WIXLIB

Novato DepotHistoric Resource EvaluationMarch 14, 2017HISTORIC RESOURCE EVALUATIONPROPERTY DESCRIPTIONThe Novato Depot was previously recorded in 2007 by Garcia and Associates and thedescription below is excerpted from the associated DPR form:The Novato Railroad Depot is a Mission Revival style depot that is a component of theNorthwestern Pacific Railroad. It was built in 1917, and designed by architect D. J. Patterson,as part of a complex that originally included, and was attached via a coveredarcade/walkway, to the adjacent Novato Freight Depot (demolished in 2007). The RailroadPassenger Depot originally contained the waiting room, while the adjacent Freight Depotheld the ticket office/telegraph, baggage room, and the express and freight depot withraised loading platforms.[ ]The Novato Railroad Depot is a one-story 22’6’ X 40’ rectangular shaped building with thelong axis paralleling the track. The one-story Mission Revival style building features aconcrete foundation, stucco facades and a hipped roof with composition shingles Theexterior walls include horizontal, belt course decoration above the fenestration. The hippedroof has boxed eaves with dentils and paneled soffits.The central bay of the eastern facade, facing the tracks, features an arched, parapetedentryway with molded linear decoration, a cartouche, painted lettering that reads“NOVATO”, and holes where light fixtures were once connected. Flanking the centralentrance bay are inset open-sided covered waiting shelters, deeply recessed into thebuilding and supported by four square columns, each with a simple base and moldedcapital. Each column includes a half-round hallow demi-column, on its eastern and westernsides, except for the westernmost column which only has one on its eastern side. The insetopen-sided covered waiting shelter on the south is larger than the northern covered waitingshelter and has been infilled with modern material.The east facade features two wood 6/6 double-hung windows with an extended stile and awood paneled door at the entrance to the interior passenger waiting area. The northelevation features the inset open-sided covered waiting shelter, and a recessed androunded bay inset with a wood 6/6 double-hung window exhibiting extended stiles withshort balustrades. The west elevation features three windows, one larger wood 6/6 doublehung window with extended stiles, and two smaller wood 6/6 double-hung windows withextended stiles. A large square opening is located between the windows on this elevation;however, the original building drawings show that a larger 6/6 double-hung window was tobe placed here. The west elevation originally featured a small square chimney flue thatprojected through the asphalt roof, although the chimney is probably no longer extantbecause it does not protrude through the roof. The south elevation features the insetopen-sided covered waiting shelter with a built-in bench, and a two-panel wood door belowa tripartite transom. The covered arcade/walkway to the adjacent Freight Depot originallyran from the open-sided covered waiting shelter of the southern elevation to the FreightDepot. All window and door openings have been boarded over. The stucco facades of theDepot are painted yellow with some details highlighted with brown trim. The entire Depot issurrounded with a chain-link fence.Carey & Co. Inc.37

Novato DepotHistoric Resource EvaluationMarch 14, 2017The former Freight Depot / Office was a one-story 24’ x 95” rectangular-shaped wood frameclapboard building, which had been a Central Pacific 32’ wide standard-design depot.[Burned in 1982 and 1995, demolished in 2007.] The building had connected to the opensided covered waiting shelters of the passenger Depot with a 40’ long covered arcade withconcrete paving, dyed red and scored in a diamond pattern. The foundation remains of theFreight Depot and the red concrete paving of the covered arcade are extant.5At the time of the February 2017 visit, the building remains largely unaltered since lastdocumented in 2013. The roof was covered with plastic sheeting in 2007, and was reroofed inasphalt shingles in 2009. All openings are still boarded over. None of the described exteriordoors or window sashes are extant except for the bathroom window on the west elevation. SeeCondition Assessment and Structural Report below.Figure 1. Aerial view of the Novato Passanger Depot, marked by red arrow (Google Maps, retrievedFebruary 17, 2017).Figures 2 and 3. Sanborn Maps of the area, 1924 (left), and 1943 (right).5Garcia and Associates, pages 1-2.Carey & Co. Inc.48

Novato DepotHistoric Resource EvaluationMarch 14, 2017Figure 4. The front (east) façade.Figure 5. The north and west elevations.Figure 6. The west and south elevations.Carey & Co. Inc.59

Novato DepotHistoric Resource EvaluationMarch 14, 2017Figures 7 and 8. The waiting shelter (left); the concrete paving and the foundation remains (right).Figures 9 and 10. The entryway decoration (left); dentils and paneled soffits of the roof. (right).Figures 11 and 12. The interior.SITE HISTORYIn 1879, the Northwestern Pacific Railroad constructed a railroad depot in Novato. With theaddition of the railroad, Novato’s farm, dairy and ranch produce could be easily shipped todistant markets and new immigrants were able to travel to and settle in Novato. The original1879 railroad depot was located on the site of the present depot building. The originaldepot building was moved to its present location on Reichert Avenue, when the secondCarey & Co. Inc.106

