(Photo by Mark Brodie/ KJZZ News)

Karyn Gitlis, on her front porch in Tempe’s Maple Ash neighborhood.

Tempe’s Maple Ash neighborhood is one of the city’s oldest surviving neighborhoods, and historic preservation advocates say its character is in danger. The neighborhood basically runs from University to just south of 13th St., and Farmer east to Mill Ave.

Karyn Gitlis has lived in Tempe’s Maple Ash neighborhood since 1980 and started working on preservation efforts six years later.  The neighborhood is on the Arizona Preservation Foundation’s list of Most Endangered Historic Places.

 Sitting in her dining room, Gitlis describes her neighborhood.