Attempting to save a piece of city history, some Tempe organizations are raising funds for the rehabilitation of one of the city’s oldest homes — the Eisendrath House.
Built in 1929 by the widow of a wealthy glove manufacturer, the house sits atop a hill just north of Tempe Town Lake. Once surrounded by a vast desert, the crumbling structure is now closed in by a small area of cacti and brush. Planes buzz by on their final approaches to Sky Harbor Airport and trucks rumble down College Avenue, seemingly unaware of the home’s historic and cultural value.
But city officials are trying to jog Tempe’s memory.
A lack of finances has slowed the city’s rehabilitation efforts, but the Tempe Historic Preservation Foundation is continuing its search for funds from private donors, one member said.
The house, which was acquired by the city in 2003, is a major segment of the Carl Hayden Campus for Sustainability, an area north of Tempe Town Lake that features historic buildings, parks and archaeological sites.
After the rehabilitation process, the house will include offices for Tempe’s Water Conservation program, history exhibits and a space for community functions and meetings. The house is currently eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places, according to a city press release.
The preservation foundation, which was formed in 2005, has been raising funds for the house since 2006. It has been assisting the Rio Salado Foundation, an organization formed in 2001 that supports projects around Tempe Town Lake and Papago Park.
“The house was the [preservation] foundation’s largest project,” said Woody Wilson, chairman of the foundation.
Wilson said the organization has commitments for donations toward the project that total about $600,000, and he estimated the entire project will cost between $2 million and $2.5 million.
“Not a really whole lot has been done since 2006,” Wilson said. “The financial crisis took the wind out of our sails.”
Wilson said the foundation’s next fundraising cycle will begin this fall.
The house is expected to become the state’s first historical building accredited by the U.S. Green Building Council, according to a city press release.
“The ‘greenest’ building is one that already exists,” said Mark Vinson, the city’s architect and a member of the foundation’s advisory board.
Vinson said the house has already given off energy for the past 80 years, and the rehabilitation process requires less energy than building something from scratch. Therefore, energy is being saved.
Rose Eisendrath, the widow of a Chicago glove manufacturer, built the house after she was denied entrance to Arizona’s finest resorts because of her Jewish heritage. In response, she decided to build her own resort-style home.
Architect Robert Evans used adobe, wood and concrete to piece together the Pueblo Revival-style building. Miles of developed land has now become part of its eastern-horizon view.
“The fact that it’s endured all this time is such an amazing thing,” Wilson said.
Located off College Avenue, the house lies adjacent to the Arizona Historical Society Museum, but the Eisendrath home has no connection with the museum, museum director Peter Welsh said.
Currently, people are not allowed to be on the house’s property without authorization. Its rehabilitation process will be carried out as funds come in, Vinson said.
“This will likely have to be done in phases,” he said.
Vinson said some city officials have expressed hope that the project could be finished by the Arizona Centennial in 2012, but it all depends on the money.
“If the funding were in place … we’d be able to start construction this fall,” he said.
Reach the reporter at kjdaly@asu.edu
