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Attachment C. HRER
Dune Palms Low Water Bridge Replacement HRER
HISTORICAL RESOURCES EVALUATION REPORT
FOR THE
DUNE PALMS ROAD LOW-WATER CROSSING
REPLACEMENT PROJECT, LA QUINTA, RIVERSIDE
COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
Federal Project No. BLRKS – 5433(014)
Prepared for
California Department of Transportation—District 8
464 W. 4th St
San Bernardino CA 92401
Peer Reviewed by: ________________ ______10/12/16________
Andrea Galvin, Principal Architectural Historian, GPA Consulting Date
231 California Street, El Segundo, CA 90245
Author: C. Lynn Furnis, M.A., Architectural Historian, Cogstone, 1518 W Taft Avenue, Orange, CA 92865
Reviewed by: _____________________________________________ _________________
Andrew Walters Date
Principal Investigator, Architectural History (PQS)
Caltrans District 8, Environmental Support – Cultural Studies Division
464 West Fourth Street, 8th Floor, MS-825
San Bernardino, CA 92401-1400
Approved by: ____________________________________________ _________________
Gabrielle Duff, Branch Chief Date
Caltrans District 8, Environmental Support – Cultural Studies Division
464 West Fourth Street, 8th Floor, MS-825
San Bernardino, CA 92401-1400
October 2016
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SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
The proposed project involves the replacement of the existing low-water crossing spanning the
Coachella Valley Storm Water Channel (CVSC) at Dune Palms Road with an all-weather access
bridge in the City of La Quinta, California. The improvements would provide safe access across
the channel during all weather events, provide reliable routes for emergency vehicles, motorist,
pedestrains and bicyclists and achieve the City’s General Plan goals for the corridor. The bridge
is funded by the federal Highway Bridge Project (HBP) program.
Caltrans District 8, on behalf of FHWA, is the federal lead agency for this project. The project
requires compliance with the January 2014 First Amended Programmatic Agreement Among the
Federal Highway Administration, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, the California
State Historic Preservation Officer, and the California Department of Transportation Regarding
Compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, as it pertains to the
Administration of the Federal-Aid Highway Program in California (PA).
The record search at the Eastern Information Center determined that no built environment
resources had previously been recorded within the Area of Potential Effects (APE). The APE
was surveyed by a qualified architectural historian and only the Dune Palms Mobile Estates Park
located within APN 600-030-010 was determined to have constituents older than 45 years and
would therefore require evaluation. The buildings on this parcel were identified, recorded, and
evaluated per National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) and California Register of Historic
Resources (CRHR) eligibility criteria to determine if they qualified for listing for either register.
The mobile home park was evaluated as a historic district. There were no other buildings or
structures within the APE but outside the boundary of the mobile home park that are more than
45 years of age or older that would require individual evaluation for historic significance. The
mobile home park does not appear eligible for listing on the NRHP or on the CRHR as a historic
district, nor do any individual resources within appear eligible for either listing individually. The
results of the survey of the project APE for built environment resources determined that there are
no historic properties present within the APE for the purposes of Section 106 of the National
Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) or any historical resources for the purposes of the California
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS ......................................................................................................................................II
PROJECT DESCRIPTION ........................................................................................................................................ 1
AREA OF POTENTIAL EFFECTS .................................................................................................................................... 4
RESEARCH METHODS ............................................................................................................................................ 4
FIELD METHODS...................................................................................................................................................... 5
HISTORICAL OVERVIEW ...................................................................................................................................... 6
HISTORIC THEMES ...................................................................................................................................................... 7
DESCRIPTION OF CULTURAL RESOURCES .................................................................................................... 9
FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS .......................................................................................................................... 12
FINDINGS .................................................................................................................................................................. 12
Historic properties listed in the National Register .............................................................................................. 12
Resources Previously Determined Eligible for the National REgister ................................................................ 12
Resources Previously Determined Not Eligible for the National Register .......................................................... 14
Historic Properties Determined Eligible for the National Register As a Result of the Current Study ................ 14
Resources Determined Not Eligible for the National Register as a Result of the Current Study ........................ 14
Resources for Which Further Study Is Needed Because Evaluation Was Not Possible ...................................... 14
Historical Resources for the Purposes of CEQA ................................................................................................. 14
Resources that are not historical resources under CEQA, per CEQA Guidelines §15064.5, because they do not
meet the California Register criteria outlined in PRC §5024.1........................................................................... 14
CONCLUSIONS .......................................................................................................................................................... 15
BIBLIOGRAPHY ...................................................................................................................................................... 16
APPENDIX A. PREPARER’S QUALIFICATIONS ............................................................................................. 19
APPENDIX B. MAPS ................................................................................................................................................ 21
APPENDIX C. DPR 523 FORMS ............................................................................................................................ 27
LIST OF FIGURES
FIGURE 1. AERIAL VIEW OF DUNE PALMS MOBILE HOME PARK ................................................................................. 11
FIGURE 2. DUNE PALMS TRAILER PARK DISTRICT ...................................................................................................... 13
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PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The proposed project involves the replacement of the existing low-water crossing spanning the
Coachella Valley Storm Water Channel (CVSC) at Dune Palms Road with an all-weather access
bridge in the City of La Quinta, California (Project) (Appendix B, Map 1). The improvements
would provide safe access across the channel during all weather events, provide reliable routes
for emergency vehicles, motorist, pedestrains and bicyclists and achieve the City’s General Plan
goals for the corridor.
