Tempe Historic Property Survey

R. G. Andre, a saddlemaker and prominent early Tempe businessman, built a Victorian-style building on Mill Avenue in 1888, but it was destroyed by fire in 1899. He built a new building on the same site in 1900, along with C. G. Jones, whose family owned it from 1912 to 1977. It became one of Tempe's finest examples of Victorian and Neo-Classical architecture. In addition to Andre's hardware and harness shop, the Andre Building has housed a number of businesses, including Price Wickliffe's Furniture and Undertaker (1912-1929), the Southside Progress newspaper (1939-1942), and the Arizona Cotton Growers Association (1919). The second floor has been a boarding house and apartments. The building has also been the location for the U.S. Post Office (1917-1947) and the Masonic Lodge (1917-1953).

The Andre Building is significant for its design, combining both Victorian Panel Brick Commercial and Neo-Classical elements. The two-story red brick building has three bays, and the upper floor facade features Neo-Classical details such as pilasters (decorative columns on the wall), a pediment, and a cornice. It is the best-preserved, continuously-used commercial block in the Salt River Valley, retaining a high degree of integrity of its turn-of-the century appearance As once typical of many two-story commercial buildings, the Andre Building was designed originally for retail uses on first floor and fraternal hall on the second floor.

The Andre Building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. In 1981, the exterior of the building was restored to its original appearance. For many years it has housed the Paradise Bar and Grill.

More information on this building is available at the Tempe Historical Museum Research Library. See the File Contents for HPS-241.

Go to Tempe Historic Property Survey