Mesa Historic Properties
 

James A. MacDonald House
Local Historic Register- November 1998

The James A. Macdonald house was built between 1916 and 1918 and is an excellent example of a bungalow/vernacular house. James A. Macdonald, an early Mesa pioneer was born in 1870 and came to Arizona in 1881. He was a former police officer, farmer, and builder and helped in the construction of the Arizona Temple of the LDS. The house was purchased by Diane Hughes in 1996, and she completely renovated the house over a two-year period. Until recently, it was the Antique Wedding House. It was because of that renovation and adaptive reuse that Ms. Hughes received the 1998 Mesa Historic Preservation Award for Outstanding Achievement in Adaptive Reuse.

Irving School
National Register of Historic Places - November 2000
Local Historic Register - August 1998

The Irving School in Mesa was constructed in 1936 by the trustees of Maricopa County School District No. 4. The property was purchased by the City of Mesa from the school district in 1975. In 1976, the building was converted into a performing arts center under the direction of local architect Charles Hickman.

The Irving School is significantly associated with several important historical trends in Arizona. First and foremost, it is a significant representation of the maturation of educational institutions in Mesa. Secondly, it is an excellent example of the architectural expertise of the Lescher and Mahoney firm, considered as the preeminent architects of school buildings in Arizona. Finally, the Irving School is a representative example of the significant impact Federal public works programs had on local communities in Arizona.

The Irving School is a rare surviving example of Federal Modern style architecture applied to an elementary school. To our knowledge, it may be the only elementary school in Arizona which is designed in the characteristic styles associated with the economic recovery programs of the New Deal as well as with currently popular residential architecture. The masterful combination of its two high styles, one institutional and the other residential, makes Irving School a summary of the popular architecture of the late 1930s in Mesa.

The Irving School is a good example of this progressive theory of environmental and psychological effects on education. Its elongated, one-story plan bridges the evolution of school building design from the cube-like, three-story school buildings of the 1910s to the multiple detached one-story buildings and open campus plans of the late 1940s and 1950s.

Arizona Temple
Contributing Property to Temple Historic District - Local Register 2001
Contributing Property to Temple Historic District - National Register of Historic Places - November 2000 (Nominated to the National Register Individually - 2003 (pending)

Although not formally designated as a landmark (locally or nationally) , the Arizona Temple is a contributing property to the Temple Historic District which is listed to the local register and to the National Register of Historic Places.  In 2003 it was nominated to the National Register for individual listing and the decision is pending.  The Arizona Temple represents one of our most significant cultural resources.  The vista seen from 1st Avenue and from Main Street is spectacular as the Classical Revival Architecture rises above cyprus, palm and evergreen tree canopies reminiscent of classic greek and aztek/myan temple structures. Built in 1927, the Temple was a tremendous undertaking of its time.  Rising 55 feet  the terra cotta exterior includes columns, elaborate cornice details and friezes on each of its four sides, each corner having two friezes depicting nations coming from the four corners o the earth to attend Temple.  

The southwest corner, facing south, represents the Mexican members who left their old mission behind them and traveled to join the Church.  The southeast corner is of Native Americans--a large percentage of which came from Arizona.  Also southeast are Hawaiians making daily vocations of poi, catching fish, and performing other work.  On the northeast, a group of French and Swiss peasants are on their way to Holland and are followed by Italians.  A group of people from Holland are embarking for the Americas on the northeast wall joined by German immigrants working with their bedding and boarding a ship destined for the New World. Bulgarians and Dutch are visible entering the ship as well.  The northwest corner depicts a group of people from England, followed by Welsh, Irish, and Scottish--all dressed in native costume.  Finally, a handcart company from the 1800s is depicted honoring those who journeyed on foot thirteen hundred miles, pushing carts containing meager belongings crossing the plains to reach Salt Lake City.  The artist was Torleaf Knappus.  

Additions were added in the early 1970s. This prominent landmark is one of the most exciting examples of terra cotta construction in the United States. The Temple draws over a million visitors a year and during the holiday season the temple and its surrounding gardens are lighted with tens of thousands of holiday lights. 

Mt. Calvary Baptist church
Local Historic Register - September 2002

Mt. Calvary Baptist Church was designated a Local Historic Landmark on August 29, 2002 for its 92 year association with the community.

