Postwar Modern Housing and a Geographic Information System Study of Scottsdale Subdivisions

Postwar Modern Housing and a Geographic Information System Study of Scottsdale Subdivisions By Elizabeth S. Wilson, M.E.P. August 2002 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................iii STUDY OVERVIEW...................................................................................... 1 RESEARCH DESIGN...................................................................................... 3 HISTORIC SUBURBAN HOUSING DEVELOPMENT ......................................... 5 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................... 5 RAILROAD SUBURBS .................................................................................. 6 STREETCAR SUBURBS................................................................................. 7 EARLY AUTOMOBILE SUBURBS..................................................................... 9 The Federal Housing Administration........................................................... 11 Land Use Controls................................................................................... 13 Builders................................................................................................. 14 NATIONAL POSTWAR TRENDS .................................................................. 16 AUTOS AND ROADWAY EXPANSION ............................................................. 16 SOCIOECONOMIC AND CULTURAL TRENDS ................................................... 17 The Boom Years, 1946-1956 .................................................................... 20 Leveling Out, 1957-1965 ......................................................................... 22 The Fade of the Modern Freestanding Home, 1966-1973 .............................. 24 SUBDIVISIONS ......................................................................................... 27 Development ......................................................................................... 27 Subdivision Design.................................................................................. 28 Technology & Construction Methods .......................................................... 28 Builders................................................................................................. 29 Builder-Architect Relationship................................................................... 31 Marketing .............................................................................................. 32 Subdivision Financing .............................................................................. 32 POSTWAR HOMES ..................................................................................... 33 Design .................................................................................................. 33 Plan...................................................................................................... 34 Size...................................................................................................... 34 Materials ............................................................................................... 36 Styles ................................................................................................... 36 Ranch House.......................................................................................... 36 Contemporary House .............................................................................. 37 Tri-Level House ...................................................................................... 38 Preferences............................................................................................ 38 Alterations............................................................................................. 39 Financing............................................................................................... 39 Costs .................................................................................................... 40 OTHER PROPERTY TYPES............................................................................ 41 THE END OF AN ERA .................................................................................. 42 Socioeconomic Changes........................................................................... 42 Energy Problems .................................................................................... 43 i LOCAL POSTWAR TRENDS AND PATTERNS................................................. 45 THE PHOENIX METROPOLITAN AREA .............................................................45 Social and Economic Trends ......................................................................45 Housing Trends .......................................................................................47 Home Financing and Costs ........................................................................47 Marketing...............................................................................................48 “THE WEST’S MOST WESTERN TOWN” ..........................................................49 Social and Economic Trends ......................................................................51 Postwar Residential Subdivision Development..............................................52 Construction Periods ................................................................................57 ARCHITECTURAL STYLES.............................................................................60 Simple Ranch..........................................................................................61 California Ranch ......................................................................................62 Character Ranch......................................................................................63 Contemporary.........................................................................................64 Split-Level..............................................................................................65 Los Ranchos ...........................................................................................65 Post Ranch .............................................................................................66 PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS ......................................................................67 Lot Size .................................................................................................67 House Size .............................................................................................70 Rooms ...................................................................................................73 Bathrooms .............................................................................................76 Wall Materials .........................................................................................78 Roof Materials .........................................................................................81 Carports and Garages ..............................................................................83 Alterations..............................................................................................87 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.................................................. 90 SUMMARY .................................................................................................90 THEMES OF SIGNFICANCE...........................................................................91 Community Planning and Development.......................................................91 Federal Policy .........................................................................................92 Significant Persons ..................................................................................92 Construction Methods, Materials and Design ................................................92 THE APPLICATION OF A GIS IN HISTORIC PRESERVATION ...............................92 RECOMMENDATIONS ..................................................................................93 REFERENCES ............................................................................................ 95 APPENDIX A: Scottsdale - Average Home Characteristics Table.............. 100 APPENDIX B: Scottsdale - Subdivision Characteristics Table................... 102 ii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1 Model Ranch Home Renderings ......................................................... 1 Figure 2 Builder’s Trade Magazine.................................................................. 2 Figure 3 Research Design Flow Chart ............................................................. 4 Figure 4 Ad Promoting the Car as an Integral Part of the Home.........................16 Figure 5 Open House at Campus Homes Subdivision in Tempe, Arizona..............33 Figure 6 Average FHA Home Size, 1948-1966.................................................35 Figure 7 Nationwide Single Family Home Financing .........................................40 Figure 8 Nationwide Single Family Home Cost Changes....................................41 Figure 9 Billboard Promoting Phoenix Area Hallcraft Homes ..............................48 Figure 10 Phoenix Metro Area Population Growth 1950-1975 ..............................51 Figure 11 Scottsdale’s Recorded Postwar Subdivisions .......................................54 Figure 12 Map of Scottsdale’s Postwar Subdivisions 1946-1973...........................56 Figure 13 Scottsdale Single Family Home Construction Periods ...........................57

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