South Phoenix is a region of Phoenix, Arizona. By one definition it encompasses an area south of the Salt River, north of Roeser Road, east of 24th Street, and west of 32nd Street.
South Phoenix is a region of Phoenix, Arizona. By one definition it encompasses an area south of the Salt River, north of Roeser Road, east of 24th Street, and west of 32nd Street.
The first land purchase recorded in South Phoenix occurred near what is today 15th Avenue and Broadway Road, where Noah Matthew Broadway, who was Maricopa County Sheriff from 1885 to 1886, purchased land in 1871 which became the 160-acre (0.65 km2) Broadway Ranch. The land was otherwise unpopulated at the time except for a few Mexican grain farmers who lived south of the Salt River between what are now 24th St. and 48th St. [1]
In May 1873, Prescott merchant Michael Wormser made arrangements to supply the Mexican farmers, and required them to obtain legal title to their land. When they ended up falling into debt, he took possession of their land, acquiring 9,000 acres (36 km2) of land in South Phoenix and Tempe. After Wormser's death on April 25, 1898, most of his real estate holdings were purchased on January 9, 1901, by land and cattle magnate Dwight B. Heard, who also ran The Arizona Republican (now The Arizona Republic ) newspaper from 1912 until his death in 1929. This land, which includes most of the northeast part of South Phoenix, became the Bartlett-Heard Ranch, which began being subdivided and sold for homesites on March 20, 1910. Most of the land initially sold from the Ranch was between 7th Avenue and 16th Street, and between Broadway Road and Southern Ave., mostly for small farms, in an area that became known as Roosevelt Place when it was developed into residential homes on one- and 2-acre (8,100 m2) lots in the 1920s. [2]
The construction of railroad tracks south of the Salt River, as well as a number of heavy floodings, including one 1891, meant that Caucasian residents of Phoenix moved north, leaving minority residents in South Phoenix. [3]
During 1912–1913, the Highline and Western canals were built to supply water from the Salt River to the South Mountain area, which led to further agricultural development. In addition to raising cattle, the land was used for raising alfalfa, cotton, oranges and other citrus trees, canaigre (a plant that produces tannin used for tanning leather), and even Louis Janssens' Belgian-American Ostrich Farm, which operated on 230 acres (0.93 km2) of Bartlett-Heard subdivided land until World War I. (Two other families, the Petersons and Pickrells, also operated ostrich farms in South Phoenix; all of these ostrich farms were between 16th St. and 40th St., south of Southern Ave.) [4]
In 1928, Kajuio Kishiyama settled in the South Mountain area to farm vegetables on land which he leased. Kishiyama leased his land because he was prohibited from owning land under the Arizona Alien Land Law of 1921 (overturned as unconstitutional by the Arizona Supreme Court in 1935) which prohibited "Orientals" from owning land in Arizona. Kishiyama successfully experimented with growing flowers near the Western Canal at 40th St. and Baseline Road, and another Japanese family, the Nakagawas, arrived in the area in the 1930s. These families were relocated to internment camps during World War II, of which there were two in Arizona, the Gila River War Relocation Center and the Poston War Relocation Center. After the war was over, the Kishiyama and Nakagawa families returned to the South Mountain area and started over, again successfully raising large fields of flowers, lettuce, and other vegetables along the Baseline corridor. [5]
There are numerous sites of historic and natural interest within the boundaries of South Phoenix, including Mystery Castle, Heard Scout Pueblo, the San Francisco Xavier Mission [6] built in 1940 by Francisco Vasquez (open to public Saturday and Sunday, 08:00 am to 5:00 pm), The Farm at South Mountain, South Mountain Park, and several historic buildings at the entrance of the park called "Scorpion Gulch." [7]
There are differing definitions on what constitutes South Phoenix.
Phoenix Police Department defines South Phoenix in a police precinct that also includes Ahwatukee. [8] Ahwatukee, which is an urban village of the City of Phoenix, is normally considered to be part of the East Valley region of the Phoenix metropolitan area. [9]
First Things First, a publicly funded organization dedicated to early childhood education, defines South Phoenix as a region that encompasses an area west of 48th Street, east of 27th Avenue, South of the Salt River, and north of South Mountain, omitting Ahwatukee. [10]
Some researchers have noted that racial attitudes in Phoenix during the 19th century have shaped the development of South Phoenix, with a railroad line in Phoenix being the demarcating boundary between the White part of the city, and South Phoenix. [11] A journal article that details a history of environmental racism in Phoenix states that by the 1890s, segregation and unregulated land uses in minority districts had already begun shaping environmental and social and conditions in the area. [11]
In the decades prior to the 1970s, South Phoenix was the only part of the city in which homes were sold to African American and Mexican American residents, due to restrictive covenants in place on housing in other parts of the city. [12]
Since the late 1990s (and especially since 2002), the area has undergone rapid development, especially along the Baseline Corridor, where acres of citrus groves and flower fields have been turned into housing developments and commercial properties. With its close proximity to downtown Phoenix, the housing market in South Phoenix continues to thrive.
