ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY HISTORIC PROPERTIES  Tempe
Arizona State University was established in 1885 as a teachers college on twenty acres of a former cow pasture donated by local residences. It became Arizona State College in 1945 and Arizona State University in 1958. Throughout the twentieth century, the university’s life was symbiotic to the history of Tempe and the State of Arizona. This legacy is reflected in the varying styles of architecture located on and around the Tempe campus. In 2003, Ryden Architects conducted a study of historic preservation policy and procedures on ASU-owned historic properties. The results of this report in light of ASU’s recent demolition of a historic building are quite troubling. The Ryden report states that ASU is in disagreement with the Tempe Historic Preservation Commission and the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) as to the National Register of Historic Places eligibility of over a dozen historic buildings in their possession. Two of the buildings mentioned in the report have already been demolished. One, after a review by the SHPO found it to not have historic integrity and the other in flagrant violation of State preservation laws. With the precedence set for demolition of historic structures that the university does see as historic, whether lawfully or otherwise, the following properties on or adjacent to the Tempe campus are at risk (National Register properties astericked): Harrington/Birchett House (1895); Industrial Arts/Anthropology Building (1914)*; Matthews Hall (1925)*; Men's Gymnasium (1927); Charles H. Merritt House, 216 East 7th Street (1927); and Matthews Library (1930); Duplex House, 208-210 East 7th Street (1937); B.B. Moeur Activity Building (1939)*; Center for Family Studies (1939); Irish Hall (1940); Lyceum Theater (1940); West Hall (1940); Dixie Gammage Hall (1941); Science/Agriculture Building (1948).

BUCKHORN BATHS  Mesa
In 1939 Ted and Alice Sliger established the baths unknowing that their efforts to make a living of the natural mineral waters would help to establish the East Salt River Valley as a mecca for spring training. In 1947, the New York Giants made the Buckhorn Baths their spring training home and continued to do so for over twenty-five years. Willie Mays, Ty Cobb, Gaylord Perry, Leo Durocher and others were regulars at the Baths. The Sligers established a post office, bus stop, water hole, museum, and motel, which they operated for over sixty-five years. Also known as the Buckhorn Mineral Wells and Wildlife Museum, the latter moniker due to an immense taxidermy collection, the baths have been closed for years. Ted has passed away and Alice is a century old. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the location of the Buckhorn Baths makes it a prime target for development, and speculation is rampant that this part of Mesa and Arizona’s early history will soon be replaced by a Wal-Mart.

CAMP NACO  Naco
This adobe compound was constructed by the U.S. military between 1919 and 1923, as part of the War Department's Mexican Border Defense construction project -- a plan to build a 1,200-mile barrier along the border. After the camp closed, the Civilian Conservation Corps used the complex in the 1930s for staging projects in southeast Arizona. Over the next several decades, the property owners used the structures as rental housing. In 1990, VisionQuest purchased the property for a rehabilitation camp for wayward youth. The rezoning was denied and the camp has remained vacant ever since. VisionQuest donated the property to the Town of Huachuca City in 2006. By that time, the property had been heavily degraded due to neglect. Many of the adobe structures are eroded from exposure to the elements. The roof of one of the barracks has caved in, and other buildings merely ruins. In May 2006, arson destroyed four of the non-commissioned officer buildings and damaged the roof of a fifth. Presently, unchecked vegetation is threatening the foundation of buildings and increasing the danger of fire.

EMPIRE RANCH  Pima County
Located in the 42,000-acre Las Cienegas National Conservation Area and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Empire-Cienega Ranch traces its history to the 1870s, when a 160-acre quarter section homestead was purchased by Walter Vail and Herbert Hilsop. At the time, the ranch house was a four-room adobe, with a zaguan (breezeway) that passed between the rooms into the corral. By the turn of the century, the ranch covered almost a million acres and the house had grown to twenty-two rooms. The Vail family lived in the home through the 1920s. In 1928, Boice, Gates & Johnson, a large ranching enterprise, purchased several ranches including the Empire Ranch, where the Frank Boice family lived and became sole owners in 1951. The Boices ranched the property until the 1970s, though it was sold for development in the late 1960s. In 1988, the Bureau of Land Management acquired the property through a public-private land swap and designated the ranch lands as a natural conservation area, which it remains today. The Empire Ranch Foundation has worked for over a decade to preserve the ranch house and outbuildings, including emergency repairs and stabilization. This work was performed in expectation of BLM funds that were anticipated for the preservation, but have since become highly limited. Currently, there are a number of structural problems with the site: a wall of the ranch house (1871-1878) is in danger of collapse due to a sagging foundation; the foundation, flooring, and walls of the children's addition (1886) are unstable; the south lintel of the zaguan is sagging due to water damage; concrete is trapping moisture in the adobe walls and needs to be replaced with lime and plaster.

