Architecture Planning Conservation Trag s Market Historic Resource Evaluation Prepared for City of San Mateo Planning Division Prepared by, Inc. San Francisco, California FINAL April 2017
SAN FRANCISCO Pier 9, The Embarcadero, Suite 107 San Francisco, California 94111 T: 415.421.1680 F: 415.421.0127 argsf.com PASADENA 8 Mills Place, 3rd Floor, Suite 300 Pasadena, CA 91105 T: 626.583.1401 F: 626.583.1414 arg-la.com PORTLAND 111 SW Fifth Avenue, 24th Floor Portland, OR 97204 T: 971.256.5324 arg-pnw.com
Trag s Market Historic Resource Evaluation 303 Baldwin Avenue San Mateo, California Final April 2017 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Introduction... 1 1.1 Project Background... 1 1.2 Methodology... 2 2. Property Description and History... 2 2.1 Property Description... 2 2.2 Construction Chronology... 5 3. Historic Context... 9 3.1 Settlement of San Mateo... 9 3.2 Wisnom Company... 12 3.3 Sharps and Brown, Architects... 13 3.4 Rakestraw s Market... 16 3.5 Trag s Market... 18 4. Evaluative Framework... 19 4.1 California Register of Historical Resources... 19 5. Evaluation... 21 5.1 California Register of Historical Resources... 21 5.2 Integrity Analysis... 22 6. Conclusion... 22 7. Bibliography... 23 Appendix Appendix A: Existing Conditions Photographs
1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 Project Background At the request of the City of San Mateo Planning Division, (ARG) completed this Historic Resource Evaluation (HRE) for Trag s Market at 303 Baldwin Avenue (APN 032 322 130) in San Mateo, California (Figure 1). The purpose of this evaluation is to determine if the subject property meets the criteria for listing in the California Register of Historical Resources (California Register) and therefore, is a historical resource under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). In 1956, the local architecture firm Sharps and Brown designed the commercial building at the request of the Wisnom Company. The building housed Rakestraw s Market from 1956 to 1972 and has housed Trag s Market from 1972 to the present. To date, the property has not been previously surveyed or evaluated for listing in the National Register of Historic Places (National Register) and California Register nor was it included in the City of San Mateo s historic resources survey completed in 1989. 1 Figure 1. Aerial photograph of the subject property and immediate vicinity (Google Earth, amended by author) 1 San Mateo County Historical Association, City of San Mateo Historic Building Survey Final Report, September 1989, accessed March 15, 2017, http://www.cityofsanmateo.org/documentcenter/view/47850. 1
1.2 Methodology To assess historical significance, consideration is given to several factors, including the property s history (both construction and use), the history of the surrounding community, the property s association with important persons or events, the potential for the resource to be the work of a master architect or builder, and the alterations that have taken place over time. These questions must be answered before a final determination of significance under the California Register criteria can be made. Physical assessment and archival research serve to inform an evaluation of significance; both have been completed for this project. On March 17, 2017, ARG visited the subject property in order to photograph the building and the surrounding setting and to document the architectural style, features, and condition of the grocery store. ARG also reviewed the building permit history provided by San Mateo Planning Division staff and conducted archival research at the following repositories: San Mateo Public Library San Mateo County Historical Association Archives San Mateo County Recorder s Office digital repositories, including the Sanborn Fire Insurance Company map collection, David Rumsey Historical Map Collection, United States Geological Survey (USGS) EarthExplorer, Ancestry.com, Newspapers.com, San Francisco Chronicle database, Online Archive of California, Internet Archive, Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals, and Pacific Coast Architecture Database The background research included a review of historic photographs, maps, newspaper clippings, and primary and secondary documents regarding the development of the subject property and the surrounding downtown commercial district and the Wisnom, Rakestraw, and Tragoutsis families. 2. PROPERTY DESCRIPTION AND HISTORY A physical description and construction history of the subject property are presented below; additional photographs are provided in Appendix A. 2.1 Property Description Trag s Market at 303 Baldwin Avenue is located on an irregularly shaped parcel (APN 032 322 120) at the southern end of the block bounded by Baldwin Avenue, N. B Street, Tilton Avenue, and N. Ellsworth Avenue, in turn located at the north end of San Mateo s commercial corridor centered on B Street. 2 Other businesses, such as restaurants, thrift stores, laundry mats, and retail stores, line the commercial corridor to the north and south along N. B Street, while small apartment buildings and single family residences are located to the west and north along N. Ellsworth Avenue. 2 A small commercial building (25 31 N. B Street) is located at the northeast corner of the same parcel but is not included in this HRE. 2
The subject property contains a large, detached grocery store situated at the eastern property line and small paved parking lots to the north, west, and south. The one story, concrete building has an irregular plan, concrete foundation, and a flat roof with a parapet. The parapet forms a large triangular pediment with a circular cutout centered above the main entrance on the south façade (Figure 2). The building has an L shaped projection on the east and north façades that is slightly lower in height. The concrete is scored with vertical columns that divide the façades into bays. The main entrance to the grocery store is located on the south façade and consists of aluminum sliding glass doors surmounted by two aluminum sash transom windows. Two large aluminum sash plate glass windows are located to the west, and three aluminum sash clerestory windows are located to the east of the entrance. A large curved canvas awning is located above the storefront entrance, and a projecting concrete awning covered by canvas panels extends across the south façade and wraps around the southwest corner, terminating on the west façade. The building is clad in small pink square tiles below the flat awning. The concrete is scored in a basket weave pattern in the eastern bay between the pink tiling and the projecting concrete sign at the southeast corner of the building. The sign s shaft displays neon lettering spelling MARKET on the north and south sides, and it is capped by a large circular sign with a neon T on both sides. Figure 2. South façade, view north (ARG, March 2017) 3
