Everything about Phoenix Arizona totally explained
Phoenix (
O'odham Skikik,
Yavapai Wasinka,
Western Apache Fiinigis,
Navajo Hoozdo,
Mojave Hachpa 'Anya Nyava) is the largest and most populous city in the
U.S. state of
Arizona. It is also the state
capital and the largest state capital in the
United States in terms of population. It is the
county seat of
Maricopa County. It is the largest city in the
American Southwest and the
Mountain Time Zone as well as the second largest city in the
West after
Los Angeles, California. It is currently the region's primary political, cultural, economic, financial, technological, and transportation center. Phoenix is located on the banks of what is now the normally dry
Salt River (with the exception of
Tempe Town Lake). The city was incorporated on
February 25 1881. The city is also known by its nickname, The Valley of the Sun or The Valley because the city is surrounded by mountains on all sides. Residents of the city are known as Phonecians.
The city is currently the
fifth largest city in the United States. Between 2000 and 2006 the city of Phoenix was the fastest growing city in percentage terms.
History
Native American Period
For more than 1,000 years, the
Hohokam peoples occupied the land that would become Phoenix. The Hohokam created roughly 135 miles (217 km) of irrigation canals, making the desert land
arable. Paths of these canals would later become used for the modern Arizona Canal,
Central Arizona Project Canal, and the Hayden-Rhodes Aqueduct. The Hohokam also carried out extensive trade with nearby Anasazi, Mogollon, and other
Mesoamerican tribes.
It is believed that, between 1300 and 1450, periods of drought and severe floods led to the Hohokam's abandonment of the area. but this community was incorporated after Phoenix.
Founding of Phoenix
The history of Phoenix as a city begins with
Jack Swilling, an
American Civil War veteran who had come west to seek wealth in the 1850s and worked primarily in
Wickenburg. On an outing in 1867, he stopped to rest at the foot of the
White Tank Mountains. Swilling observed the abandoned river valley and considered its potential for farming, much like that already cultivated by the military further east near Fort McDowell. The
terrain and
climate were optimal; only a regular source of water was necessary. The existence of the old
Hohokam ruins, showing clear paths for canals, made Swilling imagine new possibilities.
Swilling had a series of
canals built which followed those of the ancient
Native American system. A small community formed that same year about 4 miles (6 km) east of the present city. It was first called Pumpkinville due to the large
pumpkins that flourished in fields along the canals, then Swilling's Mill in his honor, though later renamed to Helling Mill, Mill City, and finally, East Phoenix. Swilling, a former
Confederate soldier, wanted to name the city "Stonewall," after
General Stonewall Jackson. Others suggested the name of "Salina." However, neither name was supported by the community.
Finally,
Lord Darrell Duppa suggested the name "Phoenix," as it described a
city born from the ruins of a former civilization.
The
Yavapai County Board of Supervisors, which at the time encompassed Phoenix, officially recognized the new town on
May 4,
1868, and formed an election precinct. The first
post office was established on
June 15,
1868, with Jack Swilling serving as the
postmaster. With the number of residents growing (the 1870 US census reported about a total Salt River Valley population of 240), a townsite needed to be selected. On
October 20 1870, the residents held a meeting to decide where to locate it. A 320-
acre (1.3 km²) plot of land was purchased in what is now the downtown business section.
On
February 12 1871, the territorial legislature created
Maricopa County, the sixth one formed, by dividing Yavapai County. The first election for county office was held in 1871, when Tom Barnum was elected the first sheriff. Barnum ran unopposed as the other two candidates, John A. Chenowth and Jim Favorite, had a shootout that ended in Favorite's death and Chenowth withdrawing from the race.
Several lots of land were sold in 1870 at an average price of $48. The first church opened in 1871, as did the first store. Public school had its first class on
September 5,
1872, in the courtroom of the county building. By October 1873, a small school was completed on Center Street (now
Central Avenue).
Incorporation
By 1881, Phoenix had outgrown its original townsite-commissioner form of government. The 11th Territorial Legislature passed "The Phoenix Charter Bill", incorporating Phoenix and providing for a mayor-council government. The bill was signed by Governor
John C. Fremont on
February 25 1881. Phoenix was incorporated with a population of approximately 2,500, and on
May 3 1881, Phoenix held its first city election. Judge John T. Alsap defeated James D. Monihon, 127 to 107, to become the city's first mayor. In early 1888, the city offices were moved into the new City Hall, at Washington and Central (later the site of the city bus terminal, until Central Station was built in the 1990s). This building also provided temporary offices for the territorial government when it moved to Phoenix in 1889.
