Living in a Date Palm Grove

 

I happened to be driving down 44th Street last Friday and I decided to pull into an old neighborhood that sits in a former date palm ranch.  There are two parts to this neighborhood, the part I was in when I took this photo was the newer section with homes originally built in the 1970's.

Way back in 2009, I did a series of posts about the older half of this neighborhood.  That is an area called Palma Viva.  That area is composed of the old date ranch buildings that have been lovingly converted into a series of condos.  What was once the packing house and the employee lodgings are now small condos.  You can see those older photos by clicking the "Palma Viva" label below.  Back in 2009, my posted photos were much smaller.  I tried editing them to make them larger but blogger wouldn't let me.  I will simply have to make another visit to the Palma Viva neighborhood and take some new photos so I can update those old posts.  It's a historic place that is well worth visiting and photographing again.

I have a new post on Sharon's Sojourns today.  I'm visiting a lesser known California wine country.

Date Palm

I’ll end my little tour of the old date grove with this shot of one of the trees looking straight up. This variety of date palm grows straight and tall and when trimmed, has a beautiful crown of palm fronds.

I’ve added this old post card that I found when researching the history of the groves. What struck me about this picture is how short the trees are in comparison to today.

Peaceful and Shaded

This area is on the other side of the old packing house. In addition to the tall palms, the area is also shaded by very large eucalyptus trees and a few mesquite trees. The courtyards are shaded and quit.

The small photo is of a door to one of the units guarded by a very relaxed cat.

Employee Apartments

These old gates appear to be originals left from when this was a working date farm. They are located in several areas around the buildings. I love that they were left here at the entrance to the areas where the homes are now located. The buildings to the right and ahead were part of the offices, garages, and employee apartments.

The small photo shows another one of the gates leading along a different walk.

Packing House

This building is part of the old packing house where the dried dates were packaged and shipped to the retailers. It has now been divided into individual condominiums.

The small photo shows the row of arched entrances along the building. You can also see the lovely courtyard that exists in the center of the compound. (You might have to click on the photo to see the detail)

Doing a little research, I was able to find this photo of one of the original labels for the packaged dates.

Palma Viva

Palma Viva is the name of this little condominium community built around the original date farm buildings. You enter from a narrow private drive lined with these tall trees. I’m standing in the middle of the drive looking up into the row of trees. On my left is a row of homes built in the 1970’s and constructed to blend in with the already standing farm buildings to the right of the driveway. At the same time the newer homes were built, the old farm buildings were being converted into small condos. Tomorrow I’ll feature a photo taken around the older buildings.

While walking around the area with camera in hand, I met a lovely lady who invited me into her home and gave me copies of some of the historical information about the site. Included in the papers she gave me was the sketch in the small photo. It depicts the entrance drive into the area. The drive is narrow and well shaded making it difficult to see from busy 44th Street and offering the residents inside the walls a quiet respite from the busy street only a few yards away.

Living among the palm trees

There is a neighborhood in east Phoenix that was once a date palm grove. In fact this whole area was dedicated to citrus and dates and much of it was part of Phoenix Date and Citrus. The property was sold to Charles Gilliland in 1923 and it became known as the Gilliland Groves. It was 108 acres producing citrus and dates and at one time was the largest date grove in the United States.

I took this photo from 44th Street so that you could see the expanse of trees that dominate the area. You can see the roof tops of modest single family homes that were built in the area during the 1970’s. In the distance you can see a dense grove of trees. In that area, the buildings that belonged to the original date farm are still standing and have been lovingly converted into condominiums.

Over the next few days, I’ll take you on a tour of that historic area so you can see what it is like living among the tall date palms and the old eucalyptus trees.