List of historic properties in Glendale, Arizona facts for kids

Quick facts for kids List of historic properties in Glendale, Arizona
City
View of 58th Dr. of historic Catlin Court District established in 1914
Location in Maricopa County and the state of Arizona

William John Murphy, who founded Glendale around 1905.

This article shares a list of historic places in Glendale, Arizona. It includes photos of some of the city's old buildings and monuments that are still standing today.

Glendale's Story

Glendale was started by William John Murphy in 1892. When a Santa Fe railroad line reached Phoenix in 1895, Glendale grew quickly. It became the biggest town in the northwest Salt River Valley. In 1910, Glendale officially became a town. Today, it is the fourth largest city in Arizona.

Glendale has 20 places listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This is a special list of buildings, sites, and objects that are important in American history. Ten of these listings are historic neighborhoods. The first neighborhood to be added to this list was the Glendale townsite-Catlin Court Historic District.

Other historic neighborhoods in Glendale include:

• The 59th Avenue Residential Historic District
• Floralcroft Historic District
• Glendale Gardens Historic District
• Glendale Tract Historic District
• Northfield Historic District
• Myrtle Avenue Residential Historic District
• Sage Acres Historic District
• Sands Estate Historic District
• The Thunderbird Estates
• The McDonald Addition Historic District

Many other properties are also considered historic by the Glendale Historic Society and the Glendale List of Historic Places Survey. You'll find some of them described here with pictures.

This list also includes pictures of the old control tower, barracks, and a large airplane hangar from what used to be Thunderbird 1 Army Air Field. This airfield was a military training base in Glendale during World War II. Allied pilots learned to fly there. Today, the Thunderbird School of Global Management is located on this site.

Historic Buildings

Old Woolworth's in Glendale.

Here are some of Glendale's historic buildings. They have been recognized as important by the National Register of Historic Places or the Glendale Arizona Historical Society.

