78150 La Fonda (Avenida)
DPR 523A (09/2013) *Required information
State of California — The Resources Agency
DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION
PRIMARY RECORD
Review Code Reviewer Date
Resource Name: General Telephone of California
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Primary#: P-33-xxx
HRI#: None
Trinomial #: N/A
CRHR Status Code: 6Z
Other Listings: Urbana Survey No. 318
*P3b. Resource Attributes: HP9. Public Utility Building
*P4. Resources Present: ¨ Building ý Structure o Object o Site o District o Element of District o Other
P5b. Description of Photo: 78150 Avenida
La Fonda_1: View facing north of the south
elevation.
*P6. Date Constructed/Age and
Source:
ýHistoric: 1976; ParcelQuest Assessor Data
o Prehistoric
o Both
*P7. Owner and Address:
General Telephone of California
PO Box 152206
Irving, TX. 75015
*P8. Recorded by:
Urbana Preservation & Planning, LLC
www.urbanapreservation.com
*P9. Date Recorded: June-July 2022
*P10. Survey Type:
Citywide Survey; Intensive Level
*P3a. Description: The 78150 Avenida La Fonda property is a one-story concrete utility building with no distinct architectural style. The
building is located on the northeast corner of Avenida La Fonda and Desert Club Drive. It features an irregular shaped floorplan with
asymmetrical façades. The building has a flat roof clad in a rolled asphalt membrane. The concrete walls have vertical groove that run the
entire height of the building. The doors are metal and the only windows visible from the publi right-of-way appear to be metal louvred vents.
P1. Other Identifier: N/A
*P2. Location: o Not for Publication ý Unrestricted
*a. County: Riverside
*b. USGS 7.5' Quad: La Quinta Date: 2021 T ; R ; ¼ of ¼ of Sec ; B.M.
c. Address: 78150 Avenida La Fonda City: La Quinta Zip: 92253
d. UTM Zone: 11S, 564773.79 mE / 3726563.37 mN
e. Other Locational Data: Desert Club TR Unit 4, Recorded October 31, 1946, MB 21/60;
Neighborhood: The Village; APN: 770124011
*P11. Report Citation: Urbana Preservation & Planning, LLC. La Quinta Citywide Historical Resources Survey and Context Statement,
2023.
*Attachments: o None ý Location Map ý Continuation Sheet ý Building, Structure, and Object Record
o Archaeological Record o District Record o Linear Feature Record o Milling Station Record o Rock Art
Record o Artifact Record o Photograph Record o Other:
DPR 523B (09/2013) *Required information
State of California — The Resources Agency
DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION
BUILDING, STRUCTURE, AND OBJECT RECORD
Resource Name: General Telephone of California
Page 2 of 5
(This space reserved for official comments.)
Primary#:
HRI#:
Trinomial #:
CRHR Status Code: 6Z
Other Listings: Urbana Survey No. 318
B1. Historic Name: N/A
B2. Common Name: General Telephone of California
B3. Original Use: Infrastructure B4. Present Use: Infrastructure
*B5. Architectural Style: N/A
B11. Additional Resource Attributes: None Identified
*B12. References: Urbana Preservation & Planning, LLC. La Quinta Citywide Historical
Resources Survey and Context Statement, 2023. See Continuation Sheet for additional
references.
B13. Remarks: None
*B14. Evaluator: Urbana Preservation & Planning, LLC www.urbanapreservation.com
*Date of Evaluation: December 2022
The General Telephone of California building at 78150 Avenida La Fonda property was researched at the City of La Quinta, the La Quinta
Historical Society, the La Quinta Public Library, and via online archives including Coachella Valley Telephone Directories (1946-1957), City of La
Quinta building permits, regional newspapers within the UC Riverside California Digital Newspaper Collection, aerial imagery from ca. 1930s
forward, and the Riverside County Assessor's Office online property search. See Continuation Sheet for significance and integrity
conclusions.
*B6. Construction History: ParcelQuest assessor's data indicates that the property was constructed in 1976. However, aerial images
from 1978 show the residence had not yet been constructed. Based on aerial images, the building was constructed between 1978 and 1984. In
1989, property owner GTE California obtained a permit for an addition to the public utilities building. The developer of the project was Saltz,
Troutman, Kaneshiro, Incoporated and the contractor was Oakview Construction (Permit No. 05532). A site plan included in the permit shows
two proposed additions, on at the north elevation and one at the east. The additions are present in aerial images from the timeframe of
installation. In 1989, the property owner, General Telephone, obtained a permit for the construction of a 200' retaining wall with the work
completed by Oakview Construction (Permit No. 06645). In 2003, the property owner, Verizon, obtained a permit to remove and replace two
AC units and to reconstruct the building duct work, with the work completed by Eberhard SMC (Permit No. 0303-314). In 2019, the property
owner, General Telephone of California, obtained a permit to install one non-illuminated wall sign with the work completed by All Pro Signs,
Inc. (Permit No. 2016-0023). The overall use of the telecommunications utility building has not changed over time, though the managing
entities have evolved. The building now houses Frontier Communications equipment. The interior equipment of the building has likely been
modified to serve the growing needs of the La Quinta community.
