Tempe Directory of Historic Buildings 

Tempe has more than 200 historic buildings. Enjoy this searchable directory of information and photos.  For more information on any of these properties or to learn how your property can be listed, please contact Tempe Historic Preservation Officer Zachary Lechner at Zachary_Lechner@tempe.gov.

Many of the properties on the Tempe Historic Register, the National Register of Historic Places, or the list of Historic Eligible properties are privately owned and not open to the public. Please respect the privacy of those who may be living in these houses. 

Historic Eligible is a formal classification of parcels which contain buildings, structures, or sites which meet the criteria for designation as a Tempe Historic Property, but which have not been formally designated as "Historic." 

How to Use This Directory

You may search this directory by the categories of Tempe Historic Register, National Historic Register and Historic Eligible Properties. Simply click the down arrow on the All Categories box below and select the one you would like to see. All the properties in that category will appear.  

Location:  1108 S. Maple Avenue 

Year Built:  1936

Architecture:  Southwest Style

The Raymond (Hausman) House, located at 1108 South Maple Avenue in the historic eligible Park Tract Subdivision, is significant for its association with the Park Tract Subdivision; one of Tempe’s oldest surviving residential subdivisions.  Built in 1936, this house is in the upper ninety-ninth percentile (99.6%) of all Tempe properties in terms of age.  The property provides an excellent example of Southwest style architecture as it continues to exhibit the distinctive characteristics of the type and retains a high degree of historic integrity. 

SIGNIFICANCE

The Raymond (Hausman) House derives significance from several important associations including surviving as an example of infill construction in Tempe’s 1924 Park Tract Subdivision; one of Tempe’s oldest surviving residential subdivisions.   The house is significant for its association with early residents Frank (1903-1966) and Minnie (1908-1995) Raymond who purchased the property from the Park Tract Trustees in December of 1925.  Frank Raymond worked as a teacher; Minnie Laird Raymond was the daughter of William Laird, who managed Laird and Dines drugstore with his brother, Hugh Laird.  The family still owned the property at the time of Frank Raymond’s death in 1971.  Finally, the Raymond (Hausman) House is significant simply because it exists in the upper ninety-ninth percentile (99.6%) of all Tempe properties in terms of age.  Consequently, the 1936 house is considered to be a rare surviving example of early residential architecture in Tempe.  It also provides an excellent example of the Southwest style house, surviving with a high degree of architectural integrity and a preponderance of character-defining features intact.

 

CHARACTER DEFINING FEATURES

True to form, the historic Raymond (Hausman) House exemplifies the overall form and feel of the Southwest style retaining many character-defining features typical of the form.  The house is irregular in plan and house sits on a crawlspace foundation with stucco walls topped by a flat roof with parapets.  A front porch topped by a shed roof with metal roofing and supported by square posts shades the house’s single-leaf entryway, which is surrounded by distinctive concrete quoins.  Windows are replacements; however the original entry door remains present.  Early survey and inventory work indicated the small second-story to be an addition; however recent investigation indicates this is an aspect of the original 1936 construction.

 

HISTORIC CONTEXTS

Minnie (Laird) and Frank L. Raymond, 1108 S Maple Avenue, 1929-1966

Minnie Laird Raymond (1908-1995) and Frank L Raymond (1903-1966) were both graduates of Tempe State Teachers College.  When they were married in 1928, Minnie was teaching in Peoria and Frank was teaching at Monroe School in Phoenix.  News coverage of the wedding noted that both young people were popular in the social circles of Tempe having finished their education there.   Frank Raymond acquired undeveloped Lot 10, Block 5 of Park Tract in December 1925.  In May 1936 he and his wife, Minnie, mortgaged the property and built the house at 1108 South Maple Avenue soon thereafter.   The family still owned the property at the time of Frank Raymond’s death in 1966.

Minnie graduated from Tempe Union High School in 1926 or 27.  Minnie completed a 2 year degree in 1928, a 3 year degree in 1929, and a 4 year degree circa 1931-32.  At the time she began teaching in 1928, only a 2 year degree was necessary.  Minnie and Frank's later degrees were from The Arizona State Teachers College at Tempe.  Minnie and Frank both went on to complete Masters Degrees from Arizona State College.   Frank went on to teach in the Rural School District which was a different district from Tempe at that time.  Minnie went on to become the first female school principal in the Tempe Elementary School District when she became  Principal of Holdeman School when it opened in 1961-62.

Minnie Raymond was the daughter of Mr. William E. and Mrs. Nell A. Laird.  William Laird managed Laird and Dines drugstore with his brother, Hugh Laird.  Hugh Laird, was a principal developer of the Park Tract Subdivision; an early "suburban" residential subdivision that was platted by Laird and Fred J Joyce, on April 10, 1924, on behalf of the Park Tract Trust and in response to a housing shortage in the City.  Laird’s career included 60 years as a registered pharmacist, 66 years as owner of Laird and Dines Drug Store, twelve years as Tempe postmaster and two terms as a representative in the state legislature.  Perhaps his most outstanding contribution to local politics was his 32 years of service on the Tempe City Council, including 14 of those years as Mayor.  During the period from 1930 to 1962, Tempe’s population rose from 2,500 to 25,000 and the town saw substantial growth far beyond its anticipated boundaries, especially after the close of World War II.  Policies generated during Laird’s lengthy tenure on the City Council did much to shape the present environment and image of modern Tempe.

Southwest style residential architecture in Tempe 1925~1945

Southwest style architecture came into high-fashion during the 1930s, generally concentrated in California and the Southwest.  The form is a hybrid, blending Pueblo Revival styling with the so called Mission style or Spanish Colonial Revival architecture to produce something of genuine origin in the 1930s American Southwest.  American architects initially embraced the style and adapted it for larger estates and commercial projects.  As they perfected the form over time they simplified design details used during the previous Spanish Colonial Revival period making them more elegant and refined.  Southwest style villas have become a popular choice for home styles throughout the American Southwest and Rocky Mountain regions, whereas the modest single-family Southwest style house of the 1930s has evolved to become the ubiquitous styro-stucco spectacles extruded mechanically by the housing industry in square-mile tracts after the decline of the Ranch developments of the 1970s.  At its humble origin, however, Southwest style architecture contained such a degree of authenticity that it could be stretched and exploited far and wide before its integrity would be exhausted.

The Raymond (Hausman) House is significant as an excellent surviving example of the Southwest style house and maintains a high degree of architectural integrity.  Throughout Maricopa County, this architecture is found blending elements of Spanish Colonial Revival and Pueblo Revival Styles.  The Southwest style most frequently combines the flat-roofed forms of Pueblo Revival style with the tile roofing (usually red) and low-pitched gables of the Spanish Colonial Revival style.  Rarely more than one-story in height, the stucco walls of Southwest style houses are typically rendered in shades of white or light colored pastels.  The Southwest style may be among the region’s most authentic residential architectural form borrowing as it does from several proximal cultural influences including Spanish styles in California and Pueblo styles in New Mexico and Texas.  The blend of these styles allows Southwest style house to fit easily into the Tempe landscape alongside both vernacular and high-style architecture. 

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