So I got to looking into some of the houses in Phoenix that are on the Historic Register. I decided to focus on some of the oldest remaining houses in Phoenix, which is for the most part pre-1910, many late 1800s. Further, I tried focusing on most that many of us don't see as often, or didn't know about and hadn't seen before (at least me). We all know about the Duppa adobe, the Rosson House, the Evans House, and the like, but did you know Phoenix actually has a surviving French Second Empire house?
I get extremely frustrated seeing history books full of beautiful long-forgotten Phoenix structures, not to mention block after block of razed downtown neighborhoods. However, I decided to focus on the good (what's left) and what we can be proud of. Even if some of the homes are in slight ill-repair, or in extremely ghetto areas, they're gems nonetheless.
I broke up the houses into four areas: The North, South of Downtown, West of Downtown, and Downtown/East of Downtown. Also, some of the pics were taken from my car, others were taken peering over a wall, so they aren't the greatest quality, but oh well.
The North:
Lightning Z Ranch House
8702 N. Seventh Ave.
March 1994 (Construction Date: 1904-1908)
Halm-Howard House
6850 N. Central Ave.
November 2005 (Construction Date: 1906-1907)
Murphy (William J.) House
7514 N. Central Ave./10 W. Orangewood Ave.
March 1994 (Construction Date: 1895)
This, in my opinion, is the greatest house in the City of Phoenix. It is a true Victorian mansion, with something like 6,000+ square feet. It is right off the Murphy Bridal path, and has beautiful lawn/landscaping/gardens. I never knew it still existed, and doesn't seem to belong in Phoenix. It was tough to photograph the details of the house through the trees.
South of Downtown:
Vernacular Residence
818 S. First Ave.
October 2002 (Construction Date: circa 1885)
Jones (W.W.) House
1008 E. Buckeye Road
March 1994 (Construction Date: 1879)
West of Downtown:
Dougherty-Peterson House
2141 W. Washington St.
March 1994 (Construction Date: 1899)
Norton (William R.) House
2222 W. Washington St.
November 2002 (Construction Date: 1895)
Grier (William & Mary) House
1942 W. Adams St.
November 2007 (Construction Date: circa 1901)
Pinney (William & Nathalie) House
1938 (1930) W. Adams St.
November 2007 (Construction Date: circa 1899)
Cronin (C.P.) House
2029 W. Jefferson St.
October 2002 (Construction Date: 1893)
Morse-Kelley House
2141 W. Madison St.
October 2002 (Construction Date: circa 1900)
Roberts (Oscar) House
2004 W. Madison St.
October 2002 (Construction Date: 1893)
Tweed (Judge Charles A.) House
1611 W. Fillmore St.
September 1988 (Construction Date: circa 1880)
The final remaining French Second Empire Style House in Phoenix!
Osborn (William) House
1266 W. Pierce St.
January 1989 (Construction Date: 1890)
When I was taking a picture of this house, the owner came up and talked to me. He was a very friendly/talkative dude, with a great story and history (apprently he also owned the above house at one time). He and his family saved this house from demolition... it was basically condemned by the City.
He even had a picture (which he received from the Osborn family) of the original owners that he showed me:
Downtown/East of Downtown:
Brockway (Dr. George M.) House
506 E. Portland St.
February 2005 (Construction Date: circa 1909)
Cisney (George) House
916 E. McKinley St.
March 1994 (Construction Date: 1897)
Coe (H.M.) House
365 N. Fourth Ave.
October 2002 (Construction Date: 1895)
Skinner (E.W.) House
917 E. Roosevelt St.
October 2002 (Construction Date: circa 1899)
Seargeant-Oldaker House
649 N. Third Ave.
September 1986 (Construction Date: 1909)
Peirce (Harry E.) House
632 N. Third Ave.
September 1986 (Construction Date: circa 1910)
Hidden (George) House
763 E. Moreland St.
March 1994 (Construction Date: 1896)
One pretty great thing about going on this hunt was coming across the vast numbers of other gems out there that aren't on the historic register (from what I can tell). Many out there are just as old and sometimes in even better shape than those on the list. Either good shape or bad shape, I was surprised to find so much out there remaining, and I was happy.