Though much of the area has become predominantly Latino, the areas closer to downtown and Tempe remain predominantly African-American. Census tract 1160, between Broadway and Baseline, has a population of 4,711 and was 56.3% African-American, the highest percentage in the entire state of Arizona. Other traditionally black neighborhoods include Hermoso, South Vistas, Lindo Park and the Park South neighborhood. [13] Hispanics are now the majority in South Phoenix. [14]
The headquarters for the Apollo Group, parent company of University of Phoenix and Western International University and corporate offices for SuperShuttle Int. are located in the South Mountain Village area. The headquarters for Ace Asphalt are also located here.
The South Mountain Village is served by the community newspaper South Mountain District News , [15] which also covers news from Laveen which is west of South Mountain Village. The South Mountain District News is a free monthly publication.
The South Mountain Villager also covers the area with a format that includes only printing positive stories about the area. [16]
South Phoenix has similar crime rates to other areas of Phoenix. Uniform crime rate reports from the Phoenix Police Department show property crime rates at or below those in other parts of Phoenix. [17] Violent crime rates are also similar with most of the activity concentrated between Southern and Broadway. [18]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)The southern section of the city of Phoenix is known for its popular stucco homes with red-tile roofs. Circle roadways are the norm. The area is located next to South Mountain Park. Ahwatukee has good schools and an abundance of shopping. Considered part of the East Valley, the area draws many families and people who want to be closer in but still live a suburban life.
Phoenix is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States and the most populous state capital in the country.
Chandler is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, and a suburb in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). It is bordered to the north and west by Tempe, to the north by Mesa, to the west by Phoenix, to the south by the Gila River Indian Community, and to the east by Gilbert. As of the 2020 census, the population of Chandler was 279,458, up from 236,123 at the 2010 census.
Scottsdale is a city in the eastern part of Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, and is part of the Phoenix metropolitan area. Named Scottsdale in 1894 after its founder Winfield Scott, a retired U.S. Army chaplain, the city was incorporated in 1951 with a population of 2,000. At the 2020 census, the population was 241,361, which had grown from 217,385 in 2010. Its slogan is "The West's Most Western Town". Over the past two decades, it has been one of the fastest growing cities in the United States.
Tempe is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, with the Census Bureau reporting a 2020 population of 180,587. The city is named after the Vale of Tempe in Greece. Tempe is located in the East Valley section of metropolitan Phoenix; it is bordered by Phoenix and Guadalupe on the west, Scottsdale and the Salt River Pima–Maricopa Indian Community on the north, Chandler on the south, and Mesa on the east. Tempe is also the location of the main campus of Arizona State University.
The Salt River is a river in Gila and Maricopa counties in Arizona, United States, that is the largest tributary of the Gila River. The river is about 200 miles (320 km) long. Its drainage basin covers about 13,700 square miles (35,000 km2). The longest of the Salt River's many tributaries is the 195-mile (314 km) Verde River. The Salt's headwaters tributaries, the Black River and East Fork, increase the river's total length to about 300 miles (480 km). The name Salt River comes from the river's course over large salt deposits shortly after the merging of the White and Black Rivers.
Mountain Pointe High School is a secondary school located in Ahwatukee, Arizona one of eight public high schools serving the Tempe Union High School District.
South Mountain Park in Phoenix, Arizona is the largest municipal park in the United States, and one of the largest urban parks in North America and in the world. It has been designated as a Phoenix Point of Pride.
Ahwatukee Foothills is an urban village of Phoenix, Arizona. Ahwatukee forms the southernmost portion of Phoenix, and is considered part of the East Valley region of the Phoenix metropolitan area.
Arizona State Route 202 (SR 202) or Loop 202 (202L) is a semi-beltway circling the eastern and southern areas of the Phoenix metropolitan area in central Maricopa County, Arizona. It traverses the eastern end and the southern end of the city of Phoenix, in addition to the cities of Tempe, Mesa, Chandler, and Gilbert, and is a vital route in the metropolitan area freeway system. Loop 202 has three officially designated sections along its route; the Red Mountain Freeway, the SanTan Freeway, and the Congressman Ed Pastor Freeway, also known as the South Mountain Freeway. The Red Mountain Freeway runs from the Mini Stack Interchange with Interstate 10 (I-10) and State Route 51 (SR 51) in Phoenix to the SuperRedTan Interchange with U.S. Route 60 (US 60) in Mesa. The SanTan Freeway runs from there to an interchange with Interstate 10 (I-10) in Chandler. The Congressman Ed Pastor Freeway runs from there to I-10 in western Phoenix.
