Ralph Haver
Encyclopedia
Ralph Haver was a modern architect
working in metropolitan Phoenix, Arizona
, from 1945 until the early 1980s. Haver is best known for his Mid-Century Modern
Haver Homes, affordable tract housing executed in a contemporary modern style. These Haver homes are prized by designers and do-it-yourselfers alike as modest and modern spaces to renovate.
Ralph Haver's success has often mistakenly been compared to that of California's Joseph Eichler
, simply by similarity in design style—however, instead of being a real estate developer, Haver was an architect who knew how to communicate with developers to populate his designs on a large scale. Thus, his role in bringing modern design sensibility to the masses is more comparable to that of A. Quincy Jones
(who designed for developer Eichler).
Haver Home characteristics include low-sloped rooflines, clerestory windows, massive mantle-less chimney volumes, floor-to-ceiling walls of glass, brick or block construction, clinker bricks in the wainscoting, angled porch posts and brick patios.
Born in California and trained at USC Pasadena as an architect, Ralph arrived in Phoenix immediately after his service in WWII and began shaping the city with the assistance of his brother Robert (a builder) and father Harry (a mason). He settled in what would soon become Uptown Phoenix—2 miles outside city boundaries at the time. His first set of experimental modern contemporary ranch homes was created in the Hixson Homes subdivision near 12th Street and Highland—now called Canal North.
He soon mentored under Ed Varney and remained lifelong friends and collaborators with him even after breaking off and creating his own firm. Haver also worked with prominent developers, including Del Webb
, Fred Woodward and Del Trailor.
Ralph Haver is responsible for so much of the design of postwar Phoenix that he is considered to be among one of the largest firms of the time. He designed churches, schools, municipal buildings, malls, multifamily housing, tract housing and custom homes.
Haver-designed buildings, while rather ubiquitous, but valued in metropolitan Phoenix, are not immune from destruction. His elegant and acclaimed Cine Capri theater was razed in the 90s, and the 1960 Coronado High School was largely demolished by 2007. The Polynesian-styled Kon Tiki motel has been destroyed as well.
Of concern to the preservation community is the urge toward erecting second-story additions on Haver Homes, rendering the original low-lying profile of the home historically incongruous and altering the overall fabric of the neighborhood. Others claim these small, sometimes cramped home plans are largely outdated for present-day living and as ranch homes were designed to be modified from the start. Yet others cite that the housing is cheap, common and unattractive by today's standards and has little value at all for preservation or rehabilitation.
Haver's architectural design firm contemporaries included Ed Varney, Al Beadle
, Weaver & Drover, Bennie Gonzales, and Lescher & Mahoney. His work may be also be found credited under "Ralph Haver & Associates", "Haver Nunn & Jensen", "Haver Nunn & Collamer" or "Haver Nunn & Nelson". Blueprints as verification for authenticity of Haver designs are rare, as many buildings were created outside of Phoenix city boundaries at the time. Many of Haver's drawings, renderings and records were destroyed when the firm finally went out of business—they ended up in a dumpster when the Missouri office building was abated in 1993.
Haver designed (or collaborated in the design of) the following buildings and neighborhoods, among many others not mentioned, confirmed or re-discovered. Most of the inventory has been re-created from oral history as well as publications such as Arizona Architect, Arizona Days & Ways, Arizona Homes and A Guide to the Architecture of Metro Phoenix (Central Arizona AIA).
1950 Luke Air Force Base Housing
1950 The Peggy Reed Residence, Ingleside Country Club
1950 The Nelson Residence, Uptown Phoenix
1950 The Morse Residence, Phoenix
1952 Began Partnership with Jimmie Nunn
195? Haver and Nunn office building (now Red Modern Furniture)
1952 Princess Homes at Northwood
1953 Entz White Lumber
1953 Marlen Grove neighborhood
1953 G.E. Wonder Home, Paradise Valley
1953 Campus Homes in Tempe (?)
1954 Lou Regester Furniture (now Copenhagen Imports)
1954 Starlite Vista neighborhood
1955 Tonka Vista homes (including new Haver family home and other experiments)
195? Madison Rose Lane elementary school
195? Madison #2 elementary school
1955 Windemere neighborhood
1955 Park Lee Alice Apartments
1956 Engineering Complex, ASU
1956 Starlite Model Home for Parade of Homes
1956 Tower Plaza (with John Schotanus)
1957 Town & Country Manor (aka Rancho Ventura and T&C III) neighborhood, Phoenix
1957 Princess Homes at Regents Park in Arcadia
1957 Barrow's Furniture Store, Tucson
1957 PAT Dona Vista of Terra del Sol, Tucson
1958 Janet Manor (Town & Country # ?)
1958 Parker House, Arcadia
1959 Evertson House, Marion Estates
1959 Town & Country III neighborhood, Scottsdale
1959 Social Sciences Building at ASU
1958 PAT Craycroft Terrace, Tucson, AZ
1958 PAT Grande Vista of Terra del Sol, Tucson, AZ
1958 PAT Mayfair Terrace, Tucson, AZ
1959 PAT Craycroft Village Apartments, Tucson, AZ
1959 PAT Alamo Terrace, Tucson, AZ
1959 PAT Eastridge Terrace, Tucson, AZ
1959 VP Value Packed Homes, Chesin Construction Co., Santa Rita Terrace, Tucson, AZ
195? Town and Country Paradise (T&C IV?)
