Hacienda Historical District Maps & Homes Search
La Hacienda Historic
District Phoenix, AZ
Despite being surrounded by modern commercial
properties and in the shadow of nearby high-rise office
buildings to the west,
La
Hacienda retains a high level of its early to
mid-20th Century architectural character, and remains
one of Phoenix’s small, yet prestigious residential
neighborhoods.
The overall character of the district is emphasized
by mature, dense plantings of trees which line the
streets. There is a wide variety of mature vegetation
including palms, eucalyptus, citrus, mesquite, and pine
trees. In the Mayfair section, between 3rd and 5th
Streets, these trees sit in a buffer of landscaping in
the right-of-way between the sidewalks and the paved
streets. In the La Hacienda section, between 5th and 7th
Streets, lawns extend directly out to the paved streets
without sidewalks. In the historic period, both
neighborhoods touted their paved streets as a modern
convenience to the suburban driver.
Retaining a high level of integrity in architecture
and setting, the La Hacienda neighborhood appears today
much as it did in the years preceding and following
World War II. While some of the neighborhood’s houses
have undergone alterations, primarily additions, window
replacements, and roofing substitutions, the majority
are little changed from the time of their construction,
and several are virtually unaltered. Where additions
have occurred, they are mainly in the backyards and have
little effect on the streetscape of the historic
district.
Pedestrian sidewalks and streetlights were notably
absent from the La Hacienda neighborhood. The lack of
sidewalks and streetlights helped to reinforce the
exclusive nature of La Hacienda and was a clear sign of
the importance that the automobile already had in the
lives of Phoenix residents.
As these brief biographical sketches indicate, many
of the residents of the La Hacienda neighborhood
contributed a great deal to their community and Arizona
over the years. There can be no question that the
neighborhood benefited greatly from their presence over
the years. These history makers shared many values and
ideals in common and such feelings have a great impact
on the shape and quality of a community, and on the City
of Phoenix and the State of Arizona. The fact that the
La
Hacienda and Mayfair subdivisions merged to form a
common identity is strong evidence for a shared sense of
community and beliefs.
The efforts over the years of Janet Beauchamp, Jane
Roper, Ruth Reinhold, and Grace Switzer to compile
historical information on the neighborhood is proof of a
strong sense of history and community by many residents
of La Hacienda. This brief history of the people who
lived in the
La
Hacienda neighborhood provides a sense of the
magnitude and significance of the impact these residents
had on the City of Phoenix before the 1960′s; the
neighborhood’s most critical period of growth and when
its community identity emerged.
The La
Hacienda neighborhood is truly one community with a
significant and vital architectural and social history
within the City of Phoenix.
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