{"nrhp_refnum":"79000516","name":"Spurgeon Block","other_names":["Spurgeon Building"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"206 W. 4th St","address_restricted":false,"city":"Santa Ana","county":"Orange County","state":"CA","lat":33.74765503900005,"lon":-117.86913594999999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-08-31","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Exploration/Settlement","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A four-story, wood-frame commercial building with white-enameled pressed brick at 206 W. 4th Street, Santa Ana, California, completed in 1914 and designed by Metcalf & Davis of Long Beach for the Spurgeon family business.","why_significant":"The building is tied to W. H. Spurgeon, who founded Santa Ana and helped make it the Orange County seat, and it stands on the site of his earlier commercial buildings. It was the city's first four-story building, its first skyscraper. Its Swiss clock tower is a local landmark and a symbol of the city, and the site holds the area's first artesian well.","narrative":"Rising four stories at the corner of 4th and Sycamore Streets, this white-enameled brick commercial building was Santa Ana's first skyscraper. Ground was broken in 1913 and the structure was completed in 1914 to designs by Metcalf & Davis of Long Beach. Its neo-classical design relies on windows and brickwork for ornament, while a domed Swiss clock tower with four six-foot clock faces gives it a baroque accent and has become a recognized emblem of the city. Inside, a glass-doored elevator original to the building is the last person-operated one in a commercial building in Orange County. The site carries deeper meaning: W. H. Spurgeon, who founded Santa Ana and helped win it the county seat, ran earlier stores here, and the area's first artesian well lies beneath the building. The Spurgeon family owned and operated the block until 1973, and it anchored the 4th Street commercial district.","period_of_significance":"1914 (completed)","architect_builder":"Metcalf & Davis, Long Beach, CA","architectural_style":"Neo-classical","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as occupied commercial space in good, altered condition, with the owner restoring parts of the interior to turn-of-the-century decor.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:31.888264-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/79000516.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79000516/03557fe406-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79000516/03557fe406-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Cbl62","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:W._H._Spurgeon_Building_(Santa_Ana,_CA).jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Cbl62</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:W._H._Spurgeon_Building_(Santa_Ana,_CA).jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"84000438","name":"Downtown Santa Ana Historic Districts (North, Government/Institutional and South, Retail)","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/california/downtown-santa-ana-historic-districts-north-government-institutional-and-south-r-84000438/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123860346","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spurgeon_Block","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q133336704"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/orange-county/spurgeon-block-79000516/"}