East Evergreen Historic District Phoenix AZ

Generally bounded by Third and Seventh Streets, McDowell Road and the alley south of Willetta Street.

Period of Significance: 1909-1929

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The East Evergreen Historic District is located in Phoenix, just north of Interstate 10 and approximately 1.5 miles from downtown. The district is located to the southwest of the intersection of two commercial thoroughfares, McDowell Road and 7th Street. Although the district was once part of a larger residential subdivision, many of the adjacent properties have been demolished and replaced with commercial buildings after the period of significance. The East Evergreen Historic District contains 26 resources, including 25 domestic properties and one park, and represents the densest and most intact collection of resources from the original East Evergreen Addition to the City of Phoenix (1909). The residences are predominantly single-family dwellings, with three duplexes and an apartment building also present. The addition was platted in 1909, with the bulk of residences constructed between 1911 and 1929. Except for two duplexes, one apartment building, and one Early Ranch house, all other residences were built before World War II, and most exhibit strong Craftsman stylistic features. The district contains 23 contributing residences and one contributing park (Townsend Park) for a total of 24 contributing resources. The two noncontributing resources are a severely altered ca. 1915 bungalow (510 E. Willetta Street) and an apartment building constructed after the period of significance that is stylistically incongruous with the neighborhood. Of the district’s 26 total resources, 92% are contributing. The district possesses a high level of integrity in terms of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association.

The district has an irregular shape, with boundaries encompassing only portions of several blocks. The district boundary is drawn to include a concentration of historic resources with high integrity and to correlate to the local historic preservation overlay zone in the same name. One additional lot, 532 E. Lynwood Street, was added to the National Register district that was not in the local historic district. The house was moved from another district where it was recommended as individually eligible under Criterion C. Nonhistoric commercial buildings along 7th Street are excluded; therefore, the eastern boundary of the district is set back approximately two lots west of 7th Street. The northern boundary of the district includes a short stretch of McDowell Road along Townsend Park. The district’s western boundary is positioned to include the lots on both sides of 5th Street. The first four lots on the south side of Willetta Street, east of 5th Street, are included in the district, but the southern boundary jogs to include only lots along the north side of Willetta east of 5th Street. With the addition of 532 E. Lynwood Street, the National Register boundaries correspond to those of the local historic district.

The district streets are laid out on a grid, with those running east-west functioning as the dominant residential streets. Alleys are present between the east-west streets, with some secondary buildings located along them. Townsend Park is located along the northernmost boundary of the district, at the southeast corner of McDowell Road and N. 5th Street. The streets are approximately 35’ wide and the alleys are 15’ wide. Some irregularity exists in the rhythm of streets and alleys within the district. First, developers inserted Lynwood Street between McDowell Road and Willetta Street sometime between 1915 and 1918; no such street previously existed on the original plat. The addition of another street resulted in a reduction in lot sizes within the block, such that the lots along Lynwood Street are considerably smaller than others throughout the district. Because of this, setbacks are shallower. Second, at approximately 30’ in width, Lynwood is a slightly narrower street than others within the district. Third, no alley is present in the block bordered by McDowell, Lynwood, 5th and 7th Streets. Finally, the large block between McDowell and Willetta Streets, and 3rd and 5th Streets is subdivided by two equally-spaced east-west alleys.

The lots are slightly rounded at both street and alley corners. The southwest corner of Willetta and 5th Streets is dramatically rounded, rendering the street area larger at that intersection. Driveways and curb cuts are present in front of most residences within the district. The curbing is rounded where cut at the intersection with the street. Front driveways are generally one-car wide and paved, although some are two-cars wide. Detached garages are generally accessed by a driveway from the street, although some are located off the alleys. Paved sidewalks, approximately 5’ wide, are present throughout the district. Most residences have paved walkways connecting the front entrance to the sidewalk; some walkways span the front entrance to the street.

The East Evergreen Historic District streetscape is characterized by large front yard setbacks, mature palm tree-lined streets and pedestrian-friendly sidewalks. Despite minor variations in the size of lots and setbacks, the district retains this common character. There are two basic lot sizes in East Evergreen. Lots along Willetta Street are approximately 70’ wide by 225’ deep, which was the historic neighborhood standard. Between 1915 and 1918, Lynwood Street was cut through a section of a preexisting larger block. Lots along Lynwood are approximately 65’ wide x 50’ deep, dramatically smaller than those along Willetta Street. Because most of the reduction came from the rear yard, the Lynwood Street lots appear similar in size and setback from the street. The largest lot in the district is found at 1422 N. 5th Street. Originally, the large, deep lot held one of the oldest and most substantial single family houses in the neighborhood. It appeared on both the 1915 and 1949 Sanborn maps and was replaced with the present apartment complex about 1965.