1960 Coronado High School, Scottsdale (mostly razed)
1961 Former Arizona Bank branch at 4231 East Thomas
1961 Fraternity on ASU's Greek Row (razed)
1961 Kon Tiki Motel (?)
1962 Haver Office Building on Missouri
1962 Kaibab Elementary School (AIA Special Feature Citation)
196? Phoexix College
1963 First Federal Savings & Loan, Scottsdale (AIA Award of Merit)
1963 Barrow's Furniture Store, Tucson (AIA Award of Merit, AIA Honor Award)
1963 Arizona Bank branch 16th Street (AIA Award of Merit)
1963 Phoenix Municipal Bldg (in collaboration with Ed Varney, won an AIA award)
1963 Engineering Complex expansion, ASU
1964 Cine Capri Theater (with Henry G. Greene; razed)
1964 Arizona Bank branch at 6015 North 16th Street
1965 Beekman Place townhouses
1967 Paradise Valley United Methodist Church
1969 American Express Complex
1971 Avenida Hermosa condos
1973 Sentry Center
1979 Pueblo Bonita duplexes
1980 North Phoenix Baptist Church
1981 Salt River Project Administration Building
1981 Intel Deer Valley Facility
1986 Four Haver Family custom homes: Mesa Carefree, Phoenix, and Cave Creek
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
working in metropolitan Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
, from 1945 until the early 1980s. Haver is best known for his Mid-Century Modern
Mid-century modern
Mid-Century modern is an architectural, interior and product design form that generally describes mid-20th century developments in modern design, architecture, and urban development from roughly 1933 to 1965...
Haver Homes, affordable tract housing executed in a contemporary modern style. These Haver homes are prized by designers and do-it-yourselfers alike as modest and modern spaces to renovate.
Ralph Haver's success has often mistakenly been compared to that of California's Joseph Eichler
Joseph Eichler
Joseph Eichler was a 20th century post-war U.S. American real estate developer known for developing distinctive residential subdivisions of Mid-Century modern style Tract housing in California, United States. He was one of the influential advocates of bringing modern architecture from custom...
, simply by similarity in design style—however, instead of being a real estate developer, Haver was an architect who knew how to communicate with developers to populate his designs on a large scale. Thus, his role in bringing modern design sensibility to the masses is more comparable to that of A. Quincy Jones
A. Quincy Jones
Archibald Quincy Jones, FAIA was a prolific Los Angeles-based architect and educator known for innovative buildings in the modernist style and for urban planning that pioneered the use of greenbelts and green design.-Childhood and early career:...
(who designed for developer Eichler).
Haver Home characteristics include low-sloped rooflines, clerestory windows, massive mantle-less chimney volumes, floor-to-ceiling walls of glass, brick or block construction, clinker bricks in the wainscoting, angled porch posts and brick patios.
Born in California and trained at USC Pasadena as an architect, Ralph arrived in Phoenix immediately after his service in WWII and began shaping the city with the assistance of his brother Robert (a builder) and father Harry (a mason). He settled in what would soon become Uptown Phoenix—2 miles outside city boundaries at the time. His first set of experimental modern contemporary ranch homes was created in the Hixson Homes subdivision near 12th Street and Highland—now called Canal North.
He soon mentored under Ed Varney and remained lifelong friends and collaborators with him even after breaking off and creating his own firm. Haver also worked with prominent developers, including Del Webb
Del Webb
Delbert Eugene Webb was an American construction magnate, real estate developer and sports-team owner, who is most significant for founding and developing the retirement community of Sun City, Arizona.-Early life:...
, Fred Woodward and Del Trailor.
Ralph Haver is responsible for so much of the design of postwar Phoenix that he is considered to be among one of the largest firms of the time. He designed churches, schools, municipal buildings, malls, multifamily housing, tract housing and custom homes.
Haver-designed buildings, while rather ubiquitous, but valued in metropolitan Phoenix, are not immune from destruction. His elegant and acclaimed Cine Capri theater was razed in the 90s, and the 1960 Coronado High School was largely demolished by 2007. The Polynesian-styled Kon Tiki motel has been destroyed as well.