The coming of the railroad in the 1880s was the first of several important events that revolutionized the economy of Phoenix. Merchandise now flowed into the city by rail instead of wagon. Phoenix became a trade center with its products reaching eastern and western markets. In response, the Phoenix Chamber of Commerce was organized on
November 4 1888. The Roosevelt Dam east of the valley was completed in 1911. Several new lakes were formed in the surrounding mountain ranges. In the Phoenix area, the river dried out, taking with it the large populations of migrating birds, beaver dams, and
cottonwood trees that had lived on its waters.
On
February 14 1912, under President
William Howard Taft, Phoenix became the capital of the newly formed
state of Arizona.
Phoenix was considered preferable as both territorial and state capital due to its more central location as compared to Tucson or Prescott. It was smaller than Tucson but outgrew that city within the next few decades to become the state's largest.
In 1913, Phoenix adopted a new form of government from
mayor-council to
council-manager, making it one of the first cities in the United States with this form of city government.
During
World War II, Phoenix's economy shifted to that of a distribution center, rapidly turning into an embryonic industrial city with mass production of military supplies.
Luke Field,
Williams Field, and
Falcon Field, coupled with the giant ground-training center at
Hyder, west of Phoenix, brought thousands of new people into Phoenix.
The Papago Park
Prisoner of War Camp was established for captured
Axis troops located just east of the city. Only a few of its former buildings remain today. In 1944, dozens of POWs had devised a plan to escape from the camp and use boats to go down the Salt and Gila Rivers to reach Mexico. They were apparently unaware that the Salt River had been dry for decades and were thus easily apprehended near the camp.
Another notorious incident took place on
Thanksgiving night of 1942, when a large number of US troops stationed near Phoenix rioted while resisting arrest by military police due to engaging in a fight. The military police surrounded and blocked off a predominantly
African American part of the city that the troops had escaped to in order to hide. They then dispersed armored personnel carriers and used 50-caliber machine guns on civilian homes. Several fatalities resulted. The Colonel of Luke Field soon declared Army personnel banned from Phoenix, which pressured civic leaders to reform local government by firing a number of corrupt officials, in turn getting the ban lifted. This same bipartisan effort also successfully convinced the city council to give more power to the city manager to run the government and spend public funds.
A fire in October 1947 destroyed most of the
streetcar fleet, making the city choose between implementing a new street railway system or using buses. The latter were selected, and automobiles remained the city's preferred method of transportation.
By 1950, over 100,000 people lived within the city and thousands more in surrounding communities. There were 148 miles (238 km) of paved streets and 163 miles (262 km) of unpaved streets.
After the Salt River flooded in 1980 and damaged many bridges, the
Arizona Department of Transportation and
Amtrak worked together and temporarily operated a train service, the "Hattie B." line, between central Phoenix and the southeast suburbs. It was discontinued because of high operating costs and a lack of interest from local authorities in maintaining funding.
The "
Phoenix Lights" sightings took place in March 1997. The
Baseline Killer and
Serial Shooter crime sprees occurred in Phoenix, Tempe, and Mesa. Steele Indian School Park was the site of a
mid-air collision between two news helicopters in July 2007.
Phoenix has maintained a massive growth streak in recent years, growing by 24.2% since 2000. This makes it the second-fastest-growing
metropolitan area in the
United States following only
Las Vegas, whose population has grown by 29.2% since 2000.
Geography
Phoenix is located at 33°26'54" North, 112°4'26" West (33.448457°, -112.073844°) in the Salt River Valley, or "Valley of the Sun", in central Arizona. It lies at a mean elevation of 1,117 feet (340 m), in the northern reaches of the
Sonoran Desert.
The
Salt River course runs westward through the city of Phoenix; the riverbed is normally dry except when excess runoff forces the release of water from the six dams upriver. The city of Tempe has built two inflatable dams in the Salt River bed to create a year-round recreational lake, called
Tempe Town Lake. The dams are deflated to allow the river to flow unimpeded during releases.
