Survey Number: HPS-125
Year
Built: 1928
Architectural Style:
Georgian, with Bungalow elements
THEME / CONTEXT
The Hiatt-Barnes House is associated with the context of Community Planning and
Development. It falls under the theme of housing - custom homes. The
Hiatt-Barnes house was built in 1928 on lot 16 in the Park Tract. The Park
Tract subdivision opened in 1924 to ease the housing shortage experienced in
Tempe between 1915 and 1930. The majority of the construction in the tract
occurred between 1928 and 1930, after the tract was linked to the city’s sewage
system.
HISTORIC ASSOCIATION
The Hiatt-Barnes House was first owned by Fred W. Hiatt, an industrial arts
teacher at Arizona State Teachers College (now Arizona State University). Hiatt
occupied the house until 1934. In 1937, Ola and Olus Barnes moved into the
house. The only other developed property in the immediate area was the house on
the corner of 10th and Ash. The land between the houses was a grazing lot for
cattle until 1939. Ola and Olus Barnes lived in the house until their deaths in
1986 and 1988, respectively. Their son, William (Bill) Barnes, acquired the
house upon their passing. Olus was known as the official volunteer weatherman
for Tempe for 54 years. In 1957, the weather station moved from Van Ness Street
and University Drive to the Barnes’ backyard where it remained until late 1984.
Olus Barnes received the National Weather Service’s Thomas Jefferson Award in
honor of his years of service. Dan O’Neill and Jenny Lucier acquired the house
after Bill’s passing in 1996.
ARCHITECTURAL
ASSOCIATION
The Hiatt-Barnes house is a
two-story, wood frame structure in Georgian Styling with bungalow
characteristics. The symmetry of the house suggests the Georgian style that is
expressed in the central entry, the regular placement of the windows, and the
height of the house. The bungalow overtones include the long open porch,
tapering porch pillars and gable end of the house. The house is sheathed in
horizontal clapboard siding and has a medium-pitched roof. A hipped roof porch
extends nearly the length of the front façade. The front porch roof is
supported by four slightly tapering, square, wood pillars separated by a low
balustrade of slender wooden posts. Some time prior to 1937, a wrap-around
porch was added to the southwest corner of the house. Originally, it was a
screened sleeping porch with openings that were later glazed and interior rooms
created.
The Hiatt-Barnes house was
in a state of severe disrepair when the new owners acquired the house in 1996.
They undertook a major rehabilitation of the interior and exterior of the house
including the restoration of the wrap-around porch to its original open
condition. Repairs were made in consultation with a local architect and the
Tempe Historic Preservation Office. Repairs were made consistent with the
home’s period of significance and comply with the Secretary of Interior’s
Standards for Rehabilitation.
SUMMARY
The Hiatt-Barnes House is important for its architectural styling and its ties
to prominent members of the community. The Georgian styling with bungalow
characteristics represent the style and quality of houses built in Tempe in the
1920’s. The house was constructed during the peak of construction activity in
the Park Tract. The increased building activity in the tract also reflected
Tempe’s economic well being (the city had just completed a decade of civic
improvements in the late 1920’s). The house was built by Fred W. Hiatt, an
industrial arts teacher at Arizona State Teachers College (now ASU), who lived
there until 1934. Olus L. Barnes acquired the house in 1937. Barnes was an
entomologist for the Arizona Department of Agriculture, until he retired in
1966. During his tenure at the department, he also worked as a weather data
recorder.
The Hiatt-Barnes House is
located south of University Drive and west of Mill Avenue in the historic Park
Tract Subdivision of the Maple/Ash neighborhood. An identifying characteristic
of the neighborhood is the abundance of turf landscaping with fully-grown trees
(maintained by flood irrigation system). The rear yard of the house abuts the
Southern Pacific Railroad right-of-way to the west. Single-family residences
surround the property to the east and to the south with a small multi-family
complex to the north. In general, the immediate surroundings retain the
single-family residential character typical during the structure’s period of
significance.
This property was listed on
the National Register of Historic Places on 7 May 1984.
SOURCES
Tempe 1997 Multiple Resource Area Update
Tempe Historic Property Survey HPS-125 Hiatt/Barnes House
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