Arty Girl: Garfield Neighborhood Shows Off

Image courtesy of Garfield Organization

Don't let that shoddy photoshop job fool you...this might be pretty neat.

One of the biggest complaints I hear about Phoenix is its nasty little habit of going Godzilla on old buildings and replacing them with stuccoed generic strip malls.

I love you, Phoenix, and you know I am always the first to defend you, but, yeah...you gotta knock that sh*t off.

We will all be relieved to know that some people in this town are committed to maintaining Phoenix's history. Namely, the Neighborhood Services Department, the Neighborhood Housing Services of Phoenix (NHS Phoenix), and the Garfield Organization who have teamed up in recent years in effort to save a dilapidated property at 1246 E. McKinley in the Garfield Historic District.

Their hard work and collaboration will be unveiled tomorrow.

In 2003, the Neighborhood Services Department (NSD) purchased the property "due to concerns from the neighborhood about activities taking place in the vacant buildings". Uh-oh. I'm picturing diarrhea poo-poo splatters on the walls, empty bottles of Thunderbird wine and a sprinkling of syringes...let's hope it wasn't that bad.

Located directly in front of the Garfield Elementary School, the building was once a beautiful duplex. The Mission Revival style adobe structure with a one-of-a-kind curved front porch and flared wing walls was built in 1928. And it's the only curved facade adobe house in Phoenix.

The NSD and the NHS Phoenix demolished the non-historic add-ons to the rear of the building (incidentally, where most of the shady activities took place) and spent the next five years renovating and redesigning the building into a single family affordable home.

The Garfiled Organization hosts the unveiling of the renovated home with a reception tomorrow, Tuesday, June 9th from 4-6 p.m. There will be a short ceremony (with remarks by the one and only Mayor Phil Gordon) recognizing the key players in the project, light refreshments, open access to the building and and ongoing slideshow of the documented progress of the project.

And there won't be any diarrhea poo-poo splatters.

The Official Unveiling of the Historic Adobe House Restoration takes place tomorrow, Tuesday, June 9th from 4-6 p.m. at 1246 E. McKinley in the Garfield Neighborhood in Phoenix.