OUT OF THE ASHESOUT OF THE ASHES

THE HISTORY OF THE CITY OF PHOENIXTHE HISTORY OF THE CITY OF PHOENIX

Early Life Along the Salt River

Hundreds of years before any of the citiesin the eastern part of our country wereso much as clearings in the wilderness,

a well established, civilized communitypopulated the land we know as Phoenix. ThePueblo Grande ruins, which were occupiedbetween 700 A.D. and 1400 A.D., are atestament to our city’s ancient roots.

The wide Salt River ran through the Valleyof the Sun, but there was little rain or meltingsnow to moisten the brown earth from river tomountain range on either side. But formerresidents were industrious, enterprising andimaginative. They built an irrigation system,consisting mostly of some 135 miles of canals,

and the land became fertile. The ultimate fateof this ancient society, however, is a mystery.The accepted belief is that it was destroyed bya prolonged drought. Roving Indians,observing the Pueblo Grande ruins and the vastcanal system these people left behind, gavethem the name “Ho Ho Kam” – meaning thepeople who have gone.

Phoenix’s modern history begins in thesecond half of the 19th century. In 1867, JackSwilling of Wickenburg stopped to rest hishorse at the foot of the north slopes of theWhite Tank Mountains. He looked down andacross the expansive Salt River Valley and hiseyes caught the rich gleam of the brown, drysoil turned up by the horse’s hooves. He saw

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farm land, predominately free of rocks, and ina place beyond the reach of heavy frost orsnow. All it needed was water.

Returning to Wickenburg, he organized theSwilling Irrigation Canal Company, andmoved into the Valley. The same year, thecompany began digging a canal to divert someof the water from the Salt River onto the landsof the Valley. By March 1868, water flowedthrough the canal, and a few members of thecompany raised meager crops that summer.

Phoenix is Born

By 1868, a small colony had formedapproximately four miles east of the presentcity. Swilling’s Mill became the new name ofthe area. It was then changed to Helling Mill,then Mill City, and years later, East Phoenix.Swilling, having been a confederate soldier,wanted to name the new settlement Stonewallafter Stonewall Jackson.

Others suggested the name Salina, butneither name suited the inhabitants. It wasDarrell Duppa who suggested the namePhoenix, inasmuch as the new town wouldspring from the ruins of a former civilization.That is the accepted derivation of our name.

Phoenix officially was recognized on May 4, 1868, when the Yavapai County Boardof Supervisors, the county of which we werethen a part, formed an election precinct here.

A post office was established in Phoenix onJune 15, 1868, and Jack Swilling was namedpostmaster.

The sharp whistle of the first steam mill inthe Valley added a brisk note to the sound ofemerging industry. It announced the RichardFlour Mills, built in 1869, where the LuhrsTower now stands.

Selecting a Townsite

The rapid influx of pioneers continued andby 1870 it was clear that a townsite had to be

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Jack Swilling, one of the

founders of Phoenix.

selected. On Oct. 20, 1870, a meeting to select such a site took place in the home of John Moore.

This well-known farmer offered 40 acres tothe cause, but 320 were purchased by a popularsubscription that raised $50. The officialdesignation of this new townsite was the NorthHalf of Section 8, Township 1 North, Range 3East. It encompassed the area – today’sdowntown business section – bounded on thenorth by Van Buren Street, on the south byJackson Street, on the east by Seventh Streetand on the west by Seventh Avenue.

To administer this new townsite, the SaltRiver Valley Town Association was formed withits articles bearings the following signatures:

Washington Street in

the 1870s.

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Darrell Duppa Wm. B. Hellings & Co.Barnett and Block Thomas BarnumJames Murphy John T. DennisWilliam A. Holmes James M. BuckJacob Starar John T. AlsapColumbus H. Gray Martin P. GriffinJames McC. Elliot J. P. PerryWilliam Rowe Michael ConnellDaniel Twomey Charles C. McDermottEdward Irvine John P. OsbornAndrew Starar Paul BeckerJames D. Monihon

John T. Alsap, James Murphy and J. P. Perrywere selected by majority vote to be the townsitecommissioners. Alsap was the chairman andCapt. William A. Hancock was secretary.

Parades were common in

downtown Phoenix (far

left) in 1884.

The Columbus and Adeline

Gray mansion (left) on

Seventh and Mohave

streets was a Phoenix

showplace in the 1890s.

