One of Tempe’s oldest adobe homes, the Elias-Rodriguez House, welcomes visitors to explore the historic property this spring, further establishing itself as a landmark of the city’s Mexican American heritage.
Located at 927 E. 8th Street, the Elias-Rodriguez House is a part of the Tempe Historic Register of properties. Built around 1882, the house is one of the oldest in the area along East Eighth Street known as the Sotelo Addition, a section of the former Sotelo Ranch and a haven for Mexican American settlers.
While historians acknowledge 1882 as the approximate year of construction per the family’s assertions, it wasn’t until 1891 that Vincent Elias was recorded in the assessor’s rolls, according to the city’s website.
Tempe and other Valley residents now have a chance to explore the property on self-guided tours 11 a.m.-2 p.m. on Jan. 27 and Feb. 24. Admission is free and no registration is necessary.
Notably, some areas of the house are not open to the public as the property is home to Tempe’s Public Art staff, according to a release.
Since its construction in the late 1800s, the building has undergone a number of physical changes, including new roofing, additional windows and replacing the original wood floors with concrete.
However, the house has “retained much of its architectural integrity over the years,” according to the city, still showcasing its distinct Sonoran style.
In a 1992 historical building analysis of the house, it explained the city first got involved in preserving the property in the late 1980s when the building became “seriously endangered” because of encroaching development and continued deterioration.
Former Tempe Mayor Harry Mitchell and other city staff made plans to purchase the property to preserve and restore the home.
“The restored Elias-Rodriguez House is envisioned as the tangible symbol of the everyday drama of Mexican American family life in historic Tempe,” the report stated.
As part of the preservation efforts, the city intends to use the restored building as an “interpretive museum” focused on local Mexican American history, created in part by contributions from the Elias-Rodriguez family.
Vincent Elias was a farm laborer from Tucson who built the four-bedroom house room by room for family members, creating a customized home for him and his descendants — a quality hopefully preserved by the city’s rehabilitation of the property.
“There’s a lot of family, like a lot of old pioneer era homes, it has connections from a lot of different families as folks married in and all that kind of stuff,” said Tempe History Museum’s Curator of History Jared Smith.
Beyond Elias, his children continued to occupy the property following his death in 1933. Elias’s daughter Irene married Ray B. Rodriguez in 1927, and Irene Rodriguez was still living at the property in the early 1980s before the city purchased the house.
The historical analysis of the home explained that Ray and Irene Rodriguez stayed in the home for the rest of their lives, after permanently settling in Tempe to care for Irene’s mother after Vincent Elias’s death.
Under the care of the Rodriguez’s, the house was brought into modern times when city water arrived in 1953, as the family stopped using its well and one of the rooms was converted into a bathroom among other improvements.
Even with these changes, the house remains as a pillar marking Tempe’s diverse history and the families who contributed to the space.
“Today, the Elias-Rodriguez House stands as the last adobe in the Sotelo Addition, a monument to the members of the Elias-Rodriguez family who kept it intact through the rapid changes of the last three decades,” the report stated.
Reporter Caroline Yu can be reached at cyu@iniusa.org. To voice your opinion on this story, connect with us at AzOpinions@iniusa.org.
Meet Caroline Caroline Yu joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2020 as a summer intern covering Scottsdale. As an intern, she continued her coverage of Scottsdale, Paradise Valley and Tempe. After graduating in 2022, Caroline became a full-time reporter for Scottsdale and Paradise Valley. She is currently reporting for the Tempe market.
Community: She is a supporter of the environment and tries to get involved with related community events.
Education: Arizona State University with a BA in Journalism and Mass Communications, with a minor in French.
Random Fact: She used to be a ballet dancer for 10 years.
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