1922 map, Buckeye Road is shown as paved west from Phoenix to thebanks <strong>of</strong> Agua Fria River. After crossing the river, the road is againshown as being paved all the way west to Buckeye (Phoenix Chamber<strong>of</strong> Commerce 1922).By 1926, more than $1 million <strong>of</strong> federal aid had been spent to constructthe Phoenix to Yuma highway (State Engineer 1926:29-30). TheArizona Highway Department contracted with an El Paso firm to buildthe highway bridge over the Agua Fria River in 1924. The concretegirder bridge measured 32 feet long (FraserDesign 1987:44).A few years later, highway engineers instituted the use <strong>of</strong> highwaynumbers to replace the myriad <strong>of</strong> highway names that had designated<strong>of</strong>ten over-lapping routes. In Arizona, the east-west route that had beencalled the Bankhead Highway, the Atlantic-Pacific Highway, the LeeHighway, the Old Spanish Trail, and the Borderland Route became “U.S.Highway 80” by 1926 (State Engineer 1926:22). The federally fundedhighway followed Buckeye Road, rather than Van Buren, on its Phoenixto Yuma route, and was paved from just west <strong>of</strong> Palo Verde intodowntown Phoenix and east to Mesa; the remainder <strong>of</strong> the highwayremained ungravelled, ungraded dirt (The CMC Company 1923).Defense Plants and New HousingIn addition to the several air fields built in the Phoenix area in the earlyyears <strong>of</strong> World War II, the businessmen <strong>of</strong> Phoenix worked with federal<strong>of</strong>ficials to secure defense plants for their area. Goodyear Aircraftannounced its plans to construct a plant at Litchfield Park west <strong>of</strong>Phoenix in July 1941, and opened the $500,000 airplane parts plant inNovember that same year. At its peak, the plant employed 7,500workers. The next year, the Aluminum Company <strong>of</strong> America (ALCOA)built a plant on a 300-acre site at 35 th Avenue and Van Buren Streetwhich employed 3,500 workers.The influx <strong>of</strong> new workers into the Phoenix area caused a housingshortage and strained the already inadequate public transportationsystem. To increase the number <strong>of</strong> homes available and to decrease thedependency on city buses, federal agencies built public housing projectsadjacent to the plants to house the defense workers, such as “AlzonaPark,” built across from the Alcoa plant (Luckingham 1989:141).A map <strong>of</strong> 1946 Phoenix subdivisions illustrates just two subdivisionswest <strong>of</strong> 35 th Avenue and south <strong>of</strong> Van Buren in that year, adjacent toeach other just south <strong>of</strong> the Alcoa Plant (Valley National Bank 1946).Alco Acres, platted in 1942, extended from the railroad tracks south toSherman Street, and from 37 th Avenue west to 39 th Avenue. The platmap does not indicate whether public or private monies financed thehousing in Alco Acres. Interestingly, the Alco Acres subdivision wasmade up <strong>of</strong> large lots measuring 150 feet across and more than 300 feetdeep, perhaps in an attempt to maintain the rural feel <strong>of</strong> the area or toencourage residents to plant Victory Gardens. The second subdivisionillustrated on the 1946 map, Homedale, extended from the railroadtracks on the north to Buckeye Road on the south (U.S. Highway 80),and from 39 th Avenue on the east to 41 st Avenue on the west. Platted in1945, the Homedale subdivision lots were much smaller than lots in theneighboring Alco Acres. 66 Although one source notes the creation <strong>of</strong> Alzona Park “across from Alcoa,” the name does notappear on the 1946 Phoenix subdivisions map. Two possibilities exist. Either the Alzona Park subdivision wasbuilt after 1946, after the influx <strong>of</strong> wartime defense workers, or the “Alco Acres” indicated on the 1946 mapis another name for Alzona Park (Luckingham 1989:141; Valley National Bank <strong>of</strong> Arizona 1946).Recommendations on Treatment <strong>of</strong> Historical Resources Within theStudy AreaRemnants <strong>of</strong> the area’s history continue to dot the landscape today.Roads follow the section lines laid out more than 130 years ago. In therural sections, tree-lined lateral canals trace the boundaries <strong>of</strong>agricultural fields just as they have for more than a hundred years, andremnants <strong>of</strong> the earliest Anglo-constructed canals may still be extant.Modest, sometimes dilapidated, farm houses hint at the hundreds <strong>of</strong>families who made their homes here in the first half <strong>of</strong> the twentiethcentury, while larger-scale agricultural facilities tell <strong>of</strong> the importance <strong>of</strong>agricultural production. Roadside businesses follow the route <strong>of</strong> U.S.Highway 80. The subdivisions platted in the 1940s demonstrate theattempts to house a huge influx <strong>of</strong> World War II defense plant workers.Two surveys to determine the presence <strong>of</strong> historical properties within thearea have been completed. The first survey, conducted in the mid-1970'sprior to the compilation <strong>of</strong> the Environmental Impact Statement for thesection <strong>of</strong> Interstate 10 known as the Papago Freeway, identified elevenhistoric properties within the ADMP project area. Of the eleven, theresearchers noted three (two homes and one barn) as having the potentialto be listed on the National register <strong>of</strong> Historic Places. Built in 1897, theIvy House at 75 th Avenue and McDowell served as home to the firstwoman in the Arizona Territorial Legislature; it has since beendemolished. The Evans Barn on 67 th Avenue between McDowell andVan Buren was determined to be eligible under criterion C as an earlymodel <strong>of</strong> barn construction in Phoenix, <strong>of</strong> which few examples remain.In 1977, the Brooks House, at 334B North 75 th Avenue, a Bungalowfarmhouse,was also determined to be eligible for the National Register<strong>of</strong> Historic Places.DIBBLE & ASSOCIATES 53 DURANGO ADMPDATA COLLECTION REPORT
The Historic Preservation Office <strong>of</strong> the City <strong>of</strong> Phoenix PlanningDepartment conducted a valley-wide survey <strong>of</strong> historic rural and estatearchitecture in 1991. The Woodward Architectural Group identified atotal <strong>of</strong> eight historic rural agricultural properties within the boundaries<strong>of</strong> the ADMP. Six <strong>of</strong> the eight were recommended as eligible (includingthe Brooks House but not the Evans Barn nor the Ivy House). Three <strong>of</strong>the siz were built prior to 1911 and three were built between 1911-1942,as listed below:Inventory No. Address Date703 2500 N. 83 rd Ave. Before 1911721 334 N. 75 th Ave. 1911-1942722 335 N. 75 th Ave. Before 1911723 7301 W. Van Buren St. 1911-1942724 6701 W. Van Buren St. 1911-1942726 6529 W. Van Buren St. Before 1911Due to the possibility <strong>of</strong> encountering historical properties throughoutthe study area, a survey is recommended to ascertain thepresence/absence <strong>of</strong> such properties on a site-specific basis. As a part <strong>of</strong>determining alternatives, specific historical properties should beidentified, and then evaluated as to their eligibility for the NationalRegister <strong>of</strong> Historic Places.DIBBLE & ASSOCIATES 54 DURANGO ADMPDATA COLLECTION REPORT
Change language