The remaining façades are largely devoid of fenestration and ornamentation. The east façade facing N. B Street has two small metal sash, six light awning windows and an entrance with a metal roll up door (Figure 3). The north façade has an entrance enclosed by concrete at the east end and a metal personnel door, garage entrance with a metal roll up door, and a three panel, metal louvered vent at the west end (Figure 4). A series of small concrete additions with flat or shed roofs covered in corrugated metal sheets are located at the northwest corner of the building. The west façade has two metal personnel doors and two large electrical boxes at the north end (Figure 5). Figure 3. East façade, view northwest (ARG, March 2017) Figure 4. North façade, view south (ARG, March 2017) 4
2.2 Construction Chronology Figure 5. West façade, view southeast (ARG, March 2017) The following construction chronology has been compiled using building permits (Table 1), Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, and aerial photographs. According to Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, the parcel was developed as early as the turn of the twentieth century with a series of one to two story commercial buildings facing Baldwin Avenue, and two one story stables at the rear facing San Mateo Creek. The creek meandered south for one block along present day N. B Street and curved west along present day Baldwin Avenue. A bridge located at the southeast corner of the parcel spanned the creek and provided access to the B Street commercial corridor extending south (Figure 6). By 1946, the property had been redeveloped with a series of slightly larger, one story commercial buildings facing Baldwin Avenue and an automobile garage to the north (Figures 7 and 8). The creek had been channeled underground due to the construction of N. B Street and Baldwin Avenue. In 1955, the Wisnom Company cleared the parcel and contracted the architecture firm Sharps and Brown to design the grocery store building the following year (Figures 9 and 10). Louise and William Rakestraw owned and operated Rakestraw s Market at the property from 1956 to 1972. In 1962, they cut a large opening and constructed a small addition on the north façade. In 1972, brothers Michael and Mark Tragoutsis purchased the business and renamed it Trag s Market. The exterior was remodeled in 1977 and 1986, and the building has been little altered since then. It is presumed that the small one story additions at the northwest corner of the building were added between 1977 and 1986. The Tragoutsis family still owns and operates the grocery store at this location. 5
Table 1. Construction Chronology Year Permit No. Architect/Builder Description of Work 1955 29264 1956 29830 1962 39702 1962 40084 1966 47311 1972 2403 1977 63594 1986 5395 1986 4614 1986 4994 1991 21927 1992 27744 2002 209932 2006 224809 Cleveland Wrecking Co., contractor Sharps and Brown, architects; W.A. Maroney, builder Ira W. Coburn, contractor Ray Winther Co., contractor Ray Winther Co., contractor Wil Mac Signs, contractor Manuel Legaspi, architect/engineer; Kenneth E. Berringer, builder John Sutti & Co., architect/contractor John Sutti & Associates, architect/contractor John Sutti & Associates, architect/contractor Alexander Paul Construction, contractor John Sutti & Associates, architect/contractor John Matthews, architect/engineer Sutti Associates, architect/contractor Demolish existing stores, including stores facing Baldwin Avenue and the metal shop building to the rear; valued at $3,000 Build new 14,200 square foot grocery store building, 116 feet by 138 feet; valued at $119,000 Cut 5 foot by 8 foot opening in rear wall; valued at $300 Add extension for machinery room at rear of existing building, valued at $3,000 Remodel interior (new 12 foot by 24 foot walk in box); valued at $4,000 Add new 3 foot by 20 foot Trag s Market sign on south façade Remodel interior (new store fixtures, painting, electrical, plumbing, new floors) and revise storefront; valued at $75,000 Remodel and repaint exterior, no additional detail provided; valued at $30,000 Remodel interior (remove stud wall and install post and beams at meat department); valued at $5,000 Remodel interior and front exterior, no other detail provided; valued at $60,000 Interior remodel (alter attic space and create new office next to existing); valued at $10,000 Remodel interior (expand deli, change fixture, ceiling work); valued at $250,000 Complete parking lot and driveway improvements, plant new trees and landscaping, repair sign structure; valued at $110,000 Remodel interior (deli/kitchen and refrigeration areas); valued at $400,000 6
Figure 6. 1901 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map, San Mateo, California, Sheet 8; the arrow indicates the location of the subject property. Figure 7. 1946 aerial photograph; the arrow indicates the location of the buildings at the subject property razed the following decade (USGS EarthExplorer, amended by author) 7
Figure 8. 1950 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map, San Mateo, California, Sheet 20 Baldwin Avenue Figure 9. 1956 aerial photograph shortly after construction of the extant building at the subject property (USGS EarthExplorer, amended by author) 8
