The 2013 Roosevelt Historic Home Tour is happening on Saturday, November 9, 2013. The 2013 Roosevelt Historic home tour, aka Historic Roosevelt Tourfest, is a walking tour of an estimated 16 historic properties from the early days of Phoenix.

We said “mostly a walking tour” as a limited number of people, for a mere $15.00-$20.00 can take a special guided tour provided by historian Marshall Shore. If you want to buy a ticket for Marshall’s sure to be interesting tour, click here. For the rest of us, we’ll be on a self guided tour with info and maps available at the registration table located at Portland and 3rd Avenue.

The homes in the Roosevelt Historic district represent some of the earliest downtown Phoenix homes. You will find a wonderful assortment of large Bungalow style homes as well as other eclectic period revivals. We even hear the public can take a peak into one of our favorite loft projects, The Lofts at Fillmore.

The 2013 Roosevelt Tourfest Details

• Date and Time: Saturday, November 9th from 11:00 am – 4:00 pm
• Starting Location: TourFest booth located at Portland and 3rd Ave
• Parking: We recommend you take the light rail, walk or ride your bike to the event. If going by light rail just get off at the Central and Roosevelt station.
• Ticket Price: $15.00 at the event.

A Little History of The Roosevelt Historic Neighborhood:

In the early twentieth century, the Roosevelt neighborhood was home to many of the politically and socially prominent citizens of Phoenix. Many of these people had owned homes closer to the Salt River and relocated after growing tired of the annual floods. Remember, the Roosevelt dam didn’t come into existence until the 1920’s and before that time the Salt River was a wild river that often flooded its banks.

As you can imagine, the people who could afford to move were mostly well-to-do doctors, bankers, politicians, ranchers and such. They also had the money to build some pretty grand homes. The Craftsman Bungalow was the predominant House style with their distinctive front porches and large square columns.

In addition to large homes, the area around 3rd and Roosevelt became a popular spot for luxury apartments where the rich and famous of Hollywood liked to hang out in the winter. Today, many of these have been converted to condo/lofts like Fontenelle on the NW corner of 3rd Avenue and Roosevelt.

In conjunction with the 2013 Roosevelt Historic Home Tour is the Certified Local First Fall Festival. This celebration of locally owned businesses will feature over 100 vendors this year and help make the tour just that much more amazing.

Below are ten things the sponsors of the 2013 Local First Event want you to know, including where it is.

1. Bring the whole family, well-behaved dogs included! Entrance to the festival is free, and there will be tons of activities going on throughout the festival for kids, adults, and everyone in between.
2. Don’t worry about parking, ride the light rail! The Certified Local Fall Festival is located at Portland Parkway conveniently located across from the Roosevelt St. and Central Avenue light rail station.
3. Arrive early, as the first 500 attendees get a gift bag stuffed to the brim with goodies from over 50 local businesses!
4. Get your holiday shopping started early, as vendors from all over the state will be selling unique items you won’t find anywhere else. You’re also sure to get some great deals at this year’s silent auction.
5. Sample delicious morsels from some of the best restaurants and food trucks in Arizona. Samples are available for just $1!
6. Taste Arizona-made wines, beers, and sprits in the Beverage Garden, samples are just $2 and entrance is free (21+).
7. Enjoy live entertainment all day long from some of the best local acts at the Bookmans Entertainment Stage!
8. Test your luck with this year’s raffle, tickets will be $3 a piece or 2 tickets for $5. We’re giving away 20 prizes an hour, including restaurant gift cards, free oil changes, museum memberships, and more!
9. Declare yourself a localist: stop by the Local First Arizona booth to be the first to hear about the upcoming Localist campaign.
10. Connect and engage with your community. This event is all about bringing the community together to celebrate all things local to Arizona.

Hope you enjoy this event filled day in downtown Phoenix.

Gene Urban & Ron Urban
The Urban Team at Realty Executives
602-234-5777
your downtown Phoenix real estate agent team

connecting people to the perfect place for over 20 years.