HomeMy WebLinkAboutAppendix F - Historic Resources Report JM Research and Consulting
Jennifer Mermilliod, M.A.
4076 Brockton Avenue, Ste. 201, Riverside, CA 92501
Phone 951-233-6897 | Email jennifer@jmrc.biz
MEMORANDUM REPORT
DATE: May 3, 2024
TO: Norah Jaffan
EPD Solutions, Inc.
3333 Michelson Drive, Ste. 500
Irvine, CA Orange, CA 92612
FROM: Jennifer Mermilliod, M.A., Principal Historian/Architectural Historian
SUBJECT: Focused Cultural Resources Survey – Historic Resources Assessment for the
14970 Jurupa Avenue Project, City of Fontana, San Bernardino County,
California
Dear Ms. Jaffan,
JM Research & Consulting (JMRC) completed a focused Cultural Resources Survey – Historic
Resources Assessment (HRA) for the 14970 Jurupa Avenue Project located in the City of Fontana,
San Bernardino County. The project proposes to demolish existing site improvements and construct
an approximately 502,105-sq-foot logistics and distribution warehouse facility on the
approximately 22.83-acre project site (APNs 0237-121-03 and 0237-122-07).
The survey was requested by EPD Solutions as part of the environmental review process in
compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA; PRC §21000, et seq.). This
HRA evaluates the property for significance and eligibility for historic designation and analyzes
potential impacts of the proposed project under CEQA. The study may complete the Cultural
Resources investigation, or act as a companion study to a Phase I Cultural Resources Assessment,
including archaeological investigation, should one be required and completed by others.
APN Acres Address/Identity Structures DOC
0237-121-03 1.77 RR ROW spur track by 1898
0237-122-07 21.03 14970 Jurupa Avenue warehouse 1965
office 1977
A warehouse, office, and railroad spur track would be demolished under the proposed project and
are included in the HRA study. The occupied, light industrial property is located on the north side
of Jurupa Avenue between Live Oak and Hemlock Avenues. The area is part of the Southwest
Industrial Park, which is bordered by the 10 Freeway and Southern Pacific Railroad to the north
and the Southridge Village residential area along the Jurupa Hills to the south.
14970 Avenue Project Location
Jennifer Mermilliod, M.A., Principal Historian/Architectural Historian, JMRC, who exceeds the
Secretary of the Interior's Professional Qualifications Standards, acted as Principal Historic
Consultant and both managed and completed the study (see resume, Attachment B). The intensive-
level survey was conducted from March to April 2024 and included field survey and historic and
building specific research in accordance with CEQA Guidelines. Research and review of source
material included City of Fontana building permits and San Bernardino County property records;
city directories; historic newspapers, aerial photographs and topographical maps; local history
records accessible through the San Bernardino County library and the Fontana Lewis Library and
Technology Center library websites, other online sources, and the JMRC professional library.
The subject project area was originally developed as part of the land holdings of the Semi-Tropic
Land and Water (STL&W) Company. The local land boom that followed the coming of the
railroad prompted the development of land and water in the region in the late-1880s. Formed in
1887, the STL&W Company acquired 28,500 acres of land plus the rights to 800 inches of water
from Lytle Creek and developed the townsites of Bloomington, Rialto, Fontana, and Sansevaine.
Originally known as Rosena, Fontana was established as an agricultural community by Azariel
Blanchard (A.B.) Miller, who purchased 17,000 acres in 1905 and transformed the land into citrus
fruit orchards, poultry, rabbit, cattle, and hog ranches, vineyards, walnut and citrus groves, and 400
miles of fully-grown windbreak border trees. Organized and managed by the Fontana companies –
a land company and a development company, led by A.B. Miller, the companies were reorganized
in 1918, and the development company became the Fontana Farms Company. As advertised in
1923, the Fontana Farms Company offered cleared, planted, and irrigated acreage units for
immediate investment or homesite with each acre including a share of water and maintenance for
three years, and the Project Area was developed as an orange grove with windbreak trees along the
north and south at least by 1933 to the mid-1950s, disappearing over the next 10 years. The last
few windbreak trees on the northeast corner of the property were removed in the late-1980s.
The Project Area is also located in what was known as the Declez region, or South Fontana, named
for William Declez, originally from France, who by 1875 owned large swaths of land in the area.
By 1876, he had established two granite quarries in the Jurupa Hills, and a population of about 300
workmen formed a town known as Declezville that included a post office, a bunkhouse for
laborers, cookhouse, and more. The mines and quarry works provided stone for buildings and
public works throughout the state, and the Southern Pacific built a dedicated spur line (by 1898)
from the mainline track on the north, along what would become Live Oak Avenue, to the Declez
Quarry and Declezville. The properties along the route became attractive to rail-serviced industry,
and in 1921, A.B. Miller established the largest hog ranch (1921-1950) in the world, fed by the
food spoils of Los Angeles delivered via rail, immediately north of the Project Area.
