Supplements: From the Owner: A Walk through of Willo - 1938 Last month the son of the man who built our house stopped by for a brief tour; he had called our house âœhome❠until he was 5. We were delighted to get to meet him, and he was relieved that his fatherâ™s house (built for his mother after their engagement in 1938) was still standing and being thoroughly enjoyed! A few weeks later, we received some pictures of the house circa 1940â”a great treat for us, and our neighbors who saw their current houses as empty plots of land. With the help of our neighbor, Steve, a long-time Willo resident, and the AZ Room at the Phx Library, we got a glimpse of life in Willo during the end of the 1930s. Although the houses (those that existed) remain recognizable, their context has evolved significantly! Here is a glimpse of status of WIllo in 1939: - Most homes on and south of Encanto had been built; houses were beginning to be built north of Encanto. (Willo was divided into multiple subdivisions). - FHA (Federal Housing Administration) policies and city zoning requirements of the mid 1930s spurred development previously halted by the Depression. (city building permits rose from 11 issued in 1933 to 495 in 1939!) - As opposed to the more diverse homes of the 1920s, more uniform houses with âœdesign and construction standards❠were being builtâ”modeled after the 2 demonstration houses (completed in 1936) that modeled âœultra modern dwellings achieved through FHA financing❠The model houses were called âœThe House of Romance❠(34 W Cambridge) and âœThe Home of Happiness❠(317 W Palm). The 3rd demonstration house was in Palmcroft. - New-builds were primarily French Provincial and Monterey/Spanish style (which evolved to Ranch style). - The 21-unit El Encanto Apartments (Central and Encanto) were being completed (the first multiple housing construction project in AZ using FHA loans). - Carports and garages became part of the design of many homes, as did the use of fireproof elements, as modeled by the Miracle House (on Lewis), a house sponsored by the Arizona State Firemanâ™s Association. - Some home-building was thwarted during 1939-1945 due to the unavailability of supplies because of WWII. Builders who had received supplies prior to the war resumed building; those who did not had to wait. - Streetcars ran along 5th avenue. The #3 line (Kenilworth) ran south from Encanto Blvd. along 5th Avenue, past the Kenilworth School, and terminated at 2nd Avenue station. - East-west streets were not paved. Sidewalks were poured South of Holly and were being poured on Wilshire (something to note: the north-south dates stamped into our sidewalks donâ™t go in perfectly chronological order!) - The median home price was $7,150. Lots were $650, and the average cost of building a home was $6500. - Willoites were just as proud of their âœnew❠house as their lucky predecessors are today! If you are interested in learning more about the birth of your home, visit the AZ room in the PHX library. There is a great section on historic neighborhoods and buildings, complete with copies of the home inventory taken in the 1980s that lists building details for most Willo properties!