This Old House Phoenix

05/23/2023

Not THE Daniel Boone, but one if his descendants!

A rendering of the home by R.M. Eskil that was published in the Arizona Republic. 1720 W. Elm Street There aren't many adobe homes in the Valley, and

09/12/2022

Exciting News! I have made some changes to thisoldhousephoenix.com to include a map of homes and some articles I have been writing. Check it out!

07/26/2022

This house was a complete surprise to me. It's an old farmhouse from the early 1900s that sits in a neighborhood of ranches in the St. Gregory neighborhood. This house has a great story — I hope you read it!

This old farmhouse is "hidden" in a neighborhood of mid-century ranch homes.

08/23/2020

910 W. Moreland St.

Built in 1926, this was one of the first houses west of 9th Ave. in the F.Q. Story Historic District and certainly the grandest. The house now faces the I-10 freeway but one positive of that is that it has killer, unobstructed views of the downtown Phoenix skyline, which are particularly outstanding at night.
Click to learn more.

Historic image of houseDining roomArcadeLiving room 910 W. Moreland St. Built in 1926, this was one of the first houses west of 9th Ave. in the F.Q. Story

07/01/2020

2233 N. Alvarado Rd.

Look at this amazing story-book home! It looks like the set for a British period film — I can almost imagine Mr. Darcy coming to call for Lizzy Bennet. But it's right here in central Phoenix, and yes, it's undeniably the best example of Tudor Revival/Elizabethan Revival/Eclectic architecture we have. (Click picture to read more.)

2233 N. Alvarado Rd. Look at this amazing story-book home! It looks like the set for a British period film — I can almost imagine Mr. Darcy coming to call

03/23/2020

Adobe is my favorite building material, and while I have never lived in an adobe home, I remain hopeful. I love the hand made, practical and earthy nature of adobe. The simple mud and straw recipe dates to the prehistoric era and you can see the ancient hand prints of the people who used mud mortar to build their cliff dwellings in places like Canyon De Shelly & Mesa Verde.

The builders did an amazing job restoring this home. They kept all the original wood doors and hand-forged hardware and refinished the scored concrete floors.

01/24/2020

The other day when I drove by I was surprised to see the house against a backdrop of the newly completed Stewart apartments — a 19-story luxury highrise. The sight made me wonder about the person who built this house and what they would think of the glass and steel structure looming over it, so I did some digging.

801 N. 1st Ave. I have driven past this house hundreds of times and thought little of it except that it's a beautiful example of Mission Revival architectur

11/09/2019

In 1925 the population of Phoenix was just over 30,000 and the city limits lay over 6 miles north of what is now South Mountain Park. In that year, John and Helen Albrecht purchased 36 acres of citrus and date groves south of the Highline Canal and began construction of their two-story Mission Revival home.

Historic home, Phoenix History, Spanish Revival, Winter Visitors 1925 | Rancho Ko-Mat-Ke By Tricia Amato November 9, 2019 November 9, 2019 View of the grounds with the canal in the foreground.Guests on the grounds.Main sitting rooms with tufa fireplace.A well-appointed bedroom. 1346 E. South Mountai...

09/19/2019

Good luck trying to see this house. The only photo I could get is from the back corner, showcasing the storage room that was a later addition. This home was unknown to me until I saw a reference to the “Rock House” while researching another property. Thanks to its recent addition to the Phoenix Historic Property Register, it is now officially named the Frank and Sarah Hilgeman House and was built around 1923 by Frank Hilgeman and his son...read more

Agriculture, Historic home, Not where you'd expect, Phoenix History, Vernacular, Vernacular Architecture 1923 | Frank and Sarah Hilgeman House By Tricia Amato September 19, 2019 September 19, 2019 333 W. Loma Lane Good luck trying to see this house. The only photo I could get is from the back corner...

07/07/2019

If you've ever driven through it, even by accident, you would have recognized you were in a unique place. The flood irrigated neighborhood is lush with vegetation. There are many varieties of trees here — Washington Palms, Aleppo Pines and many types of fruit trees trees — and they are so large they touch over the street. The large trees and thick vegetation are a large part of what makes this area special. Homes were modest, Pueblo Revival style built of mud adobe bricks that were made on site. Floorplans were not standardized, so each of these homes is different...read more

Adobe, Agriculture, Farm House, Historic home, Phoenix History 1935 – 37 Phoenix Homesteads By Tricia Amato July 7, 2019July 7, 2019 I’ve discussed a specially-designed neighborhood before when I talked about Idylwilde Park. Phoenix Homesteads is another purpose-built neighborhood and one of our...

02/09/2019

The Norton House today 2700 N. 15th Avenue Dr. James Norton came to Phoenix in 1892 to become first territorial veterinarian of Arizona. In 1912 he purchased acreage north of town where he established a dairy and built this imposing home for his wife Clara and their children. I have seen the house referred to as Mission Revival, and I suppose it has some of those qualities, but I think it's more Italianate/Renaissance Revival. [ 352 more words ]

The Norton House today 2700 N. 15th Avenue Dr. James Norton came to Phoenix in 1892 to become first territorial veterinarian of Arizona. In 1912 he purchased acreage north of town where he establis…

11/29/2018

1242 N. Central Ave. At the turn of the century, much of the small city of Phoenix was clustered just north of the Rio Salado's wide flood plane. After the town suffered through several devastating floods those who could afford to moved to higher ground north of town. During the prosperous teens and twenties, the wealthy began to build Victorian and Queen Anne mansions along Central Avenue (then called Center Street) in an area once known as “Millionaire's Row.” The Ellis-Shackelford House is the last remaining (intact) mansion in this area. [ 268 more words ]

1242 N. Central Ave. At the turn of the century, much of the small city of Phoenix was clustered just north of the Rio Salado’s wide flood plane. After the town suffered through several devas…