Novato DepotHistoric Resource EvaluationMarch 14, 2017depot was built in 1903. The second depot burned in 1916, and the third depot, the subjectpremises, was constructed to replace it in 1917.6Designed by architect D. J. Patterson, the Novato Passenger Depot was constructed in 1917 bygeneral contractor H. P. Vogensen. It was part of a complex that included the adjacent freightdepot and a covered arcade connecting both buildings. The passenger depot originallycontained the waiting room, while the freight depot held the ticket office/telegraph, baggageroom, and the express and freight depot with raised loading platforms.7 The NorthwesternPacific ended passenger service in 1959. The freight shed was converted to a Maintenance ofWay Facility in 1960, and serviced the Track, Signal, Electric, and Bridge & Building functions forthe Marin/Southern Sonoma County area of the railroad. Novato Police Department leased thepassenger depot between 1960 and 1962 to be used as the County Sheriff’s substation. Parts ofthe complex were also used as a storage and repair station for railroad field crews. After a firedestroyed part of the depot in 1982, the remaining structure was briefly used for modelrailroading by scouts.8 A second fire in January 1995 left the freight depot severely scorched; asa result, the freight depot was demolished in 2007. The passenger depot survived with lessdamage, mostly interior and roof, and had to be covered with a tarp for over 10 years. Thebuilding was repainted in 2003 and received an asphalt-shingled temporary roof in 2009.9Figures 13 and 14. Novato’s first railroad station in its existing location on Reichert Avenue in 1973 (left),and in 2016 (right). Ungemach, page 157; Google Maps Street View.Figures 15 and 16. Novato’s second railroad depot, ca. 1910 (left) and date unknown (right). Ungemach,pages 158 and 159.6Garcia and Associates, page 2; May Rodgers Ungemach, Novato Township: Land grant to World War II (Novato, CA:Novato Historical Guild, 1991), 160.7Garcia and Associates, page 3.8Ungemach, 162; Novato Depot file at Novato History Museum.9Tim Omarzu, “Finally, historic Novato depot gets a roof,” Marin Scope, December 30, 2009.Carey & Co. Inc.117

Novato DepotHistoric Resource EvaluationMarch 14, 2017Figure 17. Novato’s third (existing) railroad depot, date unknown. Novato History Museum.Figure 18. Novato’s the third (existing) railroad depot in the 1920s. Novato History Museum.Figure 19. The existing depot, on the dedication day in 1917; see west elevation windows behind thespeaker. Novato History Museum.Carey & Co. Inc.128

Novato DepotHistoric Resource EvaluationMarch 14, 2017Figures 20 and 21. Views of the passenger depot, date unknown. Novato History Museum.Figure 22. The buildings after the 1995 fire. Novato History Museum.Figure 23. The buildings in 2007. Marin Scope, Aug 1, 2007.Construction Chronology1897The first railroad depot was constructed.1903The second railroad depot was constructed.June 1916The second depot and the attached warehouse were destroyed by fire.1010“N.W.P.R.R. Depot Building at Novato Destroyed by Fire,” Petaluma Daily Morning Courier, June 23, 1916.Carey & Co. Inc.139

Novato DepotHistoric Resource EvaluationMarch 14, 20171916Plans for the third passenger and freight depot were completed by D. J.Patterson in August. H.P. Vogensen signed the construction contractwith the Northwestern Pacific Railroad Company to erect the new depotin October. The construction was completed by the end of December.11January 1917The depot was occupied and used by early January.12Unknown dateA freight door was added to the rear (west) elevation.1959The Northwestern Pacific ended passenger service to Novato.1960 – 1962The depot was leased by the Novato Police Department.Ca. 1982The depot was partially used for model railroading by scouts.1982A fire damaged the freight depot.January 1995A major fire damaged the freight and passenger depots.Unknown dateThe roof of the passenger depot was covered with tarp and thebuildings were surrounded by chain-link fence.2003The passenger depot was repainted.September 2007The freight depot was demolished.December 2009A temporary, asphalt shingle-clad roof was installed at the depot.HISTORIC CONTEXT: Northwestern Pacific RailroadThe [Northwestern Pacific Railroad, NWP] is an amalgam of forty-two separate railroad linesconstructed between 1864 and the early twentieth century, with the main line runningbetween Tiburon and Eureka. After changing hands several times, the amalgamation ofvarious railroad lines became dominated by the competing Southern Pacific and Santa Ferailroads who fought bitterly over access to the rail line that now extended from Larkspur toCloverdale and to points further north. The main traffic along these lines was from touristsinterested in the respite of the Redwood forests as well as agricultural and lumberinginterests. As with most railroads, the NWP line brought increased financial andtransportation benefits to the local communities it served. Eventually, the Southern Pacificand Santa Fe decided to give up their competition and jointly incorporated as theNorthwestern Pacific Railroad in 1908 and controlled 402 miles of track.[ ]The 1910s and 1920s were the most prosperous for the railroad until the automobile and thecompletion of the Golden Gate Bridge considerably reducing passenger traffic. The railroadwent into decline until WWII when all locomotives were pressed into service to haul warmaterials to San Francisco and other shipping points. After the war, the railroad continued toexperience fewer and fewer riders until 1958 when the last passenger train between SanRafael and Eureka made its way along the line. Freight traffic continued and remained one ofthe major means of commodity transport from Northern California to ports and markets inthe Bay Area. As trucking became cheaper and more efficient, the freight branch lines beganto close throughout the 1960s and 1970s. The 1980s marked the end of the NWP line as a11“New Depot for Novato,” Petaluma Daily Morning Courier, August 9, 1916; “Vogensen to build depot at Novato,”Petaluma Daily Morning Courier, October 4, 1916; “Novato Depot completed,” Petaluma Daily Morning Courier,December 31, 1916.“Marin County Correspondence,” Marin County Tocsin, January 13, 1917.12Carey & Co. Inc.1410

