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CONTENTS
<br />Introduction 2
<br />1. Main Street and Its Historic
<br />Architecture
<br />2
<br />2. The Downtown Revitalization
<br />District
<br />3
<br />3. Design Guidelines 4
<br />Materials, Finishes and Colors 4
<br />Building Projections and Side-
<br />walk Coverings
<br />5
<br />Signing and Illumination 6
<br />Outdoor Spaces 7
<br />New Construction 8
<br />First Street and Peters Avenue
<br />Corridors
<br />9
<br />Conversion of Residential
<br />Properties to Office Use
<br />10
<br />INTRODUCTION
<br />In October, 1983, the Pleasanton Chamber
<br />of Commerce contracted with Page, Anderson
<br />& Turnbull, Inc., to provide design
<br />services and imp lementa[ion measures for
<br />revi[aliza[ion of Lbwntown Pleasanton.
<br />The principal products to result from
<br />[he se services consist of: 1) a
<br />windshield survey to identify Downtown's
<br />historic and architectural resources; 2) a
<br />Ibwntown Overlay District to implement
<br />specific site development and design
<br />measures; and 3) Design Guidelines to
<br />provide direct assistance to property
<br />owners, merchants, designers and others
<br />when making private sector improvements.
<br />The Design Guidelines draw heavily upon
<br />findings of the windshield survey,
<br />including [he identification of Downtown
<br />Pleasanton's dis[inc[Ive architectural
<br />styles and building types. The Lhsign
<br />Guidelines also address the major
<br />opportunities inherent to Downtown
<br />Pleasanton, such as rew construction, use
<br />of outdoor spaces, and tlu' dominant
<br />character and special quality of Nain
<br />Street. The importance of drawing upon
<br />and enhancing existing pedestrian
<br />amenities, as well as offering retail
<br />goods and services strongly oriented [o
<br />the pedestrian environment, cannot he
<br />overstated.
<br />® MAIN STREET AND
<br />ITS HISTORIC
<br />ARCHITECTURE
<br />Pleasanton's Main Street began as a
<br />portion of the main stage road that headed
<br />north from Niles, through Sunol to Dublin,
<br />and beyond. The alignment of [he road
<br />through central Pleasanton was perhaps [he
<br />earliest definer of the form [hoe [he [own
<br />ultimately would take.
<br />The landholdings of John Kottinger and
<br />Joshua Neal abutted the stage road.
<br />lCO Stinger subdivided a small segment of
<br />his land in 1863, creating three lots on
<br />[he west side of Main Scree[, occupied by
<br />a blacksmith shop, carpenter's shop and a
<br />doctor's residence. Neal began subdivid-
<br />ing his property in 1868. When both men
<br />undertook ex [ensive suhdivid ing in 1869
<br />(with [he arrival of the railroad), the
<br />parceli za[ion and block divisions of Main
<br />Street were established. The awkward jogs
<br />in several streets as [hey cross Main
<br />Street Ss explained by the differing plats
<br />laid out by the two men.
<br />Main Street in [he 19th and early 20th
<br />centuries was an unpaved road lined
<br />loosely with commercial structures from
<br />Abbie Street on the south to the Arroyo
<br />Valle on [he north. Residences were
<br />interspersed with the commercial
<br />buildings. The firs[ school and post
<br />office were on Main Scree[, and in 1914
<br />the City Hall was built at the northwest
<br />corner of Main St ree[ and Division S[ree[.
<br />For the most part, however, Main St ree[
<br />always has been a commercial corridor.
<br />The businesses housed on Main Street
<br />naturally ref lec[ed the reeds of the day.
<br />General mercantile stores, hotels, banks,
<br />livery stables, blacksmith shops, and
<br />warehouses comprised the bulk of the 19th
<br />century businesses. Livery stables were
<br />replaced with garages by World War I, and
<br />chain scores began to replace general
<br />merchandise stores in [he 1930's.
<br />Churches and Fraternal halls were situated
<br />on cross streets, most notably on the
<br />major cross axis of Neal St reec/Rose
<br />Avenue, connecting with the Southern
<br />Pacific train depot (when the Western
<br />Pacific added its line west of Main Street
<br />around 1910, the depot was built on Rose
<br />Avenue ).
<br />By World War I, Main Street in Pleasanton
<br />had achieved a form and appearance [ha[
<br />was to change 1l ctle until Che 1960's.
<br />Same blocks were densely developed, with
<br />buildings abutting one another. Other
<br />blocks were looser, with detached
<br />structures. Some were built up to [he
<br />sidewalk, others were recessed. The scale
<br />of the buildings was consistently one and
<br />two stories. The classic small-[own
<br />appearance of the street was so evocative
<br />of rural American life that it was used a:
<br />a backdrop in several feature movies (:rose
<br />ro[ably Rebecca of Sunny Brook Farm in
<br />1917).
<br />The first record of planned improvements
<br />on Main Streee is found 1n the activities
<br />of the Pleasanton Women's Improvement
<br />Club, established in 1908. The club begat
<br />planting trees along *lain Street in 1909,
<br />and raised $1100 to purchase the sire of
<br />[he old City Hall. I[ was this club chat
<br />had the Pleasanton sign installed over
<br />Main St ree[ in 1932.
<br />Major public improvements included [he
<br />construction of [he handsome and well
<br />sited City Hall in 1914 (on the lot
<br />donated by [he Women's Improvement Club),
<br />and the paving of the streee in 1923. It
<br />is no[ certain whether ornamental sireec-
<br />lights were ever installed on Main Street
<br />(with the exception of a pair of fluted
<br />pose-top standards which originally
<br />flanked the walkway to the old City Ha 11 ).
<br />The existing streetlights were Sns[alled
<br />In 1968.
<br />Ma Sn Street largely re [ained a coherence
<br />of scale and feeling through World War II.
<br />Buildings in new styles replaced older
<br />structures, old buildings were remodeled,
<br />and new buildings were built on vacant
<br />parcels. Since the 1950's, insensitive
<br />remodelings have diminished the visual
<br />continuity of Main Street, and new
<br />construction has replaced major hSstorical
<br />landmarks. Generally, however,
<br />Pieasanton's Main Street retains ehe
<br />scale, texture and feeling of its
<br />traditional form.
<br />Main Street's
<br />Historic Architecture
<br />The historic architecture of Main Street,
<br />and of the downtown cross streets within
<br />the project area, falls into several
<br />distinct categories: Victorian, Mission
<br />Revival, Parapeted Conme rcial, and
<br />Mediterranean. Each of these categories
<br />can be further divided into subcategories
<br />by virtue of composition, use of materials
<br />ar:d building type. The most imporeant
<br />concen[rat ion of historic buildings in
<br />downtown Pleasanton dates from [he late
<br />1890's to about 1915, aM includes good
<br />examples of Victorian and Mission Revival
<br />structures.
<br />1. Victorian (c. 1875 - 1905)
<br />The Vlcmrian structures of Main St ree[
<br />fall Sn[o two major subcategories. [hose
<br />constructed of wood and [hose constructed
<br />of brick. Most of [he surviving wooden
<br />structures are two stories in height, with
<br />storefronts on [he ground floor and
<br />offices or residential units above. Kolln
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