• The Santa Fe Railroad Depot was built in 1895. It now serves as offices for BNSF-MOW (Burlington Northern Santa Fe – Maintenance of Way).
• The Humphrey and Davidson Building was built in 1895. It is the second oldest brick business building in Glendale.
• The Glendale Memorial Park Cemetery Caretakers’ House was built in 1895. It is located inside Glendale's first cemetery at 7844 N. 61st Ave.
• The Glendale Blacksmith Shop was built in the late 1800s. It is at 6713 N. 57th Drive and has been renovated into a cigar lounge.
• The Beet Sugar Factory Building was built in 1906 by the Arizona Sugar Company, founded by William John Murphy. It made sugar until 1913 and is on the National Register of Historic Places.
• The Boiler and lime kiln house and repair shop of the Beet Sugar Factory is also on the National Register of Historic Places.
• The Hoghe Bunkhouse was built in 1906 by Leo M. Hoghe. It's the only remaining example of housing for workers from the Beet Sugar Factory.
• The Beet Sugar Factory Warehouses were built in 1906.
• The First National Bank of Glendale was built in 1906.
• The C. L. Gillett Building once housed the Glendale State Bank. It was built in 1909.
• Glendale's first mortuary was built in 1912. It is at 6821 N 58th Ave and is now an American Legions Post 29 Bingo Hall.
• Glendale's first Fire Station was built in 1912 on N. 57th Drive. It later became the town's municipal court and now houses Glendale Information Technology.
• The Glendale Woman's Club building was built in 1912.
• The Sine Brothers Hardware Store was built in 1912.
• The Hine Building was built in 1913 and now has different businesses.
• The Two Story Adobe Market/House was built in 1918 at 6738 N. 54th Drive. The first floor was a grocery store, and the second floor was where the family lived. It is Glendale's largest adobe building.
• The Robert W. Cole Building once housed the Sprouse and Reitz 5 and 10 Cent Store. It was built in 1919 and is now an antique store called "Zola Bell's".
• The Landmark Middle School was built in 1920 at 5730 W Myrtle Ave.
• The Glendale Grammar School One-Room Class Building was built in 1920. This specific room, "Room 35", is on the National Register of Historic Places.
• The Glendale Herald and Valley Printers Building was built in 1920 at 5430 Glendale Ave. The "Glendale Herald" newspaper operated here from 1926 to 1963. It is now a used car sales business.
• The El Rey Theatre building was once a movie theater. It was built in the 1920s at 7009 N. 58th Ave. The theater is gone, but the building now houses the Pink House Boutique.
• The Sine Building was built in 1926 by Floyd Sine. The first floor was Glendale Furniture Co., and the second floor was a meeting space.
• The Glendale Welding Company Building was built in the early 1900s at 6725 N 57th Dr. The welding company started in 1937 and is Glendale's oldest business in one spot.
• The Glendale Tract Community Center was built in 1937. It is in the historic Glendale Tract District, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.
• Filers Bakery was founded in 1939 in the Robert W. Cole building.
• The Glendale High School Auditorium was built in 1939.
• The Coury Building was built in 1940.
• The Old Woolworth's Building was built around 1950 on 57th Dr.
• The Glendale Pharmacy was built in the 1940s at 5625 W Glendale Ave. It used to be the Glendale Post Office and then the Glendale Pharmacy. It now houses Auntie Em's Miniature and Smilin' Jack's Pedal Car store.
• The Joe's Market was built in 1942 at 6705 N. 54th Ave. It was once a grocery store.
• Basha's Supermarket was built in 1951 at 5734 W Glendale Ave. It used to be Basha's Supermarket, then school offices, and later The Mad Hatters Antique Store.
• The Pratt's Feed and Supply original building: Emerson Wilcken Pratt took over the "Farmers Cooperative" in 1953 and started Pratt's Feed and Supply. It's at Glendale and 52 Aves. The building is now used for other businesses.
• The Pratt Mill was built by Emerson Wilcken Pratt to mix different feeds.
• The original Fire Station #151 was Glendale's first modern fire station, built in 1960 at 55th Ave. and Orangewood Ave.
• The Cerreta Candy Co. was founded in Glendale in 1968. It was originally a Safeway grocery store.
• The "Northwest Hospital" original building was built in 1960 at 61st and Northern Aves. The hospital moved in 1983 and is now the "Banner Thunderbird Medical Center". This building now houses the "Salvation Army Corps Community Center".

Morcomb's Service Station Restoration

In the 1930s, Ed and Bessie Morcomb opened a Signal Oil Company gas station in Glendale. They built a house next to it using bricks from the area.

The property was left empty in 1978. However, the Glendale Historical Society restored it in 2013. This station is part of the Myrtle Avenue Residential Historic District, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Houses of Worship

Here are some historic churches in Glendale:

• The First Methodist Episcopal Church of Glendale Sanctuary was built in 1926. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
• The First Southern Baptist Church Building was built around 1920. It was considered historic by the Glendale Arizona Historical Society, but the building was later taken down.
• The first Russian Molokans Church (Spiritual Christians) in Glendale was built in 1950 at 7402 Griffin Ave. The first members of this group arrived in Glendale in 1911. This church was once a spiritual center for 200 families and is listed as historic by the Glendale Arizona Historical Society.

Historic Homes

The following houses are considered historic by the National Register of Historic Places or the Glendale Historical Society. These homes are located outside the Catlin Court Historic District.