Capt. Hancock was also a surveyor, and heconducted the first survey of the townsite andlaid out the lots and the town. The first town ofPhoenix was one mile long, a half-mile wideand contained 96 blocks. Washington Streetwas the main roadway and on the early maps isshown to be 100 feet wide.

The east and west streets were named afterour presidents. Washington Street was placed inthe middle and Adams, who was the secondpresident, was given the first street to the north.Our third president, Jefferson, had the firststreet south of Washington named after him.And the pattern followed – one to the north andone to the south – until recent years.

The north-south streets originally carriedIndian names, but these were changed in favor

of the more easily remembered numbers – withstreets designated to the east of Central Avenueand avenues to the west.

The Great Sale

The Prescott Miner carried the followingadvertisement on December 7, 1870:

“GREAT SALE OF LOTS ATPHOENIX, ARIZONA

on the 23rd and 24th of December.”

The first effort resulted in the sale of 61 lotsat an average price of $48 each. The first lotwas purchased by Judge William Berry ofPrescott. His purchase of the southwest corner

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of First and Washington streets cost him therather steep price of $116.

The first store building in the new townwas Hancock’s Store, a general store openedin July 1871, by William Smith. The adobestructure was built on the northwest corner ofFirst and Washington streets and served as thetown hall, county offices and general meetingplace for early Phoenicians.

Although various religious organizationshad been formed by 1870, the first churchbuilding in Phoenix was the Central MethodistChurch built in 1871 at the corner of SecondAvenue and Washington Street.

The first Catholic priest came to Phoenix in1872, but it was not until after 1881 that an

adobe church building, the Sacred Heart of St. Louis at Third and Monroe streets, replaceda home as a place for Catholics to worship.

Yavapai County was divided on Feb. 12,1871, when Maricopa County was created bythe Legislature. Maricopa, the sixth county inthe state, gave up portions of land in 1875 and1881 to help form Pinal and Gila counties.

The first county election was held in 1871,when Tom Barnum was selected the firstsheriff of Maricopa County. It was acontentious race. As a matter of fact, ashooting between two other candidates for theoffice, J. A. Chenowth and Jim Favorite,resulted in Favorite’s death and Chenowth’swithdrawal from the race.

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Schooling for Phoenix’s youth began onSeptember 5, 1872. About 20 children studiedunder the guidance of Jean Rudolph Derrochein the courtroom of the county building. ByOctober 1873, a small adobe school buildingwas completed on Center Street (now CentralAvenue), a short distance north of where theSan Carlos Hotel now stands. Miss NellieShaver, a newcomer from Wisconsin, wasappointed as the first female schoolteacher inPhoenix.

Whole Town Worth $550

On April 10, 1874, President Grant issued apatent to Judge Alsap for the present site ofPhoenix. The declaratory statement was filed at

the Prescott Land Office on Feb. 15, 1872.Official entry was made at the Florence LandOffice on Nov. 19, 1873. The total cost of the320-acre Phoenix Townsite was $550,including all expenses for services.

In 1874, downtown lots were selling for $7to $11 each. That year also marked the entryof the first telegraph line into Phoenix. MorrisGoldwater was the first operator of thetelegraph station, located in his father’s storeon the northwest corner of First and Jeffersonstreets.

By 1875, there were 16 saloons, four dancehalls, two monte banks and one faro table inPhoenix. The townsite-commissioner form ofgovernment, however, was not working well.

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At a mass meeting held at the courthouse onOct. 20, 1875, an election was held to selectthree village trustees and other officials.

John Smith became the chairman of thetrustees, Charles W. Stearns was selectedtreasurer and Capt. Hancock was chosensecretary.

As business flourished, a safe place wasneeded for the Valley’s money. To solve theproblem, the National Bank was established in1878 with capital stock of $200,000.

The first newspaper in Phoenix, the SaltRiver Valley Herald, changed its name to thePhoenix Herald in 1880. By this time, thepaper had progressed from a weekly to asemiweekly publication.

In 1880, Phoenix had 2,453 residents, 379pupils enrolled in school, an ice factory and a

new brick sidewalk in front of the TigerSaloon. On Nov. 26 of that year, MaricopaCounty had its first legal hanging.

Incorporation in 1881

Just as Phoenix had outgrown its originaltownsite-commissioner form of government, itgrew too large for the village trustee operation.“The Phoenix Charter Bill” was passed by the11th Territorial Legislature. The bill madePhoenix an incorporated city and provided fora government consisting of a mayor and fourcouncil members. It was signed by GovernorJohn C. Fremont on Feb. 25, 1881.