The Phoenix area is surrounded by the
McDowell Mountains to the northeast, the
White Tank Mountains to the west, the
Superstition Mountains far to the east, and the
Sierra Estrella to the southwest. Within the city are the
Phoenix Mountains and
South Mountains. Current development (as of 2005) is pushing beyond the geographic boundaries to the north and west, and south through Pinal County. According to the
United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 475.1 square miles (1,230.5 km²); 474.9 square miles (1,229.9 km²) of it's land and 0.2 square miles (0.6 km², or 0.05%) of it's water.
The Phoenix
Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) (officially known as the Phoenix-
Mesa-
Scottsdale MSA), is the
13th largest in the United States, with a total population of 4,039,182 as of the June 2006 update of the 2000
U.S. Census. It includes the Arizona counties of
Maricopa and
Pinal. Other cities in the MSA include
Mesa,
Scottsdale,
Glendale,
Tempe,
Chandler,
Gilbert, and
Peoria. Several smaller communities are also included, such as
Cave Creek,
Queen Creek,
Buckeye,
Goodyear,
Fountain Hills,
Litchfield Park,
Anthem,
Sun Lakes,
Sun City,
Sun City West,
Avondale,
Surprise,
El Mirage,
Paradise Valley, and
Tolleson. The communities of
Ahwatukee,
Arcadia, Deer Valley,
Laveen, Maryvale and others are part of the city of Phoenix, Ahwatukee being separated from the rest of the city by South Mountain.
As with most of Arizona, Phoenix doesn't observe
daylight savings time. In 1973, Gov. Jack Williams argued to
Congress that energy use would increase in the evening, as refrigeration units were not used as often in the morning on standard time. He went on to say that energy use would rise "because there would be more lights on in the early morning." He was also concerned about children going to school in the dark, which indeed they were. The exception to this are lands of the Navajo Nation in Northeastern Arizona, which observe daylight saving time in conjunction with the rest of their tribal lands in other states.
Climate
Phoenix has an
arid climate, with very hot summers and temperate winters. The average summer high temperature is among the hottest of any populated area in the United states and approaches those of cities such as
Riyadh and
Baghdad. The temperature reaches or exceeds 100 °
F (38 °
C) on an average of 89 days during the year, including most days from early June through early September. On
June 26 1990, the temperature reached an all-time recorded high of 122°F (50°C).
Overnight lows greater than occur frequently each summer, with the average July low being and the average August low being . The all-time highest low temperature ever recorded was 96°F (36°C), which occurred on
July 15 2003.
Precipitation is sparse during a large part of the summer, but the influx of
monsoonal moisture, which generally begins in early July and lasts until mid-September, raises humidity levels and can cause heavy localized precipitation and flooding. Winter months are mild to warm, with daily high temperatures ranging from the mid-60's to low 70's, and low temperatures rarely dipping below 40.
Phoenix averages 85% of possible sunshine and receives scant rainfall, the average annual total at
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport being 8.3
inches (210 mm). March is the wettest month of the year (1.07 inches or 27 mm) with June being the driest (0.09 inches or 2 mm). Although thunderstorms are possible at any time of the year, they're most common during the monsoon from July to mid-September as humid air surges in from the
Gulf of California. These can bring strong winds, large
hail, or rarely,
tornadoes. Winter storms moving inland from the
Pacific Ocean occasionally produce significant rains but occur infrequently. Fog is rare but can be observed from time to time during the winter months.
On average, Phoenix has only 5 days per year where the temperature drops to or below freezing. The long-term mean date of the first frost is
December 15 and the last is
February 1; however, these dates don't represent the city as a whole because the frequency of freezes increases the further one moves outward from the urban heat island. Frequently, outlying areas of Phoenix see frost, but the airport does not. The earliest frost on record occurred on
November 3 1946, and the latest occurred on
April 4,
1945. The all-time lowest recorded temperature in Phoenix was 16°F (-8.8°C) on
January 7 1913.
Snow is extremely rare in the area. Snowfall was first officially recorded in 1896, and since then, accumulations of 0.1 inches (0.25 cm) or greater have occurred only seven times. The heaviest snowstorm on record dates to
January 20-
January 21 1937, when 1 to fell (2 to 10 cm) in parts of the city and didn't melt entirely for four days. Before that, 1 inch (2.5 cm) had fallen on
January 20,
1933. On
February 2 1939, 0.5 inches (1 cm) fell.
