Citywide historic survey to finish by end of year

The Sedona Historic Preservation Commission is evaluating two local properties for Historic Landmark status.

However, there is potential for more properties to be added in 2027 as Logan Simpson, an environmental and landscape architecture firm, works to catalog every structure in Sedona 50 years of age or older for a recently commissioned citywide survey.

The Back O’ Beyond property, a 969-square-foot two-room building at 775 Back O’ Beyond Road, is believed to have appeared in John Wayne’s 1944 Western “Tall in the Saddle” and was relocated from Schnebly Hill Road to its current location around 1954.

The Historic Preservation Commission is also eyeing Olivier Leroy’s property at 20 Pinewood Drive in the Oak Creek Knolls subdivision as another potential addition to the city’s list of 22 landmarked sites.

Leroy “brought it to our attention, and he was told that it was a Madole house, Howard Madole being a prominent mid-century architect in Sedona, with Madole Drive named after him along with the countless houses around town designed and built by him,” Chairman Nate Meyers said.

“I was born in Normandy and lived in Paris 10 years, worked for the fashion industry … and I moved to Beverly, California, because I was working with a very famous singer … but I ended up working on [TV shows] ‘Dynasty’ and ‘Knots Landing,'” Leroy said.

Leroy said he came across the property while searching for homes online.

“My house is very still the same way it was when it was built in 1959. I want to register the house because I’m afraid if somebody buys it, they will destroy the look of it,” he said.

Madole died on Jan. 29, 2015, in Prescott, at age 91 and “was known as Sedona’s first architect,” his obituary reads. Two of his properties in the city have landmark status: The Madole House-Pony Soldier at 130 Pony Soldier Road built in 1962, and the Nininger House at 39 Meteor Drive.

The 20 Pinewood Drive building was constructed by the Madole Construction Company in 1959, however the commission is tasked with learning if it is a true Howard Madole home.

“The windows and doors were later replaced, and the carport beams were slightly modified to be flush with the carport roof edge,” the commission’s April 13 minutes read. “The exterior of the house was painted sage green over the original terracotta brown. Most features, however, remain original. Meyers noted the underside of the roof does not conform to the typical Madole design. A standout original feature of the home is the floor-to-ceiling stacked flagstone fireplace, which serves as a striking focal point both inside and outside.”

Meyers said the building was likely designed by Madole, but does not have several features typically associated with Madole homes.

“So we think it was probably … the more affordable version of a Madole home, but it is a neat piece of architecture,” he said.

The commission does not currently have a timeline for the two properties to complete the city’s vetting process for their historical status, according to Meyers.

Meyers said the commission intends to tie professional surveys of both properties into the broader Logan Simpson citywide survey.

“The thought was that we would tie up doing professional surveys of those with the updated survey that Logan Simpson is doing for our entire historic inventory, to update that survey that hasn’t been updated since 2014,” he said. “What that does to the timeline, I’m not sure.”

Citywide Survey

Logan Simpson is tasked with going out and surveying the entire Sedona community and identifying the buildings that are 50 years of age or older.

“That doesn’t necessarily mean those buildings are going to be landmarked,” Meyers said. “They might not even qualify for landmarking, but what we’re going to know by this is a detailed survey of our built environment, and from there we will be able to identify some future landmarks. The process may alert some property owners who may not even know what they have. The main goal is it just gives us that documentation of our built environment, but it also opens up a whole new universe of structures and potentially even districts to look at for future landmarking.”

The full report from Logan Simpson is anticipated to be complete by the end of 2026.

“The inventory will likely be done this summer, with additional work taking place into the fall [including] additional historic research, making recommendations on potential historic districts and historic properties, completing Historic Property Inventory Forms, finalizing the report, etc.,” Deputy City Manager Lauren Browne wrote.

The Sedona Heritage Museum held a free talk by Historic Preservation Commissioner Bobby Woods discussing the work of his father architect Don Woods on May 27.