Occasionally researchers discover new information about a person or building. Sometimes that happens as material is digitized and more readily available and other times when someone finds a hidden cache of stuff “hidden” in an old trunk in some attic.
But for the Barbara Jean Apartments quietly standing on East Portland Street in what is now Evans-Churchill neighborhood, this researcher had to muddle through old documents, deeds, surveys and newspaper articles to undercover its parentage. And you may ask, who cares? The trouble is we historians do care about verifying accepted information, so the record is accurate because eradicating misinformation is extremely difficult.
Eighteen years ago, the Phoenix Historic Preservation Office requested placing historic overlay on eight properties located in the Evans-Churchill Area including the Barbara Jean Apartments. For those not familiar, this is bounded by McDowell Road on the north, Van Buren Street on the south, Seventh Street on the east and Central Avenue on the west. And this writer was on the Phoenix Historic Preservation Commission at the time.
In those subsequent 18 years, digitization of materials has made a difference in verifying the information that originally dated from several surveys done in the early 1980s. Thus, when a friend asked about this property, I delved into its history and can now reveal new information.
Constructed in circa 1927, one of the first ads for renting one of four apartments appeared in the Arizona Republican in September 1928. The 1928 city directory actually showed that at least two of the units had been rented. One occupant was James P. Whelan, a lumberman.
For some odd reason, one 1980s survey called this small two-story apartment complex, the James Whelan Apartments. Yet, no such name appears in the newspapers nor was any deed of purchase found in Whelan’s name. Even the 1930 census indicates that Whelan was a renter. But still the hint that he was the owner persisted. Besides, who was Barbara Jean? Whelan’s wife’s name was Ida.
But what struck me was odd, was why would a man who worked in the lumber business build something like the Barbara Jean Apartments? You see, this was not your typical wood frame building nor even a brick building. Rather the Spanish Colonial Revival style building was concrete block covered with stucco. That was a puzzler. Still, it is a lovely, well-designed building even if we have no idea the names of the architect, builder or owner.
Digging deeper, I discovered that the original lot where the Barbara Jean Apartments are located was huge. However, tracking down when the lot may have been subdivided was not fruitful. Still the original owner of the large lot was part of the real estate company, Greene & Griffith, which sold many of the lots in this subdivision. Did Griffith decide to build those “modern” apartments? Perhaps, someday that mystery may be solved.
Now that you know a bit more about this particular building, it’s time to explore the neighborhood.
Donna Reiner is the co-author of three books on Phoenix history.
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