![](https://thisoldhousephoenix.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Gibbes-V1a.jpg)
2233 N. Alvarado Rd.
Look at this amazing story-book home! It looks like the set for a British period film — I can almost imagine Mr. Darcy coming to call for Lizzy Bennet. But it’s right here in central Phoenix, and yes, it’s undeniably the best example of Tudor Revival/Elizabethan Revival/Eclectic architecture we have.
I have written a lot about the period revival movement of the early 1900s — Spanish Colonial, Tudor, English Cottage, Cottswold, etc., which was a response, some believe, to the modernization and industrialization of America. Wealthy (and not-so-wealthy) homeowners wanted comfortable homes with romantic touches that harkened to a “simpler” time before industrialization caused a mass influx of people from the country to cramped city living.
![](https://thisoldhousephoenix.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Gibbes-V3-detail.jpg)
This is exactly what we have in the Carter Gibbs house. But don’t let the image of a country cottage fool you — this is a purposefully designed and complex building. It was the creation of Carter Gibbes, a successful interior designer, as a showplace for his talents. The 6,000 sq. ft., 2 bedroom, 2 bath house (plus maid’s quarters) was built by Neil Gates in 1930 on a corner lot in what is now the Alvarado Historic District — a small neighborhood just to the east of the Heard Museum with large homes on estate-sized lots originally developed by Dwight Heard.
The L-shaped house maintains it’s original floorplan with the exception of the garage on the east side of the home, which was converted into a guest suite. The main living area is on the west side of the home and is accented by a two-story, leaded glass bay window that looks like it was repurposed from an English castle. This wing also contains the dining room and 2 bedrooms with private baths, one of which has a unique, free-standing bathtub/shower combo with a glass enclosure. Along the north wing is the kitchen, breakfast nook, family room basement/wine cellar and a portcullis entrance to an interior courtyard. Portcullis is a fancy word for a medieval gate that opens and closes vertically, like on a moat — you get the picture.
![](https://thisoldhousephoenix.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Gibbes-bay-window-1.jpg)
The exterior of the home is amazing and eclectic with a combination of building materials and techniques. This is where Gibbes’ genius shows through. By combining masses of different heights and different combinations of materials, the house takes the appearance of a humble cottage that was added to over time. The two-story western facade consists of locally quarried cut and dressed tufa stone on the first story and half-timbering with plaster infill on the second story. The north facade is about 1 ½ stories tall and is built of half timbering infilled with red brick configured in alternating patterns, making it look like a separate construction. As for the roof, interesting hip angles make a perfect palette for randomly colored and sized clay roof tiles imported from England — lending to the charming cottage feel of the home.
From what I have read, the interior of this house is just as impressive as the exterior. The owner has maintained the home in its original state with the exception of a few updates to the kitchen and baths. The open height two-story living room, which is accented by a natural limestone floor and hand-hewn ceiling beams, was designed as the perfect acoustical setting for a large Wurlitzer pipe organ that sadly no longer exists on site. Imagine living room walls clad of cut travertine to a height of ten feet with plaster and half timbering above. A grand Tudor-style fireplace dominates the wall opposite the bay window and I can only imagine the romance of sitting in front of that fireplace on a cold winter day. In the northwest corner of the living room, a wrought-iron spiral staircase leads to a second-story balcony where you can get a closer look at the gargoyles peaking out from each corner of the room (yes, I said gargoyles!). Finally the formal dining room has an ornate carved plaster ceiling in the rococo style with double french doors that open onto a now glassed-in porch with tufa walls, stone fireplace and an inlaid chess board.
![](https://thisoldhousephoenix.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Gibbes-V2.jpg)
I love this house even though it looks completely out of place in Phoenix. There just isn’t a Tudor anywhere in town that is this impressive, in my opinion. The current owner has worked for years restoring and preserving this historic treasure and I hope it stays just the way it is now under the stewardship of an owner who loves and appreciates it.
![](https://thisoldhousephoenix.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Gibbes-House-floorplan-1st-floor-e1593570569218-1024x927.jpg)
![](https://thisoldhousephoenix.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Gibbes-House-floorplan-2nd-floor-e1593570551380-1024x881.jpg)
This home is on the Phoenix Historic Property Register and the National Register of Historic Places.