§ 16.52.890. The Bank of Belmont Shore.

Pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 2.63 and with the recommendation of the Planning Commission, the City Council designates the following buildings as historical landmarks in the City: the Bank of Belmont Shore, 5354 East Second Street (Assessor's Parcel No. 7245002001).

A.

Specific Criteria. This building is one of the few early commercial structures on Second Street which has retained its original architectural character, and for which the succession of uses reflects a dynamic economic environment. Its Spanish Colonial Revival style harmonized with the predominant architectural style of the surrounding residential neighborhood. Originally constructed in 1929 as a restaurant for Mr. C.E. Patty, the architect/engineer was Ray A. Sites of Long Beach. Two (2) other restaurants successively occupied this building until a major remodeling by Francis H. Gentry in 1950 was done for the Bank of Belmont Shore. The building as it is today is largely the product of this remodeling. Other bank uses followed: Coast Bank, and the Bank of San Diego, which closed in 1994.

Francis H. Gentry, who designed the 1950 remodel for the Bank of Belmont Shore, made many important contributions to the City of Long Beach as a civil and structural engineer and as a civic leader. He partnered with Parker O. Wright on the design of the Scottish Rite and York Rite Masonic Temples (1926, 1927), both of which are designated historical landmarks. He served on the City Council as Mayor from 1939 to 1942. He also served on the Long Beach Civil Service Commission and County Sanitation District Boards; as food administrator 1943-45; as chairman of the Mayor's Food Conservation Committee 1947-48; and has been active in the affairs of the Long Beach hotel and restaurant industry. In 1943 he was commissioned as a Major, U.S. Army Reserve. He was a Director of the Convention and Visitors Bureau and president of the Board of Trustees of the Second Presbyterian Church. He was a member of the Chamber of Commerce, Masons, Elks, and Native Sons of the Golden West.

The building is also associated with Richard Loynes, Jr., who was listed as owner in 1938. Loynes was a world-famous speed boat racer and champion. From 1923 to 1933 he entered nearly every speedboat regatta in the Country, becoming national champion three (3) times, world champion twice, and held sixteen (16) world records. In 1939, he skippered the yacht "Contender" from San Francisco to Honolulu to win the Golden Gate International Exposition trophy, and established another "first" by continuous radio broadcasts coast-to-coast from the yacht. He was twice president of the Long Beach Chamber of Commerce and chaired the City's first Marina Committee in 1956, the year of his death at age fifty-five (55). He was a past president of the State Shoreline Planning Association, a member of the Los Angeles County Regional Planning Commission and the Southern California Marine Radio Council.

It is a typical example of Spanish Colonial Revival architecture, although it has been altered by later remodeling. As such, it exemplifies a style at the height of its popularity when it was constructed in 1929. Typical architectural features are the stucco walls, red tile roof, use of arched windows, and corner tower.

Its design relates to the predominant architectural character of the residential neighborhood of Belmont Shore, Spanish Colonial Revival. It is one of the few commercial buildings on Second Street to retain its original architectural style.

It represents an established and familiar visual feature of a neighborhood or community due to its unique location or specific distinguishing characteristics.

Located at the southeast corner of Santa Ana and Second Street, this Spanish Colonial Revival commercial building, with its corner tower and red tile roof, has been a distinguishing landmark of its neighborhood for sixty-five (65) years. The present design of the building has been established for forty-four (44) years, with the rectangular corner tower and its scroll buttresses. Although remodeled for a succession of different businesses over the years, it has maintained a continuous presence amidst much demolition and new construction along Second Street.

The building was constructed in 1929 as Patty's Restaurant. Its Spanish Colonial architecture harmonized with adjacent residential development during the first phase of building Belmont Shore. It was occupied by two (2) other restaurants until 1950, when a major remodeling was done by Francis H. Gentry for the Bank of Belmont Shore. The building today looks largely as it did after Gentry's remodeling, although some additional modifications were made in 1986.

This Spanish Colonial Revival commercial building consists of a single large rectangular hall with a corner tower; there is a covered porte cochere on the east side. Large arched windows face Second Street, with subdivided and radiating muntins. There are smaller square window openings on the side facade; a small balconet with wrought iron railing is on the second story on the side facade. The roof is red terra cotta tile; the walls are stucco. The side facade has been altered with rectangular relief strips framing the windows. The tower has a hipped roof and small arched windows, with curved brackets supporting a boxed cornice. The interior has been totally modernized; no historic fabric remains.

This building is one of the few remaining structures on a busy commercial street to retain its original architectural character. Its style, Spanish Colonial Revival, references the adjacent residential neighborhood of Belmont Shore, developed primarily in the Twenties. The building has had a succession of uses, and remodeling, reflecting the dynamic commercial environment of Second Street. It was constructed originally as a restaurant for Mr. C. E. Patty. Construction plans are dated 1929, but the City Directory listing doesn't appear until 1933; the Depression affected the opening of the business. By 1935, Patty's Restaurant was gone.

The building has had a fascinating succession of uses, with construction drawings dated 1929 for Mr. C. E. Patty's Restaurant prepared by Ray A. Sites of Long Beach. City Directories, however, first list this restaurant in 1933, but by 1935, the building was vacant. The next restaurant to occupy this space belonged to Louis Gersten, who lived with his wife Anna at 40 La Verne, a few blocks away. This business survived until 1945, when it became Irwin Schuman's restaurant; construction drawings show that an addition and alterations were done at this time. The 1948 Directory lists Jack Laskey's restaurant.

B.

The Secretary of the Interior's "Standards for Rehabilitation and Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings" are incorporated by reference, and shall serve as standards and guidelines for future changes to the building. All changes, whether or not they require a building permit, shall require a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Cultural Heritage Commission. Any alterations, modifications or repair of the structure shall maintain and be consistent with the character-defining architectural features, and shall not adversely affect the historical materials, design or detailing.

(Ord. C-7272 § 1, 1994)