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Windsor Square: An Historic Narrative Part 3 One of the first homes to be built, as lots became available in the late '30s, was the Christy residence (250 E. Medlock), an adobe brick territorial style house. Early photographs show two homes north of it, on what is now the south side of Orange Drive, as well as the home at 248 E. Orange, which was one of the models advertised in 1929. Another noteworthy home built during this period was the Lutfy residence, at what is now 5050 N. 2nd Street. Ads for lots began to appear with regularity during early 1939, and then news stories began to appear describing the rapid development of the tract, as well as specific homes being built. Agents for the development were Frank Mosshamer and Peter Block. At this time, a number of homes on Orange were designed and constructed by the contracting firm of Wilkinson and Conger. In February 1940, a classified ad appeared for a home on Colter Street, built by William Rasmussen. Rasmussen went on to build a considerable number of homes on Colter, as well as in the adjacent subdivision to the north, Lamson Part 1. Throughout 1940, classified ads and feature stories about homes in Windsor Square appeared frequently in the Arizona Republic, along with numerous ads for FHA housing. The number of ads and articles declined noticeably in 1941, and by 1942, new construction in Windsor Square came to a standstill because of World War II. At the close of the war, veterans were the target of real estate advertising, as institutions and builders competed for the returning GIs' business. At last, the infill of Windsor Square was completed. Windsor Square is a neighborhood whose development was interrupted by the forces of history. The subdivision was conceived during a burst of building activity in Phoenix in the late 1920s, only to be brought to a halt by the Crash of 1929 and the subsequent depression into which the country plunged. As FHA financing became available to help bring back the nation's economy, Windsor Square emerged from a long legal battle to begin a new round of building. Once again, history intervened, and World War II stopped all building in Phoenix. Windsor Square languished until returning GIs created another building boom in Phoenix, and Windsor Square at last became a completed subdivision. While the magnificence envisioned by the original developers never truly came to be, there has always been a kernel of their dream alive in residents of Windsor Square. Those who seek historic designation for Windsor Square hope to see it flourish in the manner first intended in the 1920s. |