Most recently, 0.4 inches (1 cm) fell on
December 21-
December 22 1990. Snow also fell on
March 12 1917, November 28 1919, and
December 11 1985.
| Month |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
| Rec. high °F (°C) | 88 (31.1) |
92 (33.3) |
100 (37.7) |
105 (40.6) |
113 (45) |
122 (50) |
121 (49.4) |
116 (46.7) |
118 (47.8) |
107 (41.7) |
95 (35) |
88 (31.1)
|
| Avg high °F (°C) | 67 (19.4) |
71 (21.7) |
76 (24.4) |
85 (29.4) |
94 (34.4) |
104 (40) |
107 (41.7) |
105 (40.6) |
99 (37.2) |
88 (31.1) |
75 (23.9) |
67 (19.4)
|
| Avg low temperature °F (°C) | 45 (7.2) |
48 (8.9) |
53 (11.7) |
58 (14.4) |
67 (19.4) |
76 (24.4) |
83 (28.3) |
82 (27.8) |
76 (24.4) |
62 (16.7) |
50 (10) |
44 (6.7)
|
| Rec. low °F (°C) | 17 (-8.3) |
25 (-3.9) |
25 (-3.9) |
37 (2.7) |
40 (4.4) |
51 (10.6) |
66 (18.9) |
61 (16.1) |
47 (8.3) |
34 (1.1) |
27 (-2.8) |
22 (-5.6)
|
| Avg precipitation in. (mm) | 0.83 (21.1) |
0.77 (19.6) |
1.07 (27.2) |
0.25 (6.4) |
0.16 (4.1) |
0.09 (2.3) |
0.99 (25.1) |
0.94 (23.9) |
0.75 (19) |
0.79 (20.1) |
0.73 (18.5) |
0.92 (23.4)
|
| Source: Weather.com |
Cityscape
The city of Phoenix is divided up into 15
urban villages. Inside some of the Villages are well-known neighborhoods, or districts, which are listed as subpoints. These urban villages are:
Ahwatukee Foothills,
Alhambra,
Camelback East,
Central City, Deer Valley, Desert View,
Encanto, Estrella,
Laveen, Maryvale, North Gateway, North Mountain, Paradise Valley (not to be confused with the town of
Paradise Valley), South Mountain and
Rio Vista. Rio Vista was created as New Village in 2004 and is currently very sparsely populated, with no large amount of development expected in the near future.
Commonly referred-to Phoenix regions and districts include
Downtown,
Midtown,
West Phoenix,
North Phoenix,
South Phoenix, Biltmore Area, Arcadia, Sunnyslope,
Ahwatukee.
Demographics
City of Phoenix
Population by year |
| 1890 |
3,152 |
| 1900 |
5,544 |
| 1910 |
11,314 |
| 1920 |
29,053 |
| 1930 |
48,118 |
| 1940 |
65,414 |
| 1950 |
106,818 |
| 1960 |
439,170 |
| 1970 |
581,562 |
| 1980 |
789,704 |
| 1990 |
983,403 |
| 2000 |
1,321,045 |
| 2006 |
1,512,986 |
According to the 2000
census, there were 1,321,045 people, 865,834 households, and 407,450 families residing in the city. The
population density was 2,782 people per square mile (1,074/km²). There were 895,832 housing units at an average density of 1,044 per square mile (403/km²).
There were 865,834 households out of which 35.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.9% were
heterosexual married couples living together, 12.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.0% were non-families. 25.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.79 and the average family size was 3.39.
In the city the population age distribution was 28.9% under the age of 18, 10.9% from 18 to 24, 33.2% from 25 to 44, 18.8% from 45 to 64, and 8.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 103.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $41,207, and the median income for a family was $46,467. Males had a median income of $32,820 versus $27,466 for females. The
per capita income for the city was $19,833. 15.8% of the population and 11.5% of families were below the
poverty line. Out of the total population, 21.0% of those under the age of 18 and 10.3% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.
As of 2000, the
racial makeup of the Phoenix was 71.1%
White, 5.1%
African American, 2.0%
Native American, 2.0%
Asian, 0.13%
Pacific Islander, 16.4% from
other races, and 3.3% from two or more races. 34.1% of the population were
Hispanic or
Latino of any race. Since the 2000 census, the
non-Hispanic White population in Phoenix dropped below 50%, according to William Frey, a demographer with the
Brookings Institution.
In 2000, the Phoenix metro area's
religious composition was reported as 45%
Catholic, 13%
LDS (concentrated heavily in the suburb of
Mesa) and 5%
Jewish. The remaining 37% are largely members of
Protestant denominations or are unaffiliated.