In 1942, Fontana transformed into a thriving industrial town when Henry J. Kaiser opened the
Kaiser Steel Mill on the outskirts of town (now the Auto Club Speedway (1995) and NASCAR
race site 1997). The Kaiser plant became the first on the West Coast to supply rolled steel plates to
build Liberty and Victory ships during World War II and remained the primary source of
employment and revenue until 1984 when it ceased operation and made its innovative health care
plan public. The City of Fontana was incorporated in 1952 in the first years of economic
transformation from agricultural and ranching to steel, and beginning in 1957, the area was
connected to the broader region with the construction of Interstate 15 to San Diego County and
locations north through the Cajon Pass and Interstate 10 (1965) to the east. The city grew rapidly in
the latter-20th century, now encompassing approximately 52.4 square miles in San Bernardino
County, due to the development of the Kaiser Permanente Hospital facility, dramatic population
growth prompting residential, commercial, and industrial development, and its hub location at the
crossroads of major trade and commuter routes, including Interstate 10, Interstate 15, State Route
210, and the Southern Pacific/Union Pacific Railroad.
14970 Jurupa Avenue
Divided as Lot 971, of the STL&W Company lands (M.B. 11/12), additional historic and building
specific archival research under the current HRA revealed that the approximately 21-acre property
was developed as a structural steel yard in the 1960s. Although unconfirmed in the historic record,
it is likely the property was improved by Witteman Steel Mill, a reinforcing bar producer, who is
listed as the occupant in city directories from 1973 to 1985. The extant 120’x154’ rectangular
warehouse was designed as a machine shop Petry & Knowles, an engineering firm in Alhambra,
and constructed in 1965 (no owner/client listed on plans). The office was added in 1977. Long,
narrow buildings across the approximate west-east center of the site in the 1960s and 1970s (no
longer extant) served as an open walled melt (or furnace) shop and a rolling mill. Little is found in
the historic record about the engineering works of Petrey & Knowles, and Witteman Steel Mill, one
of 26 western producers operating 38 facilities, filed for chapter XI bankruptcy in late-1977.
Use of the property was taken over by the current tenant, the Brown-Strauss Steel Corporation, in
1987. Founded in Kansas City in 1905 by Harry Strauss and two brothers, Isador and Morton
Brown, Brown-Strauss spread westward in the 1970s as a substantial international conglomerate
into the Denver, Phoenix, and Salt Lake City regions. Reverting to private ownership again in the
1980s, the company relocated its headquarters to Denver and continued to expand with new rail-
served facilities in the Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Portland regions, including the Fontana
site. A manufacturer of wholesale structural steel, Brown-Strauss reduced the property’s role in the
Fontana steel industry from production to distribution, demolishing the central rolling mill and melt
shop, converting the machine shop into a warehouse with added exterior conveyor cutting
machines, and filling the remainder of the lot with steel stacks divided by an asphalt drive grid
system. The abandoned Declez Spur Line was also shortened to extend only partway through the
Project Area and remains active, delivering carloads of steel daily.
FINDINGS
Although first owned by the Semi-Tropic Land & Water Company and the Fontana Farms
Company, both important entities in the development of Fontana and the region, the parcels within
the Project Area are not strongly associated with them or other early individual owners that figured
prominently in history. The original setting, which was only moderately and briefly associated with
the citrus and agricultural development of the area, has been compromised by removal of the grove
and modern industrial development. The Southern Pacific Declez Spur Line supports the later
steel-related use of the property, but is now a modified, remnant segment of track and is unable to
convey its historic association with the Declez Quarry and town and the early settlement and
development of Fontana independent of the larger, linear system and in a changed setting.
Witteman Steel was a minor entity in the local steel production industry, and though Brown-Strauss
Steel is more substantial, the property has been modified through the removal of its original steel
works features and reduction of its role as a minor cutting and distribution facility. Therefore, the
property is not strongly associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the
broad patterns of our national or state history or with significant persons in our past (NR/CR
Criteria A,B/1,2). The warehouse is of common design and construction with extensive
modifications, and the added office is not of historic age. Very little is found in the historic record
of the engineering works of Patrey and Knowles, suggesting they were not significant in the field.
Therefore, the property does not embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or
represent the work of a master, or possess high artistic value (NR/CR C/3). The results of research
under this focused HRA study show that extant buildings and structures of the previously disturbed
property have not yielded and are not likely to yield information important in history or prehistory
(NR/CR Criteria D/4) beyond that which has already been identified by the current study; this may
be further guided by archaeological study, if completed. While part of a larger industrial landscape,
utilitarian design and common construction that extends well into the modern period noted
collection in the vicinity of the Project Area suggests no potential for the property to contribute to a
collective resource.
On the local level, the subject property is subject to Chapter 5, Article XIII of the Fontana
Municipal Code. Specifically, Section 5-355 provides historical resources designation criteria, of
which the first four apply to individual potential historic resources. As demonstrated above, the
property has not been found to possess special historical, archaeological, cultural, architectural,
community or aesthetic value (Criterion 1); be associated with significant persons, a business use,
or events (Criterion 2); embody distinctive characteristics of a style, type, period or method of
construction, or be a valuable example of the use of indigenous materials or craftsmanship
(Criterion 3); or have a unique location or singular physical characteristic that represents an
established and familiar visible feature of a neighborhood or community or the city (Criterion 4).