Of concern to the preservation community is the urge toward erecting second-story additions on Haver Homes, rendering the original low-lying profile of the home historically incongruous and altering the overall fabric of the neighborhood. Others claim these small, sometimes cramped home plans are largely outdated for present-day living and as ranch homes were designed to be modified from the start. Yet others cite that the housing is cheap, common and unattractive by today's standards and has little value at all for preservation or rehabilitation.
Haver's architectural design firm contemporaries included Ed Varney, Al Beadle
Al Beadle
Alfred N. Beadle V was an American modernistic architect active in Phoenix, Arizona.During his lifetime Beadle was best known for designing Case Study Apartment #1, a three-unit apartment development in Phoenix, AZ, which was part of the Case Study House program of Arts & Architecture magazine...
, Weaver & Drover, Bennie Gonzales, and Lescher & Mahoney. His work may be also be found credited under "Ralph Haver & Associates", "Haver Nunn & Jensen", "Haver Nunn & Collamer" or "Haver Nunn & Nelson". Blueprints as verification for authenticity of Haver designs are rare, as many buildings were created outside of Phoenix city boundaries at the time. Many of Haver's drawings, renderings and records were destroyed when the firm finally went out of business—they ended up in a dumpster when the Missouri office building was abated in 1993.
Haver designed (or collaborated in the design of) the following buildings and neighborhoods, among many others not mentioned, confirmed or re-discovered. Most of the inventory has been re-created from oral history as well as publications such as Arizona Architect, Arizona Days & Ways, Arizona Homes and A Guide to the Architecture of Metro Phoenix (Central Arizona AIA).
Projects
1946 Hixon Homes/Canal North (includes the original Haver family home and several other experiments)1950 Luke Air Force Base Housing
1950 The Peggy Reed Residence, Ingleside Country Club
1950 The Nelson Residence, Uptown Phoenix
1950 The Morse Residence, Phoenix
1952 Began Partnership with Jimmie Nunn
195? Haver and Nunn office building (now Red Modern Furniture)
1952 Princess Homes at Northwood
1953 Entz White Lumber
1953 Marlen Grove neighborhood
1953 G.E. Wonder Home, Paradise Valley
1953 Campus Homes in Tempe (?)
1954 Lou Regester Furniture (now Copenhagen Imports)
1954 Starlite Vista neighborhood
1955 Tonka Vista homes (including new Haver family home and other experiments)
195? Madison Rose Lane elementary school
195? Madison #2 elementary school
1955 Windemere neighborhood
1955 Park Lee Alice Apartments
1956 Engineering Complex, ASU
1956 Starlite Model Home for Parade of Homes
1956 Tower Plaza (with John Schotanus)
1957 Town & Country Manor (aka Rancho Ventura and T&C III) neighborhood, Phoenix
1957 Princess Homes at Regents Park in Arcadia
1957 Barrow's Furniture Store, Tucson
1957 PAT Dona Vista of Terra del Sol, Tucson
1958 Janet Manor (Town & Country # ?)
1958 Parker House, Arcadia
1959 Evertson House, Marion Estates
1959 Town & Country III neighborhood, Scottsdale
1959 Social Sciences Building at ASU
1958 PAT Craycroft Terrace, Tucson, AZ
1958 PAT Grande Vista of Terra del Sol, Tucson, AZ
1958 PAT Mayfair Terrace, Tucson, AZ
1959 PAT Craycroft Village Apartments, Tucson, AZ
1959 PAT Alamo Terrace, Tucson, AZ
1959 PAT Eastridge Terrace, Tucson, AZ
1959 VP Value Packed Homes, Chesin Construction Co., Santa Rita Terrace, Tucson, AZ
195? Town and Country Paradise (T&C IV?)
1960 Coronado High School, Scottsdale (mostly razed)
1961 Former Arizona Bank branch at 4231 East Thomas
1961 Fraternity on ASU's Greek Row (razed)
1961 Kon Tiki Motel (?)
1962 Haver Office Building on Missouri
1962 Kaibab Elementary School (AIA Special Feature Citation)
196? Phoexix College
1963 First Federal Savings & Loan, Scottsdale (AIA Award of Merit)
1963 Barrow's Furniture Store, Tucson (AIA Award of Merit, AIA Honor Award)
1963 Arizona Bank branch 16th Street (AIA Award of Merit)
1963 Phoenix Municipal Bldg (in collaboration with Ed Varney, won an AIA award)
1963 Engineering Complex expansion, ASU
1964 Cine Capri Theater (with Henry G. Greene; razed)
1964 Arizona Bank branch at 6015 North 16th Street
1965 Beekman Place townhouses
1967 Paradise Valley United Methodist Church
1969 American Express Complex
1971 Avenida Hermosa condos
1973 Sentry Center
1979 Pueblo Bonita duplexes
1980 North Phoenix Baptist Church
1981 Salt River Project Administration Building
1981 Intel Deer Valley Facility
1986 Four Haver Family custom homes: Mesa Carefree, Phoenix, and Cave Creek