Roosevelt Historic District.
Plats from 1893
just north of downtown.
Roosevelt is a historic district just north of downtown Phoenix, between Fillmore Street and McDowell Road, whose additions were platted from 1893 to 1919 after the 1891 Salt River flood pushed building to higher ground. Its National Register district was listed on November 30, 1983, and the city listed it in September 1986.
Roosevelt on the map
Boundary from the City of Phoenix Historic Preservation Office map (listed on the Phoenix Register). Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Between Fillmore and McDowell
Roosevelt is a residential historic district on the Phoenix Historic Property Register. The city describes it as generally bounded by McDowell Road, Fillmore Street, Central Avenue and Seventh Avenue. It was listed in September 1986, with boundary adjustments in October 1991, December 1997 and November 2004, per the Phoenix Historic Property Register (October 2026). The exact lines are on the city district map.
On the National Register of Historic Places, the area was documented in 1983 as the Roosevelt Neighborhood Multiple Resource Area. A multiple resource area is one nomination that covers several districts and individual buildings in one area. The nomination covers about 230.4 acres bounded by McDowell Road, Fillmore Street, Central Avenue and Seventh Avenue. It holds four National Register districts, Roosevelt, Portland Street, Kenilworth and Chelsea Place, plus 14 individually significant properties.
The National Register's Roosevelt Historic District itself was listed on November 30, 1983, roughly bounded by Portland and Fillmore streets and Central and Seventh avenues, per the city's list of National Register properties in Phoenix. The city register gives the district a period of significance of 1895 to 1930, the span of years whose buildings give it its historic value.
Higher ground after the 1891 flood
In February 1891 the Salt River overflowed its banks and covered the lower valley bottomlands. The 1983 nomination records that the flood moved residents north of the original townsite to higher ground, and the Roosevelt area became one of the first residential areas north of it.
The nomination lists the additions platted in the area. A plat is the recorded map that divides land into lots, and an addition is a subdivision added onto a town. The Phoenix Railway streetcar line was extended along West Fillmore Street and north along Fifth Avenue through several of these additions, creating streetcar suburbs. By 1920, per the nomination, the automobile had overtaken the streetcar.
- Simms Addition, 1893.The earliest plat listed in the nomination.
- Bennett Place, 1894.Platted the following year.
- Plank's Addition, 1901.Followed by Bennett and Plank's Addition in 1910.
- Kenilworth Addition and McDowell Place, 1910.Kenilworth was developed by the Southwestern Building and Investment Company and later by Home Builders.
- Chester Place, 1911, and Chelsea Place, 1912.Chelsea Place was developed by Home Builders.
- Blount Addition, 1919.The last plat listed in the nomination.
Three building phases
The nomination divides the area's building into three phases: early, 1893 to 1910; middle, 1911 to 1925; and late, 1926 to 1938. It also notes concrete block and cast-in-place concrete houses as a feature of the area. The nomination notes that fewer than a dozen Victorian era buildings remain in Phoenix, and that four of them are in the Roosevelt area.
1893 to 1910
Queen Anne and Neoclassical vernacular cottages, Victorian and Eastlake houses, and early Mission Revival and Craftsman influences. Vernacular means built in a plain local way rather than to an architect's style book.
1911 to 1925
California and Craftsman Bungalows, plus Mission Revival, Spanish Colonial Revival, English Cottage Revival, Southwestern vernacular, Prairie, Italian Villa Revival, Dutch Colonial Revival and Neoclassical Revival.
1926 to 1938
Simpler bungalows, Spanish Colonial Revival, Period Revival, Southwestern vernacular and Prairie houses.
A park on top of the freeway
The 1983 nomination describes the Moreland corridor as a strip cleared of structures for the planned Papago Freeway. That freeway is now Interstate 10. Per the Arizona Department of Transportation, the Deck Park Tunnel opened on August 10, 1990, and is made of 10 side-by-side bridges with Margaret T. Hance Park on top.
The Roosevelt Action Association's history page notes that Valley Metro Rail opened in 2008 along Central Avenue and 1st Avenue. Distances below are straight-line miles from the coordinates the National Register database gives for the district. From Roosevelt, the Arizona State Capitol is about 1 mile away and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport is about 4 miles away.
- Margaret T. Hance Park, 67 W. Culver St.A 32-acre city park on top of the Interstate 10 tunnel between 3rd Avenue and 3rd Street, named for the city's first female mayor. It includes the Japanese Friendship Garden, Ro Ho En, a dog park, a playground and a splash pad. Source: City of Phoenix Parks.
