Tempe history: Dating from 1895, the historic Harrington-Birchett House has an uncertain future
By Jay Mark | Special for The Republic
A look at the classic 1888 Dyer bird’s-eye-view map of Tempe reveals the first homes were concentrated in a compact area between the river on the north, Eighth Street (now University) to the south, the railroad tracks on the west and McAllister on the east.
But time and development has taken its toll. Today, just a handful of the dozens of 19th-century homes that once dotted the town center are all that remain to convey Tempe’s early history.
Each has its own special story to tell. Like the Harrington-Birchett House.
