Saving Pieces of Our Past

When we think of old buildings and historic preservation, we don’t necessarily think first of Orange County. The county has been incorporated for just over a century. That’s time enough for many generations to have taken root, but hardly a period comparable to what other parts of the country have had.

Nevertheless, the march of the bulldozer has brought on a tide of strip malls and housing developments, endangering many historic structures throughout the county that link us to its early agricultural and settlement years. It also has spawned a historic preservation movement that is showing some resolve in the face of inevitable change.

It’s good to see that history-minded individuals, working with determined city officials, have made progress in keeping threatened structures standing. This is taking place even if it means moving buildings or ironing out misunderstandings with owners who may have other things in mind.

A nine-year effort in Brea to save the 1912 Charles Kinsler house paid off when city planners approved a preservation-minded applicant’s bid to buy the house from the city and rehabilitate it. It was the third house built in the city and is the oldest one remaining. The owner was, among other things, the city’s first census enumerator, counting Brea’s first 732 residents. That’s real Brea history.

In Placentia, the Planning Commission and City Council didn’t give up on the Gilbert Kraemer estate, a structure once owned by a wealthy landowner family. When no one was able to raise money to buy it in the recession of the 1990s, resolute officials rejected development plans that would have razed it. Eventually, they were able to tie approval for a scaled-down development of the property to a condition that the home be rehabilitated. That will mean moving it, and to the dismay of preservationists, losing some features that gave it atmosphere, such as a tennis court and pool. But at least the structure will be preserved.

In Old Towne Orange, the city is investing up to $30,000 to restore the original appearance of a redwood bungalow. The owner differed with authorities about the coating he wanted to put on, and says he earlier got a permit without being told about the problem with his choice. The city could have done a better job of communication, and should do so if it is going to be a stickler on standards.

But it is doing the right thing in picking up a big part of the cost, and its overall strategy has now resulted in a significant preservation effort. Some 1,200 historic homes have been saved in Old Towne.