Arcata Historic Context

What is an Historic Context Statement?

In order to understand the historic significance of resources in a given area, it is necessary to examine those resources within the appropriate context or contexts. The purpose of a historic context statement is to place built resources in the appropriate historic, social, and architectural context so that the relationship between an area’s physical environment and its broader history can be established; however, a historic context statement is not intended to be a comprehensive history, but to highlight trends and patterns critical to the understanding of the built environment. 

The City chose to complete a Context Statement in order to assist the City in determining significance of potentially historic properties when undertaking re-surveying efforts, as historic context statement is a written document that provides a framework for evaluating properties for historic significance, and oftentimes, also for overall integrity. A Context Statement can answer questions such as:

  • What aspects of geography, history, and culture shaped the built environment of a given area?
  • What property types were associated with those developments?
  • Why are those properties important?
  • What level of integrity is needed for them to qualify as a resource?

To further the connection between a City’s context and the built environment, Context Statements are often structured as: Context>Theme>Sub-Theme>Associated Property Types.

Context Summary

The City of Arcata is located in Northern California and is the second largest city in Humboldt County.   Arcata encompasses several neighborhoods , including Aldergrove, Alliance, the Arcata Bottom, portions of Bayside, California Heights, Greenview, Northtown, South G Street, Sunny Brae, Valley West, Westwood, Sunset, the Downtown/Plaza Area, Redwood Park, Bayview, Fickle Hill, and the Arcata Marsh.  Arcata is situated at the north end of Humboldt Bay, the largest barrier lagoon in California, an area commonly referred to as North Bay.  This is a landscape of creeks, sloughs, tidelands and wetlands immediately adjacent to the Redwood forests which once covered the rolling hills and bluffs around the Bay. According to the United States Census Bureau report of 2010, the city has a total area of 11 square miles and 1.9 square miles, or 17.25 percent, is water. A number of creeks and sloughs are located within the City limits and area of influence including Janes Creek, McDaniels Slough, Sunset Creek, Jolly Giant Creek, Butchers Slough, Campbell Creek, Fickle Hill Creek, Grotzman Creek, Beith Creek, Jacoby Creek, Washington Gulch, Liscom Slough, Gannon Slough, and the Mad River.  

The built environment reflects both adaptation to and the reshaping of the landscape such as the placement of structures on ridges adjacent to creeks and sloughs and the use of raised walkways and basements to minimize the intrusion of water.  Regional architectural styles incorporate the products of the local lumber industry and the cultural preferences of the residents.    During the settlement period, homes and businesses were largely confined to the area adjacent to the tidelands and nearby hills.  With the logging of adjacent forests, development began on the hillsides around the creek drainages, including the expansion of the road system. Nineteenth century reclamation projects further expanded the land base available for agriculture with the draining of thousands of acres of salt marsh. Historically the Bay is thought to have covered an area of 27,000 acres, and has been reduced to approximately 17,000 acres through land reclamation efforts of the 19th century.  Most of the present agricultural lands including the Arcata Bottom and Jacoby Creek Valley were salt marsh prior to reclamation.     

Although California was linked to national markets with the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869, Humboldt County would not be linked to the rest of California for another 45 years. Locally, the town depended on the lumber industry owned rail lines for common carrier service until the completion of the Redwood Highway. Highway 101, completed in 1926, encouraged the development of tourism services and commercial investment along the central corridors of G and H Streets. Much of the agricultural land within and closely adjacent to the City was converted to housing and industrial uses after World War II, which was a period of incredible growth throughout California. While the City had grown gradually through annexation and infill, the construction and subsequent annexation of post WWII suburbs more than doubled the size of the town and created commercial centers outside of the urban core.  

Arcata's Context Statement is broken into the following sections:

  • Introduction and Executive Summary
  • Contextwith the following themes:
    1. Wiyot Homeland (prior to 1850)
    2. Gold Rush to Settlement (1850-1885)
    3. Landscapes of Prosperity (1880- 1900)
    4. The White City and the Progressive Era (1900-1920)
    5. The Interwar Years (1920-1945)
    6. Growing the Modern City (1940-1970)
  • Historic Themes and Concepts
  • Bibliography
  • Appendices
    1. Appendix A: List of Additions and Subdivisions in the City of Arcata
    2. Appendix B: Sunny Brea Homes- Basic Models
    3. Appendix C: Sub-Themes