The Project is located immediately north of State Route 111 and south of Westward Ho Drive in
the City of La Quinta, western Riverside County, California (Appendix B, Map 2). Located
entirely within the city limits of La Quinta, the Project is depicted on the La Quinta 7.5 minute
USGS quadrangle in Sections 20 and 29; Township 5 South, Range 7 East, San Bernardino
Baseline and Meridian.
The existing roadway crosses the CVSC at the channel grade. The roadway width is 68 feet at
the crossing, and consists of one northbound and two southbound through lanes, an eight foot
wide walkway area along the western edge, and an eight-foot wide shoulder along the eastern
edge of the road, and no median. The existing roadway approach south of the crossing consists of
one northbound and two southbound through lanes. The northern roadway approach consists of
one through lane in each direction. The transition from one to two lanes in the southbound
direction occurs at the midpoint of the channel crossing. Dune Palms Road becomes a four lane
roadway with a median approximately one-quarter mile north of the channel low-water crossing
and just south of the project limits. The roadway section just north of the crossing will be
widened as part of an approved City project. The project was originally approved with a
Mitigated Negative Declaration under CEQA in April 2010.
The Project proposes to remove the existing low-water crossing on Dune Palms Road at the
CVSC in the City of La Quinta, Riverside County. The crossing would be replaced with a 480-
foot long and 86-foot wide three-span bridge. The bridge typical section consists of a six-foot
sidewalk on both sides of the bridge, two (2) 8-foot outside shoulders also serving as bike/golf
cart lanes, a 10-foot raised median, two (2) 11-foot travel lanes, and two (2) 12-foot travel lanes.
The proposed configuration will be consistent with the existing four lane roadway section to the
south, and the City’s current improvement project to the north (project number 2009-04), which
will widen Dune Palms Road from two to four lanes with a median and left turn lanes.
The proposed improvements would include reconstruction of the north and south bridge
approaches to accommodate the significant raised profile of the roadway. In order to match the
roadway section on the south side of the bridge, the project’s construction limits will be extended
to within 239 feet of Highway 111. On the north side of the bridge, the project construction
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limits would be extended to include a vacant lot immediately north of the project limits. The
vacant lot is owned by the City and would be offered by the City in the bidding documents to be
used for storage and construction staging by the contractor for the construction of this project.
As a part of the bridge construction, concrete slope protection would be installed along the north
side of the channel. Additionally, minor removal and replacement of slope protection would be
required on the south side of the channel west of the proposed bridge and extension of slope
protection approximately 300 feet downstream of the proposed bridge. The slope protection is
needed for scour countermeasures. As a result of the proposed cast-in-place drilled shaft bridge
construction, scour protection within the bottom of the channel should not be required.
As a result of the existing low water crossing acting as a quasi-grade control structure for the
CVSC, sediment has been deposited on the upstream side of the channel from Dune Palms Road
since the original construction. Additionally, on the downstream side of the Dune Palms Road
crossing, the channel has an area of scour. Therefore the elevation differential between the
upstream and downstream channel bottom is approximately eleven (11) feet; therefore the
project will grade the bottom of the channel 300 feet up and down stream of the crossing to
provide a uniform channel bottom slope within the project area.
The project will also include the following additional improvements:
• Railing Architectural treatment. The bridge design will incorporate railing
architectural treatment as required by the City’s standard design.
• Integration of a regional Bike/Pedestrian/NEV corridor (CV Link). The Coachella
Valley Association of Governments (CVAG) and the communities within the
Coachella Valley are working together on the implementation of a regional
Bike/Pedestrian/NEV corridor (CV Link) along Whitewater River and Coachella
Valley Storm Water Channel. The project design will be consistent with these plans
by allowing for the integration of a trail under crossing within the southern slope
protection, which also includes a trail connector to the pedestrian and bike facilities
proposed along Dune Palms Road in the project area.
• Utility Relocation. The project will also require utility relocations for overhead
electrical distribution lines (Imperial Irrigation District facility), adjustment to both
water valve can and lids and the manhole covers, minor 12-inch ductile iron pipe
water main relocations at each bridge abutment, and relocation of both a 12-inch and
18-inch sewer line at the northern bridge abutment. Both the water main and sewer
line relocations would be minor in nature, with the relocation limited to the existing
road right and or channel of way.
