Tempe Historic Property Survey

The Hayden House/La Casa Vieja is one of the most significant historic buildings in Tempe. The house is important for its rare architecture qualities which embody the building's evolution from a traditional Mexican style row house (1873-1889), to its subsequent use as a boarding house (1890-1924), through its stylistic restoration and conversion to a restaurant. It is a notable landmark for its 65-year association with the Hayden family, whose members have made significant contributions to the settlement and development of Tempe and Arizona, as well as to the educational and political history of the state.

Charles Trumbull Hayden, a freighter and merchant, moved to Tucson in 1858. Between 1858 and 1888, he had one of the largest freighting businesses in the Southwest. In 1873, he had a sprawling adobe hacienda built at what would later become the corner of First Street and Mill Avenue in Tempe. By 1876, he had moved from his home in Tucson and made this house his permanent residence. The Hayden family lived in the house for many years, but eventually the growing downtown business district started crowding the house and grounds. About 1889 they moved to a more spacious ranch east of town, near what is now McClintock (Hayden Road) and University Drive.

Over the years, the Hayden House had gone through many changes. A wood framed second story had been added. After the Haydens moved out of the house, it was used as a boarding house. Through lack of care, it started to deteriorate, and by 1920, the building was in very bad condition.

By this time, Charles Hayden's daughters, Sallie and Mary, planned to renovate the building and take it back to its original Mexican adobe design. In 1924, they hired Robert T. Evans, a prominent Phoenix architect, and started what would be the first restoration of an historic house in Arizona. The upper story was removed and the plastered adobe walls were restored. The Hayden sisters opened a tea house and restaurant in the refurbished landmark known as La Casa Vieja, or "the old house."

The Hayden House/La Casa Vieja is a single-story row house constructed of Adobe. The L-shaped plan extends 80 feet along Mill Avenue and 120 feet along 1st Street. The house is composed of 13 rooms built prior to 1883 in a traditional Mexican format. The earliest of these are four 20-foot square rooms which front on Mill Avenue. By the time of Hayden's marriage in 1876, two additional rooms had been attached to the west of the north room -- a zaguan, which served as the main entry to the house, and another 20-foot square room. Shortly after, three additional rooms were built to the west. Also, a second story of adobe was built over the zaguan and its two flanking rooms. A courtyard, formed by the house and the nearby Hayden general store, was enclosed on the west by a high wall. Three additional rooms had been built west from the courtyard wall along 1st Street, and were probably used as housing for domestic help. About 1893, a frame second story was added above the west wing. Deterioration of the property was evident by 1911, and continued until 1921, when the house was repaired. In 1924, formal rehabilitation of the house was initiated for use as a restaurant. This stylistic restoration included removal of all second story rooms, demolition of an additional 15 feet of the west wing, and the construction of a new adobe end wall with a curvilinear parapet. The west wing was reroofed and the cottonwood vigas of the south wing were exposed. In the courtyard, which was used as a dining patio, a river rock fountain was installed and an adobe wall with a curvilinear parapet was built to enclose its south end. The interior was restored mostly to earlier room configurations with Mexican style elements such as plain board wainscotting and wrought iron light fixtures. A mural depicting Arizona Indians was painted on one of the interior was about 1935. The essence of the 1924 restoration remains intact, although a contemporary post and beam structural system has been added in most rooms. The courtyard has been enclosed to form two rooms.

The Charles T. Hayden House/La Casa Vieja is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (listed on May 7, 1984).

Go to Tempe Historic Property Survey