Tempe Historical Museum

Arizona's First Historic Building Restoration: La Casa Vieja

	In 1873, Charles Trumbull Hayden had a sprawling adobe hacienda built at what would later become the corner of First Street and Mill Avenue. 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.
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."

Go to the next page of the Doors to the Past exhibit

Return to the beginning of Doors to the Past