Country
Club Park
Historic District
Eden
is that old-fashioned House we dwell in every day
without suspecting our abode until we drive away. ~
Emily Dickinson
Our homes
are a source of comfort, joy, and pride. We recognize,
in both metaphor and reality that homes provide shelter,
warmth, and security, while presenting images that
reflect the identities of those who live within them.
But what often goes unnoticed is the history that theses
structures hold. While archaeologists plumb the depths
of distant, ancient sites in search of understanding, we
lose the grasp on our recent past by ignoring the
history that surrounds us every day.
By establishing
historic districts, the
City of Phoenix has taken steps to preserve these noted
structures and promote an appreciation for the heritage
they embody. Representing a century of dramatic growth,
the homes in these
historic neighborhoods
illustrate a broad range of architectural styles,
construction techniques, and prevailing economic forces.
No neighborhood better reveals the broad-reaching story
of its dramatic and turbulent times than
Country Club Park
Historic District.
Surveying the Scene
When first surveyed in 1867, the land that
would be Country Club Park was known as the North half
of the Northwest Quarter of Section 33, Township 2
North, Range 3 East of the Gila and Salt River Meridian
Survey. This dry and rambling label fit the arid,
Spartan land, which had been untouched by human presence
since the middle of the 15th century. But things were
soon to change.
In that same
year of 1867, a prospector named Jack Swilling planted
the seeds of modern-day Phoenix when he reconstructed
the ancient canals abandoned by the Hohokam people, some
400 years before. Establishing himself along the north
bank of the Salt River, Swilling began to irrigate the
land, growing crops to supply the U.S. Army troops at
Camp McDowell, 20 miles to the northeast.
Additional settlers quickly followed, and in 1870 the
township of Phoenix was established and platted in a
square mile grid. Activity increased as the canals were
expanded and more acreage was brought under irrigation.
The settlement of Phoenix began to supply the mining
towns in the mountain ranges surrounding the Valley. In
1881, Phoenix was incorporated, and in 1889, the
thriving city was designated as the Territorial Capital.
Only a year
before, in the previous capital of Tucson, Charles H.C.
Orme had filled a homestead patent that included the
land upon which Country Club Place would be built. Land
speculation in the Phoenix area became commonplace, with
large blocks of real estate controlled by a small number
of investors intending to resell for agricultural and
residential development. Orme held the land for only six
months, then sold the northern half to Thomas W.
Pemberton who, legend reports, had survived the Great
Chicago fire of 1871 by wading in Lake Michigan
throughout the night, his business records in hand. With
his business safe and sold, Pemberton moved to Arizona
with the intent of retiring to raise race horses on his
new land. Too active to retire, Pemberton became
treasurer of the Phoenix Savings Bank And Trust (First
Interstate), Treasurer of the Arizona Territory, and
founder of the utility we know today as Arizona
Public Service.
Biding Time
Even in the hands of an active entrepreneur,
the future site of Country Club Park remained
undeveloped. The early growth of Phoenix proceeded north
as residents moved away from the flood plain of the Salt
River. Channeled by the streetcar lines, development
clustered along Center Street, now Central Avenue,
expanding west as streetcar line spurs were added.
The city's
growth also was checked by the vagaries of the river's
flows. Periods of drought would frustrate development as
the economy receded in response to the dwindling water.
The year of 1902 marked a pivotal event for the Valley.
Passage of the National Reclamation Act established
federal programs that led to construction of the
Roosevelt Dam in 1911. Completion of the dam harnessed
the waters of the Salt River, which in turn produced the
initial wave of rapid growth and prosperity in the
1910's for Phoenix and surrounding communit9es. The
project also foreshadowed the role that the federal
government would play in the continued growth of the
city a role that would lead directly to the development
of
Country Club Park.
The Third Wave
The year was 1939, and Phoenix was enjoying a
third wave of new growth. The first wave, blunted by
World War I, returned to crest in the 1920's. Knocked
back again by the Great Depression, growth would be
restored by New Deal economics. Of particular impact in
the area of housing were the programs sponsored by the
Federal Housing Administration (FHA). Create in 1934,
the FHA was charged with rejuvenating the nation's
sagging housing industry. The federal agency encouraged
and promoted home construction and ownership through the
generous provisions of its loan insurance programs.
