Cheery Lynn Historic District Phoenix

Cheery Lynn Historic District Phoenix
16th St. to Randolph Rd. and Earll Dr. to Flower St. Phoenix

"You will find the tract on the west side of Sixteenth Street one and one-quarter miles north of McDowell Road. Just three miles north of the post office, in walking distance from golf links and Country club. There are two model homes on the tract, awaiting your inspection beautiful homes. There is an abundance of good water. The lots have a 60-foot frontage and can be bought for easy terms. Watch for the opening announcement!
DRIVE OUT TO CHEERY LYNN TODAY"

And drive they did- in Studebakers, Packard's, and Nash's. The year was 1928, Hoover won the White House, Earhart flew across the Atlantic, and Phoenix was in the midst of a building boom. The Cheery Lynn subdivision was one of several new neighborhoods brought to market. Its call to buyers drive out today heralded a new phase in the physical expansion of the growing city.

Laying the foundation
Two generation earlier, in 1867, Phoenix was born as a dusty supply outpost serving Camp McDowell to the northeast. Inspired by the traces of ancient Hohokam canals, speculators sensed
the potential for a fertile Salt River Valley. The canals were reconstructed, irrigation spawned agriculture, and settlers began to arrive. By 1870, a township had been planned and platted in square mile grids just north of the Salt River flood plain.

As the population grew, the lands to the south were devoted to agriculture, and the town expanded
north toward its only natural boundary, the Cave Creek ash. Selected as the territorial capital in 1889, the city added the business of government to its economic mix. By the turn of the century, Phoenix had developed into a small but flourishing urban center. The production of cotton and citrus fueled growth in the commerce of marketing and distribution. The majority of Phoenix land now was controlled by a small number of speculators anticipating agricultural and residential development.

Though the rejuvenated canals brought life giving water to the Valley, stable growth required more
than the seasonal flows the Salt River could provide. Landowners pressed for governmental action on water control projects of a massive scale. Their efforts were rewarded with the passage of the National Reclamation Act of 1902. The Act enabled legislation that led to construction of Roosevelt Dam in 1911, ensuing a stable supply of water for the Valley.

With the granting of statehood in 1912, the elements were now in place for an explosion of growth.
The population of Phoenix doubled during each of the first three decades of the 20th century. In 1923, construction of the Cave Creek Dam stemmed persistent floods of water, spawning new construction along the city's north-west side. The northward march continued, and growth and technology soon would couple to change the face of Phoenix

On the road to the Biltmore
From its origins in 1887, the Phoenix Street Railway Company was the main transportation system
for the city, early track lines radiated from downtown north to the Phoenix Indian School and north west to the State Fairgrounds. Subsequent lines paralleled Central Avenue north along second and Fifth avenues, providing transportation to the emerging "suburbs. "The correlation of streetcar lines and subdivisions was not a chance occurrence. The proximity of transportation was key to the promotion of residential developments. Eager to enhance their property values, real estate owners and investors financed the construction of extensions to the major lines. By the late 20s, however, the automobile was beginning to influence the location of new neighborhoods.The dependence on the streetcar was over.


Information, maps and photographs provided courtesy:
Historic Preservation Office of the City of Phoenix Neighborhood Services Department
200 West Washington Street
Phoenix, Arizona 85003
(602) 261-8600

http://www.historiccentralphoenix.com/cheery-lynn-historic-district-phoenix.html