McDonald Drive | 1963
by Alfred Newman Beadle
The year is 1963 and Beadle is in the thick of realizing some of his most iconic multifamily residences: The Boardwalk, The Triad, Three Fountains and Executive Towers. Commercially he's working on PBSW. Business is great and it's time to build a new house for his family of seven. Modernism may be on the decline in Arizona but Beadle is just getting started. Steel beams create a modular structure that is divided up in classic Beadle fashion. The modules of 12'4" X 14'4" extend through the landscape and into the pool area beyond, creating a sense of calm and order.
Beadle worked with the difficult lot near the curve of 44th Street and Camelback by elevating the entire home on steel posts, letting seasonal runoff from the nearby mountains flow through the wash beneath the home. This is a trick he'd use many more times in years to come to cope with flash flooding and impossible lots.
This home was built while Beadle worked for Alan Daily Associates, which is why Dailey's firm often got the credit in the press. Beadle was reprimanded for practicing architecture without a license so Daily stepped in and let him continue to practice, signing off on his work during this prolific and important period. Len Pritchard was the contractor on this home.
The home on McDonald was featured in Architectural Record Houses of 1965 and also the Arizona Republic, which published the elongated modules shown above in their Sun Living section. Plans of such elaborate and artistic nature at this scale of detail and artistry were rare for Sun Living.
Of all the Beadle homes,this possibly wins for most dramatic approach. A Boardwalk style promenade hovers above a seasonal wash and graciously delivers guests to the front door. Senses are awakened by the grid, the landscape, and the water feature on the right.
The current owner is working to bring the landscape back and work with the many mature specimens on site.
The modules are either closed, open or glassed-in. The closed panels in the modular scheme are faced with cement plaster.
The desert property is heavily shaded from the south by mature eucalyptus.
The Beadle family raised five children here as Beadle worked on other projects in Phoenix. The kitchen has since been remodeled with an expansion to the work surface. A similar stool formation can be seen in the vintage image below, shortly beyond the plant. Note how the ribs of the ceiling mirror the ribs of the deck below.
Custom cabinets come standard with almost any custom Beadle home. Note how the wood grain is continuous on the face of each cabinet. White laminate was a favorite material of Beadle's and can be found in many of his other homes with custom cabinetry.
Dwelling spaces take up either one or two modules. Two bedroom modules are expressed here, with a void separating them from the entry walk and carport.
Al Beadle's home on McDonald Drive is a master work that expresses not only the spirit of its time but also the rising talent of its designer. In 2017 the home was successfully added to the National Register of Historic Places. We hope it is the first of many privately owned single-family Beadle homes that will join the Register.
Photos ©2015 Modern Phoenix LLC,
©2015 Olivia Quist and Beadle Architecture
©2016 Sara Abbott