The changing face of Phoenix

Others), numerous smaller firms followed. Manufacturing income in metropolitan Phoenix nearly doubled between 1965 and 1969 when it soared to $1.65 billion. Lured to the area as much by job opportunities as sunshine, Phoenicians continued to enjoy a rising level of personal income which passed the $3 billion mark for the first time during 1969. The very diversity of Phoenix industry attracted a wide variety of skilled workers from every state. Since her population represents such a cross-section of the nation, Phoenix gained a reputation (which she still enjoys) as a test market area. Numerous products from cereal to cowboy boots made their first national appearance as part of the Phoenix scene.

Her people created their own market one worth $2 billion in retail sales centered in some 37 major shopping centers. The continuing birth of these centers helped feed the ever-rumbling giant which slaved for the city the construction industry.

In her infancy the face of Phoenix had been molded from adobe since that desert mud was the only construction material readily available. The early 1800's saw the arrival of frame and brick houses, and the city even acquired a few boardwalks. For years one of her proudest possessions was a beer bottle sidewalk constructed in 1885 by Jim Cotton on Washington Street, in the center of town. People went out of their way to stroll on the walk, which consisted of hundreds of bottles which had their necks stuck in the earth. After some 15 years of use only one-fourth of the bottle bottoms had been broken. It was also Cotton who introduced the innovation of pavement, and in 1911 work began on the first street paving in Phoenix.

Age lines began to appear as the city matured and a multitude of streets and thoroughfares formed a close weave between expanding business and residential districts. By 1950 only a handful of adobe structures could still be found, nestled among the thousands of buildings fashioned of concrete, glass, wood, and steel.

Every imaginable phase of the construction industry geared to higher and higher production levels to keep pace with the building boom which started in 1945. One of the most striking features of Phoenix post-war expansion has been the tremendous home building activity. As servicemen and tourists became residents, the demand for adequate housing became acute. Subdivision after subdivision was built and sold out in a matter of months. Some were located in citrus orchards and groves of date palms, much to the delight of homeowners.

Despite the great demand, Phoenix has been able to maintain relatively low housing costs (in comparison with other parts of the nation) due to several reasons. Developers discovered a good availability of land at comparatively low cost; the mild winter climate permits economies of design and the rapid population growth resulted in mass building techniques and development of new construction materials.

The architecture of the city became as varied as her people, for each newcomer brought both tradition and new concepts. Replica ranch homes and haciendas sprawled out in casual defiance against the industrial boom. Reflections of past ties appeared with the New England bay window, the white picket fence of the Ohio farmhouse, and the stately double door of the Southern mansion.

Lured by the remarkable beauty of the desert, Phoenicians kept moving to the outer limits of the city. What had once been distant settlements (Tempe, Mesa, Glendale, Buckeye, and others) were joined by growth to new cities such as Scottsdale and all became satellites of Phoenix. Many oldtimers, who had grown used to change, preferred to stay put and watch the suburbans move to the suburbs. They remember a day when Phoenix leaders would have scoffed at the idea of buying land whose only value was a view!

A view was also obtainable by that segment of the new population which preferred to live in the very heart of the city, close to centers of employment. Apartment buildings of every description sprouted and multiplied, complete with swimming pools and resort trappings. They moved upward as well as outward, helping change the skyline along with high rise hotels and professional buildings.

In addition, the construction of hospitals, schools, churches, and recreational facilities all played a part in changing the face of the city. And so the people built . . . each in his own image of beauty, functionalism, or expediency. Thus individualism the very spirit of the West itself - still dominates Phoenix after 100 years of progress.

Lest her many buildings risk disaster by sudden blaze, Phoenix took care to expand her fire department as quickly as possible. Chronicles of the 1870's reveal how fire was once a constant threat to the village. The Bichard Flour Mill, located on Center and Jefferson streets, was lost in an inferno of flame on September 2, 1871, while helpless Phoenicians watched.

Other than the traditional bucket brigade, the city had no fire-fighting equipment. It took two more major fires before any action was taken to remedy the situation. In 1885 flames destroyed most of Washington Street's north side establishments; the following year a blaze razed Washington between Center and First Streets.

