Phoenix Homesteads Historic District

Consists of two irregular shaped areas situated north of Thomas Road, south of Osborn Road, between 26th and 28th Streets.

Period of Significance: 1935-1937

The Phoenix Homesteads Historic District encompasses the residential Portion of the original 80-acre, federally built, subsistence farms project known as the Phoenix Homesteads Subdivision. The district contains 45 of the original 60 homes that were built in two phases between 1935 and 1937. The houses are all of adobe construction with Pueblo Revival influenced stylistic treatment. Site planning and mature street and lot landscaping contribute to the visually distinct character of the historic district. The district retains original integrity of setting, house design, use of materials, and overall feeling and association sufficient to convey its historic identity as a federal subsistence homesteads project.

Boundary Justification: The properties within the district were built in two phases. The first phase, called Rural Homes of Arizona, comprises the southern portion of the district. The second phase is located in the northern portion of the district and was called Arizona Part-Time Tarias. The two housing areas were originally separated by the project's cooperative farmland and pasturage. That common area is now subdivided with post-historic residential lots fronting on Earll Drive. The historic district has discontiguous boundaries as a result of this geographic separation. The distance between the boundaries of the two portions of the district range from 600 to 900 feet and are linked by 27th Street through the center of the district and 28th Street on its eastern edge.

Visual continuity between the two portions of the district is not a factor of historic significance because the original plan for the entire 80-acre subdivision incorporated two separate residential areas. In addition, the intervening space lacks significance because the subdivision of that area post-dates the district's period of significance.

District Characteristics: The historic district is visually distinct from the surrounding residential neighborhoods. Principal characteristics include the tree landscaping along the street rights-of-way, the mature lot landscaping, the street and lot configuration of the original subdivision plan, and the continuity of the architecture. See source for more details.

Source: https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/559fe1cd-2279-4d24-b968-9f6d9aa00703