On May 3, 1881, the first election tookplace in the newly incorporated city with a

Cyclists add to the heavy

traffic at Washington and

First streets in the late

1880s.

population of approximately 2,500. The outcome:

MayorJohn T. Alsap 127 votesJames D. Monihon 102 votesCouncilT.W. Brown 198 votesJohn H. Burger 144 votesW.T. Smith. 120 votesJames M. Cotton 107 votesMark Richardson 104 votesJ.W. Clark 98 votesDr. Sheets 91 votesTreasurerM.W. Kales 224 votes

MarshalHenry Garfias 97 votesJames K. Burnett 79 votesThomas Childs 53 votes

The first regular meeting of the CityCouncil was held on May 9, 1881. The firstordinance adopted was the one relating to theofficial seal of the city described as follows:

“In the center a bird rising,and surrounding this, the inscription

Phoenix, Arizonan –Incorporated February 25, 1881.”

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The 11th Legislature attempted to have theUnited States Government establish a mint inPhoenix. The effort wasn’t successful, butanother enterprise saw its beginning. HolsumBakery realized the opportunities Phoenix hadto offer and opened its doors in 1881.

Within the next 10 years, great strides weremade toward the maturity of a modern city. In1886, one of the first electric plants in the westwas installed in Phoenix. It was a steam plantwith boilers fired by mesquite wood.

That same year, Phoenix Fire EngineCompany Number 1 was organized. It wasoperated by a volunteer group that served thecity for many years.

Transportation: Horses and Rails

The first horse-drawn streetcar line was builtalong some 2 1/2 miles of Washington Street in1887, and the kick off for this new mode oftransportation was on Nov. 5. An additionalline was installed along Center Street, and thefirst car moved over those shaky rails on Dec.30, 1889. The streetcar system became ratherextensive in later years, with tracks coveringmost of Phoenix and extending even toGlendale.

July 4, 1887, would have been just anotherIndependence Day had not the first SouthernPacific train arrived that day from MaricopaWells. This had been a long-anticipated event.

The coming of the railroad was the first of

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several important events that revolutionizedthe economy of this area. Merchandise nowflowed into the city by rail instead of wagon.Phoenix products went quickly to eastern andwestern markets. In recognition of theincreased tempo of economic life, the PhoenixChamber of Commerce was organized onNov. 4, 1888.

In that year, city offices were moved intothe new City Hall, built where the downtownbus terminal once stood. This building alsoprovided temporary offices for the territorialgovernment when they were moved toPhoenix from Prescott in 1889.

The location of Arizona’s Capitol had beenmoved several times since 1864. It was firstestablished at Navajo Springs, then Prescott,

then Tucson after an attempt to move it to LaPaz failed, then back to Prescott, and finally toPhoenix.

The Bustling 1890s

Twenty years had passed since Phoenix, likeits legendary namesake, had risen from theashes of a bygone community. The 1890sshowed further indications of the heights towhich this city would some day soar. TheArizona Republic became a daily paper in1890, with Ed Gill as its editor.

In those days, none of the great reservoirsnorth of the Valley had been created to controlthe flow of water to the Valley. The year 1891was marked by the greatest flood in the Valley’shistory, as well as by the advent of the first

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telephone system in Phoenix. The horse-drawn streetcars were replaced in

1893 by electric cars. The electric cars stayedon the streets until the automobile replacedthem on Feb. 17, 1948.

On March 12, 1895, the Santa Fe, Prescottand Phoenix Railroad ran its first train toPhoenix. It connected Phoenix with thenorthern part of Arizona and gave travelersanother outlet to the east and west via theSanta Fe.

The additional railroad advanced the capitalcity’s rise to economic supremacy in the state.Also in 1895, the Phoenix Union High Schoolwas established, and 90 young people wereenrolled.

In 1897, the Friday Club, an organization of

Horse-drawn streetcars

pass by the old

courthouse in the

1890s.

14 women, started the public librarymovement in Phoenix. Their efforts led toformation of the Phoenix Library Associationin 1899. The members subscribed at anannual rate of $3 for the maintenance of thesmall library housed in two upstairs rooms inthe Fleming Building at First Avenue andWashington Street. The Phoenix CityCouncil, however, levied a 5-mill tax for itspublic library a few months after the 1901Legislature passed a bill allowing a tax to beapplied to the support of free libraries. Thisaction satisfied the conditions set by Mr.Andrew Carnegie in his proposal to donate alibrary building to the city. The Carnegie FreeLibrary was opened on Feb. 18, 1908.

