The Alvarado Historic District and its eastern neighbor compared
Two City historic districts share the Alvarado name, and they sell two different kinds of house. The older one, Alvarado, is a pocket of 1920s estate homes designed by named architects. East Alvarado, a separate district along the same road, is one street of 30 brick houses from the late 1930s and 1940s. Decide which you are shopping for before you tour, because the lots, the house sizes and the questions to ask are not the same.
| Alvarado | East Alvarado | |
|---|---|---|
| On the City register (HP zoning) | September 1992 | May 1992 |
| Period of significance (City) | 1907 to 1933 | 1929 to 1942 |
| National Register | December 21, 1994 | February 18, 2000 |
| Size | 17.13 acres, 33 contributing buildings | 5.5 acres, 30 contributing buildings |
| Where | Monte Vista and Alvarado roads, from Palm Lane north to the Oak Street alignment, east to Third Street | Alvarado Road between Third and Seventh streets |
| Houses | Spanish Colonial, Monterey and Tudor Revival estate homes, one to two stories | Early Ranch and Minimal Traditional, mostly brick, steel casements |
| Lots | Large, mostly flat, sizes vary after 40 years of replatting | Uniform lots, setbacks and house scale |
Choose Alvarado for a one-off house on a big lot, and accept that no two lots or houses compare cleanly when you price one. Choose East Alvarado for a smaller house you can compare against its neighbors, and look hard at the windows.
Estate homes of the Alvarado Historic District
The National Register nomination calls Alvarado one of the largest concentrations of historic urban estate homes in Phoenix. Seventy-five percent of its houses were built between 1924 and 1932, and only six after 1932. The architects and builders it names include C. Lewis Kelley, H.H. Greene, Neil Gates, Robert Evans, Wallingford and Bell, Lescher and Mahoney, Fitzhugh and Byron, and Gilmore and Varney.
Spanish Colonial and Monterey Revival houses in Alvarado
Most houses mix Spanish Colonial, Mission, Mediterranean and Monterey Revival elements: one and two stories, stucco or painted brick walls, red clay tile roofs, and wood double-hung and casement windows. On a house this age, the clay tile roof and the wood windows are the two items to have priced first, and the historic home inspection guide covers what an inspector should look at on each.
Tudor Revival and American Colonial Revival houses in Alvarado
A smaller group are Elizabethan or Tudor and American Colonial Revival houses of one and a half to two stories, in brick, some with stone or stucco and wood-shingle roofs. Raise a wood-shingle roof with your insurer before you make an offer, and read how Arizona insurers treat historic homes for what else they will ask.
Late-1930s Ranch houses with Period Revival detail in Alvarado
Six houses from the late 1930s and 1940s are large custom one-story ranches with Period Revival detailing. They are the closest thing in Alvarado to single-level living in an estate-sized house.
Individually listed houses in the Alvarado Historic District
Three houses here carry their own listings on top of the district's.
Carter W. Gibbes House on Alvarado Road
Built in 1930, the Gibbes House is a Tudor Revival house with a slate roof, half-timbering and a two-story stone bay window. It went on the National Register on August 25, 1983, and on the City register individually in April 1987.
William K. Humbert House on Alvarado Road
Across the road, the Humbert House (built 1932, also called the Drackett Residence) was listed on the National Register on December 1, 1983, and on the City register individually in April 1987.
Salim Ackel House on Monte Vista Road in the Alvarado district
The Ackel House is a contributing house in the district and was also listed individually on the National Register on June 10, 1994.
How the Alvarado Historic District was laid out
Alvarado started as part of the Los Olivos Subdivision, developed by Dwight Heard, whose 160-acre holding was first divided into 25 large lots for estate homes. Only a handful of houses stood by 1920. After several replattings, as Alvarado Place and Alvarado Place East, and new interior roads, building took off after 1925. Heard's name turns up again in Encanto-Palmcroft, where his investment company platted Palmcroft in 1927.
The circular median and palms of the Alvarado street plan
A circular median at the intersection of North and East Alvarado roads marks the street plan, and some streets are lined with tall palms. Houses sit toward the front of large, mostly flat lots, with shallow front yards that are unfenced. Contributing houses are on East Palm Lane, North and East Alvarado Road, East Monte Vista Road and North 3rd Street.
Los Olivos Historic District next door
The Los Olivos Historic District, along Monte Vista Road between Third and Seventh streets, went onto the City register in December 2003 with a period of significance of 1906 to 1935, and onto the National Register on June 10, 2010. It continues Monte Vista Road east of Third Street with houses from the same decades, so search it alongside Alvarado rather than after it.