African Americans began to appear in Mesa shortly after the turn of the 20th Century. The first family was the McPhersons in 1905. Around 1910, others included Dr. James Livingston, Cora Kemp (who was a registered nurse), and a veterinarian. Other families arriving before 1920 included the Kemps, Moores, Halls, Mckelvys, and the Fergusons. Settling primarily in the Washington Park neighborhood, their group was small in number and their sphere of influence at the time, even smaller. A common and binding part of their community was the spiritual leadership, which at first came in the form of missionaries. The first meeting place was under a tree in the front yard of Clara McPherson-Lewis. In 1918, the Reverend J.B. Bell organized the mission as a church and the Reverend James Robison became the first pastor. A crude rectangular wooden structure was built on East Broadway (4ths Street at that time) for worship services. In 1940 the church moved to 430 N. Lewis, where it remains today.

Despite the fact that the church, which began as an outdoor meeting under a tree, moved several times until it arrived at 430 N. Lewis Street, its importance is nonetheless significant because of its association with the African American community over a span of 92 years. This very important fellowship and requisite feelings of belonging transcend physical space. Even though the church building itself has been in existence for 62 years, the impact of the parish on the community has existed for much longer. 

African American westerners pursued centuries-old twin desires for opportunity and freedom. In their pursuit of economic opportunity, these workers became a crucial element in the dramatic rise of the national standard of living of African Americans. In their pursuit of racial justice, they helped launch a much larger expansion of rights for all Westerners, and all Americans, by contributing to the coming of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. Their foundation for this pursuit has historically been associated with the spiritual life of African Americans. The role that churches like Mount Calvary Baptist Church played in major parts of American history cannot be overstated. Mt. Calvary provided a solid foundation for the members of the Washington Park community to network, worship, and find inner strength.

The leader of Mt. Calvary, Rev. Robison, had a son and a daughter who both completed high school in Mesa. His daughter, Mcfraddie Martin, completed her undergraduate work at Arizona State University and received a Master’s degree from USC. Rev. Robison’s son also graduated from USC and became a dentist. The Freeman’s, James and Jewel and daughter Etta (still a parishioner) arrived with twelve other families in 1924 in a covered wagon that traveled from Texas. Mr. Freeman purchased a bus with his own money and picked up the children in Higley and Chandler to go to school in Washington Park during segregation.

Angie McPherson Booker another parishioner is one of the oldest living early residents of Mesa, at 98 years. Angie arrived in Mesa with her family in 1910 and has lived next door to the Church since 1912. Angie’s father was a veteran of the Spanish American War and a retiree of the United States 10th Calvary where he was a Buffalo Soldier. 

Veora Johnson, also a Mt. Calvary parishioner, was the first black principal in the Mesa School District, chosen in 1945 to head the Booker T. Washington School. Later, she was named Mesa’s “Citizen of the Year” in 1974, and Veora E. Johnson Elementary School was named for her. 

African American’s have long contributed to the richness of the history of the American West. From Buffalo Soldiers to local farmers and businessmen, their greatest commonality was often their spiritual connection to each other. Mt. Calvary Baptist Church illustrates such importance. Therefore, Criterion 3(e) is satisfied, based upon the cultural aspects of African Americans arriving in the Southwest, and further, how spiritual institutions like Mt. Calvary Baptist Church played an important role in the community.

Joel E. Sirrine House
National Register of Historic Places, September 1995
160 North Center Street, Queen Anne Cottage 1896

Built in the spring of 1896 as the residence of Joel E. Sirrine and his wife, Caroline Hanna Simkins Sirrine. They occupied the house until about 1905. During that time Sirrine worked as an engineer for the Mesa Cooperative Milling Company which was owned by George W. and William L. Sirrine. Joel E. Sirrine came to Mesa in 1878 as a boy. His father George W. Sirrine, was head of one of the "four founding families of Mesa." The best local example of a Vernacular type house built in the Queen Anne Cottage Style. Exemplary of the 19th Century residential development of the Mesa Townsite. The Sirrine house was purchased and renovated by the City of Mesa and is part of the Arizona Museum of Natural History. This house was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on 9/11/95.

Fuller/Strauch House
National Register of Historic Places - July 1991
148 North Macdonald Street, Mission Revival 1906

Built in 1906 for Paul E. Fuller, an engineer who was employed by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation during the construction of the Roosevelt Dam. Fuller later worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture as an irrigation engineer. The house was sold in 1918. George W. Silverthorn, a Mesa attorney purchased the house in 1925. From 1931 until 1936 the house was owned and occupied by Henry L. Wood. In 1936 the house was purchased by Donald W. Strauch, a Mesa printer. The Strauch family owned the house until 1992 when it was purchased by Mark and Candace Reeb. This house was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on 7/31/91.