Based on the results of the HRA, 14970 Jurupa Avenue does not appear to be eligible for listing in
the National Register of Historic Places (NR) or California Register of Historical Resources (CR),
or for local designation under the Fontana Municipal Code. The property has been assigned a
California Historic Resources (CHR) code of 6Z – Found ineligible for NR, CR, or Local
designation through survey evaluation and fully documented on California Department of Parks
and Recreation DPR forms (attached). The results of this focused study indicate that no further
historic investigation is recommended.
The proposed project includes demolition of the surveyed buildings and redevelopment for
continued industrial use. As the subject property has been found ineligible for designation, the
property is not considered a historical resource under CEQA, and no mitigation measures are
recommended.
Please contact me should you need any clarification or further assistance.
Regards,
Jennifer Mermilliod, Principal, JMRC
Attachment A
DPR Forms
DPR 523A (3/97) *Required information
State of California The Resources Agency Primary #
DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI#
PRIMARY RECORD Trinomial
CHR Status Code 6Z
Other Listings
Review Code Reviewer Date
*Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder) Witteman Steel Mill
P1. Other Identifier: Brown-Strauss Steel Yard
*P2. Location: Not for Publication Unrestricted *a. County San Bernardino
and (P2b and P2c or P2d. Attach a Location Map as necessary.)
*b. USGS 7.5’ Quad Guasti Date T 1S ; R 6W ; ½ of S ½ of Sec 26 ; S.B. B.M.
c. Address 14970 Jurupa Avenue City Fontana Zip Code 92337
d. UTM: (give more than one for large and/or linear resources) Zone ; mE/ mN/
e. Other Locational Data: (e.g., parcel#, directions to resource, elevation, etc. as appropriate) APN: 0237-122-07, 0237-121-03
*P3a. Description: (Describe resource and its major elements. Include design, materials, condition, alterations, size, setting, and boundaries)
The industrial property consists of a warehouse (1965; former machine shop), office (1977), and railroad spur line (by 1898) remnant. The steel-framed,
rectangular one-story warehouse along Jurupa Avenue rests on an earthen foundation and is covered by a low-pitched, front-gabled roof. Walls and roof are
clad in corrugated metal sheeting. A large vehicular opening with roll-up metal door is centered on the east-facing façade and rear elevation, and a smaller
vehicular opening and metal pedestrian door with a round GEORGE E. FAILING COMPANY logo is offset on the left façade with an added high-set modern
aluminum sliding window. A conveyor driven cutting machine and shed-roofed operator shack with man door, material opening, and small window has been
added to both the north (1987-1989) and west (1992-2005) elevations. A long, rectangular, concrete block office (1977) to the east rests on a slab foundation
and is topped with a low-pitched, side-gabed roof covered with barrel clay tile. Wide, boxed stuccoed eaves protect painted walls. Fenestration and entries are
concentrated on the north elevation, which is punctuated by two metal office doors and 12 large aluminum-framed fixed and sliding windows, two replaced
with vinyl, plus a small sliding restroom window. The deeply recessed arcade with concrete slab and metal post supported eave extends the full-length of the
rear elevation. A short railroad spur line along Live Oak Avenue extends partway into the property from the north. A rolling mill and open-walled melt shop
(1966-67) are no longer extant, and an above-grade diesel fuel tank (1993) is near the warehouse. A perimeter wall (1992/2002) secures the property, which is
filled with steel stacks on earthen beds framed by an asphalt drive grid. The property is in poor condition and retains little integrity.
P3b. Resource Attributes: (List attributes and codes) HP8 – Industrial Building, AH7 – Railroad Grade/Spur Track
P4. Resources Present: Building Structure Object Site District Element of District Other (Isolates, etc.)
P5b. Description of Photo: (view, date,
Acession #) View to SE; March 28, 2024
*P6. Date Constructed / Age and Sources:
Historic Prehistoric Both
1965 (Original Plans, Aerials)
*P7. Owner and Address:
Prologis LP
Pier 1 Bay 1
San Francisco, CA 94111
*P8. Recorded by: (Name, org., and addr.)
Jennifer Mermilliod
JM Research & Consulting (JMRC)
4076 Brockton Avenue, Suite 201
Riverside, CA 92501
*P9. Date Recorded: March 28, 2024
*P10. Survey Type
Intensive-Level
*P11 – Report Citation (Cite survey report and other sources, or enter “none.”) Mermilliod, Jennifer (JMRC). 2024. Cultural Resources Survey -
Historic Resources Assessement for the 14970 Jurupa Avenue Project, City of Fontana, San Bernardino County, CA.
