915 E Pierce St
Phoenix, AZ 85006, USA

Grand Pyramid Cottage in Garfield Historic District

Admire the numerous works by local artists, many of them for sale, in this 1907 house. It's on the National Historic Register and is the oldest edifice of its kind in the Southwest. Tall ceilings and large windows provide beautiful light throughout. Lush desert gardens in both the front and back of the home offer many areas to unwind in nature while being in the heart of the City. The interiors of this unique home are designed by Kaiserworks, a small design studio occupying the attic of this home. The studio has separate access + entry, insuring full separation + 100% privacy for guests.

From the Arizona Room | 915 E. Pierce St. — Grand Pyramid House

From the Arizona Room | 915 E. Pierce St. — Grand Pyramid House written by Si Robins

915 E. Pierce St., Garfield Historic District

The 1910s saw the central streets of today’s Garfield Historic District boom, fueled by the extension of a neighborhood streetcar system that cut through Pierce Street (known as Desert Street at the time of plotting) from 7th Street to a stop at 10th Street.

Neighboring McKinley, Fillmore and Taylor streets all experienced a surge in development as the line extension neared completion, but no street was as architecturally significant as Pierce, where a new breed of pyramidal cottages — compact, square-shaped homes with angular roofs — began to sprout up. By 1910, nearly 20 pyramidal cottages spanned Pierce from 7th to 9th streets. Expansion crept one block east to 10th street for the next five or so years.

One such exception to the quaint size of homes in this row is the Grand Pyramid House, a roomy Colonial Revival that ignored the typically modest fashion of the time. Built c. 1900, it was one of the pioneers of this soon bustling neighborhood intersection. Its defining characteristic today is its fire-engine red front door located off of a welcoming porch covered by a wide eave overhang. Inside, original wood floors remain, hearkening a time when this was one of the most popular sections of Phoenix.

The house was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002 before a slick remodeling a few years ago. Amazing what a few touch-ups will do!

Sources: Arizona State Historic Property Inventory; National Register of Historic Places.

National Register of Historic Places - Statement of Significance

SECTION 8 - STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE

The house at 915 East Pierce Street is an excellent and well-preserved example of the once-common pyramid cottage. The architectural style is that of the late Victorian Era, under the general classification of Colonial Revival. This style of architecture is loosely referred to as a transitional style, falling between the more ornate Victorian designs and the new bungalow styles that became popular at the beginning of the 20th Century. The pyramid cottage is thought to be the direct predecessor of the Classical Bungalow - particularly the 'hip-roof bungalow'. What makes this house particularly significant is that it is unique among the few remaining pyramid cottages in downtown Phoenix because of its larger size, the presence of a full second story, and its current condition. The house at 915 East Pierce Street is being nominated to the National Register of Historic Places under Criteria C for the significance of its architecture.

Regarding size, 915 E. Pierce is larger than other pyramid cottages remaining in the downtown Phoenix area. While at first glance there are many structural similarities, it is only the proportions of the significant architectural features that are similar; the actual scale of the subject property is grander in both scope and size. The house appears larger in person because the exterior structure and interior rooms are indeed larger that those found in the typical pyramid cottage. This significant difference is not apparent from a photograph because proportions of structural elements are similar. Main rooms on the lower level are large and expansive, with 12-foot ceilings and oversized 8-foot double-hung windows. The main three front rooms average 15.5 X 14.25 feet, including an entry room, a parlor or front bedroom and a large dining room. The overall effect is not one of a 'cottage' but of something grander and more impressive, especially with the large, wood-framed, square archway between the main entry room and the dining room (measuring 8.5 feet high by 7.75 feet wide). There are eight rooms on the first floor. Square footage, including the enclosed back porch area (now subdivided into three interior rooms), is approximately 1500 on the first floor alone. With the fully finished second floor (the interior was finished in 1993 with drywall; the wood flooring upstairs was left original), the total square footage for the house comes in just under 2400.

The presence of a full and livable second floor also makes 915 E. Pierce Street unique among pyramid cottages. The second floor contains approximately 900 square feet of livable space. Second story dormers are full size and contain double-hung wooden windows, whereas in other homes of this style (such as The Teeter House in Heritage Square - downtown Phoenix), dormers are smaller with smaller windows or ventilators and a lower, wider angle roof line, all of which are indicative of a low-ceiling attic for storage instead of a full second story. The four dormer windows at 915 E. Pierce (2 front, 2 rear) measure approximately 53 inches (5 feet) by 29 inches wide each. The roofline is also not fully pyramidal in shape. The roof rises at steeper angles on all sides of the house and flattens out to a horizontal line in the center, providing maximum livable interior space on the second floor for this style of house. In effect, the top of this 'potentially tall pyramid' is 'cut off before reaching full height, which keeps the roofline in better proportion design-wise to the rest of the structure.

