YEAR BUILT: 1888

HISTORY
The Sampson-Tubber House was built in 1888-1889 for Mrs. Lulu Sampson, a widow and teacher in the Tempe School System. It was one of several houses built during a construction boom that was being pushed by the Tempe Land and Improvement Company.

Prior to the construction of the Centennial House, the only brick building in Tempe was the Tempe Normal School Building. This changed, however, when new local brick kilns were created and made brick more easily accessible.

Mrs. Sampson vacated the house in 1894 when her failing health forced her to retire from teaching. After Mrs. Sampson, the house was occupied by several other notable Tempe residents, including Normal School Professor C. M. Frizzell and city’s first postal carrier, Lyle Weir.

In 1924, the house was bought by Mrs. Cordelia E. Tupper, who made extensive repairs to it and added sidewalks and a front porch. While under Mrs. Tupper’s ownership, the house was used mainly as a rental property. In 1934, Mr. Howard Van Horne and his family moved into the house; Van Horne bought it in 1951. The Van Hornes sold the house in 1971. and over the next 15 years, the house passed through multiple hands without undergoing any significant changes.

In 1985, the City of Tempe announced plans for the University Plaza redevelopment project, also known as Centerpointe. The project redeveloped 21.5 acres of land north of University Drive and west of Mill Avenue into a mixed-use area and reconstructed the Ellingson Warehouse and the historic Brown-Strong-Reeves House. However, the project also displaced some of Tempe’s oldest homes that laid west of Mill Avenue.

In response, fourth-generation Tempe native Susan Harter worked to save some of the houses, including the Centennial House. Harter’s great-grandfather was a pioneer builder who settled in Tempe in 1888. Her family was also involved connected to Tempe’s history through their occupation of the historic Petersen House and her mother’s involvement as a founding member of the Tempe Historical Society. Harter herself regularly attended City Council meetings and was an outspoken advocate for historic preservation, she even helped create the first neighborhood association in Tempe as way to save and preserve historic buildings.

The City of Tempe acquired the Centennial House property for the Centerpointe project in December 1987 and it was slated for demolition. To save the building, Harter borrowed money from her family’s estate to buy a lot on West Third street. The Centennial house was relocated there the following year (1988). Since the house was relocated exactly 100 years after its original construction, Harter renamed it the Centennial House.

Although it was added to the National Register of Historic in 1984, the relocation of the house compromised its integrity, and it was removed from the list in 1989. However, it is listed in the Tempe Historic Property Register.

ARCHITECTURE
The Centennial House is constructed in the Colonial Revival style. It is constructed of brick with a rectangular plan and symmetrical appearance that measures 35 feet wide and 20 feet deep.

The roof is gabled with segment-style wood shingles. It slopes to the front and rear from a central ridge that runs the width of the house. The gable ends are finished with segment-style or scalloped wood shingles and have a centrally placed, wood sash window. A modest cornice molding has been applied at the fascia and the enclosed eaves. Attic ventilators have been placed below the eaves on the front and rear masonry walls.

Double-hung, wood sash windows and French doors are placed in the symmetrically located segmented-arched masonry openings, one of the house’s original features. The original front entry door and sidelights arrangement have been kept, providing a central entry into a symmetrical arrangement of rooms.

Inside the house, a central hall divides the rooms and links each room to the kitchen in the rear addition. Originally the house didn’t include plumbing, and the original kitchen was probably located outside the main house or in a shed at the rear.

An addition was added to the rear of the house in 1893. The addition measures 10 feet deep and extends the width of the house. The roof of the addition is a continuation of the house’s original rear roof slope. This area served as a sleeping porch until 1925.

In 1925, the house went through another round of modifications. During this time, the 1893 addition was enclosed with shiplap siding and modest wood sash windows. A second rear addition was also added that extended the house and doubled the house’s area beyond the original brick masonry walls. A small front porch was added that was designed to match the original structure and not alter its architectural integrity. The roof of the small porch is gently sloping and supported by two brick piers.

In 1991, after the Centennial House was moved, the 1925 shed roof porch was replaced with a pediment style or low-pitched triangular gable entry porch.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Janus Associates. “Inventory Number 159.” In Tempe Historic Property Survey. 1983.

Nucci, Joe. Staff Report on the Centennial House Historic Property Designation. October 13, 2005.

Ryden Architects. “Survey Site No T-159.” In City of Tempe Multiple Resource Area Update: Final Report, Volume Two: Inventory Forms. 1997.