N. B Street N. Ellsworth Avenue Figure 10. 1974 aerial photograph depicting the subject property (USGS EarthExplorer, amended by author) 3. HISTORIC CONTEXT 3.1 Settlement of San Mateo In 1856, the California State Legislature passed the Consolidation Act creating San Mateo County from the southern portion of San Francisco County, which originally extended from the northern tip of the peninsula south to Palo Alto. The following decade, the San Francisco and San Jose Railroad began offering train service along the peninsula, finally connecting its namesake cities by rail in 1864, and San Mateo developed into a small village at the crossroads between the north south railroad (which ran just one block east of the subject property) and a stagecoach road extending east west from the bay to the Pacific Coast. 3 The new rail connection provided easy access to San Mateo for both tourists and wealthy San Franciscans who desired weekend and summer residences in the countryside. The 40 mile trip to San Francisco was reduced from a 9 hour stagecoach ride to a 1.25 hour jaunt by rail; local farmers began shipping their produce to markets in San Francisco, and in return, tourists traveled south, particularly to visit Crystal Springs Canyon (located just over 3.5 miles west of the subject property). In 1868, the railroad was absorbed by the Southern Pacific Railroad. San Francisco businessmen and their families, such as the Howards, Taylors, and Parrotts, purchased large parcels of land along the railroad, erected grand mansions, and employed villagers as servants and skilled craftsman to maintain their estates. 4 3 Mitchell Postel, San Mateo: A Centennial History (San Francisco: Scottwall Associates, 1994), 19, 27; Alan Hynding, From Frontier to Suburb: the Story of the San Mateo Peninsula (Belmont, California: Star Publishing Company, 1982), 57 58. 4 Postel, San Mateo, 40 41. 9
Concurrent with the establishment of San Mateo County and the construction of the railroad, Charles B. Polhemus attempted one of the earliest residential subdivision in San Mateo. In the 1850s, Polhemus, a director of the San Francisco and San Jose Railroad, began buying up land along San Mateo Creek assuming that the future railroad would increase the property value. He was able to influence the location of the railroad tracks through the eastern portion of his holdings in San Mateo. He commissioned a survey to plot a new subdivision roughly bounded by the creek to the north (approximately at presentday Baldwin Avenue), 5th Avenue to the south, A Street (present day Ellsworth Street to the west, and D Street (present day Delaware Street) to the east. Shortly after the completion of the railroad in 1864, he saw his new development fizzle when he sold less than 25 percent of the 176 parcels. Nevertheless, he succeeded in establishing a new commercial district centered on the railroad tracks. 5 Over the next several decades, residential development continued in San Mateo. In 1889, the Howard family platted the Western Addition neighborhood on a portion of its estate. William H. Howard hired a surveyor to lay out the area between San Mateo Creek north to present day Poplar Avenue and the railroad tracks east to Delaware Street. It was later expanded north to Bellevue Avenue, west to El Camino Real (to encompass the subject property), and east to Humboldt Street. New homes were erected as the lots began to sell. The neighborhood was heavily advertised in newspapers as having an advantageous location in the central part of the beautiful suburban town of San Mateo, known as the Western Addition. 6 The article also highlighted the neighborhood s modern amenities, including graded and tree lined streets, water pipes, easy transportation to San Francisco via the railroad, and proximity to schools and churches. 7 By the turn of the century, the subject property would be developed with commercial buildings along the southern property line as an extension of the adjacent B Street commercial corridor. As early as 1890, efforts were underway to incorporate San Mateo, and on September 3, 1894, the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors voted in favor of incorporation. By this time, San Mateo benefited from a bustling business district centered along B Street, a thriving newspaper, a reliable source of water from the newly constructed Crystal Springs Dam, and many civic institutions, such as a volunteer fire department, library, churches, and schools. The boundaries for the new town extended from Peninsula Avenue on the north, the bay to the east, 9th Avenue on the south, and a line 1,000 feet west of the County Road on the west. 8 In the first two decades of the twentieth century, the lands surrounding San Mateo changed dramatically; salt harvesting operations dominated the bay lands, nurseries spread across the hillsides, and a country club was established for wealthy weekenders. Residential areas of the town expanded through new subdivisions such as San Mateo Heights, while the business section of town developed more slowly. 9 Around the turn of the twentieth century, San Mateo had approximately 1,800 residents and was linked to San Francisco by an interurban electric railway, which provided an alternate form of transportation. The new trolley service, coupled with an influx of San Francisco refugees following the 1906 earthquake and fires, resulted in the construction of numerous residences in San Mateo, with California bungalows among the most popular style. From 1900 to 1910, the population more than doubled to approximately 4,300 and by 1920, close to 6,000 people resided within city limits. Through the 1930s, the city continued 5 Postel, San Mateo, 39 40. 6 The California Home and Farm, April 1889, quoted in Postel, San Mateo, 98. 7 Postel, San Mateo, 98 99. 8 Ibid., 101. 9 Ibid., 112. 10
