Florence Town - 2
(Florence, Arizona, USA)

The second half of Florence town introduces the Arizona residential architecture history with the residences designated as the national cultural assets by the help of Ms. Jennifer Evans involved in revitalization of the town.

The Sonoran Style (1866-1950) ( No.2 to 10 ) continued from the foundation time of the town to the 20th century. A wall of adobe was finished with a plaster, and a thin window and door were installed. A roof is flat like the American indian's dwelling. But, most which still remain are renovated into a slope roof later.

The Early Transitional Style (1871-1947) ( No.11 to 14 ) was defined by Architect Harris Sobin. It was a compromise between the Sonoran Style and the Late Transitional Style. A gabled roof is put on a wall. How to dispose a building just along a road is common to the Sonoran Style.

The Late Transitional Style (1878-1949) ( No.1 and 15 to 17 ) is a fusion of the Sonoran Style and the typical residence in the United States. It is built of adobe back from the road. To the square-shaped plan and the roof modified into a hip roof, a wooden porch and a bay window are attached. It is said that an ornament component was carried from East Coast since the mail order system of housing components had been advanced In the United States of those days.

The American Victorian Style (1885-1922) ( No.18 ) is characterized by asymmetry, a complicated roof, an arch, a bay window and an excessive ornament. It swept over the United States in the second half of the 19th century. Among this style architectures which still remain in Florence, most are a public building and only one building is a residence. In Florence which was a small town in a remote area, time would be necessary until enthusiasm for the Victorian Style reached to citizens ? Or, since the local culture was strong, it would be difficult to step forward to a new design unrelated to the locality on material and design.
Now, the unique Victorian Style residence is renovated into the Bungalow Style with a big roof extending to a terrace.

I walked around a residential block and looked around a shopping street, but a simple architecture of the functionalism which must have come to the next was not found.

In the United Stes, the amount of a loan and the price of a used house except a residence by historical design is likely to be set lower. So, a functionalism residence has been not popular in general. But, even among buildings along the shopping street, a functionalism building is not seen. In Florence, time seemed to stand stop at the beginning of the 20th century.

In Arizona, there were many towns like Florence a long time ago, but most were abandoned by a decline of the mining which supported the town. A town which remains a townscape of those days is only Florence. The reason, why Florence had held out after the nearby Silver King mine closed at the beginning of the 20th century, was the expansion of agriculture that irrigation by the dam completed in 1930 enabled.

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Transportation
1 hour by car from downtown Phoenix.
1.5 hour by car from downtown Tucson.

Link
Florence Main Street Program
Florence Visitor Center
Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce
Town of Florence

Accommodations
Blue Mist Motel
Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites
Inn at Rancho Sonora

References
"Historic Florence Walking Tour" (Florence Main Street Program)
Wikipedia

Acknowledgement
Jeniffer Evans(Florence Main Street Program)

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2018.01 Photos and text in English version and Japanese version

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