A childhood of disaster & determination

A period of frustrations, hardship & hope

Few would be able to enjoy much luxury in the next decade, which opened and closed with financial distress. Phoenix was adversely affected by a post-war business recession led by the “cotton bust” and curtailment of mining operations in 1921. But things looked better in the mid-1920's with highway and air transportation gains resulting in more winter resorts and a significant tourism element.

The construction of Mormon Flat Dam, Horse Mesa Dam, and Stewart Mountain Dam during this decade completed the harnessing of the Salt River a feat which seemingly assured farming security as well as Phoenix prosperty.

But progress of any type appeared an impossible dream in 1929 when the stock market crashed, bringing much suffering to this city as well as the rest of the state and nation. The Saguaro, still existing on just sun and water, stood strong. But the city, having become dependent on man's economics, weakened.

The Phoenix of the depression-ridden 1930's saw land and farm prices drop drastically. Men worked for $1 per day to produce a good crop which then when harvested had little value for lack of a market. Banks closed, construction ceased, and trade dwindled to a trickle.

Then World War II erupted in Europe and our country was flooded with war orders. As the nation moved into a war economy, Phoenix regained a prosperous level of employment and trade.

Senator Carl Hayden recalled “some feller named Goodyear” once telling him Arizona had the best flying weather he had ever seen. So Arizona's pioneer congressman set about using his Washington influence in persuading Pentagon officials to establish some air training stations in our state. Results included the establishment of five military air bases in the vicinity of Phoenix. Stirred into life by war, these facilities (Luke Air Force Base near Glendale, Williams Air Force Base near Chandler, Litchfield Naval Air Facility, the smaller Thunderbird Field at Glendale, and Falcon Field at Mesa) created the spark which ignited more than two decades of explosive growth in Phoenix.

The city got its first taste of large-scale manufacturing in the 1940's when several major war industries followed the path of the air bases. A huge aluminum extrusion plant was built here by the Aluminum Company of America; The Garrett Corporation built its AiResearch plant at Phoenix Sky Harbor; airplane parts and balloons were manufactured by Goodyear Aircraft at Litchfield Park; and the Allison Steel Company plant in Phoenix produced portable bridges. Laborers flocked to the city to work in these war plants.

The Valley floor flourished with crops as farmers went into full-scale production of food for the nation's workers and service men. Though tourism was somewhat curbed, resorts were used as rest areas for military personnel.

Thousands who had followed the war-years trail to Phoenix chose to stay even when the conflict ended and war plants closed down. GI's, having learned to love this sunny land while stationed here, returned with families from all parts of the nation. They wrote to parents and friends of the scenic beauty, mild seasons, and warm hospitality they had discovered. More came . . . and the city became engulfed in a phenomenal population boom. In 1940 Phoenix had a population of 65,414 which soared to 106,818 by 1950, and rocketed to 434,277 in 1960.

The last two decades of this saga deal with Phoenix's metamorphosis from adolescence to metropolitan adulthood. It was a period in which she stretched and scrambled in a wild attempt to keep pace with her population . . . a time when industry rose to loom over agriculture. Native Phoenicians, now a minority, worked hand in hand with newcomers to mold problems into progress. Despite the sharpness of her growing pains, Phoenix began to realize a surge of strength in her limbs. What had once been a mere promise of potential now sparkled in reality with the romantic glow of prosperity.

Each facet of the city reflected change and assumed new brilliance. Together they formed the dazzling desert gem of a metropolis which caught the eye of the nation and world.

The changing face of Phoenix

As the world "discovered" Phoenix in the 1950's and 1960's, the city utilized 20th century technology to "put on a new face" for her residents and admirers. Her glowing exterior beauty was created by an infinite number of changes within the complicated network of systems and organs which maintain the very life of a city. By glimpsing some of the major changes one can better understand how Phoenix matured into the uniquely enchanting metropolis she is today.

The features which originally characterized her as an agricultural town have changed radically. In 1870 her boundaries measured one mile by one-half mile; in 1969 incorporated area encompassed 247.7 square miles. Created to serve the needs of the farmer, the town grew. But the newcomers preferred the city to the farmlands, and Phoenix bulged at her seams. In order to accommodate the soaring population, she stretched out, claiming more and more of what had been farmland in those early days. One by one industrial plants and subdivisions took the place of hay fields and citrus orchards.

But many of the communities surrounding Phoenix (comprising the greater Phoenix metropolitan area) are still agriculturally oriented. It would appear that 100 years of intensive agriculture in the Valley has left its soil more productive than ever. Instead of being "crowded out," farmers used improved growing practices, new crops, and additional desert acreage (reclaimed by the miracle of irrigation) to produce phenomenal yields in Maricopa County.

Phoenix enjoyed the benefits of agriculture's economic impact. In 1969 the agricultural crop value of lands within the Salt River Project area totalled over $46 million. Livestock value of the area accounted for an additional $26.3 million. Cultivation of crops such as alfalfa, cotton, citrus, grains, and vegetables utilized almost 156,000 acres within Salt River Project boundaries.

Today green lawns, ornamental shrubs, flowers, and handsome trees adorn the city whose people often take the miracle of water for granted. What began as the farmers' weapon against the forces of nature, developed into a multi-million dollar Salt River Project, whose nearly 1,300 miles of canals, laterals, and ditches annually deliver enough water to supply the city of New York for a full year. There have been drought and flood years in recent decades, but the people of Phoenix have not suffered as in the old days for the Salt River dams and their reservoirs, plus two storage reservoirs on the Verde River, have served their purpose.

The Salt River Project dams served another purpose by helping supply the huge population influx with electrical power. The Project's hydroelectric generating equipment produced 264.2 million kilowatt-hours of electricity last year. While enough to serve residential customers of a city of 20,000 population for an entire year, this represents only a fraction of the force it took to keep up with the Phoenix population boom. Major utility firms such as Arizona Public Service Company, Salt River Project, and Mountain Bell Telephone, were hard put to keep pace with city expansion; crews were continuously at work installing power poles, gas lines, and underground cables. By 1968 Phoenix had 267,896 electrical connections, 209,093 gas hookups, and 456,750 telephones in service.

It was really the coming of the "Big I" industry which etched the greatest change on the face of Phoenix. As late as 1947 the economic leaders were still cotton, citrus, and cattle. Phoenix was at a crossroads. It could either industrialize, providing jobs for an expanding population, or face a real depression. For the first time Phoenicians made a real effort to attract light, clean industry to the Valley. The selling job was successful. Between May of 1950 and May of 1951, some $12 million in new payrolls flowed into the city from 39 new industries which located here.

In addition, the close-down of some war plants proved temporary. Reynolds Aluminum Corporation took over the old Alcoa plant; AiResearch which had closed in 1946 reopened in 1951 and expanded. The Korean conflict kept the air bases in operation and added momentum to industry. Statistics reveal more than 280 manufacturing enterprises were established in Phoenix between 1948 and 1960. Most were initially related to the government's new defense emphasis placed on aircraft. In the 1960's much became centered in the elite electronic and aerospace component field. Manufacturing has become the city's number one source of income, contributing more than five times that of the second leading source farming. (Tourism claims a close third place.) Phoenix seemed attractive to industrial leaders for several reasons. In addition to an available labor pool, climate conducive to worker health, and high production levels, she had transportation facilities which were ideal for product distribution. Many also favored her tax climate which smacked of traditional western hospitality.

As Industry came to the Valley in the form of big employers (Motorola, Sperry-Phoenix, General Electric, and many