Tempe 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.  

HISTORY
After World War II, Tempe experienced a population boom that resulted in a housing shortage. As result, many post-World War II housing subdivisions were platted and annexed by the City of Tempe. Among these newly platted neighborhoods was the Borden Homes subdivision.

Platted in 1947 by J. A. and Annie N. Farnsworth, the Borden Homes subdivision included 79 lots. In 1947, Farnsworth was selling 40 lots in the western portion. By 1950, he was selling 32 lots in the eastern portion (dubbed “Farnsworth Homes”). Residential lot sizes were typically 60 feet by 130 feet, but a 300-foot portion alongside the road was set aside for commercial development; eventually this location became an A. J. Bayless shopping center site. The subdivision was annexed by the City of Tempe under Tempe City Ordinance No. 201 on March 27, 1950.

The Borden Homes Historic District was added to the Tempe Historic Property Register on June 2, 2005 and listed in the National Register of Historic Places on November 18, 2011.

ARCHITECTURE
The Borden Homes Historic District contains houses displaying the Early/Transitional Ranch architectural style. Forty of the subdivision’s houses were constructed with row-lock brick masonry, something rarely seen in Tempe or the Phoenix area. The remaining houses are built with the more common reinforced concrete block.

The houses are either L-shaped or rectangular in plan and measure between 900 and 1,200 square feet. As typical with Ranch style homes, they sit on a concrete slab foundation. The windows are steel casement type, and the roof shingles are made of asphalt. Roofs are low-pitched hip, gable, or intersecting hip-and-gable with asphalt or asbestos singles.

While most of the houses do not have porches, they do have large overhanging eaves supported by porch posts. A few houses do have porches in the form of a small gable porch at the entry.

Houses in the subdivision come in various combinations of floor plan, roof type, porch, and masonry styles. The houses sit on large lots with consistent spacing between each house and a continuous lawn that stretches from lot to lot.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
“Borden Homes Historic District Design Guidelines.” 2012. https://www.tempe.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/12386/635323967996830000.

National Register of Historic Places Registration Form. “Borden Homes Historic District”. 1979.

RESOURCE
DO I HAVE A CONTRIBUTING PROPERTY? :: LOT KEY MAP BY PARCEL OR ADDRESS (PDF)

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