YEAR BUILT: 1940

HISTORY
The Barnes (Conway) House was built in 1940 as part of the Park Tract subdivision, a section of the Maple-Ash Neighborhood.

The Park Tract subdivision was one of Tempe’s earliest “suburban-style” residential subdivisions. It was platted in August 1924 to help ease the City’s housing shortage by providing comfortable and modern family housing. As a result, it appealed to many of Tempe’s prominent families who purchased lots in the subdivision and had their houses built there. Peak construction in Park Tract occurred from 1928 to 1930. A second wave of construction occurred in the late 1930s, and the neighborhood was completely built up shortly after World War II.

While the Park Tract subdivision was established in 1924, many of the houses are infills—houses built after initial development—from the 1940s, after the economy recovered from the Great Depression.  The Barnes (Conway) House is one of two remaining houses in the neighborhood built in the Early Ranch architectural style.

The original owners of the house were Michael R. and Dottie A. Barnes. Michael was a clerk and assistant postmaster for the Tempe Post Office from 1939 through 1955. The couple lived in the house until at least 1952.

ARCHITECTURE
The Barnes (Conway) House is an example of Early Ranch architecture. The house’s distinguishing features are its raised floor elevation and dominant chimney.

The home has an L-shaped plan with a low-pitched gabled roof and an asphalt shingle roof. There is a covered porch, and the windows are rectangular with steel casements; they are divided to emphasize their horizontal nature. The outer walls are encased in stucco and have gabled ends. Inside the house, there is a raised wooden floor with a crawlspace underneath. Ornamental detailing is limited to the chimney and the porch’s wood frame.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Research Report: Barnes (Conway) House. Tempe Historic Preservation Office. November 13, 2011.

Staff Summary Report to Development Review Commission. City of Tempe. September 27, 2011.

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