400 DOUGLAS AVENUE

HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE

400 Douglas Avenue was built for Frank and Charlotte Zorno and Albert and Lucille Cooper as joint tenants in 1929 at a cost of $6,000. Charlotte and Lucille were sisters but interestingly the building was called the “Lucille Apartments!” The building contained six luxury apartments each with six rooms, two baths and six garages. Uniquely, Frank Zorno designed the building though by trade, he was a bridge engineer!

Due to the stock market crash, the Zornos and Coopers had trouble finding tenants for their high end apartments and ended up moving into the building themselves. They all lived in the building for the rest of their lives with an ownership change in 1975.

ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE

400 Douglas Avenue is an excellent example of the Spanish Eclectic Style. Tell-tale signs of this style include the low-pitched roof, use of clay tile roofing (uniquely these are a blue-green color versus the typical red), and arches above entryways. The pink terracotta walled entry courtyard is also typical of the style and is adorned with Fleur-de-Lis. The three-story central door and window surround contains a highly decorative low-relief ornament known as Plateresque. Within this Platersque is a Coat of Arms. The design is that of “Carpe Diem” and includes a shield, the mantling, which is the leaf work around the shield, as well as a helm (helmet). This appears to have been a generic design as the shield does not portray any writing or visible imagery. This detailing was typically found from the end of the 15th century to mid-16th century in Spain when the country was moving away from late Gothic architecture with a renewed interested in Renaissance architecture. The building is considered to be a significant structure to Spring-Douglas Historic District.

TIMELINE OF PREVIOUS OWNERS