The relocation of the overhead electrical lines is considered by IID as a minor relocation, due to
a parallel underground system along the west side of Dune Palms Road. The project will
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coordinate with IID on providing the missing underground link crossing the channel through the
placement of conduit on the proposed bridge. The placement of the electrical system on the
bridge will mostly likely allow IID to eliminate the overhead distribution facility along the east
side of the road.
For the water main, the relocation is also considered minor by CVWD standards. The two
possible solutions for relocation would be either minor realignment work at the two abutments to
eliminate any possible conflicts with abutment construction or relocation of the full length
crossing the channel onto the bridge.
The Project would require right-of-way acquisition from three parcels within the APE, located
inthe northeast, southwest and southeast corners of the proposed bridge (APN’s 600-030-010,
600-390-021 and 600-030-018 respectively). APN’s 600-030-010 and 600-030-018 will require
both street right of way acquisition as well as a temporary construction easement, and APN 600-
390-021 will require only a temporary construction easement. Note, the Project will not require
any additional street right of way or construction easements from the High School property
(APN 600-010-004) located at the northwest corner of the project area.
The existing development at the northeast corner of the proposed bridge consists of a Mobile
Home Park with one single family home, which is the park manager’s residence and, though
outside the park fence, is part of the park (APN 600-030-010). Some of the mobile homes
adjacent to the Dune Palms Road are encroaching within the street right of way. The project may
require the acquisition of the single-family home site and relocation of two mobile homes.
The existing roadway will be modified to construct a temporary bypass road. The temporary
bypass will allow for staged construction of the bridge, and maintaining vehicle and pedestrian
access at all times. Temporary and short term access impacts may occur during construction, and
will require coordination with property owners, the public, and other stakeholders.
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AREA OF POTENTIAL EFFECTS
The Area of Potential Effects (APE) includes both horizontal and vertical limits (Appendix B,
Maps 3 and 5). The horizontal limits of the APE north of the CVSC are along the existing street
right-of-way, along the west side of Dune Palms Road and include the entire intersection of
Westward Ho Drive/Blackhawk Way and Dune Palms Road. The eastern extent of the APE
north of the CVSC includes the intersection of Westward Ho Drive/Blackhawk Way and Dune
Palms Road and continues east approximately 500 feet to encompass the city-owned Accessor’s
Parcel Numbers (APNs) 600-030-020, 600-030-004, and 600-030-021 as well as privately-
owned APNs 600-030-019 and 600-030-010. The 35,000 square foot staging area is located
within APNs 600-030-021 and 600-030-004. The Dune Palms Mobile Estates mobile home park
is located within APN 600-030-010. South of the Dune Palms Mobile Estates, the APE includes
an approximately 750 foot wide section of the CVSC; this includes approximately 450 feet east
of Dune Palms Road and approximately 300 feet west of Dune Palms Road. South of the CVSC,
the western limit includes all of APN 600-390-021 as well as portions of the La Quinta
Corporate Center (APNs 600-390-023 and 600-390-010). The eastern extent of the APE south of
the CVSC includes the entire APN 600-030-018.
The typical maximum vertical depth APE outside of the channel area would be 1 foot of
excavation in undisturbed areas and up to 4 feet of excavation within the existing roadway street
section, notwithstanding the above noted roadway approach fill areas. The maximum vertical
depth APE for the portion of the project within the channel area is up to 80 feet of excavation for
the bridge piers and up to 40 feet of excavation along the channel banks for the installation of the
concrete slope protection. The construction of bridge piers would be accomplished by a large
diameter (8 foot) auger. The APE totals 48.5 acres.
RESEARCH METHODS
Cogstone staff conducted a search for archaeological and historical records at the Eastern
Information Center (EIC) for a one-mile radius around the APE on October 29, 2014. During the
records search, the following sources were consulted:
• California Historical Resources Inventory System (CHRIS)
• National Register of Historic Places (NRHP)
• California Historical Landmarks (CHL)
• California Historical Resources Inventory (HRI)
• California Points of Interest (PHI)
• California Register of Historical Resources (CRHR)
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Online resources consulted include the City of La Quinta Historic Resources Inventory Database
(HRID), historic topographic maps and historic aerial maps. Published and online references
were consulted to develop a history of the APE vicinity.
The record search did not locate any recorded built environmental structures within the APE.
Within the one-mile search area, one historic structure was previously recorded, located outside
the APE. Site P-33-4756 (CA-RIV-4756/H) is a historic-age concrete water valve tower with
associated pipes and a fence along Adams Street. It was recommended as not eligible for NRHP
listing by the surveyors. See the Archaeological Survey Report (ASR) for more details.
