Woodlea Historic District facts for kids
The Woodlea Historic District is a special neighborhood located in central Phoenix, Arizona, United States. It's known for its beautiful tree-lined sidewalks and lots of plants. An old irrigation system, which gets water from the Grand Canal, helps keep everything green.
This neighborhood is home to 166 houses that were built between the late 1920s and the mid-1950s. You can see many different architectural styles here, like Spanish Colonial Revival, Streamline Moderne, and English Tudor. There are also Craftsman bungalows and different kinds of Ranch-Style homes. Both the neighborhood itself and many of its individual houses are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, which means they are important historical sites.
How Woodlea Started
In 1928, a man named Thomas Mackenzie bought 47 acres of land, which were mostly lettuce fields, just north of Phoenix. He paid $20,000 for the land. He decided to name his new neighborhood "Woodlea" because there were so many trees there. You can still find Mackenzie Drive in the district, named after him!
Building Homes in Woodlea
Building homes in Woodlea started slowly. Only a few houses were built before the Great Depression, a time in the 1930s when money was very scarce and many people lost their jobs. Because of this, construction almost stopped. By 1936, Thomas Mackenzie had to sell off the land he still owned.
However, things started to get better a few years later. Building really picked up in the 1940s, and most of the homes in Woodlea were built during this time. Some people hired their own builders to create their dream homes. Other builders bought several pieces of land and built multiple houses. One important builder was Andy Womack, who built eight houses in Woodlea. He later became a very well-known builder in the Phoenix area and even built another neighborhood nearby called Melrose Manor.
Woodlea Becomes Historic
The city of Phoenix officially recognized Woodlea as a Historic Preservation Overlay Zone in January 1999. This means the city helps protect the neighborhood's special character. Later, in November 2013, the Woodlea Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places. This is a big honor that recognizes the neighborhood's importance to history and architecture in the United States.
