Windsor Square Historic District

Windsor Square Historic District, with its curvilinear avenues, and its lushy landscaped streetscapes, is one of the most beautiful places to call home in Central Phoenix. It is ideally located near Camelback Rd between Central Ave and 7th St 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 (the namesake), 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.

The district is made up of three original subdivisions originally platted in 1913, 1929, and 1944 so there is a diversity when it comes to the types of homes constructed within the district; however, they do share commonalities in architecture and streetscapes which makes it one cohesive historical district.

Windsor Square was north of the city limits during the housing boom of the 1920s. Its prime location north of downtown and its upscale design were intended to appeal to those seeking a higher quality home with a separate, suburban feel different from the townsite to the south. Constructed during the periods of the City Beautiful and Garden City movements, it featured flood irrigation, sidewalks, and ornamental street lighting.

Despite the high press and publicity during initial development years, only 6 homes had been constructed prior to the stock market crash of 1929 in addition to homes that were part of the original Latham subdivision built earlier in 1913. The period following the Great Depression saw a great change in the way homes were built. The New Deal and Federal Housing Authority regulation and standards had a great deal to do with this. Much of the land remained dormant until the late 1940s. This was the period of greatest building activity in the Windsor Square Historic District, and therefore the reason that it is most common to find the Ranch style of architecture predominant in Windsor Square. 178 of the 260 homes in Windsor Square fit the Ranch style of architecture. With that said, you can still find other Period Revival styles in the neighborhood, such as Spanish Colonial, Pueblo, English Tudor, French Provincial.