Ramona Street Architectural District | |
Location | Palo Alto, California |
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Coordinates | 37°26′43.1″N122°9′43.95″W / 37.445306°N 122.1622083°W |
NRHP reference No. | 86000592 [1] |
Added to NRHP | March 27, 1986 |
The Ramona Street Architectural District, in downtown Palo Alto, California, is a Registered Historic District. This portion of the street, between University Avenue and Hamilton Avenue, is a highly distinctive business block. It showcases the Spanish Colonial and Early California styles with gentle archways, wrought iron work, tile roofs of varying heights and courtyards.
The development of Ramona Street, named after the 1884 novel Ramona , [2] was an early successful attempt to expand laterally the central commercial district. Pedro Joseph de Lemos, a craftsman, graphic artist and curator of the Stanford Museum had been concerned with the larger scale and somewhat linear development along University Avenue. He believed that an informal architecture full of whimsy and integrated with nature was indeed compatible with commercial businesses.
The first building to go up, in 1925, was the Gotham Shop at 520 Ramona, built by de Lemos, who had bought the property to preserve a very old oak tree (finally removed in the 1980s). He designed the building around the venerable oak and created shops with rustic benches, ceramic tiles and stucco walls. In 1938, de Lemos built another Spanish Colonial Revival commercial office building across the street at 533 - 539 Ramona, with a recessed arched entrance, an interior patio, wrought iron and more tiles.
Noted local architects Birge Clark, W. H. Weeks and others added to the Spanish flavor of what de Lemos started. In 1928, Clark designed the multistory Medico-Dental Building at Hamilton and Ramona, which now houses the University Art Center on the ground floor. Across Ramona, Weeks designed the Cardinal Hotel, Palo Alto's first non-frame hotel. Excitement attended the Cardinal's debut, for it became the scene of tea dances and balls. The hotel had another purpose; it was intended to help make Hamilton a commercial street.
The unified aspect of the 500 Ramona Street block was recognized by its designation in 1985 as a Historic District in the National Register of Historic Places. Since then, Plaza Ramona and other remodelings at the University Avenue end of the block have enhanced the theme.
Palo Alto is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto.
Bernard Ralph Maybeck was an American architect in the Arts and Crafts Movement of the early 20th century. He was an instructor at University of California, Berkeley. Most of his major buildings were in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Birge Malcolm Clark was an American architect, called “Palo Alto's best-loved architect” by the Palo Alto Weekly; he worked largely in the Spanish Colonial Revival style.
Palo Alto station is an intermodal transit center in Palo Alto, California. It is served by Caltrain regional rail service, SamTrans and Santa Clara VTA local bus service, Dumbarton Express regional bus service, the Stanford University Marguerite Shuttle, and several local shuttle services. Palo Alto is the second-busiest Caltrain station after San Francisco, averaging 7,764 weekday boardings by a 2018 count. The Caltrain station has two side platforms serving the two tracks of the Peninsula Subdivision and a nearby bus transfer plaza.
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Myron Hubbard Hunt was an American architect whose numerous projects include many noted landmarks in Southern California and Evanston, Illinois. Hunt was elected a Fellow in the American Institute of Architects in 1908.
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Pedro Joseph de Lemos was an American painter, printmaker, architect, illustrator, writer, lecturer, museum director and art educator in the San Francisco Bay Area. Prior to about 1930 he used the simpler name Pedro Lemos or Pedro J. Lemos; between 1931 and 1933 he changed the family name to de Lemos, believing that he was related to the Count de Lemos (1576–1622), patron of Miguel de Cervantes. Much of his work was influenced by traditional Japanese woodblock printing and the Arts and Crafts Movement. He became prominent in the field of art education, and he designed several unusual buildings in Palo Alto and Carmel-by-the-Sea, California.
The Pedro de Lemos House, also known as Hacienda de Lemos and Waverley Oaks, is a historic house in Palo Alto, California. It was built from 1931 to 1941 for Pedro Joseph de Lemos, a painter, printmaker, illustrator and architect. Lemos also served as the director of the Stanford University Museum of Art from 1918 to 1947. The approximately 9,000 square foot house was design and built by Lemos, from 1931 until 1941.
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The Doud Building, also known as the James Doud Building is a historic commercial building in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. James Cooper Doud established the building in 1932, built by master builder Michael J. Murphy as a mixed-use retail shop and residence. It is an example of a Spanish Colonial Revival architecture style building. The structure is recognized as an important commercial building in the city's Downtown Conservation District Historic Property Survey, and was nominated and submitted to the California Register of Historical Resources on February 21, 2003. The building is now occupied by the Mad Dogs & Englishmen Bike Shop and the Carmel Sport clothing store.
The Percy Parkes Building, is a historic commercial building in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. It was built and designed in 1926, by Percy Parkes as a retail shop. It is an example of a Spanish Colonial Revival style building. The structure is recognized as an important commercial building in the city's Downtown Conservation District Historic Property Survey, and was nominated and submitted to the California Register of Historical Resources on April 25, 2002. The building was recently occupied by Jan De Luz Linens, which is now moved to Dolores Street and 6th Avenue.
The Draper Leidig Building, also known as the Leidig Building, is a historic mixed-use commercial building in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. It was designed by Blaine & Olsen and built in 1929, by C. H. Lawrence. It is an example of Spanish Revival style. The structure is recognized as an important commercial building in the city's Downtown Conservation District Historic Property Survey, and was nominated and submitted to the California Register of Historical Resources on May 22, 2002. The building is occupied by four shops, Photography West Gallery, La Renaissance Jewelry, Caraccioli Cellars, and Girl Lee Boutique.
The La Rambla Building is a historic commercial building, built in 1929, in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. The structure is recognized as an important Spanish Eclectic-style building in the city's Downtown Conservation District Historic Property Survey, and was nominated and submitted to the California Register of Historical Resources on January 30, 2003. The building is occupied by Club di Lusso.
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Park Service .