Medlock Place Historic District

Generally bounded by Seventh and Missouri Avenues, the alley west of Central Avenue and the alley south of Pasadena Avenue.

Period of Significance: 1926-1956

The Medlock Place Historic District is a north central Phoenix residential neighborhood that developed predominantly between 1926 and 1956. The district lies within a quarter-section of land bounded by Missouri Avenue on the north, Camelback Road on the south, Seventh Avenue on the west, and Central Avenue on the east. The neighborhood includes parts of six distinct subdivisions, platted between 1897 and 1938. The district displays the typical planning concepts of the day including straight streets aligned with the cardinal directions, and north and south residential exposures. While there are other styles represented, homes in the district primarily represent two eras: the latter part of the Period Revival era, 1926-1930, and the early Ranch era, 1935-1956. As a whole, the neighborhood retains its historic appearance from its period of development, with modern or altered structures comprising less than one third of the buildings in the district.

The Medlock Place Historic District is located along the west side of Central Avenue north of Camelback Road in Phoenix, Arizona. At the time of its development, this area was considered to be rural, dominated by fruit orchards and fields with a few farmhouses, and was several miles north of the Phoenix city limits. Due to the explosive growth of the last fifty years, the neighborhood is now in the center of the city.

The neighborhood encompasses much of the southwest quarter of the section of land originally subdivided as Evans' Addition to Orangewood subdivision. This plat extended from Camelback Road north to Bethany Home Road, and from Seventh Street west to Seventh Avenue. Most of what is currently known as the Medlock Place Historic District resulted from replattings of the large, 20-acre farm lots of Evans' Addition, which were further subdivided into fifth acre to half acre house lots.

The history of development of the neighborhood can still be discerned from the homes and lots themselves.

The first major replats were the Medlock Place (1926) and South Medlock (1927) subdivisions, at the south end of the district near Central Avenue, and include lots along Colter Street, Medlock Drive, and Pasadena Avenue, from Third Avenue to Central Avenue. These two subdivisions feature large, half-acre lots. As most of the lots were developed before the Great Depression, most homes in these areas are examples of the English Tudor Revival, Spanish Colonial Revival, or late Bungalow styles.

Soon after the Medlock subdivisions began development, the Orangewood Estates subdivision (1928) was platted at the northwest corner of the neighborhood, bounded by Missouri Avenue on the north, Seventh Street on the west, Colter Street on the south, and extending a little east of Third Avenue. The plat for Orangewood Estates included 16 one and two acre lots. The Orangewood Estates subdivision saw little development, however, until after World War II. A few prewar homes remain in the area and are distinguished by their architectural style and by the large size of the lots. The remainder of the one and two acre lots were further subdivided informally into the smaller, typical "city" house lots. Most of these were developed with Transitional and Early Ranch style houses after 1935, and mostly after the war.

Two additional subdivisions of the Medlock District were platted between the Medlock and Orangewood additions just before the war; South Orangewood (1937) and Aldrich Place (1939). They are mostly populated by Transitional and Early Ranch style homes. Their plans followed the precedent set by the earlier subdivisions with regard to street and lot layout.

The overall rural character of the district is emphasized by mature, dense plantings and broad, flood-irrigated lawns. The rural character is further enhanced in the Medlock Place and South Medlock subdivisions by the large, spacious lots. Streets, while once graveled, have now all been paved with asphalt. Medlock Place and South Medlock have no curbs and gutters and the large grass lawns extend out to the streets which are lined with tall palm trees. The Orangewood Estates, South Orangewood and Aldrich Place sections of the district predominantly possess curbs and gutters, with sidewalks in only three small sections of this area. Homes throughout the entire district have standard setbacks of 20 to 30 feet in depth and flood irrigated lawns which provide continuity to the streetscape. Therefore the distinctive rural character has remained throughout the district.

Architectural styles represented in the Medlock Place Historic District include the Bungalow Style; Period Revival variants including the Spanish Colonial Revival, English Tudor Revival, Pueblo Revival, American Colonial Revival, and the Southwest Style; Modern Movement styles including Art Deco and International Style; and California Ranch subtypes including the Transitional Ranch, French Provincial Ranch, Spanish Colonial Ranch, Contemporary Ranch, and American Colonial Ranch. Period Revival style homes predominate in the Medlock Place and South Medlock areas, while Ranch style homes predominate in Orangewood Estates, South Orangewood and Aldrich Place. In general, the residences are single story. Homes in Medlock Place and South Medlock tend to be larger than the other areas, commensurate with the size of the lots. Second story additions occur occasionally; original two-story homes are rare. Homes on corner lots frequently make use of street frontages with secondary entrances or garages. Many of the homes have historic-era garages associated with them, usually of a similar or compatible style.

The overall condition of the properties in the neighborhood is good. Most homes are well-maintained. There has also been a trend toward major additions and remodeling for some of the properties. Several historic-era homes, particularly in Medlock Place and South Medlock, have been modernized such that they no longer retain their historic appearance. However, the majority of the homes are unaltered or have minor alterations such as window replacements, or in some cases exterior sheathing such as stucco applied over earlier brick.

The district is distinguished from its surroundings on all sides. The corridor along Central Avenue has been redeveloped with commercial uses, and possesses a clear delineation and difference in character. This is also true for the portion of the district abutting Camelback Road. The area to the southwest of the district, south of Colter Avenue and west of Third Avenue, has modern development dominated by multi-family residences and a modern church. Seventh Avenue and Missouri Avenue also present clear boundaries, with single family homes west and north of these thoroughfares representing more recent development. The area north of Georgia Avenue and from Third Avenue east has a mixture of modern commercial and multi-family residential uses. Within the district, the predominantly residential character and continuity of streets enhances its overall unity.

 Source: https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/3ae74056-bde2-46e0-9f7c-c3a17559a019