City of Tempe, AZ
Home MenuTempe Directory of Historic Buildings
Tempe has more than 200 historic buildings. Enjoy this searchable directory of information and photos. For more information on any of these properties or to learn how your property can be listed, please contact Tempe Historic Preservation Officer Zachary Lechner at Zachary_Lechner@tempe.gov.
Many of the properties on the Tempe Historic Register, the National Register of Historic Places, or the list of Historic Eligible properties are privately owned and not open to the public. Please respect the privacy of those who may be living in these houses.
Historic Eligible is a formal classification of parcels which contain buildings, structures, or sites which meet the criteria for designation as a Tempe Historic Property, but which have not been formally designated as "Historic."
How to Use This Directory
You may search this directory by the categories of Tempe Historic Register, National Historic Register and Historic Eligible Properties. Simply click the down arrow on the All Categories box below and select the one you would like to see. All the properties in that category will appear.
Diefenderfer House
Categories:- Historic Eligible Properties
HISTORY
The Diefenderfer House was built in 1939 as part of Tempe’s 1887 Farmer’s Addition.
Frederick and Mary Diefenderfer bought two undeveloped lots that were part of the Farmer’s Addition in April 1939 and built a house there soon after. The Diefenderfers were originally from Greenville, Pennsylvania where Frederick was a foreman at the Bessemer & Lake Erie Railroad shops. They retired to Tempe, and Frederick’s death in 1955, Mary remained in the house through the mid-1970s.
The Diefenderfer family sold the house in 1976 to John and Betty Oertle.
ARCHITECTUREThe Diefenderfer House is a one-story masonry house with Bungalow-style influences. The building is rectangular in plan and sits on a slab foundation with stuccoed walls. The roof is a medium-pitched, front gabled roof with wood-sided gable, exposed rafters, and standing seam metal roofing.
The small front porch is supported by two square wood pillars and topped by a roof that matches the main house. A single-leaf entryway sits under the porch. All windows are wood and are double hung.
BIBLIOGRAPHYRyden Architects. “Survey Site No T-328.” In City of Tempe Multiple Resource Area Update: Final Report, Volume Two: Inventory Forms. 1997.
“T-328 (1223 Farmer),” City of Tempe Historic Preservation Office.