Diaz House, 483 South Convent Avenue, Tucson

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS ARIZ,10-TUCSO,30/15-. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

This Mission Revival style dwelling with enclosed front porch adds a distinctive flavor to-, this portion of South Convent Avenue. Built about twenty years later than the row of Transicional Sonoran dwellings to the north of it, the structure displays the design standards in vogue during the and Standing detached from both its neighbors, the main portion of the house is also set back farther from the street than any of the structures to the north; however, the enclosed front porcii and a low adobe garden wall extend- ing from it bring the house visually forward to the street. PART I. HISTORICAL INFORMATION A. Physical History: 1. Date of erection: ca. 2. Architect: None known. 3- Original and subsequent owners: See chain of title below. Block Lot 11, arb . . .

Deed, January 5, recorded in Volume 65, page 18. Theodore and India Fitcn to Ramon Soto. Deed, November 8, recorded in V-lume 80, page Ramon and Rita C. de Soto to Rita Y. de Diaz(north part). Deed, March 17, recorded in Volume page Robert Soto et al to Marie C. de Soto (south part). Deed, April 13, recorded in Volume page 77. Malaquio and Rita Y. Diaz to Ramon Montafio (north part). Deed, January 16, recorded in Volume County Treasurer to Atlantic Municipal Corp. (north part) # DIAZ HOUSE, U83 SOUTH' CONVENT AVENUE HABS No. AZ-T3-15 (Page 2) I9U9 Deed, June 28, recorded in Volume page Antonio S. Lopez to Mercedes V. L6pez (north part). k. Builder: Melaquio Diaz. 5.

Additions and alterations: This odd-shaped adobe house replaced a smaller one that was located on the lot between and The enclosed front porch was added after "by present owner. B. Historical Persons and Events Connected with the Structure: Melaquio Diaz and his wife Rita were the builders and first occupants of this residence. Diaz was an employee of the Southern Pacific Rail- road Dompany. His family occupied the house until the early Ramon Montano, a salesman for a wholesale grocery company, and his wife, Enedina, purchased the property in and have occupied it to the present time. Two unrelated Montano families have been associ- ated with this block of South Convent Avenue.

Ramon Montano was the son of Leonides Montano who lived in a house at the corner of South Convent Avenue and West Street that has since been demolished. PART II. ARCHITECTURAL INFORMATION (See Significance, above, and Barrio Libre (Barrio Historico) (HABS No. AZ-73) for site plan and historical background essay.) PART III. SOURCES OF INFORMATION Sanborn Fire Insurance Company maps: Tract Books, Pioneer National Title Insurance Co. (Microfilm, Recorder's records) Tucson City Directories, Oral Interviews: Eliazar Herreras, E. Waverly Adelina Flores, 56 W. Kennedy Street Prepared by: Ann E. Huston Project Historian, Maureen L. Gerhold Assistant Project Historian, Historic American Buildings Survey September DIAZ HOUSE, SOUTH CONVENT AVENUE HABS No. AZ-73-15 (.Page 3) PART IV.

PROJECT INFORMATION This project was undertaken hy the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) of the Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service's National Architectural and Engineering Record (NAER) in cooperation -with the Tucson Barrio Association, Inn. Funds for the project were provided by the Arizona State Historic Preservation Office and the Arizona State Office of Economic Planning and Development. Under the direction of Robert Kapsch, Chief of NAER, John Poppeliers, Chief of HABS, and Kenneth L. Anderson, Principal Architect, the project was completed during the summer of at the HABS field office in Tucson, Arizona, by Robert C.

Giehner, Project Supervisor (Professor of Architecture, University of Arizona); William Joseph Graham, Project Foreman (University of Maryland); Ann E. Huston, Project Historian (California State University, Sacramento); Maureen L. Gerhold, Assistant Historian (Pennsylvania State University); Student Architects Scott Marshall Dolph (University of Arizona); Carol Jean Lemon (Washington State Uni- versity); and Harrison Adam Sutphin (Virginia Tech); and Comprehensive Employ- ment and Training Act (CETA) Summer Youth Employment Program Interns: Maria Arriola (Tucson High School); Ernest Cotta; Lupita Lopez (Tucson High School); and Anna Trinidad. Photographic records were made for HABS by David J. Kaminsky, Photo- grapher, Roswell, New Mexico.

Editing and final preparation of the documentation was carried out in in the HABS Washington Office by William Joseph Graham, Architect, and Lucy Pope Wheeler, Writer/Editor, of the HABS professional staff. ADDENDUM TO HABS No. AZ-73-15 483 SOUTH CONVENT AVENUE (HOUSE) (DIAZ HOUSE) Barrio Libre (Barrio Historic ) 483 South Convent Avenue Tucson Pima County lb - fJ W*5U> Arizona iA / XEROGRAPHIC COPIES OF COLOR TRANSPARENCIES HISTORIC AMERICAN BUILDINGS SURVEY National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Washington,