Economy
The early economy of Phoenix was primarily agricultural, dependent mainly on
cotton and
citrus farming. In the last two decades, the economy has diversified as rapidly as the population has grown. As the state capital of
Arizona, many residents in the area are employed by the government.
Arizona State University has also enhanced the area's population through education and its growing research capabilities. Numerous high-tech and telecommunications companies have also recently relocated to the area. Due to the warm climate in winter, Phoenix benefits greatly from seasonal
tourism and recreation, and has a particularly vibrant
golf industry.
Phoenix is currently home to seven major
Fortune 1000 companies: waste management company
Allied Waste, electronics corporation
Avnet,
Apollo Group (which operates the
University of Phoenix), mining company
Freeport McMoRan, retailer
PetSmart, energy supplier
Pinnacle West
and retailer
CSK Auto.
Honeywell hosts many factories for the building of military grade engines, as well as their company network gateway in Phoenix.
Intel has one of their largest sites in Arizona, employing about 11,000 employees and 3 chip manufacturing fabs, including the $3 billion state-of-the-art 300 mm, 45nm Fab 32.
American Express hosts their financial transactions, customer information, and their entire website in Phoenix. The area is also home to
US Airways Group, a Fortune 500 company located in
Tempe also home to
Insight Enterprises (also listed on the Fortune 500). Phoenix is also home to the headquarters of
U-HAUL International, a rental company and moving supply store, as well
Best Western, a
hotel chain, is also headquartered in the city.
In recent years many Internet companies have found a home in Phoenix. Internet companies like Google, eBay, AOL, IPowerWeb and Easynews all have offices located in Phoenix.
The military has a significant presence in Phoenix with
Luke Air Force Base located in the western suburbs. At its height, in the 1940s, the Phoenix area had 3 military bases: Luke Field (still in use),
Falcon Field, and
Williams Air Force Base (now
Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport), with numerous auxiliary air fields located throughout the region.
» See also: List of major corporations in Phoenix
Culture
Phoenix and the surrounding area is home to a broad range of cultural activities including the
performing arts, museums, and events.
Performing Arts
Several performing arts venues are found throughout the Phoenix area, but primarily in and around
downtown Phoenix and in
Scottsdale. One such venue is the
Phoenix Symphony Hall, where performances from groups such as
Arizona Opera and Ballet Arizona often occur. Another venue is the
Orpheum Theatre (Phoenix) which is home to the
Phoenix Metropolitan Opera.
Concerts also regularly make stops in the area. Venues for concerts include the
US Airways Center in
downtown Phoenix,
Jobing.com Arena in
Glendale, and the Dodge theater (also in downtown Phoenix).
Museums
Several
museums are scattered around the valley. One of the most well-known museums in the area is the
Heard Museum just north of
downtown. From its start as a small museum, the Heard has grown in size and stature to where now it's recognized internationally for the quality of its collections of
Native American art, its educational programming and its festivals. As of 2008, the collection of the Heard Museum consists of over 40,000 items, and it has over 130,000 square feet (12,000 m²) of gallery, classroom and performance space. Some of the signature exhibits include a full
Navajo hogan, the Mareen Allen Nichols Collection containing 260 pieces of contemporary jewelry, the
Barry Goldwater Collection of 437 historic
Hopi kachina dolls, and an exhibit on the 19th century boarding school experiences of Native Americans. The Heard Museum now attracts about 250,000 visitors a year.
Other notable museums include the
Arizona Science Center, Fleischer Museum, Hall of Flame Firefighting Museum, Arizona Historical Society Museum, Phoenix Museum of History, the
Phoenix Zoo, and the Pueblo Grande Museum and Cultural Park.
Sports
Phoenix is home to several professional sports franchises, including representatives of all four
major professional sports leagues in the U.S. The first major franchise was the
Phoenix Suns of the
National Basketball Association (NBA), which started play in 1968. In 1997, the
Phoenix Mercury was one of the original eight teams to launch the
Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Both teams play at US Airways Center. The
Phoenix Flame of the
International Basketball League began play in the spring of 2007.
