We all know the horrible demise of the historic neighborhoods in and around DT Phoenix. The Roosevelt area, especially the area south of Fillmore really had a rough time. Looking at old aerials, I've been on a mission to recover any photos of neighborhood streets that I can of this area. Mostly to quench my thirst of curiosity of knowing what the area really used to look like when it was a beautiful neighborhood, and to know what we lost. I finally found one picture that gives a little bit of a glimpse.
Here's the aerial of a portion of the Roosevelt area from 1930:
It basically looks like a beautifully-gridded early 20th century neighborhood full of all sorts of interesting houses.
The picture I found is of 3rd Ave looking north from Fillmore. Here is the current view (from google street view):
We've had discussions (long ago) about this parking lot and there have been several condo proposals in the area. And although I believe that mid-century apartment building recently got a nice new update, I'd still rather have streets lined with great historic houses as seen in the aerial.
Here is the picture I found. The houses used to sit on what is now that parking lot:
It looks like it might be from the late 1960s. The houses are great 1900s or 1910s bungalows. I really wish they could still be around. However, seeing this picture makes me realize that the area really was doomed. The yards look unkempt, there are some ratty mail boxes randomly placed, large trees are dead (unless it's winter but I don't think it is), and crappy signs for parking lots are already popping up. It's sad that the area took a turn for the worse and ultimately died due to many factors, but it was probably unavoidable.
At the time it was built, the circle K just a block away probably was a sign of progress, or, at least, no one cared. Unfortunately, now we're left with trying to fight the spread of the cancer we created, or trying to clean up a gigantic mess, and it's difficult.
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