The Sedona Heritage Museum hosted an historic preservation celebration on May 3 to mark the start of Historic Preservation Month and inform residents about Sedona’s nearly two dozen historic landmarked properties by giving property owners an opportunity to share the stories behind their landmarks.
“The Historic Preservation Commission is a city commission responsible for designating landmarks within city limits,” commission Chairman and Sedona Historical Society Executive Director Nate Meyers said. “Properties outside city limits, like the Schuerman Homestead out on [Red Rock] Loop Road, aren’t under our jurisdiction. Within the city, we look at buildings that are at least 50 years old as a baseline. But what really matters … is if there’s a compelling story behind the place.”
There are 23 designated historic landmarks in Sedona, and attendees heard from the owners of three of them: Steve Foley and Kathy Estocin Foley of the Van Ess House, built in 1964 and located at 280 Zane Grey Drive; Gregg Ponder of the Gateway Cottage Wellness Center — formerly George Jordan’s sales building — constructed in 1939 and located at 470 N. State Route 89A; and P.J. Malani and Sandy Patel of the Hart Store located at 100 Brewer Road.
Jordan Sales Building
The George & Helen Jordan Sales Building, located at 470 SR 89A in Uptown, is now home to the Gateway Cottage Wellness Center, opened by Gregg and Alu Ponder in February 2016 after they purchased the property in 2014.
Built in 1939, the building is the best surviving example in Sedona of red sandstone commercial construction from the pioneer era. Originally part of George and Helen Jordan’s farm, the couple sold local produce there, adding cold storage, a packing area and a kitchen where Helen cooked and ran the store. It was landmarked in March 1999.
“We love Sedona, and we wanted to help preserve its history, and this building was in need of some tender loving care,” Ponder said. “We didn’t know what we were going to do with it initially, but after it was purchased, we decided to offer services which has helped my wife recover from a serious car collision.”
The Ponders’ renovations included the installation of an elevator and the conversion of the former refrigerated fruit storage area into five therapy rooms and a waiting area. The upstairs of the building houses a retail area with locally-sourced alligator juniper furnishings, a refurbished mining-era bread rack, a unique curved-glass jewelry case and new wood flooring chosen for a historic look.
“We worked with the Sedona Historic Preservation Commission an we maintained the exterior of the building historically accurate,” Ponder said. “In the interior, we had to gut the entire building and just strip everything out. There were rotten timbers in the ceiling, and there were termites and we had the whole building covered and fumigated for termites … But we’re proud of how it all eventually came together.”
Van Ess House
“We are fans of midcentury modern architecture, we love the floor to ceiling windows and the open opening to the outdoors feel of a midcentury house,” Estocin Foley said.
The Foleys have resided at the property since 2020. It was one of the first to be built in the 231-lot Sedona West subdivision, which was developed and platted in November 1960 by Edith and Jim Geary. The home was one of several featured in the Gearys’ marketing brochure and was designed by Arizona architect Donald Theodore Van Ess, eventually being designated as a Sedona historic landmark in 2010.
“It’s just a great space. You feel like you’re living in a work of art, and Nancy is an artist and I’m a writer, so this spoke to us on so many levels,” Foley said. “Because of the shapes of the windows and the shapes of the fireplace, and just the whole way the house comes together. And the house flows, it flows from the bedrooms to the front room, and the energy is just really inspiring.”
Foley said that the changes they’ve made to the property have been “pretty minimal” apart from replacing the roof. An office was added to the west end of the house in the late 1970s or early 1980s, and at some point, a previous owner removed several large exterior beams that had deteriorated. A kitchen window was also replaced, but the original opening was preserved, according to the Historic Landmark Inventory.
“When we moved in, all the old pictures of the house showed a shake roof,” Estocin Foley said. “By the time we arrived, the main roof had already been replaced, and we couldn’t put shake back on due to regulations. While researching alternatives, we discovered a metal roof that mimics the look of shake … It’s been such a joy living there. Of all our houses we’ve ever lived in, we think this is our favorite of all.”
Hart Store
The Hart Store, built in 1926 by Frank Jackson and owned by L.E. “Dad” Hart, was Sedona’s first general store, offering groceries and fuel at a prime location on Brewer Road, which was the main route through what would become Sedona. It anchored the city’s first business district until traffic shifted with the completion of State Route 179, prompting Hart to open a new store at the intersection that is now the “Y” roundabout.
“The fact that it was already a historical landmark, and I like antiques and old stuff, so that’s what drew me to it,” Malani said. “And I was informed about it by one of my friends who saw me in Tucson, and that’s when I came to know about it.”
The store became a Sedona landmark in May 2002 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2007, along with the Jordan Ranch, the Sedona Ranger Station and Pumphouse and the Chapel of the Holy Cross.
Malani subsequently expressed concern about how the city’s proposed roundabout at Brewer Road and SR 89A might affect the property.
“[This] was the first place [in Sedona] to get a phone line, first place to get power,” Malani said. “This and the Ranger Station up the street, these were the first two properties to get that, and then I heard there were a lot of movie stars that came here just to make phone calls.”
