BACKGROUND + STATUS

The 1937 Pueblo Revival Style Wilkie (Braun-Gutierres) House at 1290 South Maple Avenue is believed to have been built for Irene F. Wilkie by Tempe contractor Leonard Carr, builder of the Tempe Beach Park complex in the 1930s and the nearby Tempe Woman’s Club adobe clubhouse at 1290 South Mill Avenue in 1936.  Other historic information is not available at this time.

On October 12, 2006, at a public hearing, Tempe HPC determined the 1926 Park Tract Subdivision to be eligible for historic district designation and listing in the Tempe Historic Property Register.  The nomination for district designation was subsequently withdrawn by the applicant terminating the designation process but leaving the determination of eligibility by the commission intact. 

On May 12, 2008, the Tempe Historic Preservation Office received a letter from homeowners Sara Gutierres and Jay Braun requesting their property at 1290 South Maple Avenue be designated historic and listed in the Tempe Historic Property Register.   This property was identified as a contributing property to the proposed Park Tract Historic District by Tempe HPC on 09/14/06.  On May 31, 2008, the property owners submitted a zoning waiver of rights and remedies.  No additional historic information has been forthcoming and the attached recommendation considers the 1937 Pueblo Revival Style Wilkie (Braun-Gutierres) House eligible for designation and listing under Tempe City Code Section 14A-4 (a) (2) b. which states: “It is found to be of exceptional significance and expresses a distinctive character: it represents an established and familiar visual feature of an area of the city, due to a prominent location or singular physical feature”.

This report summarizes the process for historic property designation provided in Chapter 14A of Tempe City Code – Historic Preservation and provides the Historic Preservation Office recommendation for historic designation of the Wilkie (Braun/Gutierres) House and listing in the Tempe Historic Property Register.   A research report produced for public hearings accompanies this summary and addresses criteria considerations and other information relevant to historic designation of the property in detail. 

LOCATION –

Located one block west of Mill Avenue and prominently on the northwest corner of Thirteenth Street and Maple Avenue, the Wilkie (Braun-Gutierres) House at 1290 South Maple Avenue survives in its original location along the southern edge of the historic 1926 Park Tract Subdivision.

CONDITION –

The Wilkie (Braun-Gutierres) House is among the majority of properties in the eligible historic district that are well maintained with historic landscapes intact and character-defining features present.

AGE –

Constructed in 1937, a significant portion of the Wilkie (Braun-Gutierres) House it is at least fifty (50) years old and is in fact one of the older homes in the eligible historic district, which was platted in 1926 and built out over a 60 year period. 

SIGNIFICANCE –

This property represents one of a handful of Pueblo Revival style buildings in Tempe.  Character-defining details include the box-like massing, stucco finish, and prominent wood vigas.  The house is unusual in that it provides living space on three levels; the main floor is surmounted by a small sleeping room above and a partial basement which may have been the source for the adobe construction is also present. 

INTEGRITY –

This property exists in its originally developed location and maintains original spatial relationships between major features and visual rhythms in the streetscape and the landscape.  The physical features of the property, taken together, are sufficiently intact to convey their significance to someone familiar with the original property as well as to persons throughout the community to whom the property distinguishes itself as historic. 

RECOMMENDATION –

At a public hearing, the commission shall review the application based on the applicable criteria are established for designation together with the HPO report and make a recommendation to the development review commission.  The Historic Preservation Office recommends that the Historic Preservation Commission –

– approve the nomination and schedule a public hearing for  the Wilkie (Braun-Gutierres) House designation and listing in the Tempe Historic Property Register at the Tempe Historic Preservation Commission meeting scheduled for December 11, 2008.
 

– approve the nomination and recommend to the Development Review Commission and to City Council that the Wilkie (Braun-Gutierres) House be designated and listed in the Tempe Historic Property Register as historic property number 35.