The
Arizona Cardinals moved to Phoenix from
St. Louis, Missouri in 1988 and currently play in the
NFL's National Football Conference –
West Division. The team, however, has never played in the city itself; they played at
Sun Devil Stadium on the campus of
Arizona State University in nearby
Tempe until 2006. Sun Devil Stadium held
Super Bowl XXX in 1996 when the
Dallas Cowboys defeated the
Pittsburgh Steelers. The Cardinals now play at
University of Phoenix Stadium in
Glendale. University of Phoenix Stadium hosted
Super Bowl XLII on
February 3,
2008, in which the
New York Giants defeated the
New England Patriots. It is also the home of the annual
Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, a college football bowl game that's part of the
Bowl Championship Series (BCS).
Phoenix also has an
arena football team, the
Arizona Rattlers of the
Arena Football League. Games are played at
US Airways Center downtown.
The
Phoenix Coyotes of the
National Hockey League moved to the area in 1996, and play at
Jobing.com Arena, adjacent to University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale. The city also boasts a
minor league hockey team, the
Phoenix Roadrunners of the
ECHL, who play at the US Airways Center. This makes Phoenix one of the few cities where minor and major league teams in the same sport coexist.
The
Arizona Diamondbacks of
Major League Baseball (
National League West Division) began play as an expansion team in 1998. The team plays at
Chase Field (downtown). In 2001, the Diamondbacks defeated the New York Yankees 4 games to 3 in the World Series, becoming not only the city's first professional sports franchise to win a national championship, but also the youngest expansion franchise in U.S. professional sports to ever do so.
Additionally, due to the favorable climate, nine
Major League Baseball teams conduct
spring training in the metro area, as well as nearby
Tucson. These teams are collectively known as the
Cactus League and are generally all from the west coast.
The
Phoenix International Raceway is a major venue for two
NASCAR auto racing events per season.
Boat racing,
drag racing, and
road course racing are also held at Firebird International Raceway.
Sprint car racing is held at
Manzanita Speedway.
Phoenix has also hosted the
Insight Bowl at
Chase Field until 2005, after which it moved to nearby
Tempe, as well as several major professional
golf events, including the
LPGA's
Safeway International and
The Tradition of the
Champions Tour. Phoenix was originally scheduled to host the 2006
NHL All-Star Game, but it was canceled due to the
2006 Winter Olympics (the recently adopted NHL
collective bargaining agreement prohibits the All-Star Game to be held during Olympic years). Instead, Phoenix will host the 2009 All-Star Game.
Phoenix's Ahwatukee American Little League reached the 2006
Little League World Series as the representative from the U.S. West region. Phoenix is one of the three cities that hosts the annual
Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon in January.
As of 2007 Phoenix is the largest North American city not to contain a team in any of the four tiers of professional soccer. There is a plan to try and bring
Major League Soccer to the city in the shape of the proposed team
Phoenix Rising. Phoenix is currently one of thirteen cities across the United States and Canada that are aiming to claim one of two places scheduled to be made available through expansion before 2010. The plan currently includes a suggested $150 million 25,000-seat
soccer specific stadium with a retractable roof.
» See also: U.S. cities with teams from four major sports.
Parks and recreation
Phoenix is home to a large number of parks and recreation areas. Many
waterparks are scattered around the valley to help residents cope with the harsh
desert heat during the summer months. Some of the notable parks include
Big Surf in
Tempe,
Waterworld Safari in
Glendale,
Golfland SunSplash in
Mesa, and the
Oasis Water Park at Pointe South Mountain Resort in Phoenix. The area also has one
amusement park in central Phoenix called
Castles N' Coasters, next to the Metrocenter Mall.
Many parks have been established to preserve the desert landscape in areas that would otherwise quickly be developed with commercial and residential zoning. The most noteworthy park is
South Mountain Park, the world's largest
municipal park with ; others include
Camelback Mountain,
Boyce Thompson Arboretum State Park and
Sunnyslope Mountain, also known as "S" Mountain. The
Desert Botanical Garden displays desert plantlife from deserts all over the world.
Encanto Park is the city's largest and primary urban park, and lies just northwest of downtown Phoenix.
Papago Park in east Phoenix is home to both the Desert Botanical Garden and the
Phoenix Zoo, as well as a few
golf courses.
Media
» See also: List of radio stations in Arizona, List of films shot in Phoenix.
The first newspaper in Phoenix was the weekly
Salt River Valley Herald, which later changed its name to the
Phoenix Herald in 1880.
