeting, date to be determined. (See the City’s environmental documents below for reference.)
February 18, 2021
The “Northern Gateway” project is a two-part project that involves moving a vacant historic gas station from its current location at 305 S. Main Street to an empty lot on N. Glassell, also in Orange.
Although no plans to redevelop the property at 305 S. Main Street have been put forward, most would agree that the historic property is threatened by virtue of the recent pattern of redevelopment in the immediate vicinity. With this understanding, Preserve Orange County (POC) supports efforts that will lead to the long-term preservation of this resource in accordance with the applicable preservation standards and guidelines.
Three previous independent surveys have identified the property as eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). By contrast, the most recent owner-sponsored cultural resources assessment (see reference documents below) concluded that the property is not eligible for the National Register, finding that the property lacks the necessary integrity to meet the National Park Service’s standards for designation. The Board of Directors of both POC and the local preservation organization, Old Towne Preservation Association, have reviewed the assessment. POC found that its numerous claims regarding the property's integrity are not supported by evidence, and do not follow the National Park Service's (NPS) standards or process for evaluating historic properties. Both POC and OTPA disagree with the report’s conclusion that the resource is not eligible for the NRHP.
OTPA has formally requested that the City of Orange include a condition of approval requiring the owner to nominate the resource to the California Register of Historical Resources (CRHR). While municipal purview may preclude such a condition of approval, anyone may submit a nomination of historic designation to the State Office of Historic Preservation at any time. POC encourages and supports designation of the resource at the NRHP level for three primary reasons: 1) the resource is rare regionally and possibly nationally. For example, Survey LA identified a few gas stations from the 1930s but only one from the 1920s, and we are not currently aware of another intact 1920s gas station in Orange County. If these assumptions are correct, the resource deserves NRHP status; 2) if the owner objects to listing the property on the CRHR, it cannot be listed on the CRHR. However, if the resource is nominated to the NRHP and the owner objects it can still be determined eligible for the NHRP and listed on the CRHR; 3) listing on the NRHP would mean the resource is given discretionary review under the local demolition ordinance, both now and in the future, which would not be the case if it was listed on the CRHR.
Successful historic preservation projects begin with a thorough assessment and resulting treatment plan that adequately respond to those aspects that give the property its historic significance. POC contends that the cultural resource assessment has overlooked an important and central aspect of the property’s history. Constructed along this semi-rural section of S. Main Street c. 1928, the gas station’s role in serving both local and statewide traffic along California’s first State Highway is also significant within the NPS’s themes of transportation and commerce. As a rare (and perhaps the only surviving) example of this building type from the oldest era of this type, the assessment of the property’s integrity is assessed with more latitude within the requirements of the NPS.
The NPS and the California State Office of Historic Preservation both discourage the relocation of historic resources. Both, however, provide limited consideration for rare examples of historic property types that may only be preserved through relocation. It is important that those limitations be fully understood and executed, so as not to diminish the property’s eligibility through its relocation. The proposed relocation of the resource is also subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and adherence to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards (SOIS) for the Treatment of Historic Properties is essential to complying with CEQA. A number of discrepancies currently exist between the mitigation measures outlined in the assessement and the project drawings. As such, the relocation plan cannot be found to be consistent with the SOIS nor in compliance with CEQA regulations.
Both POC and OTPA have noted that the proposed rotation of the building (the building’s primary façade would become a secondary façade), is inconsistent with the building’s historic orientation to roadway which it served. City staff has also indicated that the City’s Public Works Department will not approve the current design. As such, the existing environmental documents (attached) cannot reasonably assess nor adequately include mitigative measures to address undetermined revisions to the project.
POC has great concern that acceptance of the proposed project and its current assessment not only threatens this resource but also establishes precedent that could jeopardize other resources in Orange, especially those outside historic districts. POC will remain committed to working with the project applicant, the City and other stakeholders with the goal that this resource to be treated in manner that is both worthy of its significance and consistent with the applicable regulations, standards and guidelines.
REFERENCE DOCUMENTS