Journey Through the Phoenix Historic Districts - Garfield Historic District

With some 35 historic districts in Phoenix, you are never far from interesting homes and neighborhoods. For this visit, the destination is the Garfield Historic District, just a little bit south of the Coronado Historic District, which dates back to the late 19th Century.

An Ohio pioneer, John Dennis, settled here in 1868 and carved out a farm in a corner of land bounded by Seventh to 12th Streets, and Roosevelt to Van Buren. The land acquired his name and became the Dennis Addition when he decided to create subdivisions. In 1883, the sector was registered with Maricopa County, and by 1899, it was annexed into the city of Phoenix.

Annexation gave the area a boost when it brought the first city well and pumping plant to what would become known as Garfield. Other municipal improvements followed as the neighborhood grew. Here you can find examples of the many styles of homes over the 50-years that saw most of the home building in Garfield. Period revival-style homes and bungalows were the dominant architectural styles (Craftsman, Classic and California Bungalow styles, Pyramid Cottages, Period Revival, variants of Southwest styles, Prairie-influenced styles, and International) from the 1890s to the 1940s, including the Depression and World War II years.

Just as John Dennis created an Addition that became Garfield, so his rancher/miner neighbor Frederick Brill created his own Brill’s Addition that would eventually become North Garfield. The land that bordered Dennis’ on Seventh to 12th streets had Roosevelt to McDowell as its other borders. By 1910, Brill’s Addition was annexed to the city and became the North Garfield District.

Both areas won historic district status in 2006 after more than a decade of patient work by citizens and cooperation from the Revitalization and Economic Development Committee. Designation means that properties “…must either be important for representing broad patterns of history or for their association with the life of a historically important person; or for conveying high architectural or artistic values; or for archaeological contributions.” (Source: Phoenix Historic Preservation Office) Properties must also be at least 50 years old or have achieved exceptional importance within the last five decades.

What this all means for the historic home lover, or the homeowner, is that Garfield and Garfield North have many homes that reflect the unique history of this area. For the homeowners who already value the character of their buildings, an added benefit of historic district designation, is that it usually means that property values increase.

Another catalyst for this historic neighborhood is the close proximity to the ASU Downtown Campus. Small developers also have caught on to Garfield and major infill investments like Roosevelt 1, not conceivable a few years ago, are now realty.

In Garfield and North Garfield, that is good news for the owners of more than 1,000 homes. And for those of us who value these areas as visible records of our history, the designation means that history will be preserved.

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