Today, the city is served by two major daily newspapers:
The Arizona Republic (serving the greater metropolitan area) and the
East Valley Tribune (serving primarily the cities of the East Valley). In addition, the city is also served by numerous free neighborhood papers and weeklies such as the
Phoenix New Times,
Arizona State University's The State Press, and the
College Times. For 40 years,
The Bachelor's Beat, a paid weekly newspaper, has covered local politics while selling ads for area strip clubs and escort services.
The Phoenix metro area is served by many local television stations and is the 12th largest
designated market area (DMA) in the U.S. with 1,802,550 homes (1.6% of the total U.S.). The major network television affiliates are
KPNX 12 (
NBC),
KNXV 15 (
ABC),
KPHO 5 (
CBS),
KSAZ 10 (
FOX),
KUTP 45 (
MNTV),
KASW 61 (
CW) and
KAET 8 (
PBS, operated by
ASU). Other network television affiliates operating in the area include
KPAZ 21 (
TBN),
KTVW 33 (
Univision),
KTAZ 39 (
Telemundo),
KDPH 48 (
Daystar), and
KPPX 51 (
ION).
KTVK 3 (3TV) and
KAZT 7 (AZ-TV) are independent television stations operating in the metro area. KAZT broadcasts in
digital format only.
The radio airwaves in Phoenix cater to a wide variety of musical and talk radio interests.
Several major
feature films have been filmed in the city, including
Waiting to Exhale,
Song of the South,
The Gauntlet,
Psycho,
Raising Arizona,
Jerry Maguire,
The Prophecy,
Used Cars,
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (used as a stand-in for
San Dimas, California),
U Turn,
Eight Legged Freaks,
Private Lessons,,
Never Been Thawed, Just One of the Guys,
Terminal Velocity,
Taxi, and
The Banger Sisters.
Government
Being the capital of Arizona, Phoenix houses the
state legislature. In 1913, the commission form of government was adopted. The city of Phoenix is served by a
city council consisting of a
mayor and eight city council members. The mayor is elected
At Large, to a four-year term.
Phoenix City Council members are elected to four-year terms by voters in each of the eight separate districts that they represent. The current mayor of Phoenix is
Phil Gordon, who was elected to a four-year term in 2003 and re-elected to an additional four-year term in 2007. The mayor and city council members have equal voting power to adopt ordinances and set the policies that govern the city.
Phoenix operates under a
council-manager form of government, with a strong
City Manager supervising all City departments and executing policies adopted by the Council.
» See also: List of mayors of Phoenix, Arizona
Corporate subsidies controversy
In February 2007 the city of Phoenix voted to give Klutznick Co., the developer of the
CityNorth mall, a $97.4 million
sales tax subsidy. The subsidy was the largest, at the time, in the history of Arizona. The CityNorth subsidy created enough public outrage that the Arizona State Legislature voted to ban sales tax subsidies in Pinal and Maricopa county (although there's an unenforced constitutional ban already)
The City of Phoenix was
sued by the
Goldwater Institute, which is trying to eliminate corporate subsidies statewide by enforcing the constitutional ban on corporate subsidies. The Goldwater Institute lost its case against the CityNorth development and the City of Phoenix. Currently, both the city and the developer are seeking recovery of legal fees from the suit.
Education
Public education in the Phoenix area is provided by over 30 school districts. The
Phoenix Union High School District operates most of the public high schools in the city of Phoenix. Charter schools such as North Pointe Preparatory School also exist.
The main institution of higher education in the area is
Arizona State University, with its main campus located in
Tempe, and satellite campuses,
ASU West,
ASU Downtown both in Phoenix (and
ASU Polytechnic in
Mesa. ASU is currently one of the largest public universities in the U.S., with a 2007 student enrollment of 64,394.
There are also small satellite offices for
The University of Arizona (based in
Tucson) and
Northern Arizona University (based in
Flagstaff) located in Phoenix.
Grand Canyon University is the nations only private, for profit, Christian University. Initially a public school started in 1949, it was purchased by three investors who brought it out of bankruptcy. Since the takeover in 2004, enrollment has increased each year. It currently has over 10,000 students, almost 85% attend the school online.
Thunderbird School of Global Management, is regarded as a leading institution in the education of global managers and has operations in the United States (Glendale), Switzerland, Czech Republic, Russia, Mexico, Central and South America and China, and was ranked No. 1 in international business by The Wall Street Journal's poll of corporate recruiters, U.S. News and World Report, and the Financial Times.
