Bluff Heights Neighborhood Association

BLUFF HEIGHTS HISTORIC DISTRICT Information

DESCRIPTION OF THE BLUFF HEIGHTS HISTORIC DISTRICT

BOUNDARIES: East of Junipero Avenue (not including the Carroll Park or Lowena Drive historic districts), West of Redondo Avenue, south of 4h Street, and North of Broadway. The exact boundaries included in the district are indicated on the attached map. Certain properties are excluded from the district if they are at the eastern boundary of Redondo and the southern boundary of Broadway and contain non-contributing and/or non-residential buildings.

SIGNIFICANCE: Bluff Heights is a section of the Alamitos Beach Townsite which was originally planned by John W. Bixby in 1886 and annexed to Long Beach in 1905. The neighborhood has recorded tract surveys dating back to 1903. The land was then subdivided into all, or portions of the Tichenor Tract, Cedar Rapids Tract, Graves Tract, Alamitos Tract and Ocean Villa Tract, indicating a substantial growth in structures by 1914. The Ocean Villa Tract was advertised as having lots "60 feet by 150 feet and ranging in price from $150.00 up." Financing was available with $25.00 cash and $10.00 per month. The Tichenor Tract offered "50 foot lots fronting on the electric railway" for $400.00. The Pacific Electric Railway was originally located where Broadway now is, along the neighborhood's southern boundary. Horace Mann School was built in 1914 to provide education for the children in the growing neighborhood.

Some of the original developers of the area include: Adelaide Tichenor, Solon and Louise Graves, A. G. Hayes, Nora Waldron, Charles S. McNary, Thomas Todd, J. H. Munholland, Walter C. Reynolds, George H. Bixby and George C. Flint, and were some of the more significant early pioneers of Long Beach. Adelaide Tichenor was an influential civic leader who founded the Ebell Club, the city's public library and the Tichenor Orthopedic Clinic. Charles S. McNary, a contractor, was a pioneer resident of Coronado and Vista Avenues and was one of the first to build homes there in 1913. The original three bungalows McNary built and occupied with his family, at 3318 Vista, still stand today. J.H. Munholland and his wife, Myra, settled in Long Beach from Cedar Rapids, Iowa in 1901 and became well established in the development of the city, building many structures including the Munholland Apartments on Ocean and Elm (now demolished).

During this time of early 20th Century boosterism in Southern California, bold marketing tactics were utilized by real estate brokers and entrepreneurs to promote the sale of these sunny California lots to Mid-Westerners seeking a warmer climate. Long Beach experienced an inordinate amount of new residents from the state of Iowa, resulting in the city's moniker "Iowa by the Sea." One advertising campaign for the Cedar Rapids Tract employed by Munholland marketed the tract with the slogan "See-Der-Rabbit." According to an early 1900's Daily Telegram article headlined "No Shooting Signs Go Up Tomorrow On Famed See-Der Rabbits Tract." The article goes on to state that "In a few days ten foot rabbits will be noticed in different sections of the city, but hunters are warned that this is the closed season on this kind of game. The only way you can beat it is to buy a lot in the tract tomorrow." The article also states that "three rigs will be running to take you out to this level residence district where magnificent views of the ocean are obtained from every lot. Prices will be $350 to $600 on easy terms." In those days it was possible to see the ocean from that distance, as there were few building to obstruct the view, and the breakwater had not yet been constructed.

Other early residents of the district include: Elizabeth Fremont, the daughter of General John C. Fremont (338 Junipero); W. H. Hosking (2433 E. 3rd) the business manager for the Long Beach Press Telegram in 1917; J. S. Chaffer (2519 E. 3rd) Superintendent of Mail for the U. S. Postal Service; and Enoch Tallchief, an Osage Indian (2917 Colorado Street). Being a Native American entitled Tallchief to a special reduction in property taxes each year, in accordance with an opinion by Deputy City Attorney Joseph B. Lamb.

Today, the Bluff Heights district continues to represent a typical older residential neighborhood of Long Beach with mainly Craftsman and Spanish Colonial Revival single-family structures. In the early `twenties, Spanish Colonial Revival and Prairie Style single-family and multi-family residences began to appear. In the later `twenties and `thirties Colonial Revival, Tudor Revival and Art Deco structures were built. During the late `thirties, `forties and early `fifties NeoTraditional homes and apartment buildings began to appear. It was not until the `sixties, `seventies and `eighties that large-scale multi-family structures were built. These large and incompatible buildings are considered "non-contributing" structures.

The period of significance is 1902-1950, illustrating the growth and evolution of a typical early Long Beach neighborhood with predominantly single-family homes, interspersed with some low-density multi-family homes. Structures built in the `forties and early `fifties are considered "contributing" if they are consistent in scale and character to the earlier buildings, and if they are quality examples of architecture of their period. It should be noted that there is one home at 238 Orizaba Avenue which dates to 1890, however, it is believed that this structure was moved to its present site at a later point in time.

The predominant architectural type in the district is the Craftsman Bungalow. Intact Craftsman Bungalows constructed from approximately 1910-1923 are the single most prevalent type of home in the district. Altered Craftsman Bungalows are also prevalent, and are considered "contributing" structures if the alterations are reversible and the original architectural features are visible. The second most predominant architectural type in the district is the Spanish Colonial Revival. Other historic styles that appeared in the later `twenties through the early `fifties, and are considered "contributing" structures if they are intact, unaltered, and consistent in scale and quality to the earlier homes.

The major architectural theme of the district is the development of the Craftsman Bungalow style, and the architectural variations that embody it. Examples in the district include simple, earthy and massive classic Bungalows, Japanese-influenced Bungalows; Bungalows with elaborate forms, and Bungalows borrowing Colonial Revival forms that are two-story examples. An important architectural sub-theme is the Spanish Colonial Revival, which appeared in the early `twenties, overlapping with the late Bungalows. The district includes several examples of multi-family homes, architecturally compatible with the earlier ones, constructed in the `twenties through the early `fifties. It was not until the early 1960's that large-scale incompatible development began to undermine the architectural integrity of the district. This trend continued into the `seventies and `eighties. However, as the architectural inventory reveals, the area still remains today a Bungalow neighborhood, with a predominance of historic architectural styles above modern intrusions.

The streets within the district are laid out in a North/South and East/West grid pattern, with the exception of Winnipeg Place, a distinctive narrow one-way street, which starts northward at 3rd Street, then curves to the east to Obispo Avenue, where a prominent original concrete and granite entry gate remains intact. The Alford House, located at the southern corner of Winnipeg Place and Obispo Avenue, is an individually designated City of Long Beach Historic Landmark, in addition to being located within Bluff Heights.

The district contains three vintage religious structures: The Cambodian Buddhist Temple of Long Beach at 2625 E. 3rd Street, constructed in 1914; the Arabic Bible Christian Church at 3000 E. 3rd Street, constructed in 1921; and the American Baptist Church of the Pacific Southwest at 3215 E. 3rd Street, constructed in 1923. All of these buildings remain predominantly intact and blend into the neighborhood.