Earll Place Historic District Phoenix AZ

Period of Significance: 1927-1942 

The Earll Place Historic District is a central Phoenix residential neighborhood that developed predominantly between 1927 and 1930, with a spate of post-World War II development in the late 1940s. The district lies two miles north and one mile east of the historic city center, an area that was on the fringe of the core development of Phoenix in 1927. The district is comprised of homes fronting on two adjacent, parallel east-west streets, Pinchot Avenue and Earll Drive, and is one block in length on both streets. Because most development occurred within the first three years of the beginning of the subdivision, most of the homes in the area represent the styles popular in the late 1920's, including late examples of the Bungalow Style and various types of Period Revival dwellings. Later development included homes from the Ranch stylistic era. By 1949, the neighborhood is considered to have been "built out," with only one house constructed after the period of significance, in 1979. As a whole, the neighborhood retains its historic appearance from its period of development.

The Earll Place Historic District is located northeast of the major intersection at Thomas Road and 16th Street in central Phoenix. At the time of its development, this area was on the edge of the developed core of Phoenix, in an area dominated by agriculture but which was rapidly becoming developed.

The Earll Place subdivision as recorded with Maricopa County in 1927 stretched from 16th Street to 18th street, and was bounded by the alley north of Earll Drive on the north and by Pinchot Avenue on the south. The subdivision was laid out with house lots 175 feet deep by 50 or 65 feet wide, oriented mostly toward Earll Drive and Pinchot Avenue. The exception was that lots along 16th Street (excluded from the district) were oriented to that thoroughfare. Alleys were included to provide city services at the rear of each lot. Following the typical practice of the day, the lots are narrow but deep; these were considered "standard city lots".

The district is populated by 41 one-story single-family residential properties, many of which have guest houses, detached rental units, garages, or other outbuildings. With few exceptions, the street front setback is uniform at 25 to 35 feet from the property line, usually providing a landscaped front yard. The yards consist of grass lawns and a variety of vegetation and trees including mature pecan, palms, pines and citrus. 60-foot street rights-of-way include space for planting strips and sidewalks on either side of asphalt-paved traffic lanes were provided with concrete curbs and gutters.

Architectural styles represented in the Earll Place Historic District are predominantly those popular during the 1927- 1930 development period, although secondary development between 1935 and 1949 also occurred. Styles represented in the first developmental period include the Bungalow Style and Period Revival variants including the Spanish Colonial Revival, English Tudor Revival, and the Southwest Style. Thirty-four of the homes in the district represent the first period of development. Styles of the secondary development include primarily California Ranch and subtypes including the Transitional Ranch and French Provincial Ranch. Three homes were built in the late Depression years prior to 1942. Four homes were built beginning after World War II through 1959. One property in the district was redeveloped in 1979.

The overall condition of the properties in the neighborhood is good. Most homes are well-maintained. The majority of the homes are unaltered or have minor alterations such as window replacements, or in some cases exterior sheathing such as stucco applied over earlier brick.

The district is distinguished from its surroundings on all sides. The area to the west, which includes all of the lots of the original subdivision fronting on 16th Street, has been redeveloped as commercial property and no longer has a historic character. More modern residential developments border the site on the north, east, and south. Immediately abutting the east side of the historic district, original lots of the Earll Place subdivision are occupied by vacant land, parking lots, a modern church, and several properties of both historic and modern age which have poor integrity.

Source: https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/82b484cb-8d38-4329-8583-83604012df42