{"nrhp_refnum":"07001220","name":"Cowell Lime Works Historic District","other_names":["Davis and Jordan Lime Company","Davis and Cowell Lime Company","Henry Cowell Company","Henry Cowell Lime &amp","Cement Company"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"University of California, Santa Cruz campus; High St. and Glen Coolidge Dr.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Santa Cruz","county":"Santa Cruz County","state":"CA","lat":36.97994807000006,"lon":-122.05411581361926,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2007-11-21","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A roughly 30-acre industrial and ranch district just inside the main entrance of the University of California, Santa Cruz, at High Street and Coolidge Drive. It contains lime kilns, a cooperage, barns, worker cabins and a ranch house, built from 1853 into the early 20th century.","why_significant":"The district preserves a concentrated set of buildings and structures that show how limestone was quarried, burned into lime and barreled for market at the Cowell Lime Works. The kilns, cooperage and trestle convey the industrial process, while the ranch house and cabins show the supporting residential and ranch life. The form states a period of significance of 1853 to 1920 and recommends local significance.","narrative":"Just inside the main entrance of the University of California, Santa Cruz, a cluster of stone kilns and weathered wooden buildings marks the former Cowell Lime Works. Lime production began here in 1853 and the site grew into a full industrial and ranch complex by 1861, centered on Jordan Gulch. Limestone and redwood fuel came from the hills above, and the lime was burned in kilns, packed into barrels made in the cooperage and shipped to market. The district covers about 30 acres and includes the kilns, cooperage, tramway trestle, cookhouse, horse barn, granary, paymaster's house, worker cabins and a ranch house built in 1864. Construction of Coolidge Drive in the 1960s removed part of the cooperage and changed the setting, though the road follows the old lime road. Several buildings now serve university uses such as admissions, a theater and a daycare. The period of significance runs from 1853 to 1920.","period_of_significance":"1853-1920","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Late Victorian: Italianate; Timber Frame Construction; Vernacular; Limekilns: pot and continuous","criteria":[],"status_note":"Many buildings are altered or deteriorated, but several are reused by the university (admissions office, theater, daycare, storage, Women's Center). Current functions include education and some vacant, not-in-use resources.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:29.682659-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/07001220.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/07001220/bb4525c227-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/07001220/bb4525c227-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 2.0","author":"Dylan Duvergé from Santa Cruz, USA","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Barn,_UCSC.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Dylan Duvergé from Santa Cruz, USA</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 2.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Barn,_UCSC.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123861849","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cowell_Lime_Works","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5179650"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/santa-cruz-county/cowell-lime-works-historic-district-07001220/"}