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By the turn of the century, thepopulation of Phoenix had reached 5,554.More social outlets were being promoted,such as the Phoenix Country Club and theWomen’s Club, both organized in 1900.

The Capitol finally got a permanenthome when a 10-acre plot was donated atthe west end of Washington Street. Abuilding was constructed for $130,000 andit was dedicated by Gov. Murphy on Feb.25, 1901. Newspaper reports of the eventwere set in type by members of PhoenixTypographical Union 352, Arizona’s firstlabor union established Feb. 14, 1901.

President Theodore

Roosevelt (far right) at the

dedication of the Roosevelt

Dam (right) in 1911.

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Roosevelt and Reclamation

In 1902, President Theodore Rooseveltsigned the National Reclamation Act makingit possible to build dams on western streamsfor reclamation purposes, an important eventfor the people of Phoenix and the Valley.

Valley residents were quick to supplementthis federal action by organizing the SaltRiver Valley Waters Users’ Association onFebruary 4, 1903, to assure propermanagement of the precious water supply.This organization still functions as the majoragency for controlled use of irrigation waterin the Valley.

The Theodore Roosevelt Dam was startedin 1906. It was the first multiple-purpose

dam, supplying both water and electricpower constructed under the NationalReclamation Act. On May 18, 1911, theformer president dedicated the dam, whichwas the largest masonry dam in the world.This opened a new era in farming for theValley and secured the part of our economythat depended on water for its life.

President William Howard Taft approvedArizona’s statehood on Feb. 14, 1912. OnMarch 18 of the same year, Gov. GeorgeHunt called the first State Legislature intosession.

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Establishing a Council-ManagerGovernment

This was an auspicious step in the state’shistory, and in the following year, the City ofPhoenix took an equally important one. At aspecial election on October 11, 1913, the peopleof Phoenix, by a vote of nearly two to one,ratified a new charter. The charter provided fora council-manager form of government, makingPhoenix one of the first cities in the nation toadopt this progressive form of government.

Phoenix’s charter also provided for homerule, although the city is not home rule in thecomplete sense of the phrase. Courts ruled thatif the State Legislature passes a law thatconcerns cities and towns, the court determines

if the law was of state-wide interest or ofmunicipal concern. If the law was of state-wide interest, it was binding on Phoenix, eventhough it contravened some provision of thecharter.

Therefore, the government of Phoenix isoperated by authority of the powers granted byits charter, as limited by the State Legislature.This is in contrast to the operation of thegovernment of cities and towns that do nothave charters but operate by the generalstatutes of the state relating to cities and towns.

An election was held on March 19, 1914,with the following results:

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Looking north at Central

Avenue and Washington

Street (right) in the 1920s.

Mae West (far right) came to

town in 1929 to impress the

locals that she wasn’t play-

acting in “I’m No Angel.”

MayorGeorge U. Young 2336 votesErnest W. Lewis 1835 votes

CommissionersJoseph Cope 2618 votesPeter Corpstein 2131 votesMichael J. Foley 1950 votesFrank Woods 1933 votesVictor R. Norris 1873 votesGeorge Norman McBean 1744 votesL. D. Dameron 1617 votesHarry A. Diehl 1461 votes

In the presence of Thomas J. Prescott, onApril 17, 1914, the new Mayor and the

winning four commissioners took their oathsof office. Thus began a third form ofgovernment for Phoenix.

William Addison Farish, a widely knowncivil engineer, was selected as the first citymanager. City officials appointed by Farish,according to the provisions of the newcharter, were the following:

C.M. Cooper AuditorGeorge D. Christy AttorneyJ. C. C.H. Boone TreasurerJohn McBride MagistrateGeorge Brisbois Chief of Police

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Growing into a Metropolis

Phoenix, as well as Arizona, had come ofage. The casual, easy growth thatcharacterized a farming community slowlycame to a stop. Phoenix began to grow into ayoung metropolis. At the end of its first eightyears under statehood, Phoenix was no longera town – it was an important city with 29,053people.

Two thousand youngsters were attendingPhoenix Union High School in 1920. Theywould playfully throw each other into JackSwilling’s first canal, which ran through thecampus and had become the “Town Ditch.” A total of 1,080 buildings went up that year.Among them was Arizona’s first skyscraper,the Heard Building.

During those eight years, Phoenix alsodeveloped the makings of its first politicalscandal – the $1.3 million bond issue of 1919to build a redwood pipeline from the VerdeRiver to Phoenix. The pipeline was finished in1920, but never worked very well. Today, thatportion of the redwood that isn’t stillunderground serves to form walls for thehouses of the Indians living near FortMcDowell.