Attachments: None Location Map Sketch Map Continuation Sheet Building, Structure, and Object Record
Archaeological Record District Record Linear Feature Record Milling Station Record Rock Art Record
Artifact Record Photograph Record Other Other (List)
DPR 523B (3/97) *Required information
State of California The Resources Agency Primary #
DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI#
BUILDING, STRUCTURE, AND OBJECT RECORD
Page 2 of 7 *CHR Satus Code 6Z
*Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder) Witteman Steel Mill
B1. Historic Name: Witteman Steel Mill, Brown-Strauss Steel Yard
B2. Common Name:
B3. Original Use: Steel Production B4. Present Use: Steel Storage, Cutting, & Distribution
*B5. Architectural Style: Industrial Vernacular
*B6. Construction History: (Construction date, alterations and date of alterations)
By 1898 Southern Pacific Declez Spur Line
By 1933 orange grove (removed 1953-1959) and windbreak trees (removed 1950s-1960s; last few 1987-1989)
1965 maachine shop, converted to warehouse with cutting machines and operator shacks on north (1987-1989) and west (1995-2002)
1966-67 steel rolling mill and melt (furnace) shop (enlarged 1970, demolished 1987-1989)
1977 office
1990s perimeter wall (1992, expanded 2002), fuel tank (1993)
*B7. Moved? No Yes Unknown Date: Original Location:
*B8. Related Features:
Southern Pacific Declez Spur Line
B9a. Architect: Petrey & Knowles (Engineers) B9b. Builder: unknown
*B10. Significance: Theme Industrial Development (Steel) Area Fontana
Period of Significance 1942-1984 Property Type Industrial Mill Applicable Criteria N/A
(Discuss importance in terms of historical or architectural context as defined by theme, period, and geographic scope. Also address integrity.)
See Continuation Sheet.
B11. Additional Resource Attributes: (List attributes and codes)
*B12. References:
See Continuation Sheet.
B13. Remarks:
*B14. Evaluator: Jennifer Mermilliod
*Date of Evaluation: April 23, 2024
DPR 523L (1/95) *Required information
State of California The Resources Agency Primary #
DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI#
CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial
Page 3 of 7 *Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder)Witteman Steel Mill
* Recorded by Jennifer Mermilliod *Date March 28, 2024 Continuation Update
*B10. Significance:
The subject project area was originally developed as part of the land holdings of the Semi-Tropic Land and Water (STL&W) Company. The
local land boom that followed the coming of the railroad prompted the development of land and water in the region in the late-1880s. Formed in
1887, the STL&W Company acquired 28,500 acres of land plus the rights to 800 inches of water from Lytle Creek and developed the townsites
of Bloomington, Rialto, Fontana, and Sansevaine. Originally known as Rosena, Fontana was established as an agricultural community by
Azariel Blanchard (A.B.) Miller, who purchased 17,000 acres in 1905 and transformed the land into citrus fruit orchards, poultry, rabbit, cattle,
and hog ranches, vineyards, walnut and citrus groves, and 400 miles of fully-grown windbreak border trees. Organized and managed by the
Fontana companies – a land company and a development company, led by A.B. Miller, the companies were reorganized in 1918, and the
development company became the Fontana Farms Company. As advertised in 1923, the Fontana Farms Company offered cleared, planted, and
irrigated acreage units for immediate investment or homesite with each acre including a share of water and maintenance for three years, and the
Project Area was developed as an orange grove with windbreak trees along the north and south at least by 1933 to the mid-1950s, disappearing
over the next 10 years. The last few windbreak trees on the northeast corner of the property were removed in the late-1980s.
The Project Area is also located in what was known as the Declez region, or South Fontana, named for William Declez, originally from France,
who by 1875 owned large swaths of land in the area. By 1876, he had established two granite quarries in the Jurupa Hills, and a population of
about 300 workmen formed a town known as Declezville that included a post office, a bunkhouse for laborers, cookhouse, and more. The mines
and quarry works provided stone for buildings and public works throughout the state, and the Southern Pacific built a dedicated spur line (by
1898) from the mainline track on the north, along what would become Live Oak Avenue, to the Declez Quarry and Declezville. The properties
along the route became attractive to rail-serviced industry, and in 1921, A.B. Miller established the largest hog ranch (1921-1950) in the world,
fed by the food spoils of Los Angeles delivered via rail, immediately north of the Project Area.
In 1942, Fontana transformed into a thriving industrial town when Henry J. Kaiser opened the Kaiser Steel Mill on the outskirts of town (now
the Auto Club Speedway (1995) and NASCAR race site 1997). The Kaiser plant became the first on the West Coast to supply rolled steel plates
to build Liberty and Victory ships during World War II and remained the primary source of employment and revenue until 1984 when it ceased
operation and made its innovative health care plan public. The City of Fontana was incorporated in 1952 in the first years of economic
transformation from agricultural and ranching to steel, and beginning in 1957, the area was connected to the broader region with the
construction of Interstate 15 to San Diego County and locations north through the Cajon Pass and Interstate 10 (1965) to the east. The city grew
rapidly in the latter-20th century, now encompassing approximately 52.4 square miles in San Bernardino County, due to the development of the
Kaiser Permanente Hospital facility, dramatic population growth prompting residential, commercial, and industrial development, and its hub
location at the crossroads of major trade and commuter routes, including Interstate 10, Interstate 15, State Route 210, and the Southern
Pacific/Union Pacific Railroad.