Novato DepotHistoric Resource EvaluationMarch 14, 2017single entity, and commercial rail traffic was significantly halted (the Willits-Schellville portionof the line operated until 2001).13ARCHITECT / BUILDERThe Novato Passenger and Freight Depots were designed by D.J. Patterson in 1917:D. J. Patterson (1857-1926) was a staff architect for Southern Pacific Railroad from 18931925. Patterson designed many stations for Southern Pacific, including the Craftsman styleWillits Railroad Depot (1915) and the Mission Revival style Petaluma Railroad Depot (1914),both on the same Northwestern Pacific Railroad line as the Novato Passenger Depot. Healso designed stations for the cities of Tucson (1907), San Antonio (1903), the Seattle (theUnion Station) (1911), and Salt Lake City (1909). Other prominent buildings that Pattersondesigned include the Alameda Pier Terminal (1903), the Alameda Power House (1911), andthe Southern Pacific Company Hospital Complex (1907-1911) at 1400 Fell Street in SanFrancisco including the hospital building, nurses’ annex, Huntington Social Hall,powerhouse, and paint shop, and the Judah L. Magnes Memorial Museum (1908) at 2911Russell Street in Berkeley.14Contractor and builder H. P. Vogensen (1865-1937) was awarded the construction contract forthe new railroad depot. He was born in Denmark and moved to the United States in 1882.Vogensen was a local Petaluma contractor who “had erected many of [Petaluma’s] finestbuildings and incidentally had been the means of raising immeasurably the architecturalstandard of the city.”15 He constructed commercial, industrial, and residential buildings in Marinand Sonoma counties. He served as the Petaluma city councilman, and was a member ofmultiple local chambers and clubs. The Mission Revival style railroad depot of Petaluma(ca.1913) was also designed by D.J. Patterson and built by H.P. Vogensen.16Figure 24. Petaluma Railroad Depot. Press Democrat, 1913.SIGNIFICANCE EVALUATIONThe Novato Depot was evaluated in 2007 by Garcia and Associates and found eligible for listing:13Garcia and Associates, page 2.Garcia and Associates, page 2.15“H.P. Vogensen succumbs to heart affliction following months of illness,” The Petaluma Argus-Courier, June 3, 1937.16“The Handsome N.W.P. railroad depot in Petaluma,” Press Democrat, November 16, 1913.14Carey & Co. Inc.1511