By 1930, the size of Phoenix nearly doubledagain with a 48,118 census count. There were120 miles of sidewalks and 161 miles of streets– only 77 which were paved. The publiclibrary had 51,000 books, and the police forcehad 70 officers. The budget for the city was$2,033,886. Another pipeline was built – thistime constructed with 48 inches of concrete –

Sky Harbor Airport was

just getting started in

1934.

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that still carries Verde River water to the city. Another turning point in Phoenix life came

in 1940. The city had gone far as a farmingcenter and then as a distribution center. Whenthe United States went to war, Phoenix rapidlyturned into an embryonic industrial city. LukeField, Williams Field and Falcon Field,coupled with the giant ground training centerat Hyder, west of Phoenix, brought thousandsof men into Phoenix. Their needs, bothmilitary and personal, were met in part bysmall industries in Phoenix.

When the war ended, many of these menreturned to Phoenix, and their families camewith them. Suddenly thousands of peoplewere wondering what to do for a living.Large industry learned of this labor pool and

started to move branches here. Smaller plantswere started by private capital and initiative.While water again began to run out as it hadseveral times before, the citizens were morefortunate than the Ho Ho Kam who built thefirst canals and saw them go dry. Phoenix hadAmerican technology to fall back on. The eracommencing with 1940 marked the end ofagriculture’s role as chief provider. It was thebeginning of a greater prosperity than Phoenixhad ever known.

In 1950, 105,000 people lived within the citylimits of Phoenix and thousands more livedimmediately adjacent to and depended uponPhoenix for their livelihoods. The city had 148miles of paved streets and 163 miles of unpavedstreets, a total of 311.

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Governmental Reform

The men who changed the governmentalsystem to the council-manager form in 1914had hoped that this would provide better citygovernment. Their hopes had not been fulfilled,however. A long succession of managers,nearly one a year, had indicated that the councilplaced political favor above running the cityefficiently.

In November 1948, the people voted tostrengthen the city manager’s position inmunicipal government. This change, plusraising the council membership to seven,seemed to position the city to have an operablecouncil-manager form of government. But itdidn’t happen. The council then in power

selected its own manager and continued to rulethe administrative roost.

In 1949, the people, tired of this continuedabuse, elected an entirely new slate of councilmembers, including the first female councilmember, Margaret Kober (Mrs. Leslie R.Kober).

The results of these governmental reformshave been spectacularly demonstrated. Thesame city manager selected by that firstcouncil remained in office more than 11 years,despite the fact that he served under fivedifferent mayors and 27 different councilmembers. This provided continuity inmanagement that proved invaluable,considering the city’s tremendous growth.

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Despite predictions that he wouldn’t last sixmonths, City Manager Ray Wilson remainedat his desk until his voluntary retirement inearly 1961. His term broke every recordestablished by previous managers.

A Major American City

Perhaps the development of Phoenix since1950 has been the most spectacular.

Consider that at the time, Phoenix had anarea of 17.1 square miles and a population of106,000, placing it 99th among Americancities.

Today, the city covers almost 520 squaremiles, has a population of 1.5 million andranks as the county’s fifth largest city.

While Phoenix is the corporate and

industrial center of the Southwest, it has notforgotten its past. It has retained its long-timereputation of friendliness and of concern byits citizens for each other and theirgovernment.

This has been attested to by the NationalCivic League, which four times since 1950selected Phoenix as an “All-America City” incompetition with hundreds of other cities andtowns across the nation.

The hallmark of an All-America City is theextent that its private citizens get involved inthe workings of their government. Thousandsof citizens have served on various citycommittees, boards and commissions toassure that major decisions are in the people’sbest interest.

A toll gate at Central and

McDowell avenues in the

1880s was owned by the

Central Avenue

Improvement Association,

a subsidiary of the

Arizona Water Co. The toll

for wagons and buggies

was 25 cents. Bicycles

were free, and the town

was full of bicycles.

Central Avenue (far right)

in 1948.

Modern Phoenix.

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Since 1950, the residents of Phoenix haveshown their faith in city government byapproving bond issues totaling about $5.1billion for necessary improvements in urbanfacilities and services. The 1988 Phoenix bondelection, which authorized the issuance of morethan $1 billion in bonds, was one of the largestgeneral-purpose municipal bond elections ever.