In-person visits were made to the City of La Quinta Building Department and to the County of
Riverside Building Department and Assessor’s Office on August 6, 2015 and on March 3, 2016.
Cogstone staff also visited the Dune Palms Mobile Home Park on two separate occasions to
conduct a survey and interview the Park Manager for information about the Park.
Themes that are relevant to this Project include “Desert Recreation” and “Trailer and Mobile
Home Parks” as they relate to the post-World War II years, from 1945 to 1975 in the Southern
California desert. The two themes are interconnected and are treated as one here because trailer
parks first came into existence in the region through recreational and travel activities.
FIELD METHODS
A field survey was performed on August 6, 2015, by Architectural Historian Lynn Furnis, M.A.
The survey consisted of a pedestrian-level investigation of the historic built-environment
resources located in the APE. Fieldwork included examining the style, construction, and
materials of the built-environment resources, and recording and photographing those resources,
which were mostly located in the south half of the park, since most of the mobile homes in the
north half were known to have been moved to the park sometime after 1972 and, therefore,
would be less than 45 years old. The row of mobile homes in the north half that border Dune
Palms Road are the exception and they were recorded. They stand along a row that had been
occupied by mobile homes prior to 1972 and some are old enough to have been there since that
time. The data collected was then used to prepare the California Department of Parks and
Recreation (DPR) 523 series site forms.
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HISTORICAL OVERVIEW
The City of La Quinta began as a “watering hole” for gold miners traveling through the
Coachella Valley on their way to Arizona. In 1862, Major William Bradshaw transported miners
through the Valley and stopped at Point Happy (corner of Washington Street and Highway 111)
which soon became a way station for stagecoaches and freight wagons traveling the Bradshaw
trail (Soltys 2005:175). In 1876, the Southern Pacific Railroad (SPRR) constructed tracks
through the region that today parallel US 86; they are now Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) tracks
and are located 9 miles east of the Project Area. The coming of the railroad spurred a new local
industry. In the 1880s, enterprising growers in Coachella Valley imported date palms from the
Middle East in an effort to produce dates for the American market (Miller 2012). The center of
this effort was at nearby Indio and the effort was extremely successful. Coachella Valley’s dates
comprise approximately 95 per cent of all dates consumed in the United States. The date palms
provided a strong agricultural industry in the valley, with their fruit dependent on the local
railroad for shipping to distant markets. The proliferation of date production was responsible for
the founding of several Middle East inspired towns, such as Indio, Mecca, Oasis, and the now
defunct Arabia and Edom (Miller 2012).
The historical settlement pattern is reflected in land patents granted by the Government Land
Office, which show that the Southern Pacific Railroad Company was granted patents in 1866 and
the State of California in 1927 (BLM n.d.). In 1926, Walter Morgan founded the La Quinta
Resort which attracted Hollywood celebrities and established La Quinta as a resort destination
for Los Angeles’ wealthy population. The City of La Quinta, named for the Resort, was
incorporated in 1982 and maintains a seasonal population and reputation as a premier resort town
(City of La Quinta 2014).
The 1904 USGS topographic quadrangle, the earliest available, shows no development or any
other features near the APE with the exception of the Whitewater River. Highway 111 and Dune
Palms Road are first depicted on the 1941 Toro Peak USGS 15 min. quadrangle.
According to one article, there were more than 32 trailer parks in the Coachella Valley in the
1950s (Brown 2014). At this time, after World War II, people sought inexpensive recreation,
often bringing their travel trailer with them to desert, beach, and mountain destinations. The
many trailer parks around Palm Springs offered those seeking fall and winter sun and warmth,
safe and familiar facilities, to which many of them returned year after year. Each park served as
a small community, many of them having their own stores, restaurants, and recreational facilities
such as heated pools and shuffleboards.
The Dune Palms Mobile Home Park (parcel 600-030-010), as it was first called, was established
in 1949, or shortly before (The Desert Sun 1949:13). A classified advertisement from December
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16, 1949 reads, under “Trailer Space” “DUNE PALMS Trailer Park, new, quiet, beautiful view
of desert and mountains. Restful grass patio. On Dune Palms Rd, just off Highway 111, ½ mile
west of Sun Gold Date Gardens. Reasonable rates” (The Desert Sun 1949:9). This park was
probably always a more simple, plain, basic type of trailer park, as it remains today. According
to the present park manager, the park was established in 1951 and at one time had a pond on the
property (Michael Moss, March 3, 2016, personal communication). The 1972 aerial photograph
shows the pond, located in the northeast quadrant of the park (NETR 1972).
