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.  

YEAR BUILT: 1924

HISTORY

Built in 1924, the C. P. Mullen House was built in the Maple-Ash Neighborhood’s Gage Addition. The house initially belonged to stockman and rancher C.P. Mullen, who occupied the house from its initial construction until the mid-1930s. The house also belonged to educator and politician Donald R. Van Petten, who taught in the history and political science departments at Arizona State University from 1942 to 1961.

This house is further linked to the Pacific Ready Cut Company, which was located in Los Angeles, California. The Pacific Ready Cut Company was one of six national companies that sold kit homes through mail order, both regionally and internationally. During their 32 years in business (1908-1940) the company sold about 40,000 home kits. The C.P. Mullen House is one of Tempe’s earliest prefabricated homes and the first Period Revival house to be built in the city.

ARCHITECTURE

The C.P. Mullen House was built from a prefabricated house kit created by the Pacific Ready Cut Company. It is designed in the Period Revival style and many of the details take inspiration from Georgian Revival architecture.

The C.P. Mullen house is a single-story, rectangular-in-plan farmhouse with a shingled pitched roof. Georgian Revival styling can be seen in the symmetry of the façade. The portico’s pedimented gable features embossed scrollwork and is underscored with brackets. There are two sets of triplet square pillars rising from the floor to a frieze that frames the three sides of the portico. The pillars are linked with decorative crosspieces. The gable ends of the house are characterized by boxed eaves, louvered vents and gable returns. The side covering the roof reaches the roof line. The casement windows are in triplets on the front facade and in pairs on other facades.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Janus Associates. “Inventory Number 194.” In Tempe Historic Property Survey. 1983.

Ryden Architects. “Survey Site No T-194.” In City of Tempe Multiple Resource Area Update: Final Report, Volume Two: Inventory Forms. 1997.

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