Del Norte Place Historic District

Bounded by Virginia Avenue, Encanto Boulevard, 15th and 17th Avenues.

Period of Significance: 1927-1945

Download printable brochure.

The Del Norte Place Historic District is located in Phoenix, Arizona, northwest of the central business district and north of the State Capitol. The district is bounded on the north by Virginia Avenue, on the west by 17th Avenue, 15th Avenue on the east and Encanto Boulevard on the south. Bordering the district on three sides is a greenbelt, formed by Encanto Park to the east and the Encanto Municipal Golf Course to the north and west. Opposite the southern boundary along Encanto Boulevard is the Fairview Place Historic District.

The eight square blocks of the Del Norte Place subdivision was laid out in a grid street pattern with houses fronting on the east-west streets. Houses are uniformly placed on the front of their lots with garages on the rear. The majority of the garages are original and designed in the same style as the main house. Building setbacks are consistent throughout the area. Mature ash and citrus trees, many planted as part of the original development of the area, line the streets. These street plantings combined with the traditional landscaped yards and park surroundings to create a tranquil pastoral setting for the area.

The district consists of 151 homes representative of the range of architectural styles that were popular between World War I and II. The earliest houses constructed in the subdivision include a 1927 Bungalow and numerous Period Revival style cottages. Accounting for approximately 25% of the district's housing stock, the Period Revival homes were constructed in the 1920s and 1930s. The English and Tudor Revival-influenced designs are distinguished by their steeply pitched gable roofs, often clipped and appearing in multiple combinations. These complex roof shapes combine with projecting bays and other building elements to create variation in the form and massing of these small houses. Exterior walls are primarily exposed brick. Less commonly, stucco or a combination of the two, is used. Masonry trim animates most exteriors. Windows are primarily wood and double-hung.

Red tile roofs set apart the Spanish derivations of the Period Revival styles of Del Norte Place. Like their English-influenced counterparts, their rectangular and square plans appear more complex through the use of projecting bays, entries and wingwalls. Exteriors are primarily stucco, although painted brick also is used. Windows are primarily casement, both wood and steel. Representative of the Spanish Colonial Revival tradition, arched openings set off doors and windows and are used to create distinctive arcades and porches.

Approximately three-quarters of the houses in Del Norte Place are representative of the early Ranch and the Ranch stylistic variations which emerged in the 1930s and 1940s. Thirty-five homes are French Provincial Ranches with rectangular and L-shaped floor plans. Their style-defining hipped roof receives a variety of decorative treatments including boxed and molded cornices or projecting eaves, some with exposed rafters. Painted brick and stucco exteriors predominate, as does steel casement windows.

As in the earlier era of Period Revival building, Spanish-influenced versions of the Ranch house also were popular. In Del Norte Place, the homes in this stylistic group have a characteristic rectangular plan and red tile roofs. Most roofs are gabled, although hipped forms can be found. Painted brick is used for most exteriors, with some stucco sheathing. Windows are primarily steel casement.

Interspersed throughout the neighborhood are Ranches exhibiting decorative treatments of the American Colonial Revival Ranch tradition. These painted brick gable houses have classical porch treatments, window shutters and occasional ornamental trim. Windows are primarily steel casement.

The Del Norte Place Historic District exhibits a high degree of integrity as there have been minimal alterations to the original layout, setting and building in the district. Very few of the houses have been modified, so approximately 95 % are considered contributing structures. This wide assortment of historic architectural styles and the intact landscape setting of the area contribute to the distinctive identity and visual character of the Del Norte Place Historic District.

Source: https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/01c7b035-cbe0-4077-8c01-f20dafe5355e