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Three buildings in Sacramento are among thirteen California historic properties under consideration for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places.
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The State Historic Resources Commission will review the nominations on Friday. The nominations will then be forwarded to the National Park Service for final consideration.
El Dorado Elementary School
in East Sacramento is significant for its architecture, according to nomination applicants Kara Brunzell and Tatyana Dunn from historical consulting firm Brunzell Historical.
The building, constructed in phases between 1921 and 1930, embodies characteristics of the Sacramento School District Architectural and Engineering Commission’s distinctive architecture program of the 1920s. It also serves as an example of the Spanish Revival style.
James Dean of the architectural firm Dean & Dean designed the main building. A prominent architect, he heavily influenced the design of Sacramento schools during the era. Brunzell called Dean’s firm “storied” and its designs “iconic.”
Dean’s brother Charles designed the auditorium, connected to the main building by a curved hyphen and constructed in 1939. The same year, Dean & Dean architect Earl Barnett designed a mural depicting Spanish explorer Francisco Vázquez de Coronado’s search for gold on the west wall of the auditorium.
Brunzell said the school is more than “four walls and a roof to keep the weather out.”
“These buildings are symbols of the commitment of the community to education,” she said.
El Dorado is the third Sacramento school she has nominated for the National Register. As a professional architectural historian, she expressed excitement about its consideration.
“It’s great to see ongoing interests and commitment to preservation,” she said.
Thomson-Diggs Co. Building
Located in downtown Sacramento, is significant for its industrial and commercial ties, according to nomination applicants Clare Flynn and Jennifer Mebree of planning, architecture and design firm Page & Turnbull Inc.
Designed by architect Clarence Cuff, the building was constructed in 1911 for use by the wholesale hardware distributor Thomson-Diggs Co. Flynn said the firm helped grow the R Street industrial corridor, which became the center of the Sacramento industry in the early 20th century due to its direct access to the railroad.
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According to Flynn, the building is also historically significant because of its association with its namesake Marshall Diggs, a former state senator and prominent Sacramento businessman. The property is the only intact and recognizable property tied to him.
“Buildings like the Thomson-Diggs Building … a lot of their importance is more intrinsic,” Flynn said. “It’s not something that you walk by on the street and go, ‘Oh wow, I can tell that’s a really beautiful architectural design.’ You have to dig in and do the research and uncover these stories.”
Previously an office space, the building is currently undergoing conversion to mixed-use — including a housing project. Although its original plain concrete exterior has since seen the application of an exterior face brick, the owners say it retains sufficient historic integrity to warrant its nomination to the National Register.
Flynn said beyond recognizing the property’s history, the owners sought nomination because it would provide them with historic tax credits to help fund the housing project.
“It will allow (the building) to be reused for housing and give it a whole new life that will then continue to contribute to the city, which I think is also really cool, because very easily otherwise it could be torn down,” she said.
Grant Union High School
Located in the Del Paso Heights neighborhood of Sacramento, is significant for its educational and political associations, according to nomination applicants Kasey Fulwood, Greta Rayle and Aoife Guiney of Aztec Engineering Inc.
Built in phases between 1934 and 1940, Grant Union was one of the first high schools built to meet the growing demand for public secondary education in Sacramento during the Great Depression. It was financed through New Deal Era work relief programs.
According to Fulwood and her colleagues, the building also carries architectural significance. It built in the Mission or Spanish Colonial Revival style, and its design reflects architectural responses to the passage of the Field Act — a California law that mandated specific levels of earthquake safety for school construction.
To comply with the act, architects Harry Devine and Charles Dean developed a reinforced concrete design that allowed for continuous use of the school for educational purposes when similar schools built only a few years earlier were declared unsafe.
How to weigh in
The state commission will consider the nominations at its quarterly meeting Friday at 9 a.m. in Sacramento at the Stanley Mosk Library and Courts Building at 914 Capitol Mall, Room 500, in Sacramento. Members of the public may attend in person or online via Zoom, or they may watch the broadcast via Cal-Span.
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