Novato DepotHistoric Resource EvaluationMarch 14, 2017The Novato Passenger Depot appears eligible under NRHP [National Register of HistoricPlaces] Criterion A and the CRHR [California Register of Historical Resources] Criterion 1(events) for its association with the growth of the North Bay Area in Marin County. TheNovato Passenger Depot played an important role as Novato’s main transportation forpassengers, agriculture, and industry. With the arrival of railroad transportation in 1879,Novato’s farm, dairy and ranch produce could be easily shipped to distant markets, and newimmigrants were able to access Novato with the desire to own land. The area around thedepot developed into the “New Town” commercial and residential area. By 1920, Novatowas s small but bustling, modern town with paved streets, established commercial andresidential neighborhoods, and utilities.The Novato Passenger Depot also appears eligible under NRHP Criterion C and the CRHRCriterion 3 (architecture/workmanship) for its Mission Revival style architecture. The style andworkmanship of the building uses forms characteristic of public works buildings from thisperiod in California and is Novato’s representative example of railroad architecture. The useof Mission Revival style was part of an overall marketing effort of the railroad to promotewestern tourism. The Novato Passenger Depot also appears eligible under Criterion C/3 forits representation of the architectural design of D.J. Patterson. D.J. Patterson, staff architectfor Southern Pacific Railroad from 1893-1925, designed many stations for Southern Pacific,including the Mission Revival style Petaluma Depot (1914), and other stations for the cities ofTucson (1907), San Antonio (1903), Seattle (1911), and Salt Lake City (1909).17After a recent field survey, reviewing the previous DPR forms, and completing additionalresearch, Carey & Co. concurs with the previous determination that the Novato PassengerDepot appears eligible for individual listing for the National and California Registers underCriteria A/1 and C/3 at the local and state level.IntegrityHaving never been moved and still surrounded by commercial buildings and railroad tracks, thebuilding retains integrity of location and setting. The building’s integrity of design, materials,and workmanship have been slightly diminished since some architectural features were burned,removed, or boarded over. However, it still retains its overall massing, exterior details, andarchitectural style. The character-defining features including the Mission Revival style façade,stucco cladding, decorative belt course, boxed eaves with dentils and paneled soffits remainintact. The building reflects the expansion of the Northwestern Pacific Railway network, sointegrity of feeling and association are basically intact. The building is presently in fair conditionand retains sufficient integrity to convey its identity and significance as a Mission Revivalpassenger station.SUMMARYCarey & Co. concurs with the previous determinations that the Novato Passenger Depot at 695Grant Street appears eligible under Criterion A/1 (Events) for its association with the growth ofthe North Bay Area and for playing an important role as Novato’s main transportation forpassengers, agriculture, and industry, and under Criterion C/3 (Architecture) for its Mission17Garcia and Associates, page 3.Carey & Co. Inc.1612

Novato DepotHistoric Resource EvaluationMarch 14, 2017Revival style and for its representation of the architectural design of D.J. Patterson. The buildingretains sufficient integrity to convey its identity and significance.Carey & Co. Inc.1713

Novato DepotCondition Assessment and RecommendationsMarch 14, 2017CONDITION ASSESSMENT AND RECOMMENDATIONSAPPROACHAny work to the Novato Depot, should have a minimal impact on the building’s historic fabric.Deficiencies that threaten life safety or that cause deterioration must be corrected on a prioritybasis. The value of any other improvements should be weighed against the value of thebuilding’s historic and material integrity. The historic fabric and character-defining features of thebuilding have been described in the historical evaluation section of this report.The Novato Depot is currently vacant and owned by the City of Novato. Up until 1959 thestation was a functioning train depot for Novato. Since trains stopped serving the station, thebuilding has remained vacant. The Period of Significance for the structure is 1917 to 1959. Thefuture use is not known; however, we believe that the most appropriate treatment would beRehabilitation. The Secretary of the Interior defines rehabilitation as the act or process of makingpossible a compatible use for a property through repair, alterations, and additions whilepreserving those portions or features which convey its historical, cultural, or architectural value.Our specific exterior approach and interior recommendations reflect this context. Rehabilitationwill provide for the maintenance of the depot’s historic character, while simultaneously allowingfor the widest variety of programs for reuse. All proposed work on the structure must complywith The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation, below.1. A property shall be used as it was historically or be given a new use that requires minimalchange to its distinctive materials, features, spaces and spatial relationships.2. The historic character of a property will be retained and preserved. The removal ofdistinctive materials or alteration of features, spaces, and spatial relationships thatcharacterize a property shall be avoided.3. Each property will be recognized as a physical record of its time, place and use. Changesthat create a false sense of historical development, such as adding conjectural features orelements from other historic properties, will not be undertaken.4. Changes to a property that have acquired historic significance in their own right will beretained and preserved.5. Distinctive materials, features, finishes, and construction techniques or examples ofcraftsmanship that characterize a property will be preserved.6. Deteriorated historic features shall be repaired rather than replaced. Where the severity ofdeterioration requires replacement of a distinctive feature, the new feature will match theold in design, color, texture, and, where possible, materials. Replacement of missingfeatures shall be substantiated by documentary and physical evidence.7. Chemical or physical treatments, will be undertaken using the gentlest means possible.Treatments that cause damage to historic materials will not be used.Carey & Co. Inc.1814

Novato DepotCondition Assessment and RecommendationsMarch 14, 20178. Archeological resources will be protected and preserved in place. If such resources mustbe disturbed, mitigation measures will be undertaken.9. New additions, exterior alterations, or related new construction will not destroy historicmaterials, features, and spatial relationships that characterize the property. The new workshall be differentiated

The Novato Railroad Depot is a Mission Revival style depot that is a component of the Northwestern Pacific Railroad. It was built in 1917, and designed by architect D. J. Patterson, as part of a complex that originally included, and was attached via a covered arcade/walkway, to the adjacent Novato Freight