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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 9
<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 Occobeq 1983, the Pleasanton Chamber
<br />of Commerce contracted ai[h Page, Anderson
<br />S Turnbull, Inc., to provide design
<br />services and implementation measures for
<br />revitalization of Downtown 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 />Downtown Overlay District to implement
<br />specific site development and design
<br />measures; and 3) Design Guidelines to
<br />provide direct assistance to properly
<br />owners, merchants, designers and others
<br />when making private sectoc improvements.
<br />The Design Guidelines draw heavily upon
<br />findings of the windshield survey,
<br />including the identification of Ibwn[own
<br />Pleasanron's distinctive architectural
<br />styles and building types. The Design
<br />Guidelines also address the major
<br />opportunities inherent to Ibwntovn
<br />Pleasanton, such as rew construction, use
<br />of outdoor spaces, and the dominant
<br />character and special quality of Nain
<br />Scree[. The importance of drawing upon
<br />aM enhancing existing pedestrian
<br />amenities, as well as offering retail
<br />goods aM services strongly oriented to
<br />the pedestrian environment, cannot be
<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 [hat headed
<br />north from Niles, through Sunol Co Dublin,
<br />and beyond. The alignment of the road
<br />through central Pleasanton was perhaps the
<br />earliest definer of [he form that the town
<br />ultimately would take.
<br />The landl»ldings of John Kottinger and
<br />Joshua Meal abutted the stage road.
<br />Kottinger subdivided a small segment of
<br />his land in 1863, creating three lots on
<br />the west side of Gain Street, occupied by
<br />a blacksmith shop, carpenter's shop and a
<br />doctor's residence. Neal began sulxlivid-
<br />ing his property in 1868• When both men
<br />undertook extensive subdividing in 1869
<br />(with the arrival of Che railroad), [he
<br />parceliza[ion and block divisions of Main
<br />Street were established. The awkward jogs
<br />in several streets as they cross Main
<br />Street is explained by the differing plats
<br />laid out by [he two men.
<br />Main Street in the 19th and early 20th
<br />centuries was an unpaved road lined
<br />loosely wish comaercial structures from
<br />Abbie Street on the south to the Arroyo
<br />Valle on the north. Residences were
<br />interspersed with the con®ercial
<br />buildings. The first school and post
<br />office were on Main Street, and in 1914
<br />the City Hall was built at the northwest
<br />corner of Main Street and Division Street
<br />For the most par[, however, Main St reel
<br />always has been a coimvercial corridor.
<br />The businesses housed on Main Street
<br />naturally reflected the needs of the day.
<br />Central 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 stores began to replace general
<br />merchandise stores in the 1930's•
<br />Churches and fraternal halls were situated
<br />on cross scree [s, most notably on the
<br />major cross axis of Neal Street/Rose
<br />Avenue, connecting with the Souffiern
<br />Pacific train depot (when [he 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 that
<br />vas [o change little until the 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 [o the
<br />sidewalk, others were recessed. The scale
<br />of the buildings was consistently one and
<br />two stories. The classic small-town
<br />appearance of the street was so evocative
<br />of rural lwerican life chat it was used a
<br />a backdrop in several feature movies (mos
<br />ratably Re hecca of Sunny Brook Fatm 1n
<br />1917).
<br />The first record of planned improveven[s
<br />on Main Street is found in the activities
<br />of the Pleasanton Women's Improvement
<br />Club, established in 1908. The club bega
<br />planting trees along Main S[ree[ in 1909,
<br />and raised $1100 co purchase the site of
<br />the old City Ha 11. It was this club [hoc
<br />had the Pleasanton sign installed over
<br />Main Street in 1932.
<br />Major public improvements included [he
<br />construction of the handsome and well
<br />si led City Hall in 1914 (on the lot
<br />donated by Che Women's Improvement Club),
<br />and [he paving of [he street in 1923. IC
<br />is not certain whether ornamental street-
<br />lights were ever Installed on Main Street
<br />(with the exception of a pair of fluted
<br />post-top standards which originally
<br />flanked the walkway to the old City Flail)
<br />The existing streetlights were installed
<br />In 1968.
<br />Main Street largely retained 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 [he 1950's, insensitive
<br />remodelings have diminished the visual
<br />continuity of Plain Street, and new
<br />construction has replaced major his[orica.
<br />landmarks. Generally, however,
<br />Pleasan[on's Main S[ree[ retains the
<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 />[he project area, falls into several
<br />distinct categories: Victorian, Mission
<br />Re vlval, Parapeted Conmerc is 1, and
<br />Mediterranean. Each of these categories
<br />can be further divided into subcategories
<br />by vir CUe of composition, use of material;
<br />and building type. The most important
<br />concentration of historic buildings in
<br />downtown Pleasanton dates from [he late
<br />1890's to about 1915, and includes good
<br />examples of Victorian and Mission Revival
<br />structures.
<br />1. Victorian (c. 1875 - 1905)
<br />The Victorian structures of Main Scree[
<br />fall into two major subcategories: [hose
<br />constructed of wood and those constructed
<br />of brick. Most of the surviving wooden
<br />structures are two stories in height, wii
<br />storefronts on Che ground floor and
<br />offices or residen[Sal units above. iCOll
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