to expand as the large, late nineteenth century estates were subdivided and developed with smaller commercial and residential properties. The new residential development spread south from the downtown area, expanding the city s boundary to Belmont and solidifying its suburban, middle class character. By 1930, San Mateo s population had again doubled to 13,500 residents. A new suburban shopping district separate from the B Street corridor developed to the south at El Camino Real and 25th Avenue. 10 Transportation improvements oriented toward the automobile followed. By 1920, El Camino Real was transformed from a dusty, two lane dirt road into a modern paved thoroughfare lined with motels, gas stations, drive in restaurants, and suburban shopping complexes. Construction of the Bayshore Highway between South San Francisco and San Mateo began in 1924 to alleviate traffic along El Camino Real (now State Route 82). By the 1930s, the highway linked San Francisco south through San Mateo County to Santa Clara Valley. Bayshore Highway is now part of U.S. Highway 101. 11 San Mateo survived the Great Depression relatively well in comparison to the rest of the nation as local government officials efficiently balanced the annual budget and continued to fund critical services, such as the fire, police, library, and park departments. While unemployment reached 20 percent in California, it hovered around 3 percent countywide at the height of the depression. San Mateo also benefited from several large developments, including the construction of the Bay Meadows Racetrack in 1934 by William P. Kyne, a prominent equestrian enthusiast. 12 Following World War II, San Mateo County began to grow at a remarkable pace, with over 20,000 people relocating to its cities annually; its population had grown from 36,000 in 1920 to 200,000 people in just three decades. 13 The City of San Mateo experienced similar growth; just prior to World War II, the city s population was approximately 20,000 residents, which doubled by 1950 to approximately 42,000 people. This influx of residents led to new development, including the construction of numerous single family homes and garden apartments, led in part by prolific developers L.C. Smith and David Bohannon. Bohannon also specialized in developing suburban shopping complexes with large parking lots designed to accommodate the automobile. The most prominent of his developments was the Hillsdale complex, which began in 1952 with a 42 acre commercial center with 3 department stores and 75 shops located at El Camino Real and W. Hillsdale Boulevard (just over two miles south of the subject property). It took over a decade to complete in different phases and shifted the commercial center of San Mateo south away from the established B Street commercial district. 14 10 Postel, San Mateo, 125 127, 137, 175; Hynding, From Frontier to Suburb, 239 240, 250 251, 255 256. 11 Frank M. Stanger, South from San Francisco: the Life Story of San Mateo County (San Mateo, California: San Mateo County Historical Association, 1963), 198 200; Postel, San Mateo, 137; Hynding, From Frontier to Suburb, 256 259, 266 267. 12 Fiesta Looks Back on History of Progress, The Times (San Mateo), June 25, 1969: 38B. 13 Hynding, From Frontier to Suburb, 239; Stanger, South From San Francisco, 161. 14 Postel, San Mateo, 229 235. 11
3.2 Wisnom Company During this period of postwar growth, the Wisnom Company redeveloped its property at 303 Baldwin Avenue. The family had long ties to the community dating to the mid ninteenth century. In 1866, Irishborn Robert ( Big Bob ) Wisnom (1845 1918) arrived in San Francisco and two years later, moved south to San Mateo to build the Parrott family mansion. He then married Sarah Donnan and became a prolific builder, operating an office at Second Avenue and B Street (two blocks south of the subject property). His sons Robert James Wisnom and William Wisnom, along with Robert Bonner, continued their father s entrepreneurial spirit by founding Wisnom s Hardware in 1905 (now known as Hassett Ace Hardware). The hardware store was first located at Second and S. Ellsworth Avenue but moved to B Street from 1958 to 1982 (just south of the subject property). 15 Following his death in 1918, members of the Wisnom family continued operating the family business. His daughter Jane Elfving (1876 1962), president of the Wisnom Company, oversaw the redevelopment of the subject property in 1956. 16 She and other family members were on hand for the groundbreaking of the new grocery store (Figure 11). Figure 11. Photograph of the groundbreaking for Rakestraw s Market in 1956, from left to right: architect Leo Sharps, William E. Rakestraw, Jenny Wisnom Elfving (Wisnom Company president), John Markuson (Wisnom Company manager), Carl D. Elfving (Wisnom Company secretary), William Rakestraw, and Robert F. Wisnom (Wisnom Company treasurer, son of Robert James Wisnom). 17 15 Postel, San Mateo, 52 54; Sue Lempert, The Wisnom Family and San Mateo History, San Mateo Daily Journal, August 29, 2016. 16 Mrs. Elfving Dies at 85, The Times (San Mateo), February 19, 1962: 3. 17 Groundbreaking of Rakestraw s, The Times (San Mateo), April 24, 1956: 15; Gregory N. Zompolis, San Mateo, (Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing, 2004), 40. 12
3.3 Sharps and Brown, Architects The Wisnom Company commission the architecture firm Sharps and Brown to design the grocery store building at 303 Baldwin Avenue. The firm was founded by Leo Sharps (1897 1984) and Irving F. Brown (1898 1989) and based in Burlingame, California. Leo Sharps was born in Colorado and was married to Mary Sharps; they had three children, Patricia, Robert, and Rose Sharps. In 1930, the family resided in Brooklyn, New York, where Leo Sharps worked as a solo architect. By 1940, the Sharps had relocated to Burlingame. Leo Sharps appears to have remarried at twice, first to Beulah Bishop in 1952 and later to Brenda B. Sharps; he died in Los Angeles at age 87. 18 Irving F. Brown was born in Washington and resided in Brooklyn in the mid 1930s. Like Sharps, he had relocated to Burlingame by 1940 with his wife Doris Brown and son Peter Brown. Little else is known about Brown other than he worked as a draftsman for famed architect William W. Wurster in the early 1940s. 19 Based on preliminary research, the firm designed many residences and commercial and office buildings primarily in San Mateo County and was featured in local newspapers and architecture publications, including Architect and Engineer. Their work includes the following: 20 McAlister Chrysler Plymouth Dealership, 50 California Drive, Burlingame, 1946, showcased in the June 1947 issue of Architect and Engineer (significantly altered; Figure 12) 21 Addition to El Cerrito Manor apartment building, address unknown, 1947 (status unknown) 22 The Times/Metropolitan Life Building, 151 Second Avenue, 1949, developed by the Wisnom Company (demolished; Figure 13) 23 Modernization of the Levy Bros. department store, Burlingame, 1949 (status unknown) 24 Widmore Court apartment complex, Wyoming Way, San Mateo, 1951 (possibly extant) 25 San Carlos Bank Building, address unknown, San Carlos, 1953, listed in the March 1953 issue of Architect and Engineer (status unknown) 26 Single family residence, 125 James Avenue, Atherton, 1953 (demolished) 27 18 United States Federal Census, 1930, 1940; California Death Index, 1940 1997; California Marriage Index, 1949 1959; United States Find A Grave Index, 1600s current; Ancestry.com, accessed March 23, 2017, http://www.ancestry.com. 19 United States Federal Census, 1940; Social Security Death Index, 1935 2014; Ancestry.com, accessed March 23, 2017, http://www.ancestry.com; Pacific Coast Architecture Database, Irving F. Brown (Architect), accessed March 23, 2017, http://pcad.lib.washington.edu/person/6414/. 