In the early 1980s a movement to preserve and restore the neighborhood's architectural
legacy was organized and was known as the "Birch Street Citizens for a Better Neighborhood."
Long time residents and newcomers alike had rediscovered the unique character and quality
craftsmanship of Heninger Park's bungalow homes. They were alarmed by the increasing trend
in the City to allow the demolition of houses to make way for the construction of large
apartment buildings. Fearing the demise of the character of the neighborhood, as they knew it,
and grieving the loss of irreplaceable or well-built vintage homes, residents met to discuss
the future of their neighborhood and make plans for its preservation.
Residents believed that the architectural and historical character of the houses, churches,
schools, commercial buildings, and neighborhood markets were one of the neighborhood's most
important features. They developed a plan which included requesting the City Council de~ignate
Heninger Park as a special zoning district to recognize and preserve the unique character.
Preliminary work was done before bringing their request to the City Council. A systematic
blockby-block, house-by-house historic resources survey was conducted. The survey methodology
included photography, mapping, architectural descriptions, and historical research. A blackand-
white photograph was taken of each building. Slides of many of the houses and buildings were
taken to illustrate a permanent slide show of the Heninger Park neighborhood. Maps were
prepared to illustrate four different types of information including contributing buildings
and noncontributing buildings. A brief paragraph was written describing the architectural
style and details of each building and its contributive status.
Each house was researched for historical significance in old city directories. This information
included the year of construction, first owner's name and the name of subsequent owners, and
the occupation and place of employment of the people and any children listed who had lived in
thehouse. This amounted to a file on approximately 4,000 persons who lived in the Heninger Park
neighborhood during its developing years.
In April of 1986 the homeowners of Heninger Park appeared before the City Council to request
approval of special zoning and guidelines for their neighborhood. Based on information
presented by the neighborhood organization and City staff, the City Council officially created
the Heninger Park specific development zone and guidelines. The language of the ordinance set
forth standards for the restoration and revitalization of the exterior features of all
properties. It was given the official designation Specific Development 40 or SD 40. The
boundaries are First Street on the north, McFadden Avenue on the south, Flower Street on the
west, and Sycamore Street on the east. The district is known as Santa Ana's Bungalow
Neighborhood because of its many craftsman bungalow homes.