GLENDALE TRACT COMMUNITY CENTER  Glendale
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places and built in 1937 to function as a social hall, the Glendale Tract Community Center is a 1,900 square foot adobe structure located at 5027 West Waite Place in Glendale. The social hall (pictured at left) was built to serve the surrounding neighborhood -- a residential subdivision developed by the Resettlement Administration, a New Deal Agency. During the Great Depression, the Roosevelt Administration created the 24-home Glendale Tract subdivision as part of a plan to relocate displaced farmers and unemployed urban workers to planned, part-time subsistence farm projects where they could help themselves by growing their own crops. The current nationally recognized historic district consists of 13 of the original houses and the community center, all of which are a rare example of New Deal programs in Arizona, specifically in Glendale. The current owners want to redevelop the parcel, demolishing the community center and constructing eight-residential units. While the City of Glendale has rejected the initial plans for the site, it's only because the city will not allow more than five residential structures to be built. The owner needs eight residences to make their project viable, however, if they can make due with a smaller number of residences, there is little to stop the destruction of this rare, New Deal building.

HAVASU HOTEL  Seligman
Built in 1913, the Havasu Hotel is one of three remaining Fred Harvey hotels built in Arizona along the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad (now the Burlington Northern Santa Fe). La Posada in Winslow and the Fray Marcos in Williams have been restored, but the Havasu, located in the unincorporated town of Seligman, has remained long abandoned. While locals would like to see the hotel restored to its former glory, they've been unable to raise the necessary funds. Now the owners have decided to demolish this rare remnant of an earlier transportation era.

KERR CULTURAL CENTER  Scottsdale
The center was built by Louise Lincoln Kerr, the "Grand Lady of Arizona Music," in the 1950s as a home and studio. Kerr was instrumental in the development of a myriad of cultural organizations in Flagstaff and the Phoenix area and built the center from adobe dug at the site. The daughter of John C. Lincoln, who financed the Camelback Inn and the hospital that bears his name, Kerr bequeathed her home and the studio, which is a theatre that seats 250, as well as her manuscripts to Arizona State University. Once located out in the desert north of Scottsdale, the urban area surrounding the Kerr Cultural Center and adjacent properties has been developed into condominiums. This development has drastically driven up property values and recently there have been fewer acts booked at the center. A local grassroots organization, the Concerned Citizens for the Kerr Cultural Center, fears that the owners, ASU, may be approached to sell the property to developers.

KINGMAN MULTIPLE RESOURCES  Kingman
In 1986, the citizens of Kingman celebrated the announcement of a multitude of historic properties being added to the National Register of Historic Places. However, since that time, some of these properties have been subjected to abuses and neglect less than deserving of nationally recognized historic treasures. The local parish owns both the J. B. Wright House (1900) and the historic St. Mary's Church (1906), pictured at left. The former was listed on the Most Endangered Places List in 2005, but removed in 2006 when parish leadership assured APF that they intended to preserve the building. However, APF recently learned that church Pastor James Alling has changed his mind and decided that the site would be more beneficial to the church as a parking lot; likewise with the church. Both buildings have a long, incredible association with the history of Kingman that the parish has now decided to turn its back to. A third property in the Kingman MRA is also slated for the wrecking ball. The Mohave County Hospital was built in 1922. At the time of its National Register nomination, it was no longer a hospital, but instead was the county sheriff's annex. When the sheriff's office moved out, the property became derelict. Both the county and the city now want to tear down the building, though the city would like to salvage the facade. Neither is acceptable.