- Kenilworth Elementary, 1210 N. 5th Ave.Opened in 1920, per the school, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 25, 1982.
- Ellis-Shackelford House, 1242 N. Central Ave.One of the 14 individually significant properties in the 1983 nomination, listed on the National Register on November 30, 1983.
- Hotel Westward Ho, 618 N. Central Ave.A 16-story Spanish Colonial Revival building designed by Fisher, Lake and Traver of Los Angeles with Louis Dorr. The 1983 nomination lists it among the area's individually significant properties and notes it was listed on the National Register in 1982.
Exterior work goes through city review
Properties on the Phoenix Historic Property Register carry HP overlay zoning. An overlay is an extra layer of zoning rules placed on top of the base zoning. In Roosevelt, design review covers exterior changes, infill construction and changes to non-historic properties inside the district, according to the city's Historic Preservation approvals and guidelines page.
The National Register works differently. National Register listing does not rezone a property and gives no formal protection, but it can make a property eligible for state and federal incentives. City listing brings special permit review and eligibility for city incentives, per the city's historic preservation FAQ.
Exterior work
A building permit that affects the exterior needs a Certificate of No Effect or a Certificate of Appropriateness. A Certificate of No Effect is an over-the-counter staff approval for minor work. A Certificate of Appropriateness is for larger or street-visible work and requires a public hearing with an independent hearing officer.
What is not reviewed
Routine maintenance such as painting is excluded from review, and the Historic Preservation Office does not regulate paint colors. Interior work that does not affect the exterior does not need review. Replacing materials in kind, meaning with the same material, does not need permission unless a conservation easement applies.
Demolition
A Request for Demolition Approval goes to the Historic Preservation Office. Demolition of a contributing property can be delayed up to one year. A contributing property is one that adds to the district's historic character.
Roosevelt, answered
Where is the Roosevelt Historic District?
Just north of downtown Phoenix. The city describes it as generally bounded by McDowell Road, Fillmore Street, Central Avenue and Seventh Avenue.
Is Roosevelt an official historic district?
Yes. The National Register's Roosevelt Historic District was listed on November 30, 1983, and the city listed the Roosevelt district on the Phoenix Historic Property Register in September 1986.
How old are the houses?
The additions were platted from 1893 to 1919, and the nomination dates building from 1893 to 1938. The city register gives a period of significance of 1895 to 1930.
What styles are in Roosevelt?
Early cottages in Queen Anne and Neoclassical styles, Victorian and Eastlake houses, California and Craftsman Bungalows, and Period Revival styles such as Mission, Spanish Colonial and English Cottage Revival.
Why did people build here after 1891?
In February 1891 the Salt River flooded the lower valley, and residents moved north of the original townsite to higher ground.
What is Hance Park?
A 32-acre city park at 67 W. Culver St., built on top of the Interstate 10 Deck Park Tunnel, which opened on August 10, 1990.
Do I need city approval to paint a house in Roosevelt?
No. Routine maintenance such as painting is excluded from historic preservation review, and the city's Historic Preservation Office does not regulate paint colors. Exterior changes that need a building permit do go through review.
What is the difference between the city register and the National Register?
City listing adds HP overlay zoning, special permit review for exterior changes and eligibility for city incentives. National Register listing does not rezone a property and gives no formal protection, but it can make a property eligible for state and federal incentives.
How do I check whether a specific house is historic?
Look the property up on the Phoenix Historic Property Register and the city's district maps, and check whether its zoning carries an HP suffix (historic district zoning) or an HP-L suffix (an individually listed landmark). For the National Register, check the National Park Service records.
Looking at Roosevelt?
Which addition a lot sits in, its construction year, its HP zoning and whether it is one of the individually listed properties all sit in the city, county and National Register records. Send me the addresses and I will pull them. Text 480-485-4261.
Own a home in Roosevelt? See what the county has on file and get a real value. Looking? Search homes for sale.
Sources: City of Phoenix Residential Historic Districts, Phoenix Historic Property Register, Roosevelt district map, National Register Properties in Phoenix, Historic Preservation FAQ, Approvals and Guidelines and Margaret T. Hance Park; National Park Service NPGallery record 83003490 and the Roosevelt Neighborhood Multiple Resource Area nomination (1983); Arizona Department of Transportation; Kenilworth Elementary; Roosevelt Action Association history; coordinates from the Wikipedia list of National Register listings in Phoenix. All checked 28 October 2026.