Laveen is a community in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, situated eight miles (13 km) southwest of Downtown Phoenix, between South Mountain and the confluence of the Gila and Salt rivers. Parts of Laveen constitute an unincorporated community in Maricopa County, while the remainder falls within the city limits of Phoenix, constituting the city's "Laveen Village" an urban village within the city of Phoenix. Laveen Village is split between District 7 and District 8, both notable as minority-majority districts for the city. Although Laveen has been home to "pastoral alfalfa, cotton, and dairy farms" since the 1880s, housing and commercial developments have been increasingly urbanizing the area.
Tempe Butte is the official name of an andesite butte of volcanic origin, located partially on Arizona State University's Tempe campus in Tempe, Arizona. It is often referred to by locals as A Mountain, after the 60-foot-tall (18 m) gold-painted letter 'A' near the top. Another name for the area, used by the City of Tempe, is Hayden Butte.
The Scottsdale Unified School District (SUSD) is a school district with its headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona. The 112-square-mile (290 km2) district serves most of Scottsdale, most of Paradise Valley, a portion of Phoenix, and a portion of Tempe.
Desert Vista High School is a public high school located in the Ahwatukee area of Phoenix, Arizona. Opened in 1996, it is the second Tempe Union High School District (TUHSD) school in Ahwatukee and serves approximately 3,000 students.
The metropolitan area of Phoenix in the U.S. state of Arizona contains one of the nation's largest and fastest-growing freeway systems, with over 1,405 lane miles (2,261 km) as of 2005.
The history of Phoenix, Arizona, goes back millennia, beginning with nomadic paleo-Indians who existed in the Americas in general, and the Salt River Valley in particular, about 7,000 BC until about 6,000 BC. Mammoths were the primary prey of hunters. As that prey moved eastward, they followed, vacating the area. Other nomadic tribes moved into the area, mostly from Mexico to the south and California to the west. Around approximately 1,000 BC, the nomadic began to be accompanied by two other types of cultures, commonly called the farmers and the villagers, prompted by the introduction of maize into their culture. Out of these archaic Indians, the Hohokam civilization arose. The Hohokam first settled the area around 1 AD, and in about 500 years, they had begun to establish the canal system which enabled agriculture to flourish in the area. They suddenly disappeared by 1450, for unknown reasons. By the time the first Europeans arrived at the beginning of the 16th century, the two main groups of native Indians who inhabited the area were the O'odham and Sobaipuri tribes.
Many arterial roads in the Phoenix metropolitan area have the same name in multiple cities or towns. Some roads change names or route numbers across town borders, resulting in occasional confusion. For example, the road known as Apache Boulevard in Tempe continues east as Main Street in neighboring Mesa and then as Apache Trail in Apache Junction. Although Broadway Road maintains the same name through Goodyear, Avondale, Phoenix, Tempe, Mesa, and Apache Junction, each town uses a different reference point for address numbers.
The Phoenix Metropolitan Area consists of a valley that has multiple city regions in it. The East Valley is a multi-city region within the Phoenix Metropolitan Area of Arizona. East Valley is a loosely defined region, with differing definition of what constitutes it.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Phoenix, Arizona, United States.
The Double Butte Cemetery is the official name given to a historic cemetery in Tempe, Arizona. The cemetery was founded in 1888 on the baseline of the Double Butte Mountain for which it is named. It is the final resting place of various notable pioneers of the City of Tempe. The cemetery, which is located at 2505 W. Broadway Rd., is listed in the Tempe Historic Property Register Designation #46. The pioneer section of the cemetery was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on July 30, 2013, reference #13000020.
The following is a timeline of the history of the area which today comprises the U.S. state of Arizona. Situated in the desert southwest, for millennia the area was home to a series of Pre-Columbian peoples. By 1 AD, the dominant groups in the area were the Hohokam, the Mogollon, and the Ancestral Puebloans. The Hohokam dominated the center of the area which is now Arizona, the Mogollon the southeast, and the Puebloans the north and northeast. As these cultures disappeared between 1000 and 1400 AD, other Indian groups settled in Arizona. These tribes included the Navajo, Apache, Southern Paiute, Hopi, Yavapai, Akimel O'odham, and the Tohono O'odham.