The present condition of the house is also notable. The structure was largely restored in the early 1990s. The structure is intact and in original condition (except for the rear facade which was given new siding with the restoration, a new asphalt composition roof, and concrete railing added to the front porch). The railing is scheduled for removal shortly. The condition of the subject property is noteworthy, given the condition of many other pyramid cottages in the downtown core, particularly those found in the present day Garfield area.

The house is located on Lot 13, Block 7 of the Mount Pleasant Tract of the Dennis Addition to the-city of Phoenix, according to Book 2 of Maps, page 9, records of Maricopa County, Arizona. According to early tract book records, lots 12, 13 and 14 were packaged together. The Dennis Addition was originally platted in 1883. It is important to note that the Dennis Addition is known as the first suburb to the original township of Phoenix. The Mount Pleasant Tract of the Dennis Addition was officially dedicated in 1891 by E. Pennoyer and Frances L. Cole. According to the tract book, in 1899 Frances Cole sold Block 7 of the Mt. Pleasant Tract to Sarah Burtis. Sarah Burtis then sold Block 7 to George D. Burtis in 1904; George Burtis took a mortgage from Phoenix Building and Loan Association in 1904 for lots 4, 5, and 6 and lots 11, 12, and 13. George Burtis satisfied the mortgage from Phoenix Building and Loan in 1907 for lots 12, 13, and 14. He then took a mortgage from Lena Steineggar in 1907 for lots 12,13, and 14. Since the address appears in the 1908 city directory as 915 E. Pierce Street (Lot 13) the loan was likely taken to help finance the construction of the house. The city directories for 1908 and 1909 show a single man, a bank teller (R. B. Shupp of Phoenix National Bank), residing at 915 E. Pierce Street. The 1911 Sanborn map shows the house located at 915 E. Pierce with only one other house on the street. The next occupant was not listed until 1916, at which time M. J. Burns and family occupied the house. Mr. Burns was listed as a banker for Valley Bank (which later became Valley National Bank) at the time. The house was occupied from 1916 to 1919 by Burns and his family.

The house appears to be the first structure built on the south side of the 900 block of East Pierce Street. It is present on the 1911 Sanborn Map. Unfortunately, the previous edition of the Sanborn Map (1901) does not show the Dennis Addition in any detail, making it impossible to locate a specific structure in the area at that time. However, it is apparent from city directories that the Dennis Addition and specifically what is now Pierce Street, contained houses as early as 1895. Verification of the construction date and original owner(s) of 915 E. Pierce Street proved to be difficult due to street name changes and inconsistencies in directories. What is clear is that the house stood alone on the 900 block of Pierce Street (1911 Sanborn Map); that the area that it was built in was one of the earliest areas to be developed in the Garfield District; and that the house was probably one of the earliest homes built in the entire area, or at least has qualified as one of the oldest remaining structures in the area. It may be that 915 East Pierce Street is one of a few, intact, turn-of-the-century residences remaining in the core downtown Phoenix area. The house is now a stable anchor in a very problematic historic area, as well as a source of identity and pride for the Dennis Addition and the entire Garfield Neighborhood. It is for these reasons, that the house is listed as the "main building of the district" in the Garfield Neighborhood Historic Resource Survey completed by the city of Phoenix in 1994 (See the Historic Property Inventory Form describing the house in this Section of the Registration Materials).

Under Section 1 at the beginning of the registration form, the other names/site number is listed as "915 East Pierce Street; Grand Pyramid House (preferred)". The reason for the preferred name of "Grand Pyramid House" is because the structure appears to be the largest and grandest remaining example of the pyramid cottage style of architecture in the downtown area. The house deserves this sort of special designation because of its architectural significance to the city of Phoenix and its symbolic importance to the Garfield District, in which it currently resides.

National Register of Historic Places - Description

SECTION 7 - DESCRIPTION

SUMMARY
The structure at 915 E. Pierce Street, hereinafter referred to as "the house", is now a private single-family residence. The house was constructed circa 1907 and designed in the Colonial Revival style. This late Victorian Era home is a
two-story brick building distinguished by a pyramidal-type roof. The house is a custom adaptation of a local architectural theme, known as the pyramid cottage. The house is unique among pyramid cottages however, in that it is larger and grander in scale than other remaining pyramid cottages in the downtown Phoenix area and is a full two stories. Pyramid cottages were typically one story with an attic and were relatively modest in scope and size. The house is located in the historic Dennis Addition of what is currently known as "The Garfield District".

