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 surround-ing
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 1910s 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 1920s. 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) 261-8600
Country Club Park Historic
District Homes of Distinctive Style!
Desert Showcase