Six days after the latter disaster, Phoenix Engine Company No. I was organized with a hand-drawn steam pump called "Little Steamer" and 96 volunteer firemen. Three pistol shots, fired in rapid succession, served as the city fire alarm. The Phoenix Volunteer Fire Company also received authorization in 1886 to purchase its first fire engine (a horse-drawn hook and ladder truck) and some additional equipment.

Phoenix Civic Plaza Convention and Cultural Center

It features one of America's finest convention and concert hall complexes. The 20 million dollar, 161/2 acre project is scheduled for summer 1971 opening.

Phoenix's greatest early day fire occurred with the destruction of the city's finest hotel the 150 room Hotel Adams on May 17, 1910. (The structure was rebuilt to enjoy another heyday.) Four years later, 1914, horsedrawn fire fighting equipment was replaced by motorized units. In those days competition between town fire departments provided the highlight of holiday celebrations.

The city's first fire station, which still maintains its original location at Jefferson and First Streets, has undergone several face-liftings. Today the Phoenix Fire Department maintains an additional 31 fire stations, strategically located throughout the sprawling metropolis, and boasts a new $325,000 fire fighting training facility.

Though she has been burned, Phoenix has few scars to mar her ever-changing appearance. Thanks to a nationally acclaimed public education and safety program, combined with the close cooperation of neighboring fire departments, this city has not suffered a major devastating blaze since its earliest days.

Law enforcement has also come a long way since those days. In contrast to Arizona's roaring "get-rich-quick" mining towns, Phoenix was generally considered a nice peaceable family town. Except for the excitement of an occasional saloon fight, the sheriff busied himself enforcing regulations such as that which required Indians to wear pants within the city limits. The speed limit (for riding or driving a team) was five miles per hour. It seems that the one-man police force was quite efficient, for the town leaders saw fit to bestow him a few more jobs (including assessor, street commissioner, and tax collector) and raised his pay to $125.00 per month.

According to 1969 FBI statistics, Phoenix crime has decreased in all major crime categories of the corresponding previous year period. No city of over 100,000 population matched this performance. The average 15% rise in crime being experienced by most cities of over 500,000 population makes this particularly significant.

Phoenix citizens themselves have contributed greatly to these favorable statistics by supporting their law enforcement officers through such measures as "Crime Stop." Through this program residents have aided police with the benefits of a thousand extra eyes and ears with which to discover the criminal element within the city.

This project is one of many innovative programs city officials have continually used to help erase blemishes, improve health, enhance features, and direct change for ten decades.

Phoenix city government has controlled the fate of this desert oasis with the dual reins of courage and farsighted concentration. Ever since the pioneering Salt River Town Association elected three townsite commissioners in 1870, Phoenix has had a centralized guiding force. But it wasn't until 1875, when residents elected a Board of Trustees, that the first practical effort at city government was begun. Historians report that under the guidance of the three trustees, John H. Burger, James M. Cotten, and John Smith, the city "took on an air of thrift and cleanliness."

The city's first budget listed some odd sources of revenue such as licenses for an ice cream saloon, banking games, billiards, and opium. (In those days the sale of opium was quite legal.) It didn't take long for political problems to crop up as business men objected to the tax situation. In view of objections to business taxes within the city limits, Mayor Alsap suggested Phoenix dis-incorporate. In the ensuing uproar, he resigned and was replaced by Francis A. Shaw after a special election.

The city manager-commission form of municipal government was adopted in 1914 with W. A. Farsh serving as first city manager. Phoenix prospered under numerous city managers and in the years of her childhood and adolescence has been guided by generation after generation of dedicated citizens who, through elected office, have met her every challenge with progressive concepts.

When the city's progress was endangered by threat of internal corruption, Phoenicians reformed the council-manager charter to strengthen the manager's position and remove politics from city hiring and firing. In 1949, the elected council candidates, sponsored by the reform-born Charter Government Committee, pledged to uphold the revised charter and the charter government ticket has been victorious in every election since. Phoenix received an All-American City award in 1950 as a result of its efforts to achieve sound government.

Though she has been honored with numerous national awards for outstanding programs, city fathers were particularly pleased when a far-sighted bond issue for future growth won another All-American City award for Phoenix in 1958. That occurred during the administration of Mayor Jack Williams, now serving as Governor of the state of Arizona.

