Medlock Place Historic District

The Medlock Place Historic District is a residential neighborhood in Central Phoenix that developed predominantly between 1926 and 1956. It is ideally located near Camelback Rd between Central Ave and 7th Ave in Central Phoenix. Residents here has access to some of the best shopping in the central corridor from places like the newly revitalized Uptown Plaza, the Melrose District along 7th Ave, and the Arizona Biltmore Fashion Park. It is also walking distance to some of the best uptown restaurants like Windsor, Postino, Federal Pizza, and Joyride. Despite being in the middle of the metropolises, this neighborhood has a small town, main street kind of vibe to it, which make it very popular among those seeking to live in Central Phoenix. One distinct feature of this neighborhood is the prevalence of large lots, some up to two acres in size.

The neighborhood includes parts of six distinct subdivisions, platted between 1897 and 1938. While there are other styles represented, homes in the district primarily represent two eras: the latter part of the Period Revival era, 1926-1930, and the early Ranch era, 1935-1956.

At the time of its development, this area was considered to be rural, dominated by fruit orchards and fields with a few farmhouses. The history of development of the neighborhood can still be discerned from the homes and lots themselves. The first major plats were the Medlock Place (1926) and South Medlock (1927) subdivisions, at the south end of the district near Central Avenue, and include lots along Colter Street, Medlock Drive, and Pasadena Avenue, from Third Avenue to Central Avenue. These two subdivisions feature large, half-acre lots. As most of the lots were developed before the Great Depression, most homes in these areas are examples of the English Tudor Revival, Spanish Colonial Revival, or late Bungalow styles.

Soon after the Medlock subdivisions began development, the Orangewood Estates subdivision (1928) was platted at the northwest corner of the neighborhood, bounded by Missouri Avenue on the north, Seventh Street on the west, Colter Street on the south, and extending a little east of Third Avenue. The plat for Orangewood Estates included 16 one and two acre lots. The Orangewood Estates subdivision saw little development, however, until after World War II. Most of these lots were developed with Transitional and Early Ranch style houses after 1935, and mostly after the war.

Two additional subdivisions of the Medlock District were platted between the Medlock and Orangewood additions just before the war; South Orangewood (1937) and Aldrich Place (1939). They are mostly populated by Transitional and Early Ranch style homes.