The Promise of Springtime – Apollo 9 Paints the Town Red

Hospitals (including Barrow Neurological Institute, one of the nation's leading neurological research centers) cater to the ills of the growing metropolis. The same climate which attracted health seekers and perhaps remains the city's crowning glory is also of major importance to industry and tourism. Oldtimers say the weather hasn't changed much in 100 years, but more people have grown to like it. Of course, not many hankered after the 100 degree summer temperatures but as Annie Pike commented, "People just learned to live with it."

Early day adobe homes provided some relief from the blazing sun, and at night the heat rose to high high ceilings. But frame homes predominated for many years and Phoenicians slept outside during the summer months (or on screened sleeping porches), bolting inside when sudden rain storms came up. After the war years they learned to "live with it" by making Phoenix the "air conditioning capital of the world." Today Phoenicians no longer vacate the city during the summer months, but prefer to "endure" soaring temperatures in refrigerated homes, autos, offices, shopping centers, and theaters.

Though the weather may not have changed much in a century, man's methods of recording and forecasting it have progressed greatly. Originally the only Phoenix weather station was part of the U.S. Army Signal Corps telegraph office. Assigned to keep temperature and rainfall data in addition to their other duties, the men received a barometer in 1878. When the U. S. Weather Bureau became separated from the Signal Corps in 1895, Phoenix acquired a two-man weather station and the keeping of official records began.

Statistics show 1913 was the coldest year on record with an average of 68 degrees; 1934 claimed the honors for warmest year with an average of 74.1 degrees. The wettest year was 1905 when 19.73 inches of rain were measured, and 1956 was the driest year with only 2.82 inches of moisture recorded. Weathermen say the hottest day on record in Phoenix was June 24, 1929 when the mercury rocketed to 118 degrees. Phoenicians shivered on the coldest day, January 7, 1913, when a record low of 16 degrees was recorded.

Today the Phoenix Weather Bureau is a complex organization of men and equipment, providing hourly reports upon which agriculture, industry, and tourism rely.

Helped along by countless amenities engineered by man, the climate has been a boon to tourism third largest income producer in metropolitan Phoenix. Since her infancy, this city has attracted visitors who have lingered to savor the sunsets, admire the Saguaro's domain, bask in the sunshine, and enjoy a special brand of hospitality.

Today Phoenix has an estimated six to eight million visitors each year. Surveys show an average daily expenditure of over $15 per person, and many of the vacationers staying in Phoenix up to two months. Refrigeration has extended the tourist season and produced a year 'round industry which adds a whopping $250 million to the Valley economy. and generates plenty of western hospitality!

Conventions, an allied "industry without a smokestack" which surged forward within the last decade, accounted for an estimated $17 million in 1969. Phoenix didn't really enter the convention business until 1967 when the Valley of the Sun Convention Bureau was established. Last year's calendar showed more than 300 conventions scheduled. The city has entered a unique league of national and international competition; she hopes to reach a $30 million a year market within the next decade. But this will hinge on Phoenix Civic Plaza, the $20 million convention and cultural center currently under construction in the downtown area. Scheduled for completion in mid-1971, this facility has the potential to expose new panoramas of prosperity.

Each tourist dollar enjoyed by Phoenix arrives on wheels, rails, or propellers of a giant transportation industry which serves the metropolis. It is this mechanized colony of planes, trains, trucks, buses, and automobiles which has criss-crossed the barren desert, closing gaps and bringing more residents to create a city which thrives on mobility.

Ten decades ago "mobility" meant a good horse or a hearty team of mules. The saguaro cactus noted the comings and goings of early Phoenix residents by the trail of dust leading to town. For years the city relied on the Butterfield Mail Contract Company for stage coach travel. The firm operated a string of 100 Concord coaches, with 1,000 horses and 500 mules. Supplies were hauled to "isolated" Phoenix by Arizona freighters until 1887 when railroad transportation came to the town.

Phoenix was introduced to the air age in 1908 but full fledged aerial transportation didn't become a reality until 1927 when Aero Corporation of California (later Standard Airlines) established tri-weekly service from Los Angeles to Phoenix and Tucson in a six-passenger "Fokker super-universal." Within a year service was daily and extended to El Paso, Texas.

Within a century Phoenix has evolved from a dusty desert crossroads to a major intersection of jet trails. Phoenix Sky Harbor is currently one of the busiest airports in the nation. From 1960 to 1970 enplaning and deplaning passengers jumped from 863,000 to 3,195,000 persons a 270 percent increase!

Jet age travel has brought this desert metropolis closer to all sections of the nation and the city has continually modernized the facilities of the airport, which now covers more than 1,700 acres. Plans are currently underway for a $32 million expansion of the airport.

Aviation leaders feel that with the advent of the huge Boeing 747, Phoenix may be on the threshold of becoming an import-export center such as that previously equalled only by major seaport cities such as New York and San Francisco. Once airline route structures permit use of Phoenix Sky Harbor for regular direct flights to South America, the Orient and Europe, Phoenix would become an ideal gateway city for international travel and trade.

Today's bustling transportation industry has earned Phoenix a niche as distribution center for the Southwest. Now her mobility is achieved in part by use of some 39 intrastate truck lines, three transcontinental automobile transporters, ten transcontinental truck lines, two transcontinental bus lines, two railroads, and nine airlines.

Today's visitor accommodations range all the way from commercial hotels and motels to ultra-modern, luxury hotels and the plushest resorts anyone could desire. There are many superb parks for mobile homes.

WINTER SPORTS TV. and MOVIE PRODUCTIONS PEAKS TO CLIMB

Phoenix is within easy driving distance of some of the West's most scenic best. Numbers show the general geographic locations of principal points of interest.