20 The list was compiled from a preliminary review of newspaper articles and architecture publications; the status was verified during a desktop review of the properties in Google Earth. 21 Advertisement for McAlister Chrysler Plymouth Dealership, The Times (San Mateo), October 23, 1946: 3. 22 Advertisement for El Cerrito Manor, The Times (San Mateo), August 22, 1947: 4. 23 Contracts Let for Addition to Times, The Times (San Mateo), November 20, 1948: 1. 24 Levy Bros. to Modernize Store, The Times (San Mateo), April 14, 1949: 2. 25 Plans Given for 34 Unit Apartment, The Times (San Mateo), March 28, 1951: 2. 26 Branch Bank Building, Architect and Engineer 192, no. 3 (March 1953): 45. 27 Advertisement for 125 James Avenue, The Times (San Mateo), January 31, 1953: 16. 13
Figure 12. Design for the McAlister Chrysler Plymouth dealership 28 Figure 13. Drawing of The Times/Metropolitan Life Building 29 Sharps and Brown s design for the subject property featured a Midcentury Modern commercial building with a low, horizontal profile emphasized by the nearly full width awning across the façade (Figure 14). Modern architecture is a broad term that encompasses a wide range of styles and extends over a number of decades. In contrast to revivalist or derivative styles, modern architecture as a whole introduced a new vocabulary and was radically different than traditional styles. Although American architects such as Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright began experimenting with modern design at the turn of the twentieth century, European Modernism and the Bauhaus movement, both of which emerged in the late 1910s, are often considered the precursors to subsequent modernist styles. Generally, the new architectural 28 Leo J. Sharps, James W. McAlister, Chrysler Plymouth, Burlingame, California, Architect and Engineer 169, no. 3 (June 1947): 19. 29 Contracts Let for Addition to Times, The Times (San Mateo), November 20, 1948: 1. 14
vocabulary was prominent in the United States from the 1930s through the 1960s, and different modern styles emerged and flourished at different times during this period. A broad and oft disputed term, Modernism encompasses styles such as Streamline Moderne, Midcentury Modernism, Bay Region, Expressionism, New Formalism, Brutalism, and Third Bay Tradition. Of these iterations, Midcentury Modern is the most closely associated with the original design of the subject property in 1956. The following is an overview of this architectural style: Midcentury Modern was most frequently applied to residential design, but was also commonly found in commercial, religious, office, institutional and recreational property types. Midcentury Modern design elements include cantilevered roofs and overhangs, the use of bright or contrasting colors, projecting eaves, canted windows, projecting boxes that frame the upper stories, stucco siding, spandrel glass, large expanses of windows, flat or shed roof forms, vertical corrugated siding, stacked roman brick cladding, and occasionally, vertical wood siding. New technology and materials, such as plastic laminates, spandrel glass, and anodized metal sheaths were increasingly incorporated in Midcentury Modern buildings. Many architects who practiced within the Modernist idiom did not fall neatly into the categories of International Style, Streamline Moderne, or Second Bay Tradition. The term Midcentury Modern for the purpose of this context statement is a broad term that is inclusive of Modern architects who designed buildings that emphasized many of the Midcentury Modern design elements. 30 Following the trend of retail buildings of that era, the grocery store at 303 Baldwin Avenue broke with the established development pattern of the surrounding blocks. The property became oriented toward the automobile rather than the pedestrian. In particular, a large, detached grocery store building was located set back from the street and surrounded by parking lots, replacing the row of small commercial storefronts lining Baldwin Avenue. Likewise, the tall projecting sign at the corner was meant to attract the attention of motorists traveling up and down B Street. At the grand opening of the new grocery store in January 1957, William Rakestraw remarked that it was the largest, privately owned parking lot in San Mateo s downtown meant for the exclusive use of their customers. 31 30 Mary Brown, San Francisco Modern Architecture and Landscape Design, 1935 1970 Historic Context Statement (San Francisco City and County Planning Department, January 2011), 121 128. 31 Rakestraw s Grand Opening, The Times (San Mateo), January 16, 1957: 34. 15
