{"nrhp_refnum":"82002223","name":"Builders Exchange Building","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"202--208 N. Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Santa Ana","county":"Orange County","state":"CA","lat":33.74640160200005,"lon":-117.86782777299999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1982-04-29","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story, U-shaped commercial building with a basement at 202-208 North Main Street, Santa Ana, Orange County, California, built between October 1928 and February 1929 by the C. A. Lansdowne Construction Company.","why_significant":"The building was a model project of the Orange County Builders Exchange, meant to showcase modern building techniques and materials, with all work done by Exchange members. The Exchange offered the first industry self-regulation and standards in an area of rapid, unregulated growth. It helped bring about local adoption of building codes and quality construction.","narrative":"Built in 1928 and 1929 at the corner of Main and Second Streets in Santa Ana, this two-story, U-shaped commercial building was designed in a simplified Beaux Arts style. It is made of brick, reinforced concrete and partial steel framing, and its front facade carries terra cotta pilasters with Corinthian capitals, quoins, swags, a dentilated cornice and a tile plaque bearing the building's name. The Orange County Builders Exchange, a building trade organization, sponsored it as a model project to show modern materials and methods, and all construction and subcontracting was done by Exchange members. C. A. Lansdowne's firm built it for $65,000, and Southern California Edison was the first ground-floor tenant, with members' offices upstairs. The Exchange promoted quality construction, helped bring local building codes into use, and offered insurance, financial services and a social forum. The nomination argues that this self-regulation shaped the quality of Santa Ana's historic building stock during a period of rapid growth.","period_of_significance":"1900-","architect_builder":"William Rohrbacher / C. A. Lansdowne (C. A. Lansdowne Construction Company)","architectural_style":"Simplified Beaux Arts","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as occupied, with retail use and some vacancy; condition described as good with minor alterations to exterior and interior.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:31.311339-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/82002223.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82002223/1cadc753e5-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82002223/1cadc753e5-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Cbl62","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Builders_Exchange_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:Builders_Exchange_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/123860175","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Builders_Exchange_Building_(Santa_Ana,_California)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q85749432"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/orange-county/builders-exchange-building-82002223/"}