Among the major projects funded by the1988 bonds were the establishment of the6,000-acre Phoenix Mountains PreserveProgram, construction of the 20-story PhoenixCity Hall, the Burton Barr Central Library, thePhoenix History Museum and the ArizonaScience Center, renovation of the OrpheumTheatre and expansion of the Civic Plaza andthe Phoenix Art Museum.

The latest bond proposal – this one for$878.5 million – was approved by voters in2006. It allowed funding for an assortment ofmajor projects in all parts of the city.

Among them were: • Building police precinct and

neighborhood fire stations, a new crimelab, a new fire training center and high-tech radio communication facilities forPolice, Fire and other city departments.

• Developing small specialty high schoolsand the Arizona State Universitydowntown campus, including a nursingschool, a life sciences research park, abioscience campus and University ofArizona schools of medicine andpharmacy.

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• Acquiring land for new parks andrecreational facilities and expanding andupgrading existing parks.

• Purchasing land for new libraries, senior,family and social service centers, andyouth and family cultural facilities, andrenovating and expanding existingfacilities.

• Developing affordable housing forfamilies and seniors, neighborhoodrevitalization programs and shelters forthe homeless.

• Constructing, improving and maintainingstreets, storm sewers and detentionbasins.

Currently, millions of dollars in public andprivate projects are under construction or plannedin the city. The City Council guides thisunprecedented growth with an approach designedto preserve and enhance the lifestyle thatoriginally attracted so many people to Phoenix.

The work of the council, the city staff and themany citizen volunteers has earned Phoenix muchrecognition over the years, both nationally andinternationally.

In addition to its four “All-America City”awards, other notable honors included:

Best Run City in U.S. — A yearlong, in-depthSyracuse University study in 1999 of managementefficiency among the nation’s 35 largest urbancenters concluded that Phoenix was the nation’sbest-run city. Phoenix was the only city in thesurvey to earn an overall grade of “A.”

Carl Bertelsmann Prize — Phoenix waspraised for its highly efficient and citizen-oriented programs in sharing this prestigiousinternational honor in 1993 with Christchurch,New Zealand. The one-time award, given bythe nonprofit Bertelsmann Foundation ofGermany, recognized the best-run citygovernment in the world.

Best-Managed American City — FinancialWorld magazine ranked Phoenix the best-managed of the nation’s 30 largest cities in1995 and in 1991

Among the Best — Over the years,Phoenix has won national recognition forbeing among the best in the country in manyimportant areas. Expansion Magazine in 2000called it the best city in the country in which to

locate or expand a business; Inc. Magazineselected it in 1999 as the best city in which tostart or grow a business; a Cushman &Wakefield nationwide survey of businessexecutives in 1999 listed it among the top twomost desirable cities in the country in which towork; a national Lou Harris Poll in 1999 put itamong the top 10 cities in the country in whichto live; and Hispanic Magazine in 1999 listedit among the top four cities in the country forHispanics to live and work.

Miscellaneous — Hotwire.com recognizedPhoenix in 2008 as the most affordablevacation spot in its annual Travel Value Index;The National League of Cities and NationalBlack Caucus of Local Elected Officials gavethe city its Excellence in Diversity Award for a

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“Healing Racism” community dialogue seriesconducted in 2008; USA Today listed BurtonBarr Central Library in 2008 as one of the 10greatest places to curl up and read; Phoenixreceived straight A’s in a 2008 Valley ForwardAssociation assessment of environmentalissues that impact the quality of life forresidents today and tomorrow; Sister CitiesInternational in 2008 awarded the city ofPhoenix its highest honor for having the BestOverall Sister City Program in the U.S.among cities with a population of 500,000 ormore; and the National Parks and RecreationAssociation gave its 2007 Excellence inAquatics Award to the Parks and RecreationDepartment for demonstrating excellence in

planning and managing diversified aquatics services. Blessed with energetic and interested residents

willing to give their time to solve tremendousproblems of growth, Phoenix faces an era of unlimiteddevelopment. As long as the people have vision, thepast will be but a prologue of what is to come.

James M. Barney, Arizona historian, and Barry M. Goldwater,former Phoenix City Councilman and U.S. Senator, prepared thehistory for the 1951 Phoenix City Code. It was brought up to datefor the 1962 Code by Jack Williams, former City Councilman,Mayor and Governor.

Photographs from SRP (page 17), Bob Rink (cover and page 28)and the collection of Herb and Dorothy McLaughlin, Departmentof Archives and Manuscripts, University Libraries, Arizona StateUniversity (all others).

City of Phoenix Public Information Office 11/08 5,000