Map and Key used by courtesy of The Arizona Guide, distributed through hotels, motels, resorts, ranches, automobile associations, railroads, airlines, leading civic and business establishments.

TRAIL RIDES & FIELD TRIPS WATER SPORTS

Phoenix today-The year round good life

As an airborne tourist views the Phoenix of 1970 he is struck by the vastness of this metropolis which sprawls over the desert and edges into the foothills of nearby mountains. An incongruous patchwork of alfalfa fields, shopping centers, canals, church spires, auditoriums, swimming pools, citrus orchards, and modern high rise buildings meets the eye. It is impossible to discern where the city ends and its satellite communities begin.

Perhaps that is as it should be, for the Phoenix of today no longer exists solely within its physical boundaries. The interaction between neighboring communities is as constant as the desert sun itself. No loss of identity has been suffered, rather a subtle blending of assets has occurred, and the alliance has proved beneficial for all.

As the visitor deplanes and sets about seeing the sights at close range, he discovers a city on wheels built around shopping centers, cultural and recreational facilities. Lofty palms reach into the warm desert air, and fountains gurgle beside office buildings as a bustling pace speeds residents to greater prosperity. The visitor views the results of Phoenix's changing face. . . in a myriad of pleasing sights he sees mirrored "the good life."

Thousands of other tourists now residents came before him. To them the good life meant more than a good job and frost-free days. It meant museums, concerts, sports arenas, theaters, parks, and assorted recreational facilities. Not content to socialize at square dances and church socials, as early day residents had done, they were willing to work toward cultural achievement in the Valley.

The past two decades have witnessed a cultural explosion in Phoenix. Riding a wave of rapid population growth, the cultural life of the city was suddenly nourished both by those who conceived artistic beauty and by those who encouraged it by active support. As with many other facets of the city, groundwork for the cultural boom was laid years ago.

The Heard Museum of Anthropology and Primitive Arts was opened in 1930, though several additions were later acquired. The Phoenix Little Theatre, which has one of the longest records for continuous performances among the country's amateur theatrical groups, used to stage plays in a carriage house long before the Civic Center was constructed.

Though financial hardships hindered the early development of facilities, citizens rallied, donating more than time and funds to the common cause. Extensive groundwork was laid for almost three decades by the Phoenix Women's Club and the Phoenix Fine Arts Association, resulting in the realization of the city's coveted Phoenix Art Museum.

The Phoenix Symphony was formed in 1947 and has enjoyed considerable growth during the last decade under the guidance of Louis J. Ruskin.

A new era of cultural growth began in 1964 with the opening of Arizona State University's famed Grady Gammage Auditorium. One of the nation's leading cultural centers, the Frank Lloyd Wright designed facility has hosted a wide variety of world renowned musicians, vocalists, ballet companies, and touring theater groups.

In addition to the previously mentioned facilities, today's Phoenix visitor may delight his cultural palate at the Star Theatre (theater-in-the-round), Palace West, Phoenix Musical Theatre, and Arizona Repertory Theatre, plus some 25 movie houses. The visitor may also enjoy viewing varied exhibits at the Desert Botanical Gardens, Phoenix Public Library, American Heritage Wax Museum, or rambling Phoenix Zoo. Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West, and Pueblo Grande Museum are also popular tourist attractions. (Phoenix is probably the only city in the nation who has a full time archeologist on its municipal staff. The archeologist's domain is the city-owned prehistoric Pueblo Grande Indian ruins.) If he chooses, the tourist can be entertained by any number of civic groups or special interest clubs. He can join the swinging night club set. . . be lavished in luxury at resorts which feature international cuisine. . . or enjoy the serenity of a blazing desert sunset from astride a horse.

Phoenix maintains a national award winning parks and recreation program which offers residents and newcomers a wide range of activity. The Parks Department boasts the largest municipal desert park in the country. The visitor can also get a taste of “the good life” at any one of 40 golf courses, 22 public swimming pools, 15 commercial riding stables, shooting ranges, bowling alleys, and skating rinks.

Fishing, hunting, camping, boating, water skiing, and picnicking abound in the seven regional parks located within 35 miles of Phoenix. Salt River Project lakes have made water recreation popular, turning the desert city into a boat-owners paradox. The sport of surfing has even come inland, with the advent, last year, of Big Surf, a unique recreational facility utilizing artificially produced waves.

The opening of Memorial Coliseum in 1965 boosted Valley spectator sports and helped spawn the Phoenix Roadrunners (WHL) Hockey team and the Phoenix Suns NBA basketball team. The Phoenix Giants PCL baseball team make the new air-cooled municipal stadium their home.

There was a time in Phoenix history when major spectator sports were annual marathon races, horse racing, cross-country bicycle competition and cock fights.

Phoenix and the Valley Of The Sun offer an unlimited variety of Family Fun. Daytime or nighttime, the year-round, there are special spots along lake shores, fiesta's and fairs, boat rides and picnics, and jeep trails just off the freeways.

Today, in addition to professional sports, the tourist finds a steady diet of collegiate football, basketball, baseball. The area has long been a favorite spring training location for major league baseball teams. Among the best in the nation, Phoenix sports facilities such as the Turf Paradise horse track, Phoenix Greyhound Park, and Phoenix International Raceway which have expanded to meet the needs of a leisure-loving population.

A Phoenix resident or visitor with time on his hands can attend a wide assortment of special spectator events. Depending on the time of year, these include the $100,000 Phoenix Open Golf Tournament, the Thunderbird Tennis Tournament, rodeos, sailing and power boat regattas, polo tournaments, dog and cat shows, and the circus.

In all areas Phoenix remains a city of changing tastes, reflecting the individuality of her people and a relaxed way of life. Rapid expansion and mass building techniques gave her a polyglot architecture . a mixture of the very old and the very new, produced by a type of computerized pioneer spirit.