DESIGN CHARACTERISTICS AND CONSTRUCTION DETAILS
The design characteristics that the subject property shares with typical pyramid cottages of the period are: (1) a curving 'belcast' hip roof with a central dormer; (2) a recessed entryway; (3) an offset front porch with a single, classical-column; (4) applied ornaments including a detailed, corbelled brick architrave at the facade of the front arched window and segmentally-arched, chipped brick trim over door and window openings, and (5) double-hung windows. The roof of the house is unique to the pyramid cottage style of architecture because it does not come to a point in the center of the front facade. Instead, the roofline rises at steeper angles on all sides of the house and flattens out to a horizontal line in the center, providing maximum livable interior space on the second floor for this style of house. In effect, the top of this 'potentially tall pyramid' is 'cut off before reaching full height, which keeps the roofline in better proportion design-wise to the rest of the structure. The central dormers in the roof are also larger than in other pyramid cottages. The dormers contain full-size (two 53-inch X 29-inch windows per dormer), double-hung wooden windows, allowing standing room inside the dormers on the second floor. There is approximately 900 square feet of livable space on the second story. All other remaining pyramid cottages in the surrounding area and downtown core appear to be single-story with small attic or ventilation areas above the first floor. For a visual comparison of this difference, see the photograph and drawing of a typical pyramid cottage on Page 5 of Section 7 and compare those to the photograph of the subject property on Page 3, Section 8 and the photographs of the front elevation of the house (Photographs 8,9, and 10), as listed in Section 11, Page 1. The house originally had two narrow brick chimneys connected to wood burning stoves on either side. The eastern chimney was removed when the second story was remodeled during restoration in the early 1990's. All bricks are embossed with raised edges and large, raised initials in the center of the top surface. The initials are "W.B.C.", which presumably stand for "Western Brick Company". The front and side windows of the brick structure all have brick windowsills. Originally, on the south side of the structure facing the back yard, there was a sleeping porch.

Apparently, the porch was framed in around 1914, according to a date found in the old exterior wall during restoration. It was at that time that a kitchen appears to have been added to the framed-in area, in what once was the back sleeping porch. Windows in the original brick portion of the structure are all oversized, measuring 8 feet in height, excluding upper and lower trim. The wooden windows are double hung, with the lower window sliding up and down on rope sashes attached to a pulley and weight system inside the side trim.

The house now stands on a single 50 X 137-foot lot in the middle of the 900 block of what is currently East Pierce Street. Street names changed in 1906. The house was originally on Desert Street, between Arizona and Alta Streets in the Dennis Addition to the original Phoenix Township (platted in 1883).

The house was constructed prior to widespread automobile use. There is and apparently never has been a garage on the property, nor is there room between the house and side lot boundaries for an adequately wide driveway. According to the 1911 Sanborn Fire Map, a separate, smaller structure existed at the very rear of the property, immediately off of the rear alley. This may have been a carriage house (as was the custom before automobiles were commonplace) or some sort of exterior restroom. If it were an 'outhouse' , it is doubtful that it would have been located inconveniently at the very rear of the lot.

The property was resurveyed in 1998. The house is simply too big for the lot, unlike smaller neighboring homes that were built in the 1910s and 1920s, which allow for side driveways and/or detached garages in the back. Other characteristics of note are that the house had no original closets or cabinets, other than a small closet under the stairs in the front parlor. The construction crew that performed most of the original rehabilitation work in the early 1990s also could find no sign of original plumbing in the house. It was apparent that the old plumbing that was present was added after initial construction. Likewise, electricity appears to have been a later addition to the original house. The holes for the wiring were not made with the same quality of craftsmanship evident elsewhere in the original house, nor were there any electrical light fixtures or outlets that fit in with the design period or architectural style of the original house. There were no electrical receptacles found in the original house. Also of note is that the original wood flooring found throughout the first and second stories of the house is Douglas fir. Apparently, oak replaced Douglas fir as the most popular flooring material in Phoenix after the turn of the century. The height (9 inches) and style (corniced, with ornate Victorian corner beads) of the wooden baseboards are decidedly Victorian. Likewise, the window and door trim moldings are ornate with corniced wood surrounds and a complex dentil design on the top. Interior doors are 5-panel Douglas fir. Door hardware consists of ornate, Victorian copper plates and knobs.

The size and scope of the house at 915 E. Pierce Street are what sets it apart from the rest of the neighborhood. Inside, the main rooms are expansive with 12-foot ceilings. All walls are double brick, the interiors of which are covered with plaster. Main rooms in the house average 15.5 X 14.25 feet in size. The formal dining room is large enough to seat 10 to 12. Oversized windows bathe these rooms in morning and afternoon sunlight. The first floor consists of a front entry or living room off of the front porch. This room appears to have been a parlor or front bedroom. There is a smaller room to the back of this room that is now a large, full bathroom. Behind these two rooms is another room that is now a kitchen. Behind the kitchen (on the west side) and the dining room (on the east side) is the enclosed rear portion of the house (which was once the back sleeping porch). This space has been divided into a family room or bedroom behind the dining room, and a separate 1/2 bath and utility room with access to the back yard, behind the current kitchen. Both front doors to the house are original. They appear to be two-panel with dentil molding on the exterior above the center glass panels. Both doors are Victorian in design and are quite ornate. One door still has the original beveled glass. The total square footage for the lower level is approximately 1500. Stairs leading to the upper level are off of the current kitchen. The upper level consists of a full bathroom (under construction), a closet, and a huge main room. Square footage for the second story is approximately 900. Total livable square footage for the house comes in just under 2400.