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Photo, Print, Drawing 520-526 Ramona Street (Commercial Building), Palo Alto, Santa Clara County, CA Pedro de Lemos Building Santa Clara County Project

[ Photos from Survey HABS CA-2067  ]

More Resources

[ Drawings from Survey HABS CA-2067  ]
[ Data Pages from Survey HABS CA-2067  ]
[ Photo Captions from Survey HABS CA-2067  ]
[ pdf version of supplemental pages ]

About this Item

Title

  • 520-526 Ramona Street (Commercial Building), Palo Alto, Santa Clara County, CA

Other Title

  • Pedro de Lemos Building Santa Clara County Project

Names

  • Historic American Buildings Survey, creator
  • Lidz, Jane, photographer
  • Bruegmann, Robert, historian
  • Groff, Sibyl McCormac, project manager
  • Schaaf, Roland David, field team supervisor
  • Coppa, W. Michael, field team
  • Lourie, Jon, field team
  • Munly, Anne, field team
  • Murphy, John B., field team
  • Cigliano, Jan, editor
  • Myers, Denys Peter, editor
  • County of Santa Clara, California, sponsor

Created / Published

  • Documentation compiled after 1933

Headings

  • -  commercial facilities
  • -  commerce
  • -  California--Santa Clara County--Palo Alto

Notes

  • -  Significance: This commercial structure, built in 1925 by Pedro de Lemos, was the first building to integrate the natural surroundings into the contemporary architectural styles in the Bay Area. De Lemos, a graphic artist, Director of the Stanford Art Museum and the editor of the School Arts Magazine, incorporated architectural fragments, stonework tiles, grillwork and niches into a Spanish Colonial Revival building to form an eclectic Spanish Colonial Revival commercial structure. The artistic and natural atmosphere of the structure is enhanced with a courtyard containing trees and shrubs. This open space became the focal point for the entire structure. It also became a main attraction and aided the small enterprises located in the building. The design of the Ramona Street Commercial Building and early structures like it, set a trend which is still being followed today. The Ramona Street Building, erected in 1925, was designed by Palo Alto architect Pedro de Lemos, then also director of the Stanford Art Museum and Gallery. Designed in the California vernacular of the Spanish-Colonial Revival mode, the structure is characterized by beige stuccoed walls, red-tiled roofs, round-arched openings and decorative carvings. At the time of its construction the plan for this commercial complex was distinctive in the Bay Area. The one-story streetfront shop is built around a live oak tree and flanked at one side by an open courtyard, and is set against three stories of office space at the rear. The pristine severity of stuccoed interior surfaces is softened by the use of glazed tiles, grilled ironwork, detailed wooden moldings and carved stuccoed panels. The building has been well-maintained.
  • -  Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: FN-122
  • -  Survey number: HABS CA-2067
  • -  National Register of Historic Places NRIS Number: 86000592

Medium

  • Photo(s): 6
  • Measured Drawing(s): 5
  • Data Page(s): 15
  • Photo Caption Page(s): 1

Call Number/Physical Location

  • HABS CAL,43-PALAL,4-

Source Collection

  • Historic American Buildings Survey (Library of Congress)

Repository

Control Number

  • ca0956

Rights Advisory

Online Format

  • image
  • pdf

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress does not own rights to material in its collections. Therefore, it does not license or charge permission fees for use of such material and cannot grant or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute the material.

Ultimately, it is the researcher's obligation to assess copyright or other use restrictions and obtain permission from third parties when necessary before publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in the Library's collections.

For information about reproducing, publishing, and citing material from this collection, as well as access to the original items, see: Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscape Survey (HABS/HAER/HALS) Collection - Rights and Restrictions Information

  • Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. https://aj.sunback.homes/rr/print/res/114_habs.html
  • Reproduction Number: ---
  • Call Number: HABS CAL,43-PALAL,4-
  • Access Advisory: ---

Obtaining Copies

If Digital Images Are Displaying

You can download online images yourself. Alternatively, you can purchase copies of various types through Library of Congress Duplication Services.

HABS/HAER/HALS materials have generally been scanned at high resolution that is suitable for most publication purposes (see Digitizing the Collection for further details about the digital images).