3.4 Rakestraw s Market Figure 14. Original design of the subject property 32 The Rakestraw family operated its namesake grocery store at 303 Baldwin Avenue from 1956 to 1972. Although they welcomed the first shoppers in December 1956, they celebrated the grand opening in mid January the following year (Figure 15). William E. Rakestraw (1883 1964) was born in Havana, Illinois, and by 1920 was employed as a detective by the San Francisco Police Department. In 1921, he was suspended from the police force after it was revealed that he refused to support May Finkeldey in the care of their two children, Jack Rakestraw (1918 1990) and William Rakestraw (1920 1998). 33 The couple then married but were divorced by 1930. At some point, he moved to Burlingame and married Marian Rakestraw. William E. Rakestraw s obituary includes a third son, Arthur Hanna, who may have been his stepson. 34 His son William Rakestraw married Irene Fitzgibbons (1922 2013), also born in San Francisco, and they had two children. 35 William Rakestraw got his start in the grocery business in San Francisco in 1937 and aspired to own his own store for over two decades. After receiving financial help from his parents and brother Jake Rakestraw, he served as the manager and spokesperson for the family business (Figure 16). The family celebrated the grand opening of the grocery store in a three day celebration, with San Mateo Mayor Edward J. Reilly on hand to cut the ceremonial ribbon. The interior was noted as being attractive and modern with wide aisles, spacious gondolas, asphalt tile composition floors, fire glass ceiling, fluorescent lighting, electric eye doors and five speedy check out counters. 36 32 New Market to Have Preview Tomorrow, The Times (San Mateo), December 19, 1956: 13. 33 O Brien Suspends Traffic Officer, San Francisco Chronicle, March 13, 1921: 63. 34 United States Federal Census, 1920, 1930; Social Security Death Index, 1935 2014; California Death Index, 1940 1997; Ancestry.com, accessed March 23, 2017, http://www.ancestry.com; Estate Left to Family, The Times (San Mateo), July 10, 1964: 10; William E. Rakestraw, obituary, San Francisco Chronicle, June 27, 1964: 14. 35 Irene Rakestraw, obituary, San Francisco Chronicle, March 10, 2013. 36 Rakestraw s Grand Opening, San Mateo Times, January 16, 1967: 34. 16
Figure 15. Full page advertisement for Rakestraw s Market shortly after opening in 1956. 37 Figure 16. William Rakestraw at the opening of the family grocery store in 1957 38 37 Rakestraw s Market advertisement, The Times (San Mateo), December 26, 1956: 22. 38 Rakestraw s Grand Opening, The Times (San Mateo), January 16, 1967: 34. 17
3.5 Trag s Market In 1972, Mike and Mark Tragoutsis purchased Rakestraw s Market and renamed it after their surname. In 1958, the Tragoutsis brothers, along with their parents and brother Xenophon Tragoutsis, moved to San Francisco from New York and opened the New Checker Market on Taraval Street, gaining an entry into the grocery store business. In 1953, the family moved south and purchased the Sunnybrae Market in the Sunnybrae area in San Mateo. They sold that business in 1972, and the brothers acquired a larger property at 303 Baldwin Avenue. They undertook two remodels of the store in order to remain competitive. In the last remodel dating to the mid 1980s, the Tragoutsis brothers spent over $500,000 remodeling the store and saw a 15 percent increase in the average food sale and an overall 10 percent gain in business. 39 The building s exterior has remained essentially the same since then. Figure 17. Trag s Market as it appeared in 1988. 40 39 Grant Du Bois, Trag s Market is a Family Tradition, The Times (San Mateo), newspaper clipping with no date, on file at San Mateo County Historical Association, Folder 47 443; Ken Costa, Downtown Stores Battle for a Piece of the Consumer Pie, The Times (San Mateo), March 21, 1988: B1. 40 Downtown Stores Battle for Piece of Consumer Pie, The Times (San Mateo), March 21, 1988: B1. 18
Figure 18. Trag s Market advertisement. 41 4. EVALUATIVE FRAMEWORK 4.1 California Register of Historical Resources The California Register of Historical Resources (California Register) is the authoritative guide to the State s significant historical and archeological resources. It serves to identify, evaluate, register, and protect California s historical resources. The California Register program encourages public recognition and protection of resources of architectural, historical, archeological and cultural significance, identifies historical resources for state and local planning purposes, determines eligibility for historic preservation grant funding and affords certain protections under the California Environmental Quality Act. All resources listed on or formally determined eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (National Register) are automatically listed on the California Register. In addition, properties designated under municipal or county ordinances are eligible for listing in the California Register. 41 Trag s Market advertisement, The Times (San Mateo), October 2, 1973: 16. 19
Significance Criteria The California Register criteria are modeled on the National Register criteria discussed above. An historical resource must be significant at the local, state, or national level under one or more of the following criteria: 1. It is associated with events or patterns of events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of local or regional history, or the cultural heritage of California or the United States. 2. It is associated with the lives of persons important to local, California, or national history. 3. It embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, region, or method of construction, or represents the work of a master, or possesses high artistic values. 4. It has yielded, or has the potential to yield, information important to the prehistory or history of the local area, state or the nation. Like the National Register, evaluation for eligibility to the California Register requires an establishment of historic significance before integrity is considered. California s integrity threshold is slightly lower than the federal level. As a result, some resources that are historically significant but do not meet National Register integrity standards may be eligible for listing on the California Register. 42 Integrity Second, for a property to qualify under the National Register s Criteria for Evaluation, it must also retain historic integrity of those features necessary to convey its significance. 43 While a property s significance relates to its role within a specific historic context, its integrity refers to a property s physical features and how they relate to its significance. 44 Since integrity is based on a property s significance within a specific historic context, an evaluation of a property s integrity can only occur after historic significance has been established. To determine if a property retains the physical characteristics corresponding to its historic context, the National Register has identified seven aspects of integrity: Location is the place where the historic property was constructed or the place where the historic event occurred. Setting is the physical environment of a historic property. Design is the combination of elements that create the form, plan, space, structure, and style of a property. 42 California Office of Historic Preservation, California Register and National Register: A Comparison (for the purposes of determining eligibility for the California Register), Technical Assistance Series #6 (Sacramento: California Department of Parks and Recreation, n.d.), accessed March 24, 2017, http://ohp.parks.ca.gov/pages/1069/files/technical%20assistance%20bulletin%206%202011%20update.pdf. 43 National Park Service, How to Apply the National Register Criteria for Evaluation, accessed March 24, 2017, http://www.nps.gov/nr/publications/bulletins/nrb15/nrb15_8.htm. 44 Ibid. 20
