Campus Vista

Campus Vista was developed in the late 1930s in response to the growing demand for Phoenix College housing. This neighborhood features mid 20th century domestic architectural styles.

campus vista historic district phoenix azIt is the late 1930’s in Phoenix Arizona and housing is needed for the new campus of Phoenix College near 15th Ave and Thomas. College Addition Subdivision is platted to provide homes to this outline area of town. This was the beginning of what is now called Campus Vista Historic District

Below we’ll talk a bit about the history, homes and current standing of Campus Vista Historic District including a tour of the homes and neighborhood.

Campus Vista Historic District… a brief history.

Campus Vista Historic District is made up of several subdivisions. The layout is an upside down “L” surround Phoenix College to the north and east. The largest of the subdivisions are Campus Vista, Campus Manor and Mulberry Place. Let’s take a closer look at a couple of them.

First up is College Addition, a small subdivision consisting of 41 decent size lots. Frank and Clara Barton, along with a Mr. LE Patterson, platted College Addition in 1939. This was well ahead of anyone else in the area. According to public records, two contractors dominated the building/selling of homes; Elmer Schler and WJ Murphy. They sold the homes as being higher status houses with “smart designs intended to make housekeeping a joy;” Proximity to Arizona’s 3rd largest college was important too. The combination of benefits was a hit and the development sold out in just two years.

Construction is most of Phoenix was halted during WWII. Building materials were needed for the war effort and only a limited number of homes were built. When the war ended in 1945 a post war housing boom began.

The Campus Vista subdivision lies to the SE of the college and was created (platted) on New Years Eve day in 1945, just months after Truman signed the documents ending WWII. Can you imagine the wild parties that went on New Year’s Eve 1945?

The prestigious Phoenix Trust and Title Company created the 66 lot Campus Vista subdivision. Building began shortly thereafter with many homes completed by 1948. The dominant architecture was Ranch Style and most all the homes were masonry construction.

Some Interesting Campus Vista Information and Stats;

  • 97% of the homes in Campus Vista historic were built between 1941 & 1956.
  • 90% of the home are Ranch or Transitional Ranch style homes.
  • 90% of the homes were masonry built homes.
  • More than 70 different builders and designers ended up contributing to homes in Campus Vista. However, the influence of FHA building standards helped create an interrelated theme to the various homes and neighborhoods.
  • Enrollment at Phoenix College soared after the war from 2000 in 1948 to over 10,000 by the late 1950’s and contributed to the demand for housing.

Campus Vista Historic District Today:

Campus Vista is one of the more popular historic districts these days. Many like rehabbing the ranch style homes and adding mid-century modern accents while others like the relatively large lots and stability of masonry built homes.

An interesting development we’ve seen in 2012/2013 is property appraisals in the area. During several recent transactions we’ve seen appraisers used homes in Willo and Encanto-Palmcroft when valuing Campus Vista homes. This has resulted in some surprisingly high valuations… great if you live in Campus Vista or are selling a place.

Homes Currently For Sale In Campus Vista Historic District:

We update our search for homes in the Campus Vista Historic District each and every day. Since there are a number of homes in the district there are usually some for sale. If there are none, there will simply be a message below saying no results were found.

Naturally, we can set up a custom search for you that will email you info every time a home comes on the market that matches your interests. Just shoot us an email at urbanconnection@thecanigliagroup.com to get your home search started.