Ralph Haver: A Key Figure                                                                                                                                   By David A. Keeps

The late Ralph Haver (1915-1987), who is credited with the design of Golden Keys, certainly knew how to make an entrance. One of the most prolific and acclaimed Phoenix midcentury modern architects, Haver was responsible for thousands of this city’s cinderblock tract homes that ooze curb appeal with elongated rooflines, angular clerestory windows and breeze-block carports. The prolific Haver was also famed for now-lost Phoenician flights of fancy including the Polynesian-inspired Kon Tiki Motor Hotel and the colonnaded entry of the original Cine Capri in Scottsdale. Working with talented collaborators, particularly architects Jimmie Nunn and James Salter, Haver excelled at theatrical facades–like the curved Cinerama-style gateposts of Golden Keys–that beckon bewitchingly even today.

Having worked as a Los Angeles-based home design journalist for the past two decades, I was familiar with how Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin in Scottsdale transformed architectural thinking and galvanized a new generation of modernists including Al Beadle, an adherent of glass box architecture and the more expressive Ralph Haver. However, it wasn’t until I started house hunting in Phoenix that I truly appreciated Haver’s particular genius.

Turning from 61^st Place onto Pinchot Avenue—thinking that I had been suddenly transported to a half-century old but timelessly swanky community like Palm Springs’ Movie Colony—a voice in my head echoed what countless residents must have also thought: “Abandon the ordinary, greatness lies ahead!” As I passed the astonishing circular pool house, described as “Neo-neoclassical” by the excellent Modern Phoenix website, I imagined both the Tower of Pisa and a wedding cake. My hunger intensified. I knew that I must live here.

Golden Keys, which began construction in 1964, was among the many developments now commonly known as patio homes that sprang up in the swinging `60s. Designed as low-slung versions of row housing, the finest patio home communities of Phoenix stretched out along S-shaped roads, giving each unit a distinct setback that emphasized each individual entryway. Made from concrete block, they were cool and quiet, with common walls that connected living or sleeping wings with the carports or garages of one’s neighbors. Unsightly power lines were buried underground, enhancing vistas dotted with towering desert palms.

Built by the Dell Trailor company, which was cleverly marketing patio homes as low-maintenance properties called Gold Key Homes, Golden Keys came to life on the cusp of two cultural and design eras: the post-WW II optimism for modern living and the exuberant glamour of the Jet Set age. As such, the community escaped cookie-cutter homogeneity by offering a variety of floor plans and architectural styles.

Some homes had a distinct but minimalist Mediterranean flair with tiled friezes and window surrounds as well as recessed arch patterns. Others resembled wood-sided California post-and-beam houses. Most were sited on a north-south axis, minimizing the blazing effects of sunrises and sunsets and making the most of exposures to both Camelback Mountain and Papago Park. New owners were presented with—what else?—a commemorative Golden Key. Such lore was an undeniable lure.

After scouting four units in various stages of refurbishment, I found my dream Golden Keys home on Catalina, which I like to think was named for the legendary Southern California island, whose main port is called Avalon. Pinchot may pay homage not to actor Bronson Pinchot but to Gifford Pinchot, former Head of the U.S. Forestry Department, who was a member of the prestigious Tuna Club in Catalina. (How these streets got their island-inspired names in the first place remains a mystery to me, but certainly adds to the romance of Golden Keys.)

Happily, the investors who flipped the house only re-did the kitchen and bathrooms, leaving the original brick kiva fireplace, the parquet wood floors and the pine-clad ceilings intact. My parents’ 1970s modern furniture and my own midcentury vintage pieces do the space proud and at a recent neighborhood estate sale, I snapped up two cardboard boxes filled with Gold Key Homes matchbooks (shown below). Now, if anyone has a line on where I can locate an official Dell Trailor Golden Key, please let your neighbor know?

David A. Keeps, former Golden Keys resident, is the Director of Copy and Content at PetSmart and a frequent contributor to House Beautiful, Travel + Leisure, and the Wall Street Journal.