Rankin's

Rankin's was a department store at 117 W. Fourth Street at Sycamore in downtown Santa Ana, California. The Rankin Building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places on its own and also as a contributing property of the Downtown Santa Ana Historic Districts.

Rankin Building
Contemporary view of the Rankin Building
Location117 W. Fourth Street at Sycamore, downtown Santa Ana, California
Coordinates
Area0.2 acres (0.081 ha)
Built1917
Built byGeorge Dreble
ArchitectElwing and Tedford (Santa Ana, California)
Architectural styleChicago, Beaux Arts
Part ofDowntown Santa Ana Historic Districts (ID8400438)
NRHP reference No.83001220[1]
Added to NRHPFebruary 24, 1983

The store had its origins as the Rankin Dry Goods company, founded in 1894. Mr. J. H. Rankin of Bloomfield, Indiana, together with T. D. Huff & Sons opened up the dry goods store on the site of Swanner's Grocery Store.[2] The store was enlarged three times before moving into the 30,000-square-foot (2,800 m2), three-story space at Fourth and Sycamore in 1917.[3][4]

Locations

In 1956, Rankin's announced plans to open a branch in Orange County Plaza at Chapman and Brookhurst in Garden Grove, now site of The Promenade at Garden Grove. The branch was to measure 28,000 sq ft (2,600 m2).[5][6]

In addition to its Santa Ana store, Rankin's had a location in Fullerton at Orangefair Mall from 1958.[7]

Advertisements promoted the Orangefair branch from May 3 through September, 1959.[8]

Rankin Building (1917)

The 1917 building is a rectangular sand colored brick building featuring a grey pressed metal cornice, modified Chicago style upper level windows, and blue-grey ceramic brick on the first story. The building was rehabilitated in 1982 and the present storefront design dates from that rehabilitation program. The building is individually listed on the National Register (1983).[9]

The architects were Elwing and Tedford of Santa Ana.

When opened on November 9, 1917, the building was referred to as the "Rutherford" building, structure or block. It was characterized as "metropolitan in nature" and "the most beautiful in the entire county".[10]

  • Rankin's Department Store c. 1917
  • Interior of Rankin's c. 1917

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
  2. "In Southern California: Santa Ana: An interesting Batch of Mining News. Local Affairs". Los Angeles Herald. January 12, 1894. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  3. "Sign Lease for Block Costing $50,000". Santa Ana Register. April 16, 1917. p. 1. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  4. "Store Policy Is Announced: Answer Rumor". January 28, 1933. p. 5. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  5. "Merchants announce new store opening". Los Angeles Times. October 28, 1956. p. 131.
  6. "Orange County Plaza Center will have two supermarkets". Independent Press-Telegram (Long Beach, California). February 23, 1959. p. 53.
  7. "Rankin's advertisement". Los Angeles Times. May 3, 1959. p. 206. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  8. https://www.newspapers.com/search/#query=rankin%27s+orangefair&offset=1
  9. "Downtown Santa Ana Historic Districts"; National Register of Historic Places nomination form
  10. "Rutherford Structure Metropolitan in Character". Santa Ana Register. November 8, 1917. p. Section 2. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
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