The 1972 aerial photograph is also the first to depict the Dune Palms Trailer Park (NETR 1972);
it also appears on the 1973 La Quinta USGS 7.5 min. quadrangle. Though the park had been
established in 1949, and presumably accommodated primarily small travel trailers, by 1972, it
was providing lots primarily for larger, more long-term single-wide mobile homes. These were
located primarily in the south half of the park. Much of the north half was vacant in 1972. It is
possible that that portion of the park was reserved for winter visitors in their travel trailers, with
the remainder being rented to year-round occupants, suggesting a transitional strategy to keep up
with changing trailer park/ mobile home park trends. There are several permanent buildings in
the park, including a community center, laundry room, tiny office, as well as a swimming pool,
as well as the single-family house located outside the park fence. The house is the residence for
the park manager and likely has been since at least 1972. The standing buildings do not appear
to have been constructed in 1949, but rather sometime between 1959 and 1972 (NETR 1972;
USGS 1959).
A few buildings and a short east-west road first appear in this area in the 1959 La Quinta USGS
7.5 min. quadrangle (Map 4). In the USGS topographic maps from the 1960s and 1970s, and in
aerial photographs from the early 1970s, crops of some kind were being cultivated on a few
parcels within 0.25 mile of the Project Area. Today, the park is called the Dune Palms Mobile
Estates. No other signs of development were apparent within or around the APE until 1996.
Later aerial photographs show the presence of La Quinta High School by1996, a USA Gasoline
Station on the northwest corner of the intersection of Highway 111 and Dune Palms Road by
2002, and the La Quinta Corporate Centre by 2005.
HISTORIC THEMES
Themes that are relevant to this Project include “Desert Recreation” and “Trailer and Mobile
Home Parks” as they relate to the post-World War II years, from 1945 to 1975 in the Southern
California desert. The two themes are interconnected and are treated as one here because trailer
parks first came into existence in the region through recreational and travel activities and
interests of Americans. As noted above, there were more than 32 trailer parks in the Coachella
Valley in the 1950s (Brown 2014). After World War II, people were seeking inexpensive
recreation, and traveling with their trailers for cheap lodging in the desert was a popular way to
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do it. Based on trailer parks designated as such on the 1973 USGS topographic map (USGS
1973), there were at least 35 trailer parks in existence in 1973 within the La Quinta, Coachella,
Indio, Palm Desert, Cathedral City, and Palm Springs communities. Several of these were quite
large.
Palm Springs was the most famous, early desert resort in the Coachella Valley, beginning in the
1930s. Its sunny, warm winter climate drew year-round and seasonal residents. By 1939, the
permanent population was 5,336, with more than 8,000 in the winter (Bogert 2016). One of its
earliest trailer parks was established in the 1930s, known as Ramon Trailer Park (Brown 2014).
It is still operating, with 250 mobile homes (no longer trailers) on 20 acres. At about this same
time, famous Hollywood actors and actresses discovered the place and truly put Palm Springs on
the map as a desirable resort town. Tourists with their travel trailers came in droves before and
after World War II. The popularity of Palm Springs spread to the region as a whole, with Desert
Hot Springs, Cathedral City, Rancho Mirage, La Quinta and other nearby communities being
created or, if already in existence, then expanding and prospering through tourism and recreation.
Golf courses and swimming pools were everywhere.
Hollywood celebrities were also attracted to La Quinta, the very upscale resort established by
Walter Morgan in 1926 (City of La Quinta 2014). La Quinta had few trailer parks, with just two
shown in 1973 (USGS 1973). One of those was the Dune Palms Trailer Park, the other, name
unknown, was located approximately 0.25 mile to the south-southeast, south of the Whitewater
River and on the south side of Hwy 111. It appears to have been even smaller than the Dune
Palms Trailer Park. The Dune Palms Trailer Park was 14 acres in size, as it remains today. The
unnamed park was approximately 8 acres in extent.
In neighboring communities, the number of trailer parks varied in 1973, with 13 in Palm Springs,
eight in Indio, six in Cathedral City, four in Palm Desert, two in Coachella (USGS 1973). The
range of trailer park types varied considerably within the Coachella Valley, from small, less
structured parks like the Dune Palms Trailer Park to large, well-groomed parks with amenities
such as wide, paved streets, extensive landscaping, large club houses and other ancillary
buildings, large trailer spaces, and multiple pools. Bing Crosby’s Blue Skies Village in Rancho
Mirage was one of the latter type (Brown 2014).
As mentioned above, each park served as a small community, many of them having their own
stores, restaurants, and recreational facilities. In the early years of auto camping, private camps
tended to arrange camp spaces in a row that was either parallel to or perpendicular to the
adjacent highway (Fowler et al. 2016:4). The older topographic maps indicate that the first
interation of the Dune Palms Mobile Home Estates consisted of a single road oriented
perpendicular to Dune Palms Road. Presumably, the trailers were lined up along one or both
sides of this road or lane. As time went on, Dune Palms Trailer Park (later Dune Palms Mobile
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Estates) offered a swimming pool, small laundry room, a community room of some type, a pond
in its early years, paved lanes, and narrow trailer and mobile home spaces. There is a tiny
manager’s office on the grounds today, as well as a manager’s residence just outside the fenced
park area, but still within the same parcel of land.