Governor Williams recalls that when he became mayor in 1955, Phoenix had a population of 155,000; when he left office in 1960 it had soared to 520,000. "The complexities of trying to keep pace with such rapid population growth are fantastic," he says, adding, "In two decades Phoenix has made a gallant attempt to achieve what it has taken other cities 200 years to obtain."

Within the glass and concrete walls of the towering Municipal Building in downtown Phoenix, city officials still wrestle with those complexities. Close to 5,000 city employees (more than double the entire population at the time of incorporaton) in 21 departments work to meet the ever-growing needs of the city's 559,570 residents. Some 23 boards and commissions, manned by volunteer citizens, have been established to advise and assist the city council.

During the six-year term of office just concluded by Mayor Milton Graham, city fathers turned their attention to "people problems" as well as those connected with the typical physical aspects of 20th century expansion. An organizational framework has been created to utilize human resources in dealing with the problems of minority groups and low income individuals.

Phoenix city government today, under the leadership of Mayor John Driggs, is busy meeting the intricate challenges of today's metropolis, and is planning on many planes so that sound, orderly growth may be achieved. A place must becreated for more homes, schools, civic facilities, and businesses which will be necessitated by the 560,000 new residents expected by 1990. Approximately 500 citizens have become involved in the planning process of the community through the Phoenix Forward Task Force whose purpose is to provide realistic long range goals for the city. Through constant self-examination and planning, a youthful Phoenix hopes to avoid many of the urban pitfalls which have plagued other metropolitan areas throughout the nation.

One of the continuing major concerns of Phoenicians since early days has been the creation of enough schools to keep up with the influx of children. The growth of the city has been reflected in the expansion of its school system since 1871 when classes were first held in a corner of the county court house, located in the Hancock-Monihon Building.

Progress came in 1873 when a one-room adobe school house was constructed on North Center Street, between Monroe and Van Buren, to serve 232 children. However, since there were no compulsory attendance rules, Miss Nellie Shaver only taught about ten percent of that number. By 1880 the town had Central School plus East End and West End, both modern four-room adobe buildings. The old Central School became a two-story facility and in 1895 Phoenix acquired a high school complete with four teachers to serve 90 students.

Two years later Phoenix Union High School moved to its present location (7th Street and Van Buren). In 1904 high schools became a special entity within the educational systemand growth really began on a large scale. The stress and strain of the post war population boom gave birth to a record number of elementary and high schools throughout the Valley within a two decade period. In 1968 the metropolitan Phoenix area had more than 215 elementary schools, 40 parochial and private schools, 14 junior high schools, 44 high schools, and 6 special training schools for children.

Although a leading institution of higher learning had been accessible since the early establishment of the “Normal School” (now known as Arizona State University) in Tempe, citizens were happy to see higher education establish roots within the city limits in 1920 when Phoenix College opened its doors. The Maricopa County Junior College District, to which Phoenix College now belongs, today has five of the state's I I junior colleges. In addition to a variety of academic programs, these institutions offer excellent vocational-technical courses and adult retraining programs keyed to the needs of industry and business.

Education has fostered an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and communication in this desert valley. In its infancy the city had to depend on the newspapers of other towns to relay news of major state and world events. Even the newsworthy progress of Phoenix herself could be followed only in The Tucson Citizen or Prescott Miner.

But isolationism soon spawned a hearty breed of journalists. McClintock's weekly publication, established in 1878, made its debut as the Phoenix Daily Herald in 1879, thus becoming the city's first daily newspaper. The following year The Arizona

Veterans' Memorial Coliseum seats 15,000

Gazette became the fourth newspaper to serve the growing community. By 1890 Phoenix's 3,000 residents were reading a new publication the Arizona Republican. In 1889 the faithful Herald consolidated with this promising new publication, which came under the guidance of the dynamic Dwight B. Heard in 1912. The Republican claimed the seven story Heard Building, then the largest Phoenix office structure, as its home in 1920. One of the city's most popular activities of that era was produced by the publication's World Series “wonder board.” Crowds gathered in the streets outside the Heard Building for the annual event. As soon as the teletype printed out the baseball play in the newspaper office, a runner would dash outside and re-create the action on a huge manually operated electronic board.

Heard, who contributed significantly to the success of the paper and the city itself, died in 1929. Charles Stauffer became publisher of the newspaper, changed its name to the Arizona Republic, and promptly purchased the Gazette.