Materials are the physical elements that were combined or deposited during a particular period of time and in a particular pattern or configuration to form a historic property. Workmanship is the physical evidence of the crafts of a particular culture or people during any given period in history or prehistory. Feeling is a property s expression of the aesthetic or historic sense of a particular period of time. Association is the direct link between an important historic event or person and a historic property. 5. EVALUATION 5.1 California Register of Historical Resources An evaluation of the subject property for individual significance under each California Register criterion is presented below. California Register Criterion 1 [Association with Significant Events] To be considered eligible for listing under Criterion 1, a property must be associated with one or more events important in a defined historic context. This criterion recognizes properties associated with single events, a pattern of events, repeated activities, or historic trends. The event or trends, however, must clearly be important within the associated context. Further, mere association of the property with historic events or trends is not enough, in and of itself, to qualify under this criterion: the specific association must be considered important as well. 45 The Trag s Market property is recommended as ineligible for listing in the California Register under Criterion 1. The parcel had been developed with commercial buildings as early as the turn of the twentieth century, and the surrounding neighborhood infilled with residences to the north and the B Street commercial corridor to the south. The redevelopment of the parcel in the mid 1950s with a modern grocery store did not spur significant new development in San Mateo, and the immediate surrounding remained essentially the same with one to two story attached commercial buildings built to the property line and forming traditional pedestrian oriented commercial blocks. Therefore, the property does not meet the significance threshold for this criterion. California Register Criterion 2 [Association with Significant Persons] This criterion applies to properties associated with individuals whose specific contributions to history can be identified and documented. It identifies properties associated with individuals whose activities are demonstrably important within a local, State, or national historic context, and is typically limited to those properties that have the ability to illustrate a person's important achievements. 46 45 National Park Service, How to Apply the National Register Criteria for Evaluation. 46 Ibid. 21
Although the Rakestraws operated a successful business in San Mateo, they are not known to have made a significant impact in local, state, or national history. While the Wisnom family developed of the subject property in 1956, the building s exterior was completely remodeled in the mid 1980s. Therefore, this property is not significant for their contributions to the development and growth of the city. As such, the property does not appear to meet the threshold for listing in the California Register under this criterion. California Register Criterion 3 [Architectural Significance] This criterion applies to properties that embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction, or that represent the work of a master, or that possess high artistic values, or that represent a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction. "Distinctive characteristics" are the physical and design features that commonly recur in individual types, periods, or methods of construction. To be eligible, a property must clearly contain enough of those characteristics to be considered a true representative of a particular style. A master is a figure of generally recognized greatness in a field, a known craftsman of consummate skill, or an anonymous craftsman whose work is distinguishable from others by its characteristic style and quality. A property is not eligible as the work of a master, however, simply because it was designed by a prominent architect. 47 Sharps and Brown were a notable local architecture firm with prominent commissions throughout San Mateo County. However, the grocery store building was significantly remodeled in the mid 1980s and retains vestiges of its original design. As such, it is not regarded as a significant example of their work or as a Midcentury Modern commercial building. Therefore, the property does not embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, region, or method of construction, represent the work of a master, or possess high artistic values to be eligible for listing under California Register Criterion 3. California Register Criterion 4 [Potential to Yield Information] Criterion 4 is generally applied to archaeological resources, and evaluation of the subject property for eligibility under this criterion was beyond the scope of this report. 5.2 Integrity Analysis In order for a building to qualify for listing on the California Register of Historical Resources, it must both display significance under one or more of the California Register criteria and retain historical integrity. Since the building was not found to display significance under any of the above criteria, an evaluation of the property s physical integrity is unnecessary. 6. CONCLUSION Trag s Market at 303 Baldwin Avenue does not appear to be eligible for listing in the California Register, since it did not play an important role in the postwar growth of San Mateo; it is not associated with persons significant in local, state, or national history; and the building s original Midcentury Modern design has been heavily altered and is not significant for its architectural design and construction. As such, it does not appear to qualify as a historical resource under CEQA. 47 National Park Service, How to Apply the National Register Criteria for Evaluation. 22
