Palmcroft-Encanto, Phoenix

Looking for all the world like an oasis in downtown Phoenix, the Palmcroft-Encanto neighborhood is marked by curving, tree-lined streets, lush landscaping, and a 220-acre park with gently rolling green fields, dotted with picturesque ponds. Planned by developer Dwight B. Heard in the late 1920s, Palmcroft-Encanto represented a Southwest version of the “City Beautiful” movement: a harmonious melding of architectural styles and arrangement of homes that fostered an immediate sense of community. It is the architecture that provides the Southwestern flavor, an eclectic mix of Pueblo, Spanish Colonial, and Mediterranean with accents of hand-painted tiles, wrought iron, and mesquite trim. The current residents still maintain the sense of community that Heard had hoped for. They are well known for their many book clubs, ice-cream socials, and holiday parties.