The City lists the Alvarado Neighborhood Association for the district; its list has no separate entry for East Alvarado.
East Alvarado: 30 houses from the FHA years
In 1929 East Alvarado Road was pushed out of Alvarado Place from Third Street to within 100 feet of Seventh Street, and two tracts were recorded, promoted by the real estate firm Greene & Griffin. The first house on the street was a 1930 Spanish Colonial Revival spec house built by Home Builders, Inc. and designed by C. Lewis Kelley. It stood alone until 1937. Then FHA-backed lending arrived, and most of the other 29 houses were built within about five years, most of them by 1945.
Paul M. Burroway houses on East Alvarado
Builder Paul M. Burroway built six of them, with "weeping mortar" chimneys and Flemish rowlock brickwork. Those two details are the quickest way to spot his work from the sidewalk.
Early Ranch and French Provincial houses in East Alvarado
The houses are mostly Early Ranch or Minimal Traditional, including Monterey-influenced Early Ranch and French Provincial Ranch designs, with mostly brick walls. Many have a garage on the rear third of the lot, reached from the alley or a side drive.
Steel casement windows and contributing status in East Alvarado
Original steel casements run through the street, and they matter: one house on the street was later reclassified as noncontributing after its original steel casement windows were replaced and other changes made. On a street this uniform, a house that has lost its windows stands out. If you plan to change windows on a contributing house, read the HP zoning review steps first.
Buying in the Alvarado Historic District, Phoenix
Under the City's HP overlay, exterior work on either district needs review: minor changes get a Certificate of No Effect from staff, and larger or street-visible work goes to a hearing for a Certificate of Appropriateness. Paint and repairs in kind don't. Both districts are also on the National Register, which is what opens state and federal incentives such as the Arizona historic property tax program.
With 33 one-off houses, Alvarado has no typical price. The Census tract around it (tract 1118) shows a median owner-occupied value of $524,100, but its median home was built in 1959 and it takes in condos and newer buildings, so the number tells you nothing about an estate house on Alvarado Road. Price one from recent sales of comparable houses in the district, and expect wide gaps between them.
If Alvarado's estate lots are more than you need, the 1928 cottages of Cheery Lynn carry the same Monterey and Tudor styles at a smaller scale, and Medlock Place has big lots further north. The list of all 37 Phoenix historic districts shows the rest. Joe Janus can pull recent sales on Alvarado Road and Monte Vista for you through the contact form.
Alvarado Historic District FAQs
Where is the Alvarado Historic District in Phoenix?
It is just east of Central Avenue, along the intersection of Monte Vista and Alvarado roads, extending north to the Oak Street alignment, east to Third Street and south toward Palm Lane.
Is East Alvarado part of the Alvarado Historic District?
No. East Alvarado is its own City district, listed in May 1992, along Alvarado Road between Third and Seventh streets. It was laid out in 1929 and built mostly from 1937 to 1945, later than the estate homes to the west.
How old are the houses in Alvarado?
Most are from the 1920s: 75 percent went up between 1924 and 1932, and only six after 1932. The City dates the district's significance from 1907 to 1933, which takes in the few houses built before the 1925 boom.
Who designed the Alvarado houses?
The district's National Register form names architects and builders including C. Lewis Kelley, H.H. Greene, Neil Gates, Robert Evans, Wallingford and Bell, Lescher and Mahoney, Fitzhugh and Byron, and Gilmore and Varney. Kelley also designed the first house on East Alvarado, a 1930 Spanish Colonial Revival spec house.
Are all the Alvarado houses contributing?
Yes. When Alvarado was listed on the National Register, all 33 of its buildings were contributing. East Alvarado had 30 contributing buildings when listed, though one was later reclassified after its windows were replaced.
Can I replace the windows on an East Alvarado house?
It takes City review, and it can cost the house its contributing status, as it did for one house on the street. Repairing the original steel casements keeps both the look of the street and the house's standing in the district.
Reviewed by Joe Janus, Realtor®, on November 6, 2026. Our research process
Sources
- City of Phoenix: Residential Historic Districts
- National Park Service: Alvarado Historic District NRHP registration form
- National Park Service: East Alvarado Historic District NRHP registration form
- City of Phoenix: Phoenix Historic Property Register list (Rev. 10/26)
- National Park Service: National Register listed properties database (May 22, 2026 download)
- City of Phoenix: Neighborhood Associations & Preservation Organizations (Rev. 09/26)
- City of Phoenix: Historic Preservation FAQ
- US Census Bureau: ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates, table B25077 (median value, owner-occupied units)