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Scottsdale is fortunate to have several intact historic buildings that represent the early development of the community. Scottsdale's initial settlement was influenced by a favorable climate, irrigated desert location and beautiful scenery. The early town functioned primarily to serve the agricultural pursuits of the first settlers. The seven buildings featured below illustrate the traditional pattern of community development through their locations, early uses, architectural styles and construction. Collectively, these buildings illustrate the Early Town Building period in Scottsdale's history from 1908-1933. The early town was a small agricultural settlement in the 1910's and 1920's and the downtown buildings on the register are typical of those found in most small towns.

Early town buildings on the register include a bank, a post office, two schools, two stores, one church and one industrial use. All but one of these properties are within what is now called the Old Town area of the downtown, located along or near Main Street and Brown Avenue. The City also has a flyer available on these seven Early Town Buildings.

Early Town Buildings

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Cavalliere's Blacksmith Shop  (pdf/78 kb/2 pp)     3805 North Brown Avenue Date of construction: 1920 Date placed on Register: May 23, 2000 by Resolution No. 5550
George Cavalliere opened a blacksmith shop in 1910 on the "edge of town".  He replaced the original tin building with the existing adobe shop in 1920. This building is Mission Revival style and still operates as blacksmith shop today.
Farmer's State Bank of Scottsdale (Rusty Spur)   (pdf/90 kb/2 pp)      7245 East Main Street Date of construction: 1921 Date placed on Register: May 23, 2000 by Resolution No. 5550
Farmer's State Bank opened in 1921 as Scottsdale's first bank.  The rectangular brick facade has three window bays with decorative brick corbelling.  It closed during the depression, never to reopen as a bank.
First U.S. Post Office Building (Porter's Western Store)  (pdf/78 kb/2 pp) 3944 North Brown Avenue Date of construction: 1929 Date placed on Register: May 23, 2000 by Resolution No. 5550 Scottsdale's first full time post office served as a gathering place for residents awaiting daily mail from Phoenix.  The simple historic two-story brick construction is typical of public buildings of this period.  Postal operations continued on the lower level until 1949.
Johnny Rose's Pool Hall (Mexican Imports)  (pdf/74 kb/2 pp) 3033 North Brown Avenue Date of construction: 1923 Date placed on Register: October 3, 2000 by Resolution No. 3341, 22-ZN-2000
This building was constructed for silent movies and billiards in 1923.  Johnny Rose used a distinct white glazed brick for the construction to set the building apart from other commercial buildings.  The building illustrates the pattern of commercial development in a growing town.
Our Lady of Perpetual Help Mission Church   (pdf/98 kb/2 pp) 3821 North Brown Avenue Date of construction: 1933 Date placed on Register: April 3, 2001 by Resolution No. 3374, 1-ZN-2001
This church is one of the most notable structures architecturally within the downtown.  It was completed in 1933 and was built through the volunteer labor of primarily Hispanic parishioners.  This modest Spanish Colonial Revival style place of worship was constructed with thick adobe walls, a prominent bell tower, arched openings and stained glass windows.
Scottsdale Grammar School (Little Red School House) (pdf/95 kb/2 pp) 7333 Scottsdale Mall Date of construction: 1909 Date placed on Register:  May 23, 2000 by Resolution No. 5550
Scottsdale Grammar School, now known as the Little Red Schoolhouse, was built as the first permanent school in Scottsdale with classrooms for grades one through eight.  The building has architectural features reminiscent of both Victorian Cottages and Bungalows.   It served as the school for local Hispanic children between 1928 and the 1940's, after the second elementary school opened.  The school is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Scottsdale Grammar School #2 (Loloma School)   (pdf/94 kb/2 pp)  3720 Marshall Way Date of construction: 1928 Date placed on Register: May 23, 2000 by Resolution No. 5550
During the 1920's, Scottsdale's population more than doubled and the need for a new school became apparent.  Architects designed this one-story Spanish Colonial Revival style building with eight classrooms, smooth stucco walls, and a tile roof.  Now known as Loloma School, the main building and the entry faces diagonally towards the corner and classroom wings project from the main building, running parallel to the streets.
Titus House   (pdf/92 kb/2 pp)      1319 North Hayden Road Date of construction: 1892 Date placed on Register: May 1, 2001 by Resolution No. 5776
The Titus House is the only remaining Victorian residence in Scottsdale. It represents the beginning of the Art Colony and Tourist Destination context theme in the late nineteenth century. The design is the work of an important Arizona architect of the period, James Miller Creighton. The property's location, about three miles from the town center, illustrates the pattern of development for the Scottsdale settlement from its agricultural roots to a large diversified city more than a century later. It is an excellent example of local Victorian architecture. Frank Titus, a wealthy railroad investor, had a citrus farm and horse-breeding ranch on his original 160-acre property. The house is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.