5802 W. Palmaire Ave Glendale AZ 85301
(623) 435-1522
The odd, the technical, the scientific
and things you never even knew existed....
A Brief History of the
Catlin Court Historical District
"I believe all
good things
start with a
dream..."
This was
the introduction of a letter sent by Martha Campbell to Mr. Prescott, the
Planning Manager for the City of Glendale in early 1989.(1)
Martha captivated the imagination of the city planners with the first outline of
the downtown 'Gaslight District' now known as the Catlin Court Historical
District.
EARLY
DISTRICT HISTORY
The oldest house you will
find in the Catlin Court Historical District
is the Messinger House built in 1895. V.E. Messinger was an educated man
from the first Stanford graduating class. He came to Glendale in 1895 to manage
the H.W. Ryder Lumber Company, and became one of Glendale’s leading citizens.(2)
The construction of a
two-story four-room brick schoolhouse in 1895 was the first substantial project
undertaken by the community of then 300. The completion of this schoolhouse on
what is now Palmaire between 58th Avenue and 58th Drive gave the small city a
sense of permanence.(2)
The Glendale Public Library
was started in 1896 by V.E. Messinger when he opened his home library for the
residents to use. The brick school house later became the formal home of the
Glendale Public Library. The original sign for this public library is on display
at the Velma Teague branch.(2,5)
For reasons unknown, the
brick schoolhouse was dismantled before 1920. One hypothesis is that it was no
longer needed due to construction of other facilities. (5)
The Catlin Court Subdivision
was the first organized development program in the City of Glendale. Begun in
1912, it followed on the heels of regional economic boom and represented the
first important period of the city's growth since its founding in 1892.(2)
The California Bungalow was
the preferred style of construction in this subdivision. Within Catlin Court you
will find some of the most outstanding Craftsman Bungalows as can be found
anywhere in the Salt River Valley.(2)
The Beginning of the
Business District
Sue McCool (at that
time Sue McDaniel) and her dress shop the Sand Dollar was to give birth to many
Catlin Court business enterprises. Sue bought the building on the southeast
corner of 58th Avenue and Palmaire which had been the Summer's house. Although
this property is not within Catlin Court proper, the significance of the Sand
Dollar is that it pioneered the concept in the local area of converting an old
house into commercial property, and brought in
tenants that were to spread out and
purchase their own buildings in what is known as
Catlin Court Historic District.(3d)
In 1979 Martha Campbell
and her twin sister Mary Mosteller rented shop space from Sue McCool
to open The Tole Shop which specialized in the teaching of American folk art.
When Sue McCool retired
from the Sand Dollar in 1981, several businesses attempted to operate in the
same location but did not succeed. In 1986 Martha asked Sue if she could rent
the building to operate a tearoom.(4,3d)
Martha's Spicery
tearoom was a success, and being the first in the Phoenix-Glendale area, set the
pattern for other tearooms that would later follow. Since Martha had decided to
dedicate her full time efforts to the tearoom, The Tole Shop was sold to Carolyn
Gimpowitz in January 1987.(1,4)
ADD SUMMERS SQUARE
INFO
Two of Martha's
customers, Sue Branch and her mother Mel Foehner, expressed an interest in
renting a room. Martha suggested
that they rent the upstairs of the Spicery, where they set up The Housewife
Giftshop Feb. 14, 1987.(4)
Early Catlin Court
Shops
The first retail shop
that actually opened in what is now termed 'Catlin Court Historic District' was
Glendale Cash Register, owned by Jim and Jean Burns, in November 1981. Their
prime business activity was the sale and service of antique and modern cash
registers. They later had an antique business also on the premises called Catlin
Court Collectibles. The building now houses The Country Maiden.(3g)
Alice's Things, 7142 N.
58 Ave., was owned by John Courter. This shop was the second retail business to
enter the Catlin Court area, and sold antiques and collectibles. The current
business residing in this building is Miss. Florence's Mercantile. (3g)
Fiddle De Dee's at 7150
N. 57th Avenue was opened by
Delores Hickman after nearly a year of renovation in March 1986. The building
Delores purchased in June 1985 for this shop location was the 1910 parsonage
house for the First Baptist Church. Delores was no stranger to the area. For
many years she had modeled dresses for Sue McCool's business, The Sand Dollar.(4,3d,3h)
EXTRA!
Concerned Citizens Pass
Petitions, Save Buildings.
In order to prevent
developers from acquiring land and tearing down structures to construct parking
facilities for the third expansion phase of the high-rise at Glenn Drive Between
58th Dr. and 58 Avenue Martha Campbell, Sue Branch and other concerned
citizens gathered nearly 5000 names on a petition to stop the destruction of the
fine old buildings in the area. Their efforts came to the attention of
Councilman Quentin Tolby who wrote a letter to the mayor and council requesting
funds to explore the feasibility of forming a 'Gaslight District'. His letter
envisioned an area with tourist oriented businesses which would rehabilitate
existing properties and provide a retail base for downtown. The type of
businesses would include retail-specialty shops, restaurants, artist studios,
antique stores etc.(1b,1c)
HISTORICAL
DISTRICT EFFORT
The First Catlin
Court Committee Meeting
The first meeting of
the Catlin Court District Committee was held on June 15, 1989. The participants
were Candy Paxia, Joyce Clark, Martha Campbell, Jim Burns, Sue Branch, Mel
Foehner, Tom Eggleston, Jean O'Brien, Paul Ludwick, Paula Brictson and Greg
Mareck.
The meeting
established boundaries and formalized the name Catlin Court District. An
architectural rendering was to be prepared so that people would be aware of how
the district was to be developed. A
walking tour was undertaken June 26, 1989 to enlighten those involved.
It took many meetings
and thousands of hours, but the
city and the dedicated people involved accomplished what they set out to do and
made Martha Campbell's dream come true!
References
1. City
of Glendale, Community Development Office Catlin Court files.
A. Letter from Martha
Campbell to Mr. Prescott
B.Misc. newspaper
clippings.
C. Letter From Councilman Tolby to the Mayor and Council.
2. Glendale Townsite/Catlin
Court Historic District by Glendale Historical Society, City of Glendale and Janus Associates Inc.
3. Oral interviews with
people mentioned in this article.
A. Wendell DeCross
(verbal) B. Martha Campbell
(verbal) C. Sue Branch
D. Sue McCool (taped)
E. Phil Lieberman
(verbal) F. Greg Marek, City
of Glendale (verbal) G. Jean
Burns (verbal) H. Delores Hickman
(verbal)
4. My History In
Catlin Court, by Martha Campbell 11/10/92
5. Conversation with
experts at The Glendale Historical Society.