{"nrhp_refnum":"08001406","name":"Dewella Apartments","other_names":["Dewella Court"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"234-236 E. Wilshire Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Fullerton","county":"Orange County","state":"CA","lat":33.872075421000034,"lon":-117.92063973199998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2009-02-02","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Spanish Colonial Revival apartment court at 234-236 East Wilshire Avenue in Fullerton, Orange County, California, built in 1929 for $11,000. It has eight five-room units in two two-story wings around a landscaped courtyard.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the complex is architecturally significant as the only apartment court built in Fullerton and the only apartment building there in the Spanish Colonial Revival style. It blends Mission-style turrets with Monterey-style balconies, a combination described as unique to the city, and integrates building and landscape. It also keeps the oldest surviving neon sign in Fullerton.","narrative":"Dewella Apartments is a Spanish Colonial Revival apartment court at 234-236 East Wilshire Avenue in Fullerton, California, completed in 1929 for $11,000. Two identical two-story wings extend north and south from a central courtyard, joined at the rear by a one-story building holding garages, storage and a laundry room. Eight five-room units open onto a formal garden with an oval fountain, curved tiled staircases and wrought iron details. White stucco walls, red clay tile roofs, Mission-style turrets and Monterey-style balconies give the complex its character. Interiors retain oak floors, gas fireplaces, built-in china and linen cabinets and coved ceilings. The property is notable because it is the only apartment court built in Fullerton and the only apartment building there designed in the Spanish Colonial Revival style, in a city where most apartments were plain two-story boxes. Its twelve-foot neon sign is the oldest surviving one in town. It was listed for its architecture, with 1929 as its period of significance.","period_of_significance":"1929","architect_builder":"Noble, Ora Vinton","architectural_style":"Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals: Spanish Colonial Revival","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Described as in excellent condition, with only minor exterior and interior changes; the apartments are rented as residential units.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:29.632211-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/08001406.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/08001406/abaa2cca81-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/08001406/abaa2cca81-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Traveler100","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:DewellaApartments01.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Traveler100</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:DewellaApartments01.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123860195","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q133324473"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/orange-county/dewella-apartments-08001406/"}