Despite some variation in the setback, height and massing of residences, the district retains a common street character. Within individual streets, the setbacks and rhythm of residences remain the same. Along McDowell, Willetta and 5th Streets, the standard setback is deep at approximately 60’. Because the lots along Lynwood are smaller, the standard setback of these residences is approximately 25’. Most residences in the district are one or one-and-a-half stories, although two residences and the apartment building are two stories. Most of the residences have a compact massing, except the duplexes and apartment building, which have a more sprawling, rectangular massing. Nearly all the residences have front porches, most of which span the width of the façade.

Landscaping and street furniture further contribute to the character of the district. Mature palm trees line the streets. These are regularly spaced approximately 35’ apart, in the area between the sidewalk and Willetta Street and around Townsend Park. Some mature palm trees are present on 5th Street and Lynwood Street, but not with the same regularity. Landscaping on private property includes both native and exotic plantings. Many lots have broad front lawns. Low-level front yard fences, most commonly present on 5th and Lynwood Streets, are of wood construction. Lampposts are located both at street corners, on residential blocks between the street and sidewalk, and throughout the park. They are irregularly spaced along the streets, ranging between approximately 110’-275’ apart. The lampposts are replicas of historic lampposts. Townsend Park, a neighborhood park located at the corner of McDowell and 5th Streets, is a flat rectangular park consisting of grass and trees. Palm trees line three sides of its perimeter, along Lynwood, 5th Street, and McDowell Road.

The East Evergreen Historic District is comprised of 25 residential resources and one park. With the exception of three duplexes and one apartment building, all residential resources are single-family. All but one of the single-family residences were constructed within a twenty year span, between 1910 and 1929, and have a commonality of style, size and massing. The three duplexes were built in the early postwar period between 1945 and 1951. The apartment building was constructed or later.

The earliest residences in the district were constructed along Willetta Street, and by 1915, seven of the twelve lots contained within the district on this street were developed; the residences on these lots are extant. With the exception of the house at the northeast lot at Willetta and 5th Streets, all other lots on Willetta were developed with single-family residences by 1929. Perhaps Willetta’s success inspired the developers to open Lynwood Street between 1915 and 1918; all of the extant residences along Lynwood were constructed by 1929. Willetta and Lynwood streets are the most uniform in house size, age, type, materials, rhythm and style. Fifth Street features a mix of older and newer resources and different types of housing; it has two 1949 duplexes, a 1945 Early Ranch style house, and a large, c. 1965 apartment complex. The duplexes represent the final phase of historic period construction in the district and are considered contributing resources. The apartment building is not of historic age, is stylistically incongruous with the district, and does not conform to its small-scale residential character. As a result, it is listed as a noncontributing resource.

Victorian, Craftsman and Ranch styles are all present within the East Evergreen Historic District although Craftsman influences dominate the streetscapes. See the multiple property nomination, Historic Residential Subdivisions and Architecture in Central Phoenix, 1912-1963, for a description of these styles and their specific characteristics. An inventory provided at the end of Section 7 lists all resources within the district, as well as their style, date of construction, and contributing status.

The contributing residences share a common character due to similar massing, materials, fenestration and the presence of porches. Most of the contributing residences within the district have a box-like, square massing, although a few are rectangular in shape. Nearly all have medium-pitched gable roofs, in front-gabled, sidegabled, and cross-gabled configurations. Nearly half of these residences feature dormers with either a pitched or shed roof. With the exception of one clay tile roof, all pitched roofs are sheathed with asphalt shingles. Most have the exposed rafters typical of the Craftsman style. Two identical duplexes feature hipped roofs. All contributing resources have concrete perimeter wall foundations and brick walls. The brick wall treatment is split nearly evenly between exposed, painted or stuccoed. The gables and dormers are generally sided with shingles, although some have exposed brick or stucco with louvered vents. Some lower level window and door openings exhibit segmented arches, while others are flat. Craftsman style resources typically have divided-light wood windows; the windows are either single- or double-hung sash, or wood casement. All contributing resources feature a front porch. Porches in the district are generally inset and run the full length of the façade. The porch typically has square brick columns and may have low brick walls around the perimeter.

