{"nrhp_refnum":"86000783","name":"Melrose-Backs Neighborhood Houses","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"226 and 228 E. Adele and 303, 307, 317, 321 N. Philadelphia","address_restricted":false,"city":"Anaheim","county":"Orange County","state":"CA","lat":33.83870626500004,"lon":-117.91209988299994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1986-04-03","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Exploration/Settlement","Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A group of six houses in an ell-shaped arrangement on East Adele Street and North Philadelphia Street in Anaheim, California, built between 1903 and 1914, with two earlier houses from the 1860s.","why_significant":"The group is argued to be significant for its turn-of-the-century architecture, including several distinguished Craftsman houses. It is also significant as the best surviving example of an Anaheim 'family neighborhood', a German tradition that grew from the break-up of the original settlement colony. The houses were homes to prominent local figures, and the Ames House is noted as individually eligible under Criterion B.","narrative":"Six houses on East Adele and North Philadelphia Streets in Anaheim form an ell-shaped family neighborhood. The two oldest, at 226 and 228 E. Adele, are simplified Greek Revival cottages from the early 1860s that were split in 1912. The others were built between 1903 and 1914, mostly in the Craftsman style, with Oriental or Tudor touches. They include a honeymoon cottage with 42 diamond-paned windows, a shingled house with wide gables, and a two-story house with a port cochere. Judge Homer Ames built the sixth house in 1911. The land belonged to Conrad Kuechel, an Anaheim founder, and later to his son-in-law Richard Melrose, a state assemblyman and civic leader, and the Backs family. The neighborhood is described as the best surviving example of the German-rooted family neighborhood in Anaheim, with all houses still standing and few visible alterations. It also housed a city attorney, a councilman, an assemblyman and the city's first city manager.","period_of_significance":"1903-1914","architect_builder":"Unknown (form lists builder/architect as unknown; it names Edward F. Niehaus as builder of 321 N. Philadelphia and A. E. Straehle as builder of the Melrose House)","architectural_style":"Craftsman, with simplified Greek Revival (226 and 228 E. Adele) and Oriental and Tudor influences","criteria":["B"],"status_note":"Houses are occupied private residences in fair to good condition; 226 E. Adele is a rental in the poorest condition of the group.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:27.265694-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/86000783.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123860274","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":null},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/orange-county/melrose-backs-neighborhood-houses-86000783/"}