49800 Obregon (Avenida) - Dorothy Arzner House
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: Dorothy Arzner House
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Primary#: P-33-xxx
HRI#: None
Trinomial #: N/A
CRHR Status Code: 6Z
Other Listings: Urbana Survey No. 483
*P3b. Resource Attributes: HP5. Hotel / Motel
*P4. Resources Present: ¨ Building ý Structure o Object o Site o District o Element of District o Other
P5b. Description of Photo: La Quinta
Resort_Arzner Villa 1: View facing east of the west
(front) elevation.
*P6. Date Constructed/Age and Source
ýHistoric: 1968; City of La Quinta Permits
o Prehistoric
o Both
*P7. Owner and Address:
HP LQ Investment
49499 Eisnehower Drive,
La Quinta, CA 92253
*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 Arzner Villa property is a one-story wood frame Spanish Colonial Revival residence. The building faces west from
the east side of Avenida Obregon. The building has a recalinear shape with asymmetrical façade. It features a low-pitched side-gabled roof
clad with red clay tiles. The roof has narrow overhanging boxed eaves with a decorative fascia board. Exterior walls are clad with smooth
stucco. The fenetration at the front elevation consists of single-lite steel framed sliding windows. The entry is recessed beneath the patio roof
supported by round stucco columns. The front wood door is paneled. Character defining features of Spanish Colonial Revival style homes that
can be seen on the subject property include: the low-pitched roof, boxed eaves, smooth stucco siding, front patio, and red tile roofing.
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 Location: o Not for Publication ý Unrestricted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: 49800 Avenida Obregon City: La Quinta Zip: 92253
d. UTM Zone: 11S, 563685.56 mE / 3727586.34 mN
e. Other Locational Data: TR 28545-3, Recorded February 28, 1998, MB 269/6
Neighborhood: Not Listed; APN: 658190012
*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: Dorothy Arzner House
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(This space reserved for official comments.)
Primary#:
HRI#:
Trinomial #:
CRHR Status Code: 6Z
Other Listings:
Other Listings: Urbana Survey No. 483
B1. Historic Name: N/A
B2. Common Name: Arzner Villa - La Quinta Resort and Club
B3. Original Use: Single-Family Dwelling B4. Present Use: Hotel / Motel
*B5. Architectural Style: Spanish Colonial Revival
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 Dorothy Arzner Villa 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. Results are limited. The property is not listed in available Coachella Valley Telephone Directories. See Continuation Sheet for
significance and integrity conclusions.
*B6. Construction History: The subject property was constructed in 1968. In 1968, the subject dwelling was constructed for property
owner Dorothy Azner. The contractor was listed as White (Permit No. 157182). In 1982, the property owner, the Landmark Land Company,
obtained a permit for the construction of a 22' x 46' swimming pool and a 12x12 spa, with the work completed by Neptune Pools Inc. (Permit
No. 39702). The same year, the Landmark Land Company obtained a permit to demolish the garage (Permit No. 34594). In 1982, the
Landmark Land Company obtained a permit for the construction of three hotel units in Building 3 of the property (Permit No. 34503), three
hotel units in Building 2 (Permit No. 25700), and six hotel units in Building 1 (Permit No. 34501). Aerial photography did not offer any
additional information regarding changes to the property over time. While the original form of the Arzner Villa remains generally unchanged,
the doors and windows are not original and the interior has been altered significantly since 1982.
*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; Recreation and Leisure, 1926 - 1970s Area: City of La Quinta
Period of Significance: N/A Property Type: Commercial 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. 483 Resource Name: Dorothy Arzner House
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DPR 523L (09/2013)
Primary Record Information Continued:
La Quinta Resort_Arzner Villa 2: View facing east of the west (front) 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: 3S
Other Listings: Urbana Survey No.: 483 Resource Name: Dorothy Arzner House
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DPR 523L (09/2013)
Building, Structure, Object Information Continued:
B10. Statement of Significance Continued:
Dorothy Arzner (1897-1979) was an American film director whose career in Hollywood spanned from the silent era of the 1920s into the early 1940s.
She was one of a very few women able to establish a successful and long career in Hollywood as a film director until the 1970s. Arzner made a total of
twenty films between 1927 and 1943 and launched the careers of several Hollywood actresses, including Katharine Hepburn, Rosalind Russell, and
Lucille Ball. Additionally, Arzner was the first woman to join the Directors Guild of America and the first woman to direct a sound film. Arzner's
vacation home La Quinta was acquired in the 1980s by the La Quinta Resort and Club and is now part of the resort.
The home was built as a Spanish Colonial Revival style home within theTR 28545, originally recorded in 1998. The subject property was constructed
in 1968 by an unidentified builder.
The dwelling is associated with the themes of Recreation and Leisure (1925-1970s) and Residential Development (1934-1970s), being a previously
private residence located within the boudaries of the La Quinta Hotel (Resort and Club). However, the property was not part of the intial wave of
residences built in the vicinity of the La Quinta Hotel in the 1920s, '30s, and '40s, and was only acquired by the hotel decades after the initial visitor
casitas were constructed. While Dorothy Arzner occupied the dwelling from 1968 until the end of her life in 1979, the property does not maintain the
degree of historic integrity required to convey its significance. Therefore, the property is assigned a 6Z status code: Found ineligible for NRHP, CRHR
or Local Register through survey evaluation.
The dwelling is ineligible 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. It is not individually eligible under Criterion B/2/B, as it is a significantly altered dwelling, previously occupied by
Dorothy Arzner. It is not individually eligible under Criterion C/3/C, as the dwelling is lacking integrity of design, setting, materials, workmanship, and
feeling. It is not individually eligible under Criterion D/4/D, as further study of the dwelling would not appear to yield information which could be
considered important in local, regional, state, or national history. Additionally, the property was not found to be individually eligible under Local
Register Criterion A, as it was not found to exemplify a special element of the City of La Quinta. The dwelling has been substantially altered and 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: 3S
Other Listings: Urbana Survey No.: 483 Resource Name: Dorothy Arzner House
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