14970 Jurupa Avenue
Divided as Lot 971, of the STL&W Company lands (M.B. 11/12), additional historic and building specific archival research under the current
HRA revealed that the approximately 21-acre property was developed as a structural steel yard in the 1960s. Although unconfirmed in the
historic record, it is likely the property was improved by Witteman Steel Mill, a reinforcing bar producer, who is listed as the occupant in city
directories from 1973 to 1985. The extant 120’x154’ rectangular warehouse was designed as a machine shop Petry & Knowles, an engineering
firm in Alhambra, and constructed in 1965 (no owner/client listed on plans). The office was added in 1977. Long, narrow buildings across the
approximate west-east center of the site in the 1960s and 1970s (no longer extant) served as an open walled melt (or furnace) shop and a rolling
mill. Little is found in the historic record about the engineering works of Petrey & Knowles, and Witteman Steel Mill, one of 26 western
producers operating 38 facilities, filed for chapter XI bankruptcy in late-1977.
Use of the property was taken over by the current tenant, the Brown-Strauss Steel Corporation, in 1987. Founded in Kansas City in 1905 by
Harry Strauss and two brothers, Isador and Morton Brown, Brown-Strauss spread westward in the 1970s as a substantial international
conglomerate into the Denver, Phoenix, and Salt Lake City regions. Reverting to private ownership again in the 1980s, the company relocated
its headquarters to Denver and continued to expand with new rail-served facilities in the Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Portland regions,
including the Fontana site. A manufacturer of wholesale structural steel, Brown-Strauss reduced the property’s role in the Fontana steel industry
from production to distribution, demolishing the central rolling mill and melt shop, converting the machine shop into a warehouse with added
exterior conveyor cutting machines, and filling the remainder of the lot with steel stacks divided by an asphalt drive grid system. The abandoned
Declez Spur Line was also shortened to extend only partway through the Project Area and remains active, delivering carloads of steel daily.
Although first owned by the Semi-Tropic Land & Water Company and the Fontana Farms Company, both important entities in the development
of Fontana and the region, the parcels within the Project Area are not strongly associated with them or other early individual owners that figured
prominently in history. The original setting, which was only moderately and briefly associated with the citrus and agricultural development of
the area, has been compromised by removal of the grove and modern industrial development. The Southern Pacific Declez Spur Line supports
the later steel-related use of the property, but is now a modified, remnant segment of track and is unable to convey its historic association with
the Declez Quarry and town and the early settlement and development of Fontana independent of the larger, linear system and in a changed
setting. Witteman Steel was a minor entity in the local steel production industry, and though Brown-Strauss Steel is more substantial, the
property has been modified through the removal of its original steel works features and reduction of its role as a minor cutting and distribution
facility. Therefore, the property is not strongly associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our
DPR 523L (1/95) *Required information
State of California The Resources Agency Primary #
DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI#
CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial
Page 4 of 7 *Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder)Witteman Steel Mill
* Recorded by Jennifer Mermilliod *Date March 28, 2024 Continuation Update
national or state history or with significant persons in our past (NR/CR Criteria A,B/1,2). The warehouse is of common design and construction
with extensive modifications, and the added office is not of historic age. Very little is found in the historic record of the engineering works of
Patrey and Knowles, suggesting they were not significant in the field. Therefore, the property does not embody the distinctive characteristics of
a type, period, or represent the work of a master, or possess high artistic value (NR/CR C/3). The results of research under this focused HRA
study show that extant buildings and structures of the previously disturbed property have not yielded and are not likely to yield information
important in history or prehistory (NR/CR Criteria D/4) beyond that which has already been identified by the current study; this may be further
guided by archaeological study, if completed. While part of a larger industrial landscape, utilitarian design and common construction that
extends well into the modern period noted collection in the vicinity of the Project Area suggests no potential for the property to contribute to a
collective resource. On the local level, the subject property is subject to Chapter 5, Article XIII of the Fontana Municipal Code. Specifically,
Section 5-355 provides historical resources designation criteria, of which the first four apply to individual potential historic resources. As
demonstrated above, the property has not been found to possess special historical, archaeological, cultural, architectural, community or aesthetic
value (Criterion 1); be associated with significant persons, a business use, or events (Criterion 2); embody distinctive characteristics of a style,
type, period or method of construction, or be a valuable example of the use of indigenous materials or craftsmanship (Criterion 3); or have a
unique location or singular physical characteristic that represents an established and familiar visible feature of a neighborhood or community or
the city (Criterion 4). The property has been assigned a California Historic Resources (CHR) code of 6Z – Found ineligible for NR, CR, or
Local designation through survey evaluation.
*B12. References:
City of Fontana. 1992-2007. Building Permits.
City of Fontana. 1973-1987. City Directories.
Freeman, R. 1953. “Brief History of Fontana.”
NETR 1898-2021. Historical Aerials & Topo Maps. https://netronline.com/.