Several exemplary contributing resources with high integrity stand out in the district. For example, the 1918 Wesley F. Dains House at 532 E. Lynwood Street is a one-and-a-half story, front-gabled brick Craftsman with a symmetrical façade and a full-width inset porch. The roof is medium-pitched and has a wide overhang and shingled gable ends. The lower level walls are brick; shingles are present under the gable. Window and door openings have segmental arches, and windows are 1/1 single-hung wood sash. The gable-end contains three six-light rectangular windows. The porch features paired wood columns on top of stuccoed pedestal bases. The 1911 Calvin Bois House at 516 E. Willetta Street, also Craftsman, is of a similar design, but is side-gabled. The brick residence contains segmental arch openings, wide 16/1 windows, and notched rafter ends. Its fullwidth inset porch has full-height brick piers. A wide shed-roofed dormer with shingled siding and four casement windows is located in the center of the roof. The Fred B. Jones House, built in 1922, is located at 538 E. Willetta Street. It is a brick front-gabled house with a front-gabled porch and a slightly asymmetrical façade. It features hallmarks of the Craftsman influence with its exposed rafters, brackets, brick porch piers, and square window and door openings. A variety of wood windows are present, including 16/1 double-hung, 4/1 casements and a Chicago-style window consisting of a fixed pane flanked by 4/1 casements.

The James H. McClintock House at 323 E. Willetta Street was individually listed in the National Register of Historic Places on October 4, 1990. It is a two-story, Craftsman style house constructed in 1911. It has a symmetrical façade and rectangular massing, with a large side-gabled roof and a full-width inset porch. The roof has a wide overhang and a large gabled dormer with an inset balcony, a feature unique in the district. Its brick walls and full-height porch columns are stuccoed. Exposed rafters, roof beams and knee braces, typical of the Craftsman style, are present.

Another notable resource in the East Evergreen Historic District is Townsend Park, a neighborhood park located at the northeast corner of Lynwood and 5th Streets. It is approximately 1.5 acres in size and has a lighted basketball court, volleyball court, playground and picnic area. The circulation routes are paved, as are sidewalks along the park boundary. Palm trees are regularly spaced along the park edges, and other trees are present within the park. Low manicured shrubs are regularly spaced along the park’s border with McDowell Street. The park occupies Lot 20 of the 1909 East Evergreen Addition plat. Lot 20 was one of only two blocks – Lot 19 was the other -- that were not divided into building lots on the 1909 plat. By 1915, however, Block 19 was partially developed. Between 1915 and 1918, the eastern and southern sections of Lot 20 were carved into residential lots, most fronted onto Lynwood Street. The northwest quadrant of Lot 20 has remained an open space for neighborhood activities since 1909. It was identified as a park on city maps as early as 1930 but the city didn’t officially acquire the park property until 1945. It is unknown when the park was named; it was already known as Townsend Park when the city obtained the property. It is widely held that it was named for attorney Fred B. Townsend who lived directly across McDowell Road from the park, in a house that has since been demolished. Among his many civic works, Townsend was a member of the Phoenix Planning Commission. His September 15, 1959 obituary reported that the park was named for Mr. Townsend for his service to the city of Phoenix (City Vertical Files, East Evergreen Historic District). Townsend Park has historically served as an open green space for the enjoyment of residents in the East Evergreen Historic District and is a contributing element of the district.

The East Evergreen Historic District has two noncontributing resources. The two-story apartment building at 1422 N. 5th Street was constructed circa 1965, outside the period of significance. Its form and massing are inconsistent with other resources in East Evergreen. It has a flat roof and painted concrete block walls. Regularly-spaced, stuccoed wall piers extend above the roof line to form higher parapet walls. Windows are aluminum sliding sash. Apartment balconies face an interior courtyard swimming pool and are not visible from the street. The house at 510 E. Willetta Street is also considered noncontributing. It is an asymmetrical onestory, side-gabled residence constructed in c. 1915. Although this residence was constructed during period of significance, it does not retain a sufficient level of integrity to be a contributing resource. Its brick walls are stuccoed. The front entrance was shifted to the west, where an original window opening was enlarged; it now has a modern door with a sidelight. The original front entrance now has a rectangular six-light vinyl window. Two double-hung vinyl windows now occupy the location where one original wood hung window originally existed. The alteration of the fenestration pattern, as well as the installation of modern windows and doors of different sizes, types and materials, makes this a non-contributing resource.

Overall, the East Evergreen Historic District retains a high level of integrity in terms of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association. They district always has always been residential in character and remains so to the present. Most resources in the district are single-family houses; three duplexes and an apartment complex add to the residential stock. The Craftsman style is well-represented in the district although some late Victorian characteristics are found, as well. Most of the houses share a commonality of materials, size and massing. The final resource is Townsend Park, a traditional community landscape. The streetscape is characterized by large front yard setbacks, mature palm tree-lined streets and pedestrian-friendly sidewalks. Twenty-three of the 26 resources, or 92%, are considered contributing because they convey a strong sense of the historic period in which the neighborhood was developed. Because of the similarities and consistency of the buildings and streetscape, the district has an outstanding coherence and sense of history.

Source: https://www.phoenix.gov/pddsite/Documents/HP/pdd_hp_nif_nrn0003.pdf