• The Forney House was built in 1893 and is the second oldest house in Glendale. It is at 7534 North 61st Avenue. The oldest house in Glendale is the Adobe house at Sahuaro Ranch.
• The Jonas McNair House was built in 1897 at 5919 W. Myrtle Avenue. It is on the National Register of Historic Places.
• The E.C. Bunch House was built in 1898 at 5602 West Lamar Road. It is on the National Register of Historic Places.
• The C.C. Burkholder House was built in 1898 at 7402 N. 61st Ave. C.C. Burkholder was a pioneer and a minister.
• The William Weigold House was built in 1910 at 6101 W. Palmarie Ave. William Weigold was one of the first directors of the Glendale State Bank.
• The Ray Wiegold House was built in 1910 at 6115 W. Palmarie Ave. Ray Weigold was a building contractor.
• The Nunez House was originally built in 1912 at 6701 N. 55th Drive. It is one of the first houses built in "Mexican Town" in Glendale. This area grew when people from Mexico moved to Glendale for jobs at the Beet Sugar Factory.
• The W.C. Welsh Rental House was built in 1912 at 7304 61st Ave. Welsh built several rental houses after coming to Glendale in 1906.
• The First Baptist Church Parsonage House was built in 1919 at 7141 N. 57th Ave. Reverend C.M. Northrup was the first pastor to live here.
• The Methodist Church Parsonage House was built in 1898. It was moved to 7142 N. 58th Avenue and is now an antique store.
• The Dominic Sanita House was built in 1924 at 7102 N. 55th Drive. Dominic Sanita was an important businessman in Glendale.
• The George O'Dowdy Rental Cottage was built in 1926 at 6818 N. 60th Avenue. It is on the National Register of Historic Places.
• The Collins House was built in 1930 at 5803 W. Northview Ave.
• The Cook-Chisum House was built in 1931 at 5962 W. Northview Avenue. It is built in the Dutch Colonial Revival style, which was popular in parts of New York and New Jersey. This house is in the Floralcroft Historic District, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.
• The Jack Shawver House, now called the Keist Office Building, was built in 1952 at 7508 North 59th Avenue. This Ranch style home is in the Northfield Historic District, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.
• The Melvin E. Sine House was built in 1957 at 7307 N. 50th Drive. It is in the Glendale Gardens Historic District, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.
• The Evan Mecham House was built in 1960 at 5741 West Harmont Drive. Evan Mecham was the 17th Governor of Arizona. The house is in the Thunderbird Estates/McDonald Addition Historic District.

Historic Ranches

Glendale has some historic ranches.

Molokan Farmers Village Homes

The Russian Spiritual Christians Cemetery, also known as the Molokan Cemetery, was started in 1911. This was shortly after the Molokans arrived in Glendale to buy farmland. The Molokans, or Spiritual Christians, were a religious group who left the Russian Orthodox Church. They believed the Russian government would force their young people into the military, which went against their beliefs. They first settled in California. Some families, like the Tomachoffs and Popoffs, moved to Glendale and created a Russian Village. The sugar beet factory in Glendale was helpful for them. However, the factory closed in 1913, and the demand for their farm products dropped. This, along with the climate, made many families return to California. The cemetery is considered a historical site.

Pictured here are:

• Griffith Ave. is a street that ends, and it's the only remaining street from the old Russian (Molokan) Farmers Village.
• The first Russian Molokans Church (Spiritual Christians) in Glendale, built in 1950. It was once the spiritual center for 200 families.
• A Molokan house that used to belong to Harry P. Tolmachoff.
• A Molokan house on Griffin Ave.

Cemetery of Spiritual Christians from Russia

This cemetery was established after 1912 on land shared by Pavel Popoff for different groups of Spiritual Christians from Russia. Many children died from influenza in 1918–19 and were buried in unmarked graves. Traditional old Russian wooden grave markers, called golubez, looked like small houses. No crosses or images were used because Spiritual Christians are not Orthodox. There are no records of the earliest graves. In the 1920s, this cemetery served about 200 families (over 1000 people) of different Spiritual Christian faiths living in four nearby villages. Around 1922, Popoff sold the property to a trustee.

• Graves belonging to the Popoff family.
• Graves of the Tomachoff families.
• The graves of Nellie and Peter Popoff with Russian writing.