Partner Engineering & Science. 2015. Phase I Environmental Site Assessment.
Patrey & Knowles. 1965. Machine Shope Building Plans. Drawing No. 6520 A, Sheets 1-3.
SnBD County. 1891. Ptn. STL&W Co. Sub. M.B. 11/12.
SnBD County. 2004. Assessor’s Map. M.B. 023712.
SnBD County. 2024. PIMS Reports: 0237-122-07 & 0237-121-03.
Smith, Brian F. & Associates. 2022. A Cultural Resources Survey for the Southridge Project. Fontana, CA.
UCSB. Aerial Photography. https://www.library.ucsb.edu/geospatial/aerial-photography
United States International Trade Commission. 1979. Conditions of Competition in the Western U.S. Steel Market between Certain Domestic
and Foreign Steel Products.USITC Investigation No. 332-87. Publication No. 951.
DPR 523L (1/95) *Required information
State of California The Resources Agency Primary #
DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI#
CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial
Page 5 of 7 *Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder)Witteman Steel Mill
* Recorded by Jennifer Mermilliod *Date March 28, 2024 Continuation Update
P5b. Additional Photographs:
Warehouse Façade (1965), view W/NW Warehouse Vehicular Opening & Interior, view W/NW
Warehouse NE Corner Condition, view W Warehouse North Elevation Addition (1987-89), view W/SW
Warehouse West Elevation Addition (1995-2002), view NE Office Façade (1977) & East Side Elevation, view SW
DPR 523L (1/95) *Required information
State of California The Resources Agency Primary #
DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI#
CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial
Page 6 of 7 *Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder)Witteman Steel Mill
* Recorded by Jennifer Mermilliod *Date March 28, 2024 Continuation Update
Office Rear & West Side Elevation, view NE Office Façade Windows & Entry, view W/SW
Declez Spur Line (by 1898), shortened (ca. 1980s), view N Declez Spur Line Coming into Property, view N
Shortened Spur Line Ends within Property, view SE Declez Spur Line, view S
DPR 523L (1/95) *Required information
State of California The Resources Agency Primary #
DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI#
CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial
Page 7 of 7 *Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder)Witteman Steel Mill
* Recorded by Jennifer Mermilliod *Date March 28, 2024 Continuation Update
Diesel Fuel Tank (1993) at Warehouse, view SW Perimeter Wall (1992/2002), view SE
Perimeter Wall Damage, view SE Overview - Steel Stacks, Asphalt Drives, & Buildings, view W/NW
Attachment B
Professional Resume
Jennifer Mermilliod, M.A.
JM Research & Consulting
4076 Brockton Avenue, Suite 201
Riverside, CA 92501
951-233-6897
jennifer@jmrc.biz
Statement of Qualifications & Expertise
Jennifer Mermilliod, M.A., Principal Historian/Architectural Historian exceeds the Secretary of the Interior's
Professional Qualifications Standards for History and Architectural History.
Project Design, Entitlement & Consultation Historic Preservation Planning, Policy & Programs
Regulatory Compliance – Section 106 & CEQA Cultural Resources Treatment & Management
Survey, Evaluation & Context Development National Register, California Register, & Local Registration
Design Review, Case Planning, & Plan Check Presentation, Public Relations, & Outreach
Education
UC, Riverside, M.A., History, specialization in Historic Preservation, 2001
UC, Riverside, B.A., History, 2000
Professional Experience
Cultural Resources/Historic Consultant, JM Research & Consulting, since 2001
Reviewing Official under SHPO MOU, March Joint Powers Authority, since 2012
Contract City Architectural Historian on City Architect Team, City of San Gabriel, since 2021
Qualified Historic Preservation Reviewer for FEMA Seismic Grant Fund Projects, City of West Hollywood, since 2022
Historic Consultant and On-film Historian, HGTV & DIY Network, Restored Show, Seasons 1-7, since 2016
Contract Historic Preservation Senior Planner, City of Riverside, 2016-2020
Selected Projects
Preservation Planning, Policy & Programs
Rafferty Project Feasibility Study, Forensic Investigation, & Restoration Oversight, Toll Brothers, Santa Ana, 2020-2023
Covina Bowl Project Management, Covina, 2019-2023
City of Colton Cultural Resources Element & Historic Preservation Ordinance Updates, SWCA, 2022 (in progress)
Landmark Nomination, 4409 Houghton Avenue, Riverside, 2022 (in progress)
National Register Nomination: Trujillo Adobe, Spanish Town Heritage Foundation, 2022 (in progress)
Peer Review, Jenkins Building Evaluation, City of Riverside, 2022
Whittier City Hall East Wing Rehabilitation & Preservation Plan, City of Whittie 2022
Riverside Military Wall of Honor Redesign, City Hall Plaza, Riverside, 2021-2022
Determination of Eligibility, 550 E. Chapman Avenue, Orange, 2021
Mission Heritage Plaza Substantial Compliance Analysis, Wakeland Housing & Development, Riverside, 2020
National Register Nomination: Evergreen Cemetery, Riverside, 2020-2022
National Register Nomination: Bumann Ranch, Encinitas, 2020
San Jacinto General Plan Update, City of San Jacinto, 2019