Eugene C. Pulliam, a pioneering newspaperman who founded the national journalistic society, Sigma Delta Chi, and at 23 had become one of the nation's youngest newspaper publishers, was part of the post-war influx of winter visitors. Liking both the climate and economic potential, he purchased the Arizona Republic and Phoenix Gazette.

While they remain the largest publications in the Salt River Valley, these newspapers are but a link in a great chain of mass communication media which serve the far flung residents ofthis unique desert metropolis. As new communities were created by the post-war surge of people, magazines and weekly newspapers sprang forth to meet specialized needs. Today residents read of community happenings in five daily newspapers and almost three times as many weekly publications. In addition, more than 20 magazine publishers maintain Phoenix offices. As a result people have enjoyed a variety of leisure reading material from the pages of Arizona Highways, Phoenix Magazine, Arizona Magazine, Arizona Wildlife Sportsman, and other locally produced publications.

Year 'round greyhound racing

The dawning of the electronic age further erased all traces of Phoenix isolation with the miracle of broadcasting technology. In a land where news once arrived months late by stage, citizens now listen to regular hourly reports transmitted directly to homes and offices. Today they are fairly flooded with communication and entertainment emanating from five major commercial television stations, including one UHF channel, and one educational channel operated by Arizona State University. Music echoes across the desert, broadcast by some 20 AM radio stations and 11 FM stations.

Communication via the U.S. mail also played a large part in changing Phoenix. Letters, first carried by riders and stage, resulted in supplies and people which brought life to the city. Epistles later traveling by train brought word of good fortune to the city... federal aid for reclamation... statehood... armistice... industry. Tourists wrote home to friends and family; their colorful descriptions helped create the population boom. It was a boom which kept the Phoenix Post Office scrambling toward expansion throughout its history.

That history had its beginning in 1869 when a box on a tree promised mail delivery to Prescott by stage coach. Jack Swilling served as the original postmaster, operating the office in a corner of his grocery store which stood where the Arizona State Hospital is now located. After the Phoenix townsite had been officially surveyed in 1870, it was moved to Hancock's Store and John M. Olvaney became the first official Phoenix postmaster.

Only two employees operated the Phoenix Post Office in 1870. Today, more than 2,000 workers toil to handle an esti mated two million pieces of mail within a single 24-hour period. An average 4,000 pounds of letters are air mailed daily and seven semi-trailer trucks are needed to handle packages each day. In contrast to Swilling's grocery store, a modern three story complex houses main post office facilities, while substations dot the metropolitan area, serving Uncle Sam and thousands of appreciative Phoenicians.

In addition to the U.S. Post Office, the government chose Phoenix for numerous other installations. By far the most economically significant of these are Williams Air Force Base and Luke Air Force Base. As previously noted, the construction of these air bases during World War II brought the breath of life into the Salt River Valley and was significant in producing the great Phoenix population growth of post-war years.

Today the bases themselves, expanded through modern technology, still provide Phoenix with tremendous economic impact. Statistics reveal approximately 2,300 of the 4,000 military and civilians assigned to and employed at Williams Air Force Base reside in Phoenix and four eastern satellites. Out of the total annual outlay of $45,000,000 in Fiscal Year 1969, about $34,000,000 directly affected the local economy.

An estimated 75 percent of the 8,314 Luke Air Force Base military and civilian personnel reside in Phoenix and nine surrounding cities. This giant produces a constant stream of some $56 million annually which flows into these communities. The addition of this money to the Phoenix economy has helped the colorful growth of financial institutions which have proved so vital in the rapid expansion of the city. According to historian Barney's records, banking got off to a late start in the Territory since many of the early mercantile houses conducted their own unique "frontier" brand of banking. Some accepted gold dust or livestock as payment of goods, while others would "carry" a homesteader through tough times, or provide a miner with a grubstake.

Barney reports "The nearest approach to a banking house in Phoenix was started in 1877 by Kales and Lewis, an agency for the 'Bank of Arizona,' of Prescott, the latter being the first bank started in the Territory." The agent's branch was a tiny room located on Washington Street near Center. These men later established the Kales and Lewis private bank which became a national bank in June, 1887. Then known as the "Arizona National Bank," it was the predecessor of the First National Bank of Arizona.