By the mid-1950s, trailers had become larger and more spacious inside (Fowler et al. 2016:9,
11). They became more like permanent houses and less like travel trailers. Their larger sizes
and more limited mobility, as well as their popularity, led to changes in the configuration of the
later trailer parks, soon to be mobile home parks. The lots became larger and often had
individual concrete patios. Each also had its own utilities, such as water, electricity, sewer, and
garbage service. The street patterns within the parks became less grid-like and more curvilinear.
And they were furnished with communal recreation or meeting buildings, playgrounds, and
swimming pools, in addition to laundry rooms and park offices. They were also well-defined
through outer fencing and landscaping, as well as more extensive landscaping between lots.
The Dune Palms Trailer Park has some of the later features and some of the earlier features,
reflecting its existence and transition from 1949 to the present. It has expanded its streets, from
the original one, then to two parallel streets that are perpendicular to the adjacent main road. By
1972, there were two loops formed around the two streets. But individual spaces remain quite
narrow for the most part, with little landscaping between them. Many do have concrete patios.
The park is a mix of double-wide and single-wide mobile homes, with a few small trailers and
even campers on trucks. The park has communal amenities such as a swimming pool, park
office, laundry room, and community center, but it definitely appears to cater mostly to working
families and a few retirees, rather than to mostly retirees looking to the park for social activities
and recreation. When compared with the full spectrum of trailer and mobile home park
possibilities available in the area in the 1940s to the 1970s, the Dune Palms Trailer Park was a
very modest one. It contained approximately 100 spaces within its 14 acres. There were smaller
parks, as well as some that were much larger and more refined.
DESCRIPTION OF CULTURAL RESOURCES
Through this study, one historic resource has been newly-recorded and evaluated; the Dune
Palms Trailer Park. The DPR is included in Appendix C.
Table 1. Properties Surveyed Older Than 45 Years
Street Address Assessor’s Parcel No.
(APN)
Date of
Construction
Description
46-400 M.E. Dune Palms Road 600-30-010 Pre-1972 Trailer/Mobile Home Park
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The current Dune Palms Mobile Estates mobile home park comprises 14 acres and includes five
permanent buildings and structures (pool, laundry room, community center, park office, and
manager’s residence), five mobile homes that are more than 45 years old and 94 that are less than
45 years old. Due to the nature of the property type and the concentration of buildings,
structures and objects within a defined boundary that have a shared historic context, the mobile
home park was evaluated as a singular resource (historic district) instead of evaluating each
individual feature therein. It was determined to not meet the NRHP or CRHR criteria because it
does not appear to be a trailer or mobile home park that has specifically influenced or led the
national or regional trends in trailer park development or popularity over time; it is not known to
be associated with a person or persons important in national or regional history, it possesses most
of the character-defining features for a mobile home park from the 1920-1969 period (Fowler et
al. 2016), yet is not a good example of one. In addition, it retains little of its integrity since very
few of the existing trailers and mobile homes are 45 years old or older and are not contributing
district elements. Figure 1 below provides an aerial view of the mobile home park depicting its
boundaries.
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Figure 1. Aerial view of Dune Palms Mobile Home Park
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FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS
FINDINGS
One property was evaluated for historic signficance. It consists of a trailer/mobile home park
over 45-years of age, evaluated as a historic district. Inside the park fence are mobile homes and
trailers, as well as permanent buildings such as a tiny manager’s office, a community building, a
laundry room, and a swimming pool (Figure 2). Outside the fence but on the same parcel is a
single-family house serving as the park manager’s residence. Cogstone recorded and evaluated
the mobile home park as a district in keeping with Caltrans’s guidelines that a district “possesses
a significant concentration, linkage, or continuityof sites, buildings, structures, or objects united
historically or aesthetically by plan or physical development” (Caltrans 2014:5). The Dune
Palms Trailer Park (District) satisfies the district definition in that it possesses a concentration
and continuity of buildings that are united historically by plan and physical development (Figure
1). It’s historic name of Dune Palms Trailer Park was utilized rather than the modern name.
The Dune Palms Trailer Park District is 66 years old. It retains five permanent structures that
also appear to be at least 45 years old. The vast majority (95 per cent) of the existing mobile
homes within the Park are less than 45 years old and/or have been moved to the Park within the
past 43 years. Only five mobile homes appear to be 45 years old or more. These and the five
permanent buildings and structures, as well as roads, comprise the main structures that have been
part of the Park since between 1960 and 1972. They are contributing elements to the district.
Still, the Dune Palms Trailer Park does not appear eligible for listing on the NRHP or on the
CRHR.
