The Willo Historic District gives you more house than Coronado on the same kind of 50-foot-lot grid: a median of 1,739 square feet against 1,241, at a median Assessor value of $678,250. Which house you get depends on the block, because Willo was platted as some 22 subdivisions and its homes split almost evenly between Period Revival styles and later Minimal Traditional, Ranch and Monterey designs. If you want bigger lots and curving streets, compare it with Encanto-Palmcroft across Seventh Avenue.
Buyers who like the Coronado-style grid but need more room, and want to know which Willo blocks hold which kind of house.
At a glance
| City HP listing | July 1990; boundary expansion June 2006 |
|---|---|
| Period of significance (city) | 1910 to 1950 |
| Boundaries | First to Seventh avenues, McDowell Road to the alley north of Edgemont Avenue |
| Single-family homes | 884 (Maricopa County Assessor) |
| Median year built | 1939 (middle half 1930 to 1945) |
| Built before 1950 | 88% |
| Median living space | 1,739 sq ft (middle half 1,429 to 2,082) |
| Median lot | 7,698 sq ft (middle half 7,366 to 8,471) |
| Median Assessor full cash value, tax year 2027 | $678,250 (middle half $602,725 to $766,750) |
| School districts | Phoenix Elementary; Phoenix Union High School |
What sets the Willo Historic District apart in Phoenix
Willo's city period of significance runs from 1910 to 1950, later than Coronado's or Roosevelt's, and the Assessor's records show it: the median Willo home was built in 1939, and the middle half between 1930 and 1945. So Willo is where you find the late 1930s and 1940s in central Phoenix, mixed on the same streets with 1920s Tudor and Spanish houses. The National Register form describes long, narrow east-west blocks between Third, Fifth and Seventh avenues, low one-story houses, mature landscaping and tree- and palm-lined streets.
Willo fits if
- You want more room than a bungalow. The middle half of Willo homes run from 1,429 to 2,082 square feet.
- You like 1940s houses as much as 1920s ones. Minimal Traditional, Ranch and Monterey houses make up about half the district.
- You want a grid with alleys and garages at the back, on lots a little bigger than Coronado's.
Look beyond Willo if
- Your budget is under Willo's middle range. Coronado's median value is $462,250 and F.Q. Story's is $485,800.
- You want a big lot. Encanto-Palmcroft's median lot is 9,877 square feet against Willo's 7,698.
- You want the oldest houses. Roosevelt's median home was built in 1920; see the Roosevelt Historic District guide.
Willo Historic District streets, subdivision by subdivision
The Willo Neighborhood Association counts 22 separate subdivisions platted between the turn of the century and World War II. Each plat had its own lot sizes and builders, which is why a block of 1920s cottages can sit one street away from a block of 1940s brick houses. Streets on the city's Willo map include Palm Lane, Holly, Cypress, Almeria, Coronado, Granada, Monte Vista, Lewis, Wilshire, Vernon, Virginia, Edgemont, Windsor and Cambridge, plus Encanto Boulevard.
Willo's first acreage, from Latham's Addition to Chalmer's Place
By 1910 four subdivisions with one- to five-acre lots covered 160 acres: Latham's Addition (1901), Bennett Subdivision (1906), Fairview Place (1908) and Chalmer's Place (1909). The early homesites facing Central Avenue were deep, averaging 1,300 feet with 160-foot frontages. Parts of those plats were later resubdivided into the smaller lots described below.
Las Palmas, Willo's first small lots
Chalmer's Place was resubdivided in March 1910 as Las Palmas, with small lots on Holly, Cypress, Palm Lane and Oak Street, which is now Encanto Boulevard. These are among the earliest small-lot streets in the district.
North Chelsea and its Willo "Easy-to-Buy-Homes"
Part of Latham's Addition was resubdivided in 1915 and re-recorded in 1920 as North Chelsea. Home Builders, Inc. built 41 houses there from 1920 to 1925 under the slogan "Easy-to-Buy-Homes", one of the few places in Willo where a single builder shaped a run of houses in the 1920s.
West Vernon, Wilshire Place and the Lewis Subdivision in Willo
West Vernon and Wilshire Place were recorded in 1921 with 38 lots each, and the Lewis Subdivision followed in November 1924 with 25. West Vernon and Fairview Homes were annexed to Phoenix in May 1927.