Several other financial institutions came on the scene, and in 1892, the Phoenix National Bank was established on the corner of First Avenue and Washington in the heart of the city. For many years it served as the headquarters' office of First National Bank before becoming one of its 40 Valley branches. Another institution, now the largest bank in the Rocky Mountain area, had its beginnings as the Gila Valley Bank before merging with the Valley Bank of Phoenix in 1922. It became the Valley National Bank of Arizona in 1935 and developed one of the first branch banking systems in the nation to meet the needs of a sprawling population.

Metropolitan Phoenix is now served by nine banks, with 145 area offices and four major savings and loan firms with 40 Valley offices. They provide a network of convenient financial services for people forever on the move. Many of these Phoenicians originally moved for health reasons. As early as the turn of the century the city had gained fame as a health mecca since respiratory and arthritic afflictions seemed to improve in the dry desert air. People flocked toward relief and at one point in the 1920's a chronicle noted "The city seems to abound with tubercular people." Physicians came too, and in 1892 the Arizona Medical Association was organized and worked to improve public health in the frontier. The medical profession followed the pattern of population growth and soon Phoenix was enhanced by modern hospitals and a multitude of specialists. The city now boasts some of the best medical and surgical talent in the nation. More than 20

"THE PROMISE OF SPRINGTIME - APOLLO 9 PAINTS THE TOWN RED"

Ten thousand square miles of not-quite-springtime warm in the mid-morning Arizona sun. Mountains along the Mogollon Rim watch their offspring, the Salt River, spread a carpet over the valley floor, the melted mantle of winter awakening the life locked ages-long in the desert sands. Apollo 9, Astronauts Jim McDivitt, Dave Scott and Rusty Schweickart; Hasselblad 500 E1 (NASA Modified); 80mm Zeiss Planar lens with Wratten 15 filter; Kodak Ektachrome infrared (SO 180); f.8 at 1/250th sec.; altitude 146 miles; March 12, 1969, 9:28 a.m. (MST).

On March 3, 1969, Apollo 9 lifted off from Kennedy Space Center, carrying the crew of Jim McDivitt, Dave Scott and Rusty Schweickart into earth orbit to give the Lunar Module its first test flight. The first five days of the flight were taken up with this shakedown cruise, and all tests were concluded successfully. During the latter part of the flight the crew performed the most complex and comprehensive photographic experiment yet carried aboard a manned space flight. Using a battery of four electric Hasselblad cameras rigged for simultaneous exposures, the astronauts photographed long strips of the southern United States over a period of five days, taking nearly 600 photos in all. Each camera had a different film/filter combination: color infrared, black-and-white infrared, and two black-and-white films, one with a red filter, the other with a green filter. Thus, each camera photographed in a different range of visible (and invisible!) light. The experiment was designed to provide basic data for the evaluation of "multispectral" photography from space as a tool for exploration, reconnaissance and research in many fields such as agriculture, oceanography, geology, and pollution and environment control.

By seeing in special ways which the human eye cannot hope to duplicate, the unique reflective properties inherent in rocks, plants, water, and other natural and man-made objects can be determined and subsequently searched for. More sophisticated experiments, developed with the aid of the Apollo 9 data, will be used to seek out the answers to many of the pressing needs of future generations.

The photo shown here was taken on the 136th revolution of Apollo 9, and the spacecraft flew directly over Phoenix on the morning of March 12. The dark, snow-capped peaks and the glowing desert sands contrast sharply with the cultivated fields along the Salt and Gila Rivers. The fields appear red instead of green because of the nature of color infrared film. Chlorophyll, which appears green to us, is a strong reflector of infrared radiation, that portion of the sun's energy just beyond visible red light. The film is made to record this reflected energy as a red image. Differences from plant to plant cause subtle variations in the red tones which, to the trained observer, can be interpreted in terms of age, vigor, plant type, or to spot the presence of disease, drought, and other anomalies of plant growth. By using repetitive coverage with such films, scientists hope to be able to inventory large cultivated and forested areas, with the ability to catalog plant types, acreage, growing conditions, even probable yield and time of harvest!

Rusty Schweickart sometimes refers to his Apollo 9 LM as the "Santa Maria of the space age." He might likewise think of his cameras as the model T's of remote sensing, for scientists of the future, looking back on this remarkable collection of film, will certainly regard the efforts of the Apollo 9 crew as a most significant contribution to an entirely new field of technology and science.