Landmark Nomination: Bigelow’s Bungalow, Riverside, 2018
Historic Interpretive Entry Design & Plaque: Marywood Retreat Center, Orange, 2017
San Jacinto Downtown Specific Plan, City of San Jacinto, 2017
National Register Nomination: Jefferson Elementary School, Corona, 2017
Citywide Streetlight LED Conversion Project, City of Riverside, 2017
City of Riverside North Park Pergola Collapse – Salvage & Documentation Program, City of Riverside, 2017
Landmark Plaque: The Patsy O’Toole House, Riverside, 2016
Landmark Plaque: The Nielson Pool House, Riverside, 2016
Landmark Nomination and Plaque: Camp Anza Officers Club, Riverside, 2016
History Room Design & Interpretive Display: Camp Anza Officers Club, Riverside, 2016
City of Redlands Certified Local Government Program Development, 2015
Chicago/Linden Strategic Plan, City of Riverside, 2013
National Register Nomination: Huntington Beach Public Library on Triangle Park, Huntington Beach, 2013
California Baptist University Specific Plan, Riverside, 2012
Landmark Nomination and Plaque: The Walter C. Banks Residence, Riverside, 2012
Historic District Nomination: Segment of State Route 18, Corona, 2012
Landmark Nomination and Plaque: The A.C.E. Hawthorne House and Tree, Riverside, 2012
National Register Nomination: Grand Boulevard, Corona, 2011
California Register Nomination: The Jackson Building, Riverside, 2009
Landmark Nomination and Plaque: The Jackson Building, Riverside, 2008
California Point of Historical Resources Nomination: Camarillo Ranch House, Camarillo, 2005
National Register Multiple Property Nomination: Architecture of the Arts and Crafts Movement, Pasadena, 2004
Structure of Merit Nomination: House at 3855-59 11th Street, Riverside, 2003
National Register Nomination: Camarillo Ranch House, Camarillo, 2003
CEQA Compliance
633 E. Maple Avenue Project, Orange, 2023 (in progress)
336-338 W. San Bernardino Road Project HRA, Covina, 2023
Ennabe Project at 4135 Market Street CEQA Analysis, Riverside, 2023
Markham Perris Project HRA Initial Scoping, EPD Solutions, Perris, 2022
Oakmont Industrial Project HRA, EPD Solutions, Fontana, 2022
12300 Lakeland Road Project HRA, EPD Solutions, Santa Fe Springs, 2022
Recreation Village Project, EPD Solutions, Covina, 2021
NWC Clinton Keith & Wildomar Trail Project HRA, EPD Solutions, Wildomar, 2021
Valley and Oak Project HRA, EPD Solutions, El Monte, 2021
Santa Ana and Calabash Avenues Project HRA, EPD Solutions, Fontana, 2021
Slover/Alder Avenue Development Project HRA, EPD Solutions, Bloomington, 2021
Magnolia Presbyterian Sanctuary Rebuild Project SOIS Analysis, Riverside, 2021
Wood & Lurin Project HRA, EPD Solutions Riverside, 2021
Great Scott Project HRA, EPD Solutions, Lake Forest, 2021
Vita Pakt, Trumark Homes, Covina, 2021
Covina Bowl, Trumark Homes, Covina, 2020
March Field Historic District WMWD Water Utility Line Replacement, March JPA, 2019-2022
La Atalaya, Altura Credit Union Member House, Riverside, 2019
Entrada, Wakeland Housing & Development, Riverside, 2019
Main Library, City of Riverside, 2018
Redlands YMCA Properties, Redlands, 2017
Marywood Retreat Center, Orange, 2013-2017
Mission Inn La Trattoria Pergola & Wine Tasting Room, Riverside, 2016
Rhunau, Rhunau, Clark Building, Riverside, 2016
Arlington Plaza, Riverside, 2016
Mission Lofts, Riverside, 2015
Lakeside Temescal Valley Project Lake Corona, Corona, 2015
Harris Farm Townhomes, Riverside, 2015
Dhammakaya Retreat, Azusa, 2013
Riverside Plaza Harris’ Department Store, Riverside, 2012
Old Town Plaza, San Jacinto, 2011
Pfennighausen Ranch, Pedley, County of Riverside, 2010
March Field Historic District Garage Building #113, March Joint Powers Authority, 2009
Five Points Realignment, City of Riverside, 2008
Fox Block, City of Riverside, 2007
Section 106 & CEQA Compliance
Robinson House, City of Riverside, 2023
Prado Dam & Reservoir Improvement Project, Santa Ana River, 2017-2023
Home Front at Camp Anza - Camp Anza Officers Club, City of Riverside, 2013-2017
HRER, Colton Undergrade & C Street Crossing Seismic Retrofit Projects, City of Colton, Caltrans District 8, 2014
HPSR & FOE, University Avenue Streetscape Project, City of Riverside, Caltrans District 8, 2005
HPSR & FOE, Victoria Avenue Streetscape & Parkway Restoration Project, City of Riverside, Caltrans District 8, 2004
HPSR, Jurupa Avenue Underpass / Mountain Avenue Crossing Closure Project, City of Riverside, Caltrans District 8, 2001
Section 106 Compliance
FEMA Seismic Retrofit Grant Projects, West Hollywood, 2022
Entrada, Wakeland Housing & Development, Riverside, 2019
Mission Heritage Plaza & Civil Rights Museum, Wakeland Housing & Development, Riverside, 2017
HPSR, Inglewood Avenue Corridor Widening Project, City of Lawndale, Caltrans District 7, 2013
Van Buren Improvement Project, March Joint Powers Authority, County of Riverside, EDA, 2013
Wattstar Cinema and Education, Los Angeles, 2010
County of San Bernardino Lead Abatement Program, Highland, Redlands, & San Bernardino, 2003
Professional Activities
Publications
The Camp Anza Officers Club: Supporting Mobilization and Morale During World War II. Riverside Historical Society
Journal, Issue Pending 2022.