The fast growing
Western Governors University opened a business office in Phoenix in 2006. WGU is an online
non-profit university. Governor Napolitano is on the WGU board.
The
University of Phoenix is also headquartered in Phoenix. This is the nation's largest
private,
for-profit university with over 130,000 students at campuses throughout the
United States (including
Puerto Rico),
Canada,
Mexico, and the
Netherlands.
University of Advancing Technology is a small private technology oriented school. Their newly expanded campus is located on Baseline Road in Tempe, bordering Phoenix.
Collins College (a private, for-profit career college focusing on design and technology) doesn't have a campus, and instead rent apartments from apartment complexes, in which students can live. The school is located in
Tempe, with a branch campus in Phoenix.
DeVry University and Argosy University operate post-secondary schools on the west side of Phoenix.
There are also ten
community colleges and two skills centers throughout
Maricopa County, providing adult education and job training.
Transportation
Air
Phoenix is served by
Sky Harbor International Airport, which is centrally located in the metro area near several major freeway interchanges east of downtown Phoenix. Sky Harbor is the ninth-busiest airport in the U.S. and 18th in the world for passenger traffic, handling more than 41 million travelers in 2006. The airport serves more than 100 cities with non-stop flights.
Aeromexico,
Air Canada,
British Airways, and
WestJet are among several international carriers as well as American carrier
US Airways providing flights to destinations such as
Canada,
Costa Rica,
Mexico, and the
United Kingdom.
The
Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport in neighboring
Mesa also serves the area's commercial air traffic. It was converted from
Williams Air Force Base, which closed in 1993. The airport has recently received substantial commercial service with Allegiant Air opening a focus city operation at the airport with non-stop service to over a dozen destinations.
Smaller airports that primarily handle private and corporate jets include
Phoenix Deer Valley Airport, located in the Deer Valley district of northwest Phoenix, as well as municipal airports in several area suburbs.
Public transportation
Public transportation throughout the metropolitan area is provided by
Valley Metro, which operates a system of buses and a rideshare program. Valley Metro is currently building
METRO Rail, a
light rail project, which is scheduled for completion in 2008. As of 2004 (when
Houston, Texas started running its
METRO light rail), Phoenix has been the largest US city devoid of a rail transit system. Interest has also been expressed in Phoenix and several neighboring cities for the creation of a
commuter rail system operating on existing railroad lines.
Amtrak no longer serves
Phoenix Union Station; Phoenix is the largest city in the United States without intercity passenger rail service. The
Sunset Limited and
Texas Eagle stop three times a week at
Maricopa, thirty miles south of downtown Phoenix. (For shuttle and other travel information, see
the Texas Eagle site). Amtrak Thruway buses connect Sky Harbor to
Flagstaff for connection with the daily
Southwest Chief service to
Los Angeles and
Chicago. Phoenix is served by
Greyhound bus service, with the station at 24th Street located near the airport.
Bicycle transportation
Bicycle transportation is also an option, and the Maricopa Association of Governments has a bicycle advisory committee working to improve conditions for bicycling on city streets as well as off-road paths.
Major streets
The street system in Phoenix is laid out in a traditional grid system, with most roads oriented either
North-
South or
East-
West. The zero point is the intersection of Central Avenue and Washington Street. Numbered Avenues run north–south west of Central; numbered Streets run north–south east of Central. Major arterial streets are spaced one mile (1.6 km) apart. The one-mile (1.6 km) blocks are divided into approximately 800 house numbers, although this varies. Scottsdale Road, being 7200 East, is approximately 7200 / 800 = east of Central. The Valley Metro bus numbers are also based on this numbering system, with the Central Avenue bus being Route Zero, and Scottsdale Road being Route 72.
Freeways and expressways
Interstate 10 and
Interstate 17 handled almost all freeway traffic in Phoenix, placing a large burden on surface arterial streets, leading to increased traffic congestion as the area grew in size.
The current freeway system comprises two interstate routes (I-10 and I-17), the nearly transcontinental
US 60, and several state highways as well – including
SR 51,
SR 85,
Loop 101,
SR 143, and
Loop 202.
Eventually, several other state highways (
Loop 303,
SR 801, and
SR 802) will make their way into the system as they're needed.
Sister cities
Phoenix, Arizona has ten
sister cities, as designated by the Phoenix Sister Cities Commission:
Further Information
Get more info on 'Phoenix Arizona'.
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