MAPLE ASH NEIGHBORHOOD  Tempe
Tempe's Maple Ash Neighborhood consists of three subdivisions in proximity to Arizona State University. In this area is the largest concentration of historic resources in the city. The Gage Addition, Park Tract, and College View subdivisions are significant as one of the oldest surviving neighborhoods in Tempe. The area is adjacent to downtown Tempe, Arizona State University, and Tempe St. Luke's Hospital, each of which have exerted pressure on the neighborhood at various times in the past. While the city historic preservation office and a majority of the homeowners in the neighborhood would like to have a historic district zoning overlay placed on the neighborhood, the property is zoned multi-family and many of the owners would prefer to develop their properties. Without some kind of control, local preservation advocates see the historic character of the neighborhood, and with it any potential National Register of Historic Places designation, in jeopardy. According to one homeowner, "In five years, there will be very little left."

MARIST COLLEGE  Tucson
The Marist College is a three-story structure built in 1915 by Manual Flores, a Tucson contractor. A component of the downtown precinct of the Diocese of Tucson, the school provided a Catholic education for boys from elementary school to high school sophomore year. It was an educational facility until 1968, when it became office space for the Diocese of Tucson. It has been vacant since 2002. The Marist College is threatened by structural destabilization caused by the collapse of two corners and the cracking of a third. Deterioration is due to water penetration that comes from leaks in the roof and from the scupper and downspout drainage system. A replastering three decades ago with a plasticized composite stucco (Tuff-Tex) has cracked and spalled, allowing water to penetrate the walls but preventing the adobe from drying. Emergency bracing has temporarily stabilized the building, but there is a clear and present danger of collapse if a permanent solution is not implemented.

OLD U.S. 80 BRIDGE (GILLESPIE DAM BRIDGE)  Arlington
Located on the Gila River below the community of Arlington and adjacent to the Gillespie Dam, the bridge, though obsolete, has been in continuous use for eighty years. The bridge went into service in 1927 as an all-weather crossing of the Gila River. As part of U.S. 80, the bridge was a component in the early transcontinental highway system. Listed on the National Register, the bridge possesses a high degree of integrity and provides a local transportation corridor for daily travel and during times of high water on the Gila River. It’s also the only suspension bridge in Maricopa County and one of very few in Arizona. The bridge is in danger of failure and catastrophic loss due to bent steel truss compression members, deficient roller bearings that distribute weight and adjust thermal stresses, and the potential of washout during a significant flood event. Action is needed to repair and restore the structure so it can continue to be used and appreciated for the future.

SAGE MEMORIAL HOSPITAL SCHOOL OF NURSING  Ganado
Ganado Mission was established in 1901 by the Presbytery of Arizona through the Board of Home Missions. A decade later, the board approved a 12-bed hospital at Ganado. This was the first non-governmental funded hospital on an Indian reservation in the U.S. Approximately 60 buildings were built before 1957, including: first manse, the first building on the site (1903) used as a residence, church, and school; Adobe West (1911), a dormitory built to accommodate boys and girls, a teacher's residence, a kitchen, pantry, and dining room; Dining Hall (1920) one of the oldest and largest two-story adobe structures in the U.S., and the largest adobe structure in Arizona; and Almira College (1929), the first public school in Apache County. The Sage Memorial Hospital School of Nursing was the nation's first accredited nursing training program for Native American women. Over the last three decades, drainage issues have detrimentally affected the foundations of some of the structures due to uncontrolled runoff and soil expansion. Unabated, the differential settlement may cause the foundations to shift and the structures to fail. The wiring in the buildings is outdated, and in some cases a hundred years old, creating potential fire hazards, and a water storage reservoir does not hold enough water for fire protection.

SAN YSIDRO RANCH RUINS  Yuma County
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1975, the San Ysidro Hacienda was the home of Jose Maria Redondo, an early Arizona pioneer. The ranch once contained over 2,000 acres, but subsequent to the death of Redondo in 1878, his family could not make a claim to more than 160 under American homestead laws; not enough land to support the hacienda's extensive agricultural operations and it quickly fell into ruin. The site once contained the adobe ruins of the main ranch house, a two-story mill, and rubble mounds; the original headquarters included a cane mill, numerous storehouses, workhouses, stables, carriage house, and harness house; and houses for approximately a hundred laborers' families built outside walled the headquarters. Named for the patron saint of agriculture, it was the first large non-Indian irrigated farm in Arizona with twenty-seven miles of canals and ditches bringing water from Gila River. While the National Register nomination kept the location of the ruins secret, recent urban development has encroached on the site and the ruins are now at risk. The property is currently owned by the Archaeological Conservancy, who are powerless to protect it.