*B7. Moved? ý No o Yes o Unknown Date: N/A Original Location: N/A
*B8. Related Features: None
B9a. Architect: Not Identified b. Builder: Not Identified
*B10. Significance:
Theme: Residential Development, 1934 – 1970s; Commercial Development, 1934 - 1970s Area: City of La Quinta
Period of Significance: N/A Property Type: Infrastructure Applicable Criteria: NRHP / CRHR / Local ineligible
DPR 523J (09/2013) *Required Information
*Map Name: La Quinta *Scale: 1:24,000 *Map Date: 2021
State of California — The Resources Agency
DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION
LOCATION MAP
Primary#: None
HRI #: None
Trinomial: N/A
CRHR Status Code: 6Z
Other Listings: Urbana Survey No. 318
Resource Name: General Telephone of California
Page 3 of 5
DPR 523L (09/2013)
Primary Record Information Continued:
78150 Avenida La Fonda_3: View facing north of the south elevation.
State of California — The Resources Agency
DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION
CONTINUATION SHEET
Primary#: P-33-xxx
HRI #: None
Trinomial: N/A
CRHR Status Code: 6Z
Urbana Survey No: 318
Resource Name: General Telephone of California
Page 4 of 5
DPR 523L (09/2013)
Building, Structure, Object Information Continued:
B10. Statement of Significance Continued:
Past owners and occupants include: GTE California (1989; Permits), General Telephone (1989; Permits), Verison (2003; Permits), General Telephone
of California (2019; Permits). The overall use of the telecommunications utility building has not changed over time, though the managing entities
have evolved.
The one-story utility building was built within the Desert Club TR Unit 4 tract, recorded in 1946, and is within the Village commercial district. The
Village was the first area of commerical development in La Quinta, constructed in tandem with the Cove and the Desert Club by Harry Kiener, Guy
Maltby, and S. Charles Lee. The first two buildings constructed in the Village were a Spanish Colonial Revival style administration building for Harry
Kiener at 77855 Avenida Montezuma (built in 1936) and a two-story Monterey style building directly to the east of Kiener’s building for Guy Maltby
and the La Quinta Building and Lumber Company (built in 1940). The first few commercial buildings constructed in the Village were built in the Spanish
Colonial Revival style, echoing the design standard established by the La Quinta Hotel in 1926. However, no singular architectural style was planned
for the commercial tract. Buildings also adopted related styles, such as the Mediterranean Revival, Mission, and Monterey styles. It took decades for
the Cove and Village to fully develop. Only after the golf resort industry began to rapidly expand in the 1980s, did the Cove become a viable affordable
community, and the Village a steadily growing commercial district. The Village commerical district is significant to the commerical development
history of the city.
The General Telephone of California building is associated with the themes of Residential and Commerical Development (1934 – 1970s), but it does
not possess individual documented significance in relation to those themes. The property is assigned a 6Z status code: Found ineligible for NRHP,
CRHR or Local Register through survey evaluation. The building has continued to operate as a telecommunications utility building since construction,
however, the building has had several large additions to the north and west elevations of the building. The building is considered NRHP / CRHR / Local
Register ineligible due to significant exterior alterations to elevations facing the public right-of-way.
The building is not individually eligible under NRHP/CRHR/Local Criterion A/1/B, as it has not been associated with significant events or patterns of
events in local, regional, state, or national history; not individually eligible under Criterion B/2/B, as it has not been identified as having an association
with an important person; not individually eligible under Criterion C/3/C, as it does not embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or
method of construction; and not individually eligible under Criterion D/4/D, as further study of the building would not appear to yield information
which could be considered important in local, regional, state, or national history. Additionally, the property is not be individually eligible under Local
Register Criterion A, as it was not found to exemplify a special element of the City of La Quinta. As the building has been substantially altered, it no
longer maintains integrity from the historic period.
B10. References Continued:
Riverside County Assessor Records; City of La Quinta Building Permit Records; La Quinta Historical Society Research Collection; Coachella Valley
Telephone Directories (1946-1957); California Digital Newspaper Collection, University of California Riverside; Digital Newspaper Collection,
Genealogybank.com; Digital Newspaper Collection, Newspapers.com; Digital Collection, Ancestry.com; Online Historic Aerial Photographs, Historic
Aerials.com; University California Santa Barbara Online Historic Aerial Collection; U.S. Department of the Interior Earth Explorer Historic Aerial
Collection; La Quinta Design and Development Department, City of La Quinta Historic Context Statement, 2011; and La Quinta Historical Society,
Images of America: La Quinta, 2020.
State of California — The Resources Agency
DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION
CONTINUATION SHEET
Primary#: P-33-xxx
HRI #: None
Trinomial: N/A
CRHR Status Code: 6Z
Urbana Survey No: 318
Resource Name: General Telephone of California
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