Tolmachoff Farms

The historic Tolmachoff Farms in Glendale was started in 1912 by the Tolmachoff family. They were among the first Russian families to move to Glendale, Arizona. The farm is located at 5726 N. 75th Avenue.

Catlin Court Historic District

National Register of Historic Places “Catlin Court Historic District” Marker.

The Catlin Court Historic District was established in 1914. It is important because it shows a key time in Glendale's growth. This district is located near Gardenia Ave., 59th Ave., Palmarie Ave., and 58th Ave. It is one of nine historic districts in Glendale listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was added to the list on June 9, 1992.

Thunderbird 1 Army Air Field

The historic Thunderbird 1 Army Air Field was built in 1941. The Control Tower served as the air traffic control and living quarters for officers. American, British, Canadian, and Chinese pilots trained here during World War II. The airfield closed in 1945. Today, the Thunderbird School of Global Management is located on this site.

Pictured are:

• The Thunderbird Control Tower
• The Thunderbird 1 Army Air Field Airplane Hangar.
• The Thunderbird 1 Army Air Field barracks used by pilots during World War II.
• The Thunderbird Pilots Memorial honors the American, British, Canadian, and Chinese pilots who trained there.

Cemeteries

Glendale Memorial Park Cemetery

Historical 1895 marker.

The Glendale Memorial Park Cemetery is a historic cemetery at 7844 North 61st Ave. It was originally called Glendale Memorial Park. Many important early citizens of Glendale are buried here, including pioneers, mayors, business owners, and veterans from various U.S. military conflicts, starting with the American Civil War. There is also a memorial and 16 graves for immigrant farmers who died in a bus accident in 1959.

West Resthaven Park Cemetery

West Resthaven Park Cemetery And Funeral Home opened in 1947 at 6450 West Northern Avenue. Notable people buried here include the founders of the City of Surprise and the founder of Wittmann. A recipient of the Medal of Honor is also buried here.

Other Historic Interests

Here are some other items of historical importance to Glendale:

• The grave-site of William John Murphy, the founder of Glendale.
• Murphy Park is named after William John Murphy. The town clock in the park was dedicated in 1987 to Thelma Renick Heatwole, a newspaper reporter who covered Glendale for over 40 years. The park is at 58th & Glendale Avenues and has a public library.
• Glendale's Fire Bell: When Glendale started its first volunteer fire department in 1912, this bell would alert the volunteers, who were local business owners. It is now at Fire Station #151.
• The 1917 Nash Fire Truck was the first motorized fire truck for the Glendale Fire Department. It could go up to 16 mph. It is on display at the Glendale Training Center at 11330 W. Glendale Ave.
• A 1954 American La France-Foamite 700 Series fire truck is located at 57th Ave. and Bell Road.
• A 1947 Plymouth Police Car was restored and is used for special events. It is on display at the Glendale Training Center.
• The Glendale Veteran's Memorial is at 5959 West Brown Street. The City of Glendale has historical pieces from the USS Arizona and the USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor. These include rusted metal from the ship's kitchen and steel rings from the memorial flagpole.
• A Porter 0-4-0 18-inch gauge locomotive was used for copper mining. Built in 1887 in Pennsylvania, it was used by the Detroit Copper Company in Arizona. It is now at the Sahuaro Central Railroad Museum at 23280 N 43rd Ave.
• Japanese Internment Camp Houses from Leupp, Flagstaff. These houses were built in 1943 and are now on the grounds of the Sahuaro Central Railroad Museum.
• The University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, where the 2017 NCAA Final Four basketball tournament was played.

Images for kids

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  Abandoned late 19th-century farm

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  Another view of the abandoned late 19th-century farm

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  The abandoned barn of the 19th-century farm

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  The abandoned 19th-century farm house

See also

• Adobe Mountain Desert Park
• Manistee Ranch
• Sahuaro Ranch
• USS Arizona salvaged artifacts
• List of National Historic Landmarks in Arizona
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Arizona
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Phoenix, Arizona
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Maricopa County, Arizona