Wellington Place and Willo's Cambridge Avenue blocks
Wellington Place, recorded in 1922, covered almost 30 acres at the southwest corner of Thomas Road and Central Avenue, with 114 lots on Edgemont, Windsor and Cambridge avenues. Builder John Harris Lester, one of the first in Phoenix to build FHA-approved houses, built entire blocks on Cambridge, Virginia and Wilshire avenues. On Cambridge you'll find Monterey-style houses with painted white brick, steel casement windows and Z-braced shutters.
North Kenilworth, Willo's 1928 plat
North Kenilworth was platted in January 1928 at the northeast corner of Seventh Avenue and McDowell Road, with 166 lots in eight blocks. Lots went on sale on January 9, 1928.
Broadmoor, Willo's curving streets
Broadmoor opened in March 1928, laid out by Holmquist and Maddox, and was the first Willo subdivision with a curving street plan. It included a small park at Third Avenue and Holly Street. If the straight blocks feel too regular, start your Willo tour here.
House styles in the Willo Historic District
The National Register form splits Willo's houses almost equally between two groups. That split is the main choice you'll make here.
Willo Period Revival houses: Tudor, Spanish Eclectic and Pueblo
Half the district is Period Revival: Tudor Revival, Spanish Eclectic and Pueblo Revival, along with the Bungalow/Craftsman and Mission/Spanish Colonial Revival classes the form also lists.
Minimal Traditional, Ranch and Monterey houses in Willo
The other half is what the form calls Modern Movement: Minimal Traditional houses and their variants, including Ranch, Monterey and French Provincial. The Monterey houses on Cambridge Avenue, where Lester built whole blocks, are the clearest examples. If you like this end of the period, the mid-century modern homes guide covers the postwar neighborhoods that followed.
Willo walls: brick, stucco and adobe
Walls are brick, stucco and, on some houses, adobe. Adobe and painted brick both need specific care, so name the wall material when you book an inspection.
Lots, garages and alleys in the Willo Historic District
The 50-foot lot is Willo's standard. Houses are compact and mostly one story, with similar front setbacks, narrow side yards and garages on the rear third of the lot, reached from the alley or a side driveway. The Assessor's median lot is 7,698 square feet, about 1,000 more than Coronado's.
Willo garages on the rear third of the lot
The garage at the back is the obvious space for a studio, a guest room or a larger addition. Narrow side yards leave little room anywhere else. Converting it to living space can get staff approval (a Certificate of No Effect) if the footprint, siding and roof shape stay the same and the new framing in the old door opening is set back; a bigger change to the garage goes through the same hearing process as the house.
Willo Historic District boundaries and HP review
Willo has two boundaries, and only one of them sets the permit rules. The original National Register form describes a half-square-mile tract from Thomas Road to McDowell Road between Seventh and Central avenues. The city's HP district is smaller: First to Seventh avenues, from McDowell Road to the alley north of Edgemont Avenue, after a June 2006 expansion. A house can sit in the National Register area and still be outside the city overlay, so check the parcel's zoning for an "HP" or "HP-L" suffix on the city zoning map.
City HP review in the Willo Historic District
Inside the overlay, a permit for outside work needs a Certificate of No Effect for minor items, approved by staff, or a Certificate of Appropriateness, which means a public hearing before a hearing officer after a pre-application meeting with a preservation planner. That applies to infill and to non-historic houses too. Demolition takes a separate approval. The city reviews Willo projects against its General Design Guidelines for Historic Properties; there's no Willo-only rulebook. The Phoenix historic preservation zoning guide walks through each step.
The Willo Historic District on the National Register
Willo was listed on the National Register on January 9, 1991, with 780 primary buildings, 713 of them contributing. Additional documentation accepted in 1997 added 94 pre-1950 homes on the 300 and 500 blocks of West Edgemont, Windsor and Cambridge and part of the 500 block of West Encanto Boulevard, and reclassified 48 of 66 non-contributing buildings as contributing. Because the National Register area is larger than the city overlay, a contributing house just outside the HP zoning can still qualify for the state's historic property tax program, which follows the National Register, not city zoning; the historic property tax guide for Arizona explains it.
The Willo board meets on the second Thursday of each month from September through June, a good place to hear about projects on your block before you buy.
Willo Historic District or Encanto-Palmcroft: which fits?
