Fairview Place is one of the more affordable historic home districts in the downtown Phoenix areas in the downtown Phoenix area. There are trade offs in that it resides to the west of Encanto/Palmcroft and not easy walking distance to light rail and many downtown venues. Grand Ave is close by, as is Encanto Park and many 7th Ave businesses. Below is an overview of Fairview Place with a some history and our current take on the area.
Fairview Place… a brief history
Fariview Place is a historic neighborhood with roots back to the early 1900’s. Like most of the housing in the downtown Phoenix area, growth was sustained by the 1911 completion of the Roosevelt dam and subsequent stable water supply to the area.
Fairview Place was platted in 1916, an aggressive move considering how “rural” the public considered the area back then. Today it is hard to imagine the district, bounded by McDowell, Encanto, 15th Ave and 17th Ave as rural. However, in the early 1900’s anything west of 7th Ave was out of the city limits, trolley car lines and decent roads. In addition, the Cave Creek wash was uncontrolled and often flooded the area. The result was that original project developer, Star Realty, built nary a home.
The roaring twenties brought people and success to Fairview Place. The Cave Creek dam was built, cars were more prevalent lessening the need for mass transit and the growing cotton and citrus industries created jobs and housing demands. The construction in the 20’s was dominated by revival style architecture termed Americanized Dutch by Fairview’s new developer, FW Mathiesen. Today we’d call these styles Southwest, Tudor and Spanish Colonial revival.
A second growth spurt began in the late 1930’s and demonstrated the huge influence the newly created FHA had on home building and architectural styles. FHA brought buyers through new and innovative mortgage options. In addition, they encouraged a more “mass-production” approach to home building with smaller homes and simpler designs. It is no wonder we see so many bungalows, and transitional ranch homes in the area as well as the use of locally manufactured red brick from the Phoenix Brickyard Company.
If you are planning to live in Fairview Place you will join the ranks of many notables including:
- Wesley Bolin – Former Governor of Arizona
- Tom Chauncey – Media Magnet and Arabian Horse legend
- Gladys Bagley – Rare woman editor at the Arizona Republic
FAIRVIEW PLACE IN OUR TIME
Fairview Place offers good value for those seeking the historic home lifestyle in downtown Phoenix. Its inclusion into the National Historic Registry in 1994, relatively large size (342 homes) and variety of architectural styles (14 noted in the historic records) makes it important and valuable. Its location in the western downtown region and smaller house/lot sizes has, most likely, kept the homes more affordable than nearby Willo and Encanto/Palmcroft.
Those seeking historic living and have had trouble finding an affordable place, Fairview Place may be your ticket.
A FEW THOUGHTS FROM THE URBAN TEAM:
We feel Fairview Place offers more reasonably priced historic homes than many of the other downtown historic districts. The district has many fine homes and its proximity to downtown’s offerings is an obvious plus. What it seems to lack is competitive marketing of the neighborhood. It needs an identifying quality and, for lack of a better word, brand. Willo is noted for the annual historic tour, Encanto/Palmcroft has its elegance, Coronado has 1st Friday and a lot of community businesses. It is hard to put an identifier on Fairview.
We’d encourage the neighborhood to consider rezoning the homes facing 15th Avenue for light commercial development while keeping the homes intact. Road activity and noise diminish the residential value of the homes whereas boutique businesses like a small professional practice, neighborhood eateries and such would add value, excitement and more work-near-living opportunities. (We’d love to read some comments on this.)
Below you will find a virtual tour of the Fairview Place neighborhood as well as a complete listing of homes currently on the market in Fairview Place. If you would like more information on a specific home or the area, we are happy to help.
The Urban Connection Team
602-234-5777