In return
for these incentives, the FHA required that qualifying
projects meet an array of standards designed to
stabilize the housing market. Large projects were
favored for their economics of scale and rapid impact on
available housing. Uniformity in design and residential
styles were promoted based on the prevailing theory that
consistency in design would bolster value.
Made To Order
Still undeveloped, the Pemberton land was an excellent
candidate for an FHA project. The parcel had passed to
Pemberton's daughter who in 1918 sold it to a Du Pont
family heiress. Resisting all offers until 1937,
Ecutheria L. Du Pont sold 30 acres to the City for the
construction of North High School. Two years later, the
remaining parcels, bounded by Thomas Road, Virginia
Avenue, Dayton and Seventh Streets was sold to the Aetna
Investment Corporation, the original developers of
country Club Park.
Consistent
with FHA policies and standards, Country club Park was
laid out with curved, non-through streets; three-way
intersections; consistent building placement; and the
focal point of the neighborhood, a 2-˝ acre, and
elliptical park. In short,
Country Club Park was a
model FHA community
Weathering The Storm
Opening in October of 1939, the debut of
Country Club Park
coincided with the plunge of Europe into World War II.
For the next two years, the development thrived despite
the war as 50 percent of the lots were developed through
speculative sales and the efforts of numerous builders.
Country Club Park
was one of the last large residential subdivisions in
the city to be developed in this manner. Before the
projects' completion, increased scrutiny by the FHA,
teamed with the effects of war, would bring an end to
conventional development for the remainder of the War
years.
As with all
other features, the architectural style of
Country Club Park was
dictated by the standards of the FHA. Simple,
functional, and inexpensive, the Ranch Style home
emerged as the predominant architectural style in
Country Club Park. In
fact, various version of the Ranch Style home became the
prototype for FHA construction and would dominate the
landscape of the country over the next three decades.
Ranch styles would eventually account for 97 percent of
the 142 homes within the Country Club Park subdivision.
Complementing the French Provincial, California, and
Transitional Ranch Styles are several examples of the
Spanish Eclectic and Art Moderne Ranch Styles. Basic
features and forms are common to most of these
variations of the Ranch Style, although Art
Modern Ranch homes are particularly distinct. In
general, they are one-story residences with low to
medium pitched gable or hipped roofs, brick walls that
are sometimes stuccoed. They also have metal-framed
windows and often a porch over the entry or a broad
eaves overhang to shade the entry walkway. The Spanish
Colonial Ranch often has a hallmark red tiled roof,
white stucco walls and a massive stucco or brick chimney
stack. With America's entry into the war in 1941, the
construction of homes across the nation was dramatically
curtailed. But intervention by the federal government
once again would counter the natural economic downturn
to the benefit of the Valley. Safe from coastal attack,
Phoenix was considered an excellent site for the
location of war production plants. Sic additional
military facilities were located in the Valley, giving
rise to the need for housing.
All
"non-essential" construction was halted, and development
was put under direction of the War Production Board
(WPB) with the interaction of three other federal
agencies. Local businessmen formed the Eureka Investment
Company to continue the development of Country Club Park
under the auspices of the WPB. Still attempting to honor
the uniformity sought by FHA guidelines, the
architectural firm of Lescher and Mahoney was retained
to match the style of existing residences and plan of
Country Club Park. Despite the limitations posed by
wartime rationing, the substitution of materials allowed
for construction of modest homes with only minor
architectural adjustments. By the end of the war, in
1946, the subdivision of Country Club Park was complete
- only seven years since its inception. With its roots
in the pioneer West, the
Country Club Park
neighborhood transcends time to tell the
story of wartime America. Its form, its style, and the
materials that comprise it speak of that spirit and
ingenuity of a national and the triumphs of its people
through adversity.
Today,
Country Club Park
is not a museum. It is a vibrant neighborhood that draws
strength and pride from its history to take its place in
the fabric of a revitalizing downtown community.
Information, maps
and photographs provided courtesy:
Historic Preservation Office of the City of Phoenix
Neighborhood Services Department
200 West Washington Street
Phoenix, Arizona 85003
(602) 261-8699 |
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Laura Boyajian Mobile: 602.400.0008
HistoricCentralPhoenix@cox.net
HomeSmart, LLC - Elite Group
5225 N. Central Ave. #104
Phoenix, AZ 85012 (602)
400.0008
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