The New Home Company Announces Marywood Hills, a Historic Collection of Luxury Residences with Unobstructed Views
of the City of Orange. Press Release co-authored for immediate by The New Home Company. April 2018.
The Grandest Boulevard. Riverside County Historical Commission and the Riverside County Regional Park and Open-
Space District, The Riverside County Chronicles, Issue No. 5. Fall 2011.
Riverside Project Wins Governor’s Award for Historic Preservation: ‘Home Front at Camp Anza’ Brings New Life to Old
Officers Club. Press Release authored for immediate release by City of Riverside. October 4, 2016.
Historic Resources Inventory Database Web site: Instructions for Online Navigation. Historic Resources Database Web site
User’s Manual prepared for the City of Riverside. September 2002.
Historic Resources Inventory: Instructions for Recording and Viewing. Historic Resources Database User’s Manual
prepared for the City of Riverside. September 2001.
Awards
California Preservation Foundation Award – Latino Context, City of Riverside. 2019.
Governor’s Award for Historic Preservation – Homefront at Camp Anza. 2016.
California Preservation Foundation Best Restoration Award – Homefront at Camp Anza. 2017.
IE Economic Partnership Award for Best Real Estate Development and Reuse – Homefront at Camp Anza. 2016.
Golden Nugget Award - Best Renovated, Restored, Adaptive Re-Use Residential Project – Homefront at Camp Anza. 2016.
Golden Nugget Award -Best Affordable Housing Community Under 30du/acre – Homefront at Camp Anza. 2016.
Presentations, Speaking Engagements, and Instruction
Civil Rights Walk Eliza Tibbets Statue Film Presentation. City of Riverside Main Street Pedestrian Mall. 2021
City of Riverside Cultural Heritage Board Continuing Education Program. 2021
Session I. Cultural Heritage Board 101. May 19, 2021.
Session II. Secretary of the Interior Standards, June 16, 2021.
Session III. Certified Local Government Program, July 21, 2021.
Creating Space for Women: Julia Morgan, Architect, and the Riverside YWCA. Women In Tandem (WIT). COVID HOLD.
The History of the Automobile in Riverside, Riverside Historical Society Four-Part Lecture Series. 2018-2021.
Part 1. The Automobile Comes to Town: The Birth of the Automobile Industry in Riverside, 1902-1913. October 7, 2018.
Part 2. From Agriculture to Automobile: The Internalization of a New Economy, 1913-1928. June 2, 2019.
Part 3. The Automobile Unscathed: Navigating a Path through Depression and Wartime, 1929-1945. April 11, 2021.
Part 4. TBD 2022
Historic Preservation: The Field of Public History. Notre Dame High School Career Day. September 2018.
Historic Preservation: The Field of Public History. Riverside East Rotary Club. July 2018.
Historic Preservation: The Field of Public History. Riverside Uptown Kiwanis. December 2017.
Architecture: Form, Function, and Ornamentation. Architecture Series. Diocese of San Bernardino, OLPH. October 2011.
How to Research Your Historic Home. City of Riverside Public Workshop. October 2010.
Riverside’s Hidden Histories: The Gems Among Us – Nava Tires. Mission Inn Foundation and Museum. June 17, 2010.
The Art of the Survey. Riverside County Historical Commission 5th Annual Symposium. October 26, 2007.
The Field of Public History. California State University, Fullerton. Dr. Wendy Elliott Scheinberg. November 14, 2006.
Arlington Heights, the Realization and Preservation of a California Dream. CPF Conference. May 14, 2005.
How to Research Your Historic Home. Riverside County Historical Commission History Workshop. April 16, 2004.
Affiliations & Service
National Trust for Historic Preservation, Individual Member #58551599.
California Preservation Foundation, General Member #21244.
Old Riverside Foundation, Lifetime Member; Board of Directors (2003-2005) – facilitated mission advancement through
planning and direction of annual home tour, awards program, facilities maintenance, and historic preservation advocacy.
Riverside Historic Society, Lifetime Member