Ralph Haver (1915-1987), AIA, was both architect and builder, designing tract and custom homes, military and multifamily housing, neighborhoods, churches, schools, banks, municipal buildings and malls. He pioneered the new Phoenix following World War II, as GIs returned home and Easterners and Midwesterners found warm climate, A/C and new opportunities in the Southwest. Haver-designed homes in North Phoenix neighborhoods such as Canal North (1946), Marlen Grove (1953), Windemere (1955), and Scottsdale’s Town & Country III (1963) are gentrifying and bringing high resale values. “Ralph Haver was . . . able to deliver inspiring and modestly elegant residential designs on a massive scale, improving the quality of life for tens of thousands of families in the Southwest,” says Alison King, a Phoenix designer and historian who founded and maintains ModernPhoenix.net, a superlative source for Mid-Century Modern resources in Arizona.
