History

Characterised as an upscale residential area, Carefree was conceived in the mid-1950's by business partners K.T. Palmer and Tom Darlington as a master-planned community. Land sales commenced in 1955 and homebuilding followed shortly thereafter in 1958. Typical of Carefree's character are its street names-- Tranquil Trail, Easy Street, Ho-and-Hum Roads and Long Rifle, Stagecoach and Bloody Basin-- which reflect both its quiet, casual air as well as its Western heritage. The motto of Carefree is "Home of Cowboys and Caviar, Where the Old West Meets the New."

Features

The Carefree sundial is the "third largest sundial in the Western Hemisphere" , designed by architect Joe Wong and solar engineer John Yellot, was erected in the Sundial Circle plaza in 1959. The sundial, which points to the North Star, is made from a steel frame and covered in anodized copper. It measures 90 feet in diameter. The metal gnomon, the shadow-casting portion of the dial, stands 35 feet above the plaza and extends 72 feet.

The town has 15 restaurants, which is 1 restaurant for every 247 people, the highest per capita ratio in the Phoenix metropolitan area.

Built in the late 1960's, Carefree was the long time home to Southwestern Studios. The sprawling 47 acre desert property adjacent to North Scottsdale featured state-of-the-art soundstages and production facilities. In the early 1970's the studio was utilized by CBS television for The New Dick Van Dyke Show starring Dick Van Dyke and Hope Lange. Later known as Carefree Studios, buildings were razed in 1999. The Scottsdale Road studio back lot and pristine desert property was developed into retail space and residential development.

Carefree is 17 miles west of Bartlett Lake, in the Tonto National Forest.