City of Tempe, AZ

Year Built: 1949-1950
Architectural Style: Early/mid-Ranch (California Ranch substyle)

Summary
Excerpted from Mark Vinson’s Tempe Historic Property Register letter of nomination:

“The McKemy-Riggs House is a single story, Ranch-style, single family dwelling constructed in 1949-50 as part of the earliest development of the new University Estates subdivision. The house was designed and built by R. Lloyd Williams, a Tempe designer/builder residing nearby at 69 W. 13th Street, Tempe, where he had designed and built his own home and office in 1949.

“The original property owners, for whom the house was designed and built, were Harvey and Marge McKemy, prominent Tempeans [and educators] of the day. The McKemys remained in their home until Harvey’s death in 1979, followed by Marge’s passing in 1980. As the McKemys had no children, the property was inherited by distant nieces and nephews who put the property up for sale. Patricia Riggs, a Tempe native who had grown-up nearby, purchased the property, closing on 8 August 1981, and has resided there since. . . .

“The approximately 1460 SF house was situated on a flood-irrigated 0.23 acre lot, set-back from the front property line 25 feet, allowing for a large rear yard which was enclosed by a 5-foot high, 8x8x16 painted CMU wall as part of the original construction. Plantings by the McKemys included a bottle brush tree in front, a True Myrtle on the east side and a pecan* at rear, all of which remain today.

“University Estates, consisting of approximately 37.4 gross acres from Mill Avenue east to College Avenue and Broadway Road north to the railroad tracks, was platted for 120 residential lots in July 1949 by Phoenix Title Company, with a commercial tract reserved at the southwest corner These two- and three-bedroom homes were built of red brick or concrete pumice block and sold for $5,950 to $6,650. The subdivision consists of relatively large custom homes (average area of 1750 square feet) on large flood-irrigated lots. The houses are early-to-mid Ranch style with most examples from the California and French Provincial Ranch sub-styles. Today, most are well maintained, but many have been substantially altered with enclosed carports and insensitive additions and repairs. The yards feature mature trees and lush vegetation, owing to the flood irrigation.”

The Tempe Historic Preservation Code lays out the criteria for designating individual properties in the Tempe Historic Property Register. A property must meet at least one criterion to qualify for designation. The McKemy-Riggs House meets the following criterion, as described in City Code, Sec. 14A-4(a):

• “[The property] is found to be of exceptional significance and expresses a distinctive character, resulting from:
  “a. A significant portion of it is at least fifty (50) years old; is reflective of the city's cultural, social, political or economic past; and is associated with a person or event significant in local, state or national history. . . ”