The two districts meet at Seventh Avenue, and both have a median build year in the late 1930s. The Assessor's figures show what separates them.
| Measure | Willo | Encanto-Palmcroft |
|---|---|---|
| Median full cash value (2027) | $678,250 | $1,024,000 |
| Median living space | 1,739 sq ft | 2,396 sq ft |
| Median lot | 7,698 sq ft | 9,877 sq ft |
| Median year built | 1939 | 1938 |
| Single-family homes | 884 | 326 |
| Street plan | Grid with alleys | Curving, cross-axial |
The houses are the same age. At the median, the extra $345,750 in Encanto-Palmcroft buys about 657 more square feet of house and 2,179 more square feet of land, plus the curving streets and park frontage. Willo gives you nearly three times as many houses to choose from, which matters if you're set on a particular style. If you want a Monterey or Tudor at the lower number, stay in Willo.
Census figures are a weak guide here. Tract 1118's 2020 to 2024 median for owner-occupied homes, $524,100, counts Central Avenue high-rises, and ZIP code 85003's $616,800 counts downtown condos, so price a Willo house on Willo sales.
Buying in the Willo Historic District: checks before you offer
Inspecting a Willo Historic District home
Tell your inspector what the house is made of. Adobe walls, painted brick and original steel casement windows on the Monterey houses each call for different checks. Repairs in kind need no HP approval; a change of material or design does, and the city has a separate guide for repairing or replacing historic windows. The guide to inspecting a historic home in Phoenix covers what to add to a standard report.
Paying for work on a Willo house
If the house needs a new roof or windows, a renovation loan can roll the cost into the mortgage; see the renovation loan guide. Get an insurance quote before your inspection period ends, using the older home insurance guide.
The Willo Home Tour & Street Fair
The Willo Neighborhood Association's 38th annual Willo Home Tour & Street Fair is on Sunday, February 7, 2027. A tour day lets you see inside several Willo houses before you're competing for one. When you want to see what's for sale, Joe Janus, a Realtor since 2005 can pull recent sales in Willo and set up showings. For the rest of the city, start at the list of Phoenix historic districts.
Willo Historic District FAQs
Where is the Willo Historic District in Phoenix?
It's just west of Central Avenue. The city's HP district is generally bounded by First and Seventh avenues, McDowell Road and the alley north of Edgemont Avenue.
How big are Willo homes?
The median Willo single-family home has 1,739 square feet of living space on a 7,698-square-foot lot, per Maricopa County Assessor records. The middle half run from 1,429 to 2,082 square feet.
What style are Willo houses?
They split almost evenly between Period Revival styles (Tudor, Spanish Eclectic and Pueblo) and Minimal Traditional variants including Ranch, Monterey and French Provincial, according to the National Register form.
Do I need city approval to remodel a house in Willo?
Inside the city's HP boundary, yes, for any permit that affects the outside of the house or garage: a Certificate of No Effect for minor work or a Certificate of Appropriateness, with a hearing, for larger changes.
Is every house near Willo in the historic district?
No. The National Register area is larger than the city's HP district, which runs from First to Seventh avenues and stops at the alley north of Edgemont Avenue. Look for an "HP" suffix on the parcel's zoning to be sure.
When is the Willo Home Tour?
The 38th annual Willo Home Tour & Street Fair is on Sunday, February 7, 2027, run by the Willo Neighborhood Association.
What school district serves Willo?
The Phoenix Elementary District and the Phoenix Union High School District, the same pair as Encanto-Palmcroft across Seventh Avenue. Schools are assigned by street address, and assignments change, so look up the exact house.
Sources
- City of Phoenix: Residential Historic Districts (Phoenix Historic Property Register)
- City of Phoenix: Willo Historic District map (updated September 2016)
- National Park Service: National Register listed properties spreadsheet (2026-05-22)
- National Park Service: Willo Historic District nomination and amendment
- Willo Neighborhood Association: History
- Willo Neighborhood Association: Home Tour
- Willo Neighborhood Association: Neighborhood Association
- Maricopa County Assessor: parcel layer (MaricopaDynamicQueryService/Parcels), queried 2026-11-06
- City of Phoenix: Historic Properties GIS layer
- City of Phoenix: Historic Preservation Approvals and Guidelines
- City of Phoenix: General Design Guidelines for Historic Properties
- City of Phoenix: Historic Preservation FAQ
- US Census Bureau: Geocoder, school district layers (ACS2023 vintage)
- US Census Bureau: ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25077
- US Census Bureau: ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25077