SECOND PINAL COUNTY COURTHOUSE  Florence
On March 1, 1890, the Pinal County Board of Supervisors hired architect J.M. Creighton to design a second county courthouse that would represent their belief in future prosperity of the county through mining and agriculture. The following February, the courthouse was completed. Built in American-Victorian architecture and totaling 15,000 square feet the building housed the offices of the Board of Supervisors, the Recorder, the Treasurer, and the Assessor. The Sheriff’s Office and jail occupied the back end of the first floor. The clock tower was constructed, but there was not enough money to finance the installation of working clocks. So, clock facings were added, with the time set at 11:44. A new county structure was built in 1961 and many of the county offices moved into it. Later abandoned, the 1891 courthouse fell into disrepair. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the structure is desperate need of stabilization and repair. The roof leaks to the point of needing a water collection system on the second floor. Water damage is destroying the masonry, and millions of dollars will be necessary to bring the courthouse back to its former glory. However, the county does not have near the amount of money necessary to perform the work.

VALLEY NATIONAL BANK, 44TH STREET & CAMELBACK ROAD  Phoenix
Built in 1968, this unique structure and its park-like surroundings are situated in a high-profile, and therefore high-dollar location. One of bank CEO Walter Bimson's commissioned structures, the 44th Street and Camelback Road branch is a rare artistic, architectural form. The current owner, Chase Bank, and its developer, Opus West, have offered to preserve the bank structure while developing the rest of the property. The local neighborhood association and others are vehemently opposed to this idea. The latter contingent state that original owner, Valley National Bank, made promises to preserve the park-like setting around the bank and they will settle for no less. While this bank, and the few remaining that were commissioned by Bimson, qualifies for the National Register of Historic Places, it does not have a historic designation by the city and therefore the owner may decide to demolish it and develop the entire property.

WHITE GATES HOUSE  Phoenix
Perhaps the first design by architect Al Beadle, the White Gates House was probably influenced by the Farnsworth House, which was built by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in 1951. Previous owners gutted the interior and scraped the landscape from the property. Eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, the house now sits vacant and neighbors are complaining about the blight it is creating for the area. The homes in the neighborhood sell in the seven figures and the property is valuable for redevelopment. If action is not taken soon, the owner may be required by the city to demolish the house and sell the property.

ADAMSVILLE RUINS  Coolidge
Adamsville is a large Classic Hohokam habitation site, dating from AD 1100 to AD 1450, consisting of a platform, mound, at least one compound, a ball court, and 41 associated mounds of which some still have standing architecture. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it is located near the 19th century town for which it is named. It’s the second largest Hohokam housing area along the Canal Casa Grande, second only to the combined communities of Grewe and Casa Grande. The current size of the site is 155 acres of which 126 acres are proposed for addition to Casa Grande National Monument. The site is threatened by encroachment from commercial development and the State of Arizona is not able to provide adequate protection.

BASQUE PELOTA BALL COURT AND ASSOCIATED STRUCTURES  Flagstaff
Basque Pelota is a handball-like game played on the borders of Spain and France. When Basques immigrated to America in the 1800s, they brought their sport with them. Approximately two dozen Pelota ball courts exist in the United States. Of that, a dozen or so remain west of the Mississippi and only one remains in Arizona. Currently, there are issues over how the site can be and should be developed. Though the owners would like to preserve the property, their efforts at reuse on the site have been fraught with problems outside of their control.

DESERT LABORATORY ON TUMAMOC HILL  Tucson
In 1903 the Carnegie Foundation founded the Desert Laboratory on Tumamoc Hill. The 1,730-acre laboratory, the first facility of its kind devoted solely to arid lands research, has remained a permanent natural ecological preserve dedicated to studies of plants, animals, and environment of North American deserts. While there appears to be a long-term commitment on the part of the University of Arizona, City of Tucson, and State of Arizona to maintain the site as a green area and ecological research preserve, the most significant present issue is the continuing difficulty of getting the western 1/3 of the property transferred from the State Education Trust to the University.

FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH  Phoenix
This church was completed in 1930 to serve parishioners in central Phoenix before suburban expansion after World War II. The four-story building includes a roof-top garden, concrete and wood floors, diamond-patterned clerestory windows, Italian gothic motifs, three-pointed arch doorways, decorative cornices, stone columns, and a bell tower. While saved from demolition in 1992 from previous fire damage and despite the best intentions of its current owner, the building continues to lay dormant.

FISHER MEMORIAL HOME  Casa Grande
Built in 1927 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. When listed, it was considered an outstanding example of a Period Revival residential and commercial building executed in local material of uncoursed fieldstone construction. The house is currently in a significant state of disrepair. Some windows and doors are missing or damaged and the roof is leaking, which can cause structural damage.

GERONIMO STATION  Geronimo
Located between Safford and Globe on the westbound side of Interstate 70 is the small store, gas station, and four-casita motel (complete with carports between the units). Constructed of adobe in the 1930s and 40s to accommodate travelers heading west, it’s one of the few original buildings still standing in the state-registered historic town-site of Geronimo. The property is in poor condition and is deteriorating from neglect.

MEEHAN/GAAR HOUSE  Casa Grande
Built in 1903 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the house is an unusual example of the Colonial Revival influence executed in adobe. The house is significant for its association with two of Casa Grande's well-known citizens: (1) Tom J. Meehan who built the house and owned Gilt Edge Saloon and served on the Casa Grande Board of Trade and (2) Fanne Gaar who served on the City Council and was the first woman to be elected mayor of an Arizona city. The house is currently in a state of disrepair with deteriorating veranda, roofing, and adobe walls.

MESA GRANDE PLATFORM MOUND RUINS  Mesa
A sister mound to Pueblo Grande on the north side of the river, Mesa Grande is one of only two remaining Hohokam mounds in metro Phoenix. Just a little larger than a football field in both length and width and 27 feet tall at its highest point, the mound remains intact with very few excavations that have impacted its integrity. By putting the site into public ownership in the mid-1980s, Mesa was able to "preserve" the site, but the City has not funded any public facilities or property upgrades, with the exception of a new fence. Minor vandalism has occurred.

MOUNTAIN VIEW BLACK OFFICERS CLUB  Sierra Vista
High on a hill overlooking Fort Huachuca Army base in Sierra Vista sits a dilapidated building that once echoed with the sublime song stylings of Lena Horne during World War II. She came to entertain the black troops at the Mountain View Black Officers Club, built in 1942 by the then-segregated Army for its growing number of black soldiers. A plan to preserve that building and turn it into a black military research center is on the drawing board, but an estimated $3 million is needed to save and convert the club.

PETER T. ROBERTSON RESIDENCE  Yuma
A 1905 brick cottage with Neo-Classical influence listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Peter T. Robinson was a prominent local attorney, active in community affairs. The house is vacant and is broken into regularly. The roof is open to the sky, the floor is caving in, and a small fire destroyed the eastern portico and some of the roof over the kitchen.

SOUTHERN PACIFIC RAILROAD DEPOT  Casa Grande
Built in 1939 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the depot is a rare example of Pueblo/Deco architecture. It's one of only a few surviving railroad depots using Pueblo style architecture with Art Deco features. The building has been listed previously on APF’s Most Endangered Places List. The building is still owned by Union Pacific Railroad and sits in their right-of-way. The City has been attempting to purchase the property or get the railroad's permission on applying for grants to stabilize the structure for several years.

SUN MERCANTILE BUILDING  Phoenix
Designed by E.W. Bacon and constructed by Wells & Son, the 1929 Sun Mercantile Building is the first and only known warehouse built and owned by a Chinese-born businessman in Phoenix (Tang Shing). It is the last remaining building of the city’s second Chinatown. Developers of a hotel and condominium project want to insert an 11-story tower inside the walls of this city-owned structure, listed on both the National Register of Historic Places and Phoenix Historic Property Register. After the Phoenix City Council's unanimous vote on December 14, 2005 to allow the "facadomy," the Save Sun Merc Coalition, Arizona Preservation Foundation, and 12 other groups filed an appeal in Maricopa County Superior Court.