7. BIBLIOGRAPHY Brown, Mary. San Francisco Modern Architecture and Landscape Design, 1935 1970 Historic Context Statement. San Francisco City and County Planning Department. January 2011. Building permit history for subject property provided by the City of San Mateo Planning Division. California Death Index, 1940 1997. March 23, 2017. http://www.ancestry.com. California Marriage Index, 1949 1959. Accessed March 23, 2017. http://www.ancestry.com. California Office of Historic Preservation. California Register and National Register: A Comparison (for the purposes of determining eligibility for the California Register), Technical Assistance Series #6. Sacramento: California Department of Parks and Recreation, n.d. Accessed March 24, 2017. http://ohp.parks.ca.gov/pages/1069/files/technical%20assistance%20bulletin%206%202011%20 update.pdf. Hynding, Alan. From Frontier to Suburb: The History of San Mateo and the Peninsula. Belmont, California: Star Publishing Company, 2004. National Park Service. How to Apply the National Register Criteria for Evaluation. Accessed March 24, 2017. http://www.nps.gov/nr/publications/bulletins/nrb15/nrb15_8.htm. Postel, Mitchell. San Mateo: A Centennial History. San Francisco: Scottwall Associates, 1994. San Mateo County Historical Association. City of San Mateo Historic Building Survey Final Report. September 1989. Accessed March 15, 2017. http://www.cityofsanmateo.org/documentcenter/view/47850. Sanborn Fire Insurance Map, San Mateo, California. 1901, Sheet 8; 1908, Sheet 12; 1920, Sheet 20; 1950, Sheet 20. Social Security Death Index, 1935 2014. Accessed March 23, 2017. http://www.ancestry.com. Stanger, Frank M. South from San Francisco: the Life Story of San Mateo County. San Mateo, California: San Mateo County Historical Association, 1963. United States Federal Census, 1920, 1930, 1940. Accessed March 23, 2017. http://www.ancestry.com. United States Find A Grave Index, 1600s current. Accessed March 23, 2017. http://www.ancestry.com. United States Geological Survey (USGS). 1946, 1956, and 1974 aerial photographs of the subject property. EarthExplorer. Accessed March 24, 2017. http://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/. Zompolis, Gregory N. San Mateo. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing, 2004. 23
Newspaper and Magazine Articles Advertisement for 125 James Avenue. The Times (San Mateo). January 31, 1953: 16. Advertisement for El Cerrito Manor. The Times (San Mateo). August 22, 1947: 4. Advertisement for McAlister Chrysler Plymouth Dealership. The Times (San Mateo). October 23, 1946: 3. Branch Bank Building. Architect and Engineer 192, no. 3 (March 1953): 45. Contracts Let for Addition to Times. The Times (San Mateo). November 20, 1948: 1. Costa, Ken. Downtown Stores Battle for a Piece of the Consumer Pie. The Times (San Mateo). March 21, 1988: B1. Downtown Stores Battle for Piece of Consumer Pie. The Times (San Mateo). March 21, 1988: B1. Du Bois, Grant. Trag s Market is a Family Tradition. The Times (San Mateo). Newspaper clipping with no date. On file at San Mateo County Historical Association, Folder 47 443. Estate Left to Family. The Times (San Mateo). July 10, 1964: 10. Fiesta Looks Back on History of Progress. The Times (San Mateo). June 25, 1969: 38B. Groundbreaking of Rakestraw s. The Times (San Mateo). April 24, 1956: 15. Irene Rakestraw, obituary. San Francisco Chronicle. March 10, 2013. Lempert, Sue. The Wisnom Family and San Mateo History. San Mateo Daily Journal. August 29, 2016. Levy Bros. to Modernize Store. The Times (San Mateo). April 14, 1949: 2. Mrs. Elfving Dies at 85. The Times (San Mateo). February 19, 1962: 3. New Market to Have Preview Tomorrow. The Times (San Mateo). December 19, 1956: 13. O Brien Suspends Traffic Officer. San Francisco Chronicle. March 13, 1921: 63. Plans Given for 34 Unit Apartment, The Times (San Mateo). March 28, 1951: 2. Rakestraw s Market advertisement. The Times (San Mateo). December 26, 1956: 22. Rakestraw s Grand Opening. The Times (San Mateo). January 16, 1957: 34. Sharps, Leo J. James W. McAlister, Chrysler Plymouth, Burlingame, California. Architect and Engineer 169, no. 3 (June 1947): 18 20, 39 40. 24
Trag s Market advertisement. The Times (San Mateo). October 2, 1973: 16. William E. Rakestraw, obituary. San Francisco Chronicle. June 27, 1964: 14. 25
Trag s Market, 303 Baldwin Avenue, San Mateo, California Historic Resource Evaluation Appendix A Existing Conditions Photographs
Trag s Market Historic Resource Evaluation 303 Baldwin Avenue, San Mateo, California Final April 2017 Appendix A. Existing Conditions Photographs Trag s Market, view northwest (ARG, March 2017) South façade, view northwest (ARG, March 2017) 1
Trag s Market Historic Resource Evaluation 303 Baldwin Avenue, San Mateo, California Final April 2017 Appendix A. Existing Conditions Photographs Detail of the entrance and storefront windows on the south façade, view north (ARG, March 2017) Detail of the cladding on the south façade (ARG, March 2017) 2
Trag s Market Historic Resource Evaluation 303 Baldwin Avenue, San Mateo, California Final April 2017 Appendix A. Existing Conditions Photographs Detail of the windows and entrance on the east façade, view north (ARG, March 2017) Northwest corner of Trag s Market, view south (ARG, March 2017) 3
Trag s Market Historic Resource Evaluation 303 Baldwin Avenue, San Mateo, California Final April 2017 Appendix A. Existing Conditions Photographs Detail of the additions to the northwest corner of the building, view southeast (ARG, March 2017) Detail of the southwest corner of Trag s Market, view southeast (ARG, March 2017) 4