Women’s Club of Mesa
National Register of Historic Places - August 1991
200 North Macdonald Spanish Eclectic 1931

The Mesa Women’s Club is significant for the role it played in the social history of Mesa and its continued use as the Women’s Club of Mesa. The clubhouse was a center for social and civic activity for many women whose influence was felt throughout the community. An excellent example of the Spanish Eclectic style. This building was placed on the National Register of Historic places on 8/5/91.

Spangler/Wilbur House
National Register of Historic Places - November 1993
128 North Macdonald Street Colonial Revival - 1915

Before construction of his house, John G. Spangler, cashier for the Mesa City Bank, lived at 134 North MacDonald Street from 1905 to 1915. The Spangler family lived in the house until 1920 when it was purchased by Mesa sheep grower George H. Wilbur. The Wilburs occupied the house through the 1940s. An excellent local example of a Colonial Revival Style house designed with Italianate Style influences. This building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on 11/1/93.

Mesa Journal-Tribune, FHA Demonstration/Mitten House
National Register of Historic Places - January 2003
238 West 2nd Street Minimal Traditional

This house (moved to 238 West 2nd Street in 2002 to save it from demolition) was the first FHA financed home constructed in Mesa. Built as the residence for Charles Mitten, publisher of the Mesa Journal Tribune, the house was built with funds from the FHA program and the Mesa Journal Tribune as a demonstration to help encourage construction of residential buildings in Mesa. The Mitten House was listed on the National Register on December 29, 1988 but was removed because of the move.  It has been re-nominated based upon its significance and its association with the Robson Historic District (its new home).

Alhambra Hotel
National Register of Historic Places - July 1991
43 South MacDonald

The current Alhambra Hotel is a 1922 commercial building designed in the Spanish Mission Revival Style, located in the original downtown area of Mesa. The building exhibits three important stages in its existence: the remnants of the original 1893 Alhambra that burned down in 1921, the reconstructed Alhambra of 1922, and a large addition of rooms on the rest of the property which were constructed in 1951. The Alhambra Hotel was listed on the National Register on July 31, 1991.

Hohokam-Mormon Irrigation Canal
National Register of Historic Places, May 1975

Along Horne Road north from Utah Ditch, south of Mesa Consolidated Canal. The site contains remains of two canals originally excavated by the Hohokam and later re-dug by pioneer Mormons. Several unexcavated Hohokam mounds lie within the site. Listed on the National Register on May 30, 1975.

Mesa Grande Archaeological Site
National Register of Historic Places, November 1978

Partially excavated Hohokam site including a large mound which covers an extensive compound. Listed on the National Register on November 21, 1978.

Old Lehi School (Mesa Historical Society & Museum)
National Register of Historic Places - August 2001
2345 N. Horne St.

Originally build in 1913, the building was expanded 1939 with Works Progress Administration (WPA) funds. It is a mixture of Neoclassical and Mission Revival styles of architecture. Located in the rural environment of the Lehi Area on a five-acre parcel given to the community in 1878 by settler Henry C. Rogers, the site retains much of its integrity of setting, despite encroaching development. The Lehi School was a center of education for many years and symbolized the town's independence. The Lehi area, on the northern fringe of Mesa was originally established as a separate settlement and predates the Mesa original town site that was settled in 1878.

Federal Building
Local Historic Register, January 2004
26 N. Macdonald St.

The building was expanded in 1960 to include a two-story extension and loading dock.  In spite of this large expansion, it became necessary to move the post office in June 1970 to its current location at 135 N. Center Street.

The Landmark Restaurant
Local Historic Landmark, May 2004
809 West Main Street (1911 and 2004)

A portion of the original building, which is shown in the photo to the left dated 1911, is located within what is currently the main dining room. The thirteen-foot ceilings still have the original tiles and crown molding and  many of the original doorways still exist in various parts of the building. 

The  site consists of three buildings which contributed to Mesa's cultural history which is derived from the role that the buildings have played in the formation of religious and educational development in Mesa.

Sources:

Excerpt from Our Town, 1991. Mesa Public Schools

City Wide-Reconnaissance Survey - Ryden Architects, 1999

Evergreen Historic District National Register Nomination - Ryden Architects
West 2nd Street Historic District National Register Nomination - Ryden Architects
Wilbur Historic District National Register Nomination - Ryden Architects
Temple Historic District National Register Nomination - Ryden Architects
Robson Historic District National Register Nomination - Ryden Architects

“In Search of African American History in the Southwest,” Taylor, Quintard. Smithsonian  Museum of National History, Behring Online Center

The First 100 Years: The History of Arizona Blacks, Harris, Richard. 1983.
Minorities in Phoenix, Luckingham, Bradford. 1994.