Lynn Furnis, a qualified architectural historian who meets the Professionally Qualified Staff
Standards in the Section 106 Programmatic Agreement (Section 106 PA) Attachment 1 as an
Architectural Historian or above, has determined that the other properties present within the
Indirect APE, including federally-owned resources, meet the criteria for Section 106 PA
Attachment 4 (Properties Exempt from Evaluation) as property types 4 and 5. Andrea Galvin, a
qualified principal architectural historian, has concurred.
HISTORIC PROPERTIES LISTED IN THE NATIONAL REGISTER
none
RESOURCES PREVIOUSLY DETERMINED ELIGIBLE FOR THE NATIONAL REGISTER
none
Dune Palms Low Water Bridge Replacement HRER
13
Figure 2. Dune Palms Trailer Park District
Dune Palms Low Water Bridge Replacement HRER
14
RESOURCES PREVIOUSLY DETERMINED NOT ELIGIBLE FOR THE NATIONAL REGISTER
none
HISTORIC PROPERTIES DETERMINED ELIGIBLE FOR THE NATIONAL REGISTER AS A RESULT
OF THE CURRENT STUDY
none
RESOURCES DETERMINED NOT ELIGIBLE FOR THE NATIONAL REGISTER AS A RESULT OF THE
CURRENT STUDY
Name Street Address Assessor's
Parcel No. Community
OHP
Status
Code
Description
Map
Reference
No.
Dune Palms
Trailer Park
46-400 Dune
Palms Road, La
Quinta, CA
600-30-010 La Quinta 6Z 1940s-70s trailer
park
1
RESOURCES FOR WHICH FURTHER STUDY IS NEEDED BECAUSE EVALUATION WAS NOT
POSSIBLE
None
HISTORICAL RESOURCES FOR THE PURPOSES OF CEQA
None
RESOURCES THAT ARE NOT HISTORICAL RESOURCES UNDER CEQA, PER CEQA GUIDELINES
§15064.5, BECAUSE THEY DO NOT MEET THE CALIFORNIA REGISTER CRITERIA OUTLINED IN
PRC §5024.1
Name Street Address Assessor's
Parcel No. Community
OHP
Status
Code
Description
Map
Reference
No.
Dune Palms
Trailer Park
46-400 Dune
Palms Road, La
Quinta, CA
600-30-010 La Quinta 6Z 1940s-70s trailer
park
1
The Dune Palms Trailer Park District is the only resource determined to be not eligible for the
California Register of Historic Resources, under CEQA, as a result of the current study.
Dune Palms Low Water Bridge Replacement HRER
15
CONCLUSIONS
This HRER evaluated one property within the APE. The results of the survey of the project APE
for built environment resources determined that the only non-exempt property, the Dune Palms
Trailer Park, does not have the potential to be considered a historic property under the NHPA or
under CEQA, either individually or as a historic district.
Dune Palms Low Water Bridge Replacement HRER
16
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BLM (U.S. Bureau of Land Management)
n.d. General Land Office patent records for Township 5 South, Range 7 East, Sections 20 and
29; San Bernardino Meridian, accessed online at https://glorecords.blm.gov/default.aspx
on February 26, 2016.
Bogert, Frank M.
2016 The History of Palm Springs, in Palm Springs, First Hundred Years, accessed online at
http://palmsprings.com/history/today.html on May 23, 2016.
Brown, Renee
2014 Palm Desert History: Glamorized Mobile Home Living, in My Desert, accessed online at
http://mydesert.co/PWyrHk on March 2, 2016.
California
2016 2016 California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Statutes and Guidelines, California
Code of Regulations, Title 14, Division 6, Chapter 3, Sections 15000-15387, AEP, Palm
Desert, CA.
Caltrans (California Department of Transportation)
2014 Chapter 7: Built-Environment Cultural Resources Evaluation and Treatment, Exhibit
7.4.3, in Standard Environmental Reference, Vol. 2, California Department of
Transportation, online resource, accessed at www.dot.ca.gov/ser/index.htm on March 4,
2016.
The Desert Sun
1949 Dune Palms Trailer Park, in the classified ads section of The Desert Sun, December 16,
1949, Palm Springs, CA, p.13, column 6.
FHWA (Federal Highways Administration)
2014 FHWA Section 106 PA, Attachment 4: Exempt Properties: in Caltrans Environmental
Handbook, Cultural Resources, Vol. 2 Exhibit 1.1.
Hart, John Fraser, Michelle J. Rhodes, and John T. Morgan
2002 The Unknown World of the Mobile Home, The John Hopkins University Press,
Baltimore, MD.
McAlester, Virginia and Lee McAlester
2009 A Field Guide to American Houses, Alfred A. Knopf, New York, NY.
Miller, Bettye
Dune Palms Low Water Bridge Replacement HRER
17
2012 History of Date Industry in Indio, in Prairie Farmer, February 8, 2012, accessed online at
http://farmprogress.com/story-history-date-industry-indio-9-56932 on February 29,
2016.
