North Garfield Historic District

MORE HISTORY

The North Garfield Historic District is a large, densely developed residential neighborhood whose history reflects the phenomenal growth of Phoenix as an agricultural hub for surrounding farms and a supply center for nearby mining towns in the last days of the 19th century and the first decades of the 20th century. The district lies just northeast of the original Phoenix city limits and its current downtown core. It roughly stretches from 7th Street on the west to 16th Street on the east, and from Roosevelt Street on the south to Interstate 10 on the north and encompasses the largest concentration of historic properties within those general limits.

Just over 300 historic and nonhistoric resources lie within these boundaries, the majority of which contribute to the historic character of the district and express the prevailing architectural styles and residential building trends from the late 19th century through the historic period ending in 1955. The western half of the district – the portion closest to the original townsite of Phoenix – was platted as Brill’s Addition in 1887. Only a handful of resources in the district reflect the city’s earliest period of suburban growth. However, general patterns established by the amended plat in 1895, including street layout, lot size and configuration, and streetcar routes, set the stage for later, more intensive development.

Most of North Garfield’s historic residential fabric dates from the early decades of the 20th century – from ca. 1912, after the streetcar provided easy access to the addition and the construction of Roosevelt Dam ensured agricultural prosperity for the Valley, through the boom years of the 1920s and into the 1930s. Largely a Streetcar Subdivision (1887-1925), North Garfield’s many pyramidal cottages, Craftsman influenced bungalows, and Period Revival style houses line the district’s streets, reflecting the popular designs of their time. A handful of early Ranch style houses from the years just before and after World War II, many of them built with the aid of government backed loans, are found in the district.   Recently, the North Garfield Historic District has experienced some redevelopment, but most of the new houses respect the size, scale, massing, and, in the case of some new “bungalows”, design, of their neighbors. Streetscapes are remarkably consistent throughout the district, characterized by relatively small, one-story houses of similar size, setback, massing, materials and ornamentation.

Information courtesy of  National Register of Historic Places,  Department of the Interior

North Garfield… If you have more info, please email rick@lcmhomegroup.com