"We have the property because the Litchfield family wanted to make sure it was used in a way that was consistent with what Paul Litchfield envisioned back in the 1920s: a cultural and performing arts area," Mayor Thomas Schoaf said at the March groundbreaking for the new Heritage Center, as reported by the Litchfield Park Independent.
Eight months later, the hill matches that vision in some places and not yet in others. The order is the useful part for anyone planning a weekend on La Loma. The pieces run by outside institutions opened first: a county library, a school district arts campus and a coffee company. The pieces the city and the historic estate are responsible for are still in their first phases. If you know which group runs which building, you know which doors are open.
Who Runs What on the Hill
Paul W. Litchfield bought the hill in 1919 and finished the main house in 1925. The estate, Rancho La Loma, had four cottages, an open-air bandstand and chapel, a reservoir and pump house, a pool house and a sunset terrace. When the family was away, the cottages were rented to Wigwam guests. Edith and Wally Denny later gave the homestead to the city on the understanding that it would serve the wider community.
On Thursday, Nov. 5, here is how the hilltop's parts stand:
| Piece | Run by | Status on Nov. 5 |
|---|---|---|
| Litchfield Park Library, 5390 N. Litchfield Rd. | Maricopa County Library District | Open since Aug. 3, 2026 |
| Hilltop School for the Arts | Agua Fria Union High School District | Students since fall 2026 semester |
| Hilltop Theatre and Concert Hall, 5356 N. Litchfield Rd. | Agua Fria Union High School District | Public performances since Oct. 1 opening |
| Modern Grind cafe, gallery above the theatre | Modern Grind, with the district | Open |
| P.W. Litchfield Heritage Center, Litchfield/Denny House | Heritage Center | Under construction since March 2026 groundbreaking |
| Historic Cottages No. 2 and 3 | City of Litchfield Park | Exterior restoration approved |
| Hilltop Park | City of Litchfield Park | Phase 1A contract approved Sept. 16 |
The library was the first to open. In January, the Independent reported a projected opening of fall 2026. The new 10,000-square-foot branch opened on Aug. 3, ahead of that target, and it operates as a Maricopa County Library District branch. The city does not run it. Library hours, holds and programs therefore follow the county system.
The Stage the Mayor Was Describing
According to the district's opening announcement, the theatre building covers 34,034 square feet. It has 750 seats, a grand lobby with an art gallery, and a two-story backstage area. ADM Group designed it and McCarthy Building Companies built it. It sits on a 21-acre campus that the district says was designed to bring students and the community together for concerts, film screenings, corporate events and private gatherings. The school offers cinematography, dance, instrumental and vocal performance, music production, theater acting, set design and visual arts. Its main building includes a black box theater and a professional recording studio.
The schedule mixes student productions with touring and community acts. The public calendar on Hilltop Theatre's website lists these dates for the rest of the year:
- Friday, Nov. 6: Dorsten
- Saturday, Nov. 7: Chasing Dust
- Sunday, Nov. 15: West Valley Symphony, Beethoven Symphony No. 8
- Tuesday, Dec. 8: West Valley Symphony, "Messiah Part I & Hallelujah Chorus"
- Dec. 17 to 20: "Nutcracker Fantasy"
The West Valley Symphony has two of those dates, so the orchestra plays the hill in mid-November and again in early December.
Coffee Upstairs, Art for Sale on the Walls
The Independent reports that Modern Grind opened its second location in the art gallery above the theatre, in partnership with the Agua Fria Union High School District. It is the company's first sit-down cafe, with a kitchen serving appetizers and light lunch and dinner dishes. Student and professional artwork hangs in the room and can be bought through the school.
So a coffee or an early dinner on La Loma now happens inside the district's building, not in one of the historic cottages. Last January, a coffee shop was one of the cottage uses residents suggested, along with a gallery, nonprofit space and a community garden. The city had not decided on any of them. The school's lobby has already filled two of those roles.
The City's Piece Is the Groundwork
Hilltop Park is the clearest example of the city's part moving in stages. On Sept. 16 the City Council voted unanimously for a Phase 1A construction contract capped at $4.6 million. The city had already set aside slightly more than $2 million, so the council approved about $2.6 million in new money, the Independent reported.
"This is not completing the park," City Manager Matthew Williams told the council, according to the same report.
Phase 1A covers:
- Site grading and utility construction
- Pathways, landscaping and irrigation
- Masonry and electrical work
- Fire access improvements
- ADA parking upgrades near the historic area
City Planner Randy Proch told the council the contractor wanted to start quickly. He added that coordination with the utilities, Liberty and APS, could affect the timeline. Most of that list is site preparation: grading, utilities, paths and access. The library, theatre and cafe are already operating while the park around them is still at that stage.
The House at the Top Comes Next
The Litchfield/Denny main house is the original 1925 core of the hill. It is being restored as the new home of the P.W. Litchfield Heritage Center. The Heritage Center began in 2001 as the Litchfield Park Historical Society. In 2023 it expanded its mission to cover the wider Southwest Valley, including Goodyear, Avondale and Tolleson.
According to the groundbreaking coverage, the plans include seven exhibit galleries, a gift shop, a programming space, a catering kitchen and a terrace looking toward the Estrella Mountains. One gallery will recreate the original library and living room of the Litchfield home, with period furnishings and a 1935 mural. Lisa Hagerty, speaking for the Heritage Center, said the group had been working toward a new home since 2017.
The city has also approved exterior restoration of Cottages No. 2 and 3. Cottage No. 3 was Paul Litchfield's personal office. The estate office next to the main house still carries Goodyear's wingfoot logo. Those older buildings carry the history the new ones were designed to sit beside.
Down the Hill, the Same Weekend
The hilltop's first full season overlaps with the rest of the city's calendar. That makes the weekend of Nov. 6 to 8 the busiest stretch in central Litchfield Park so far this fall.
The city's Litchfield Park Festival of Arts runs Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 7 and 8, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Litchfield Square Park, 279 N. La Loma Ave. Admission and parking are free. Chasing Dust plays the Hilltop Theatre that Saturday night. Two weeks later, Vermillion Promotions' Holiday Festival of Arts sets up on The Wigwam's front lawn Nov. 20 to 22, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The city's Christmas in the Park parade starts at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 12, in Litchfield Square and the surrounding streets.
At North Litchfield Road and West Village Parkway, Mike and Nelly Rudolfo are building Plaza del Parque, a three-story building whose construction officially began June 1. The plan has two levels of retail and office space, a third-floor restaurant and a 6,000-square-foot outdoor dining patio. The Arizona Republic described it in September as a new downtown gathering place.
At The Wigwam, Litchfield's reopened Oct. 6. The restaurant was closed for renovation from June 1 through Sept. 30, and the resort says the work focused on the bar area. Dinner and bar service are running again, and reservations are open.
On Nov. 5, the restaurant named after Paul Litchfield is open again, the stage he pictured on his hill has its first holiday season booked, and the city park around both is still at the grading and utilities stage.
If you own near Litchfield Square or the Wigwam and are weighing a move, the hilltop's new library, 750-seat theatre and cafe are now part of how a home in this area is described to buyers. CITIEA Brokerage builds that local story into cinematic video and targeted campaigns, so your home reaches buyers with the context that sells it. Sell for more, faster.