NETR (Nationwide Environmental Title Research)
1960 Historic Aerial photograph, at Historicaerials.com, Nationwide Environmental Title
Research, LLC, accessed online on January 11, 2016.
1972 Historic Aerial photograph, at Historicaerials.com, Nationwide Environmental Title
Research, LLC, accessed online on January 11, 2016.
1996 Historic Aerial photograph, at Historicaerials.com, Nationwide Environmental Title
Research, LLC, accessed online on January 11, 2016.
Riverside County
1975 Space #82, Department of Building & Safety, County of Riverside, Mobile Home
Installation Application, Permit # 02200, Riverside, California.
1976 Space #83, Department of Building & Safety, County of Riverside, Mobile Home
Installation Application, Permit # 07908, Riverside, California.
1977 Space #55, Department of Building & Safety, County of Riverside, Mobile Home
Installation Application, Permit # 11170, Riverside, California.
1979 Space #21, Department of Building & Safety, County of Riverside, Mobile Home
Installation Application, Permit # A007560, Riverside, California.
1980 Space #4, Department of Building & Safety, County of Riverside, Mobile Home
Installation Application, Permit # A009024, Riverside, California.
1980 Space #5, Department of Building & Safety, County of Riverside, Mobile Home
Installation Application, Permit # A008972, Riverside, California.
1981 Space #9, Department of Building & Safety, County of Riverside, Mobile Home
Installation Application, Permit # A012578, Riverside, California.
Soltys, Richard J.
2005 Coachella Valley: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, Richard J. Soltys Productions, La
Quinta, CA.
Fowler, K., H. Goers, and C. Lazzaretto
2016 Los Angeles Citywide Historic Context Statement, Trailer Parks and Mobile Home Parks
Theme. Dated January 2016. Accessed online 9/27/2016 at
http://preservation.lacity.org/sites/default/files/Trailer%20Parks%20and%20Mobile%20H
ome%20Parks,%201920-1969.pdf.
USGS (United State Geological Survey)
1904 USGS 15 min. quadrangle, United States Geological Survey, Washington, D.C.
1941 Toro Peak USGS 15 min. quadrangle, United States Geological Survey, Washington, D.C.
1959 La Quinta USGS 7.5 min. quadrangle, United States Geological Survey, Washington,
D.C.
Dune Palms Low Water Bridge Replacement HRER
18
1973 La Quinta USGS 7.5 min. quadrangle, United States Geological Survey, Washington,
D.C.
Wallis, Allan D.
1991 Wheel Estate: The Rise and Decline of Mobile Homes, Oxford University Press, New
York, NY.
Dune Palms Low Water Bridge Replacement HRER
19
APPENDIX A. PREPARER’S QUALIFICATIONS
Dune Palms Low Water Bridge Replacement HRER
20
PREPARERS’ QUALIFICATIONS
This study was prepared by Lynn Furnis, architectural historian, for Cogstone and reviewed by
Andrea Galvin, principal architectural historian, of GPA Consulting. All of Ms. Galvin’s
comments were incorporated into the revised documents.
Andrea Galvin is a Principal Architectural Historian for GPA and has been practicing in the
field of historic preservation since 1995. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental
Design from the University of California, Davis, a Master of Science degree in Historic
Preservation from the University of Pennsylvania, and a Certificate in Preservation Planning
from Istanbul Technical University in Turkey. Ms. Galvin peer reviewed the report and DPR
forms. She has extensive experience in Caltrans District 8.
Lynn Furnis is an architectural historian and historical archaeologist who has worked as an
architectural historian in California and Nevada for the past 12 years, and as an historical
archaeologist for the past 40 years. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology from the
University of California, Davis and a Master of Arts degree in Anthropology from the University
of Nevada, Reno. She has completed coursework in World Architecture, Anthropology of
Architecture, Vernacular Architecture, Historic Preservation, and a workshop on The
Identification of Mid-Twentieth Century Buildings.
Dune Palms Low Water Bridge Replacement HRER
APPENDIX B. MAPS
Dune Palms Low Water Bridge Replacement HRER
Map 1. Project Vicinity Map
Dune Palms Low Water Bridge Replacement HRER
Map 2. Project Location Map
Dune Palms Low Water Bridge Replacement HRER
Map 3. Project Aerial Map
Dune Palms Low Water Bridge Replacement HRER
Map 4. Project area superimposed on 1959 USGS map.
Note short east-
west road in
mobile home park
space.
Dune Palms Low Water Bridge Replacement HRER
Map 5. Area of Potential Effects
Dune Palms Low Water Bridge Replacement HRER
APPENDIX C. DPR 523 FORMS