  • Photographs--All photographs are printed from digital files to preserve the fragile originals.
    • Make note of the Call Number and Item Number that appear under the photograph in the multiple-image display (e.g., HAER, NY,52-BRIG,4-2).
    • If possible, include a printout of the photograph.
  • Drawings--All drawings are printed from digital files to preserve the fragile originals.
    • Make note of the Survey Number (e.g., HAER NY - 143) and Sheet Number (e.g., "Sheet 1 of 4"), which appear on the edge of the drawing. (NOTE: These numbers are visible in the Tiff "Reference Image" display.)
    • If possible, include a printout of the drawing.
  • Data Pages
    • Make note of the Call Number in the catalog record.

If Digital Images Are Not Displaying

In the rare case that a digital image for HABS/HAER/HALS documentation is not displaying online, select images for reproduction through one of these methods:

  • Visit the Prints & Photographs Reading Room and request to view the group (general information about service in the reading room is available at: https://aj.sunback.homes/rr/print/info/001_ref.html). It is best to contact reference staff in advance (see: https://aj.sunback.homes/rr/print/address.html) to make sure the material is on site. OR
  • P&P reading room staff can provide up to 15 quick copies of items per calendar year (many original items in the holdings are too old or fragile to make such copies, but generally HABS/HAER/HALS materials are in good enough condition to be placed on photocopy machines). For assistance, see our Ask a Librarian page OR
  • Hire a freelance researcher to do further selection for you (a list of researchers in available at: https://aj.sunback.homes/rr/print/resource/013_pic.html).
  • You can purchase copies of various types, including quick copies, through Library of Congress Duplication Services (price lists, contact information, and order forms for Library of Congress Duplication Services are available on the Duplication Services Web site):
    • Make note of the Call Number listed above.
    • Look at the Medium field above. If it lists more than one item:
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      • All the items in a particular medium (e.g., all drawings, all photographs) can be ordered as photocopies or high-quality copies.

Access to Originals

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  1. Is the item digitized? (A thumbnail (small) image will be visible on the left.)

    • Yes, the item is digitized. Please use the digital image in preference to requesting the original. All images can be viewed at a large size when you are in any reading room at the Library of Congress. In some cases, only thumbnail (small) images are available when you are outside the Library of Congress because the item is rights restricted or has not been evaluated for rights restrictions.
      As a preservation measure, we generally do not serve an original item when a digital image is available. If you have a compelling reason to see the original, consult with a reference librarian. (Sometimes, the original is simply too fragile to serve. For example, glass and film photographic negatives are particularly subject to damage. They are also easier to see online where they are presented as positive images.)
    • No, the item is not digitized. Please go to #2.
  2. Do the Access Advisory or Call Number fields above indicate that a non-digital surrogate exists, such as microfilm or copy prints?

    • Yes, another surrogate exists. Reference staff can direct you to this surrogate.
    • No, another surrogate does not exist. Please go to #3.
  3. If you do not see a thumbnail image or a reference to another surrogate, please fill out a call slip in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room. In many cases, the originals can be served in a few minutes. Other materials require appointments for later the same day or in the future. Reference staff can advise you in both how to fill out a call slip and when the item can be served.

To contact Reference staff in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room, please use our Ask A Librarian service or call the reading room between 8:30 and 5:00 at 202-707-6394, and Press 3.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Historic American Buildings Survey, Creator, Robert Bruegmann, Sibyl Mccormac Groff, Roland David Schaaf, W. Michael Coppa, Jon Lourie, Anne Munly, John B Murphy, and California County Of Santa Clara, Lidz, Jane, photographer. 520-526 Ramona Street Commercial Building, Palo Alto, Santa Clara County, CA. Santa Clara County California Palo Alto, 1933. editeds by Cigliano, Jan, and Myers, Denys Peter Documentation Compiled After. Photograph. https://aj.sunback.homes/item/ca0956/.

APA citation style:

Historic American Buildings Survey, C., Bruegmann, R., Groff, S. M., Schaaf, R. D., Coppa, W. M., Lourie, J. [...] County Of Santa Clara, C., Lidz, J., photographer, Cigliano, J. & Myers, D. P., eds. (1933) 520-526 Ramona Street Commercial Building, Palo Alto, Santa Clara County, CA. Santa Clara County California Palo Alto, 1933. Documentation Compiled After. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://aj.sunback.homes/item/ca0956/.

MLA citation style:

Historic American Buildings Survey, Creator, et al., photographer by Lidz, Jane. 520-526 Ramona Street Commercial Building, Palo Alto, Santa Clara County, CA. ed by Cigliano, Jan, and Myers, Denys Peter Documentation Compiled After. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <aj.sunback.homes/item/ca0956/>.