Phoenix, Arizona

The Southwestern city of Phoenix, located in central Arizona’s Salt River Valley, is one of the nation's largest metropolitan areas and most important industrial centers. Established in 1870 and incorporated in 1881, Phoenix serves as the state capital as well as the seat of Maricopa County. Present-day Phoenix was first settled in the 1860s, on the remains of an ancient Indian irrigation system. In honor of this revival, the early settlers named their community after the mythical bird that could renew itself every 500 years.

Though Phoenix has been an important regional center since the late nineteenth century, the city's major growth spurt came after World War II. The population has grown rapidly in the twenty-first century, with Phoenix becoming the fifth-largest US city as of 2022. Phoenix is also considered one of the nation's best-run municipalities, with a reputation for innovation in city government.

Landscape

Visitors to Phoenix often come to enjoy the stark beauty of the surrounding Sonoran Desert. The sun shines around 300 days each year, with daily temperatures averaging a high of 85 degrees Fahrenheit.

Though located on a river, Phoenix is able to support its large population only by means of artificial irrigation -- the city averages only 7.66 inches of rain per year. Improved irrigation from the Salt River has made Phoenix a major agricultural center.

Despite the lack of water, the city has worked hard over the last several decades to beautify itself. Phoenix now boasts more than two hundred public parks, many of which include desert terrain. South Mountain Park, which covers over 20,000 acres, is the world's largest city-owned park.

People

Phoenix is one of the nation's fastest growing cities. Each year, it attracts a large influx of new residents, many of them young and well educated. The median age is 35.1; an estimated 11.5 percent of the population is 65 or older. Approximately half of the city's residents are between 25 and 59 years, and 83.9 percent of the total population has at least a high school degree or higher.

The city's population grew massively between 1990 and 2000. According to a 2022 U.S. Census Bureau estimate, Phoenix has a population of around 1,644,409. The city has a sizable Hispanic/Latino population (42.6 percent). Another 41.2 percent identify as White only. There are also Black or African American (7.4 percent), Native American and Alaska Native (2.1 percent), and Asian minorities (3.7 percent).

Phoenix has produced a number of famous natives and others who have called the city home. Phoenix natives include actresses Lynda Carter and Mare Winningham, as well as rock musicians Alice Cooper and Stevie Nicks. Local-born politicians include the late Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater and former Virginia Senator Charles S. "Chuck" Robb.

Economy

Phoenix has a highly diversified economy, including strong manufacturing and service sectors. Manufactures include aerospace parts, agro-chemicals, electronics, and leather products. Other important industries are agriculture, mining, and the lumber trade. The city also benefits from its status as the state capital and county seat, with the State of Arizona the city's largest employer.

Tourism is also important, and is aided by Phoenix's status as a major transportation hub. According to Visit Phoenix, the city's tourism organization, 19.5 million people visited the city in 2022, spending about $4.4 billion. This represents almost half of all visitors to the state. Phoenix is a popular tourist destination for its warm, dry climate and rich cultural life. The city boasts more than one hundred golf courses and more than two hundred public parks.

Many large firms maintain their corporate headquarters or large regional offices in Phoenix, including aerospace giant Honeywell International. Other major employers include Banner Health Systems, financial-services firm Wells Fargo and Co., and retailer Walmart.

The city is also a major research center, with laboratories at the University of Phoenix and elsewhere. The University of Phoenix, with branch campuses in thirty US states and Canada, is one of the country's largest institutions of higher learning.

Professional sports form another important market sector. Local teams include the Arizona Diamondbacks (baseball), the Arizona Rattlers (arena football), the Phoenix Coyotes (hockey), and the Phoenix Suns (basketball). The Arizona Cardinals football team plays in nearby Tempe.

As one of the largest cities in the United States, Phoenix is a major media market, with more than forty AM and FM radio stations, as well as about twenty television stations. The Arizona Republic is the largest daily newspaper in Greater Phoenix.

Phoenix is a major transportation hub for the Southwest region. The major airport is Sky Harbor International Airport, which handled a record 49 million passengers in 2023. The Phoenix Deer Valley airport is a general aviation municipal facility that also handles overflow traffic from Sky Harbor. Other important forms of transportation include rail and interstate highways. The city is an important rail hub, served by the Burlington Northern Santa Fe and Union Pacific Railroads.

Landmarks

Modern Phoenix is mostly a product of the post-World War II era, but the city retains a number of landmarks from the territorial and pre-war eras. There are also numerous Native American landmarks, and the area is still home to many Indian communities.

Many museums in Phoenix pay tribute to the region's Native American and "Old West" heritage. The Heard Museum, founded by prominent local philanthropists Dwight and Maie Heard, possesses an immense collection of Native American objects. The Pueblo Grande Museum, a museum/park built on the site of an 800-year-old Hohokam settlement, gives visitors a chance to see the remains of the ancient irrigation canals supporting that civilization. Other important museums are the Phoenix Art Museum and State Dept. of Archives Museum.

Important tourist attractions include the Arizona Science Center, the Desert Botanical Gardens, and the Phoenix Zoo.

The city is home to numerous universities and colleges. The University of Phoenix is one of the largest U.S. institutions of higher learning because of its extensive system of branch campuses throughout the country. Other universities and colleges include a branch campus of Arizona State University (ASU), as well as DeVry Institute of Technology and Grand Canyon University.

History

The area of present-day Phoenix was inhabited in prehistoric times by the mysterious Hohokam tribe. This civilization, which relied on irrigation canals for farming, inhabited this part of the Sonoran Desert beginning around 300 BCE. The tribe flourished for 1,700 years, then disappeared for unknown reasons around 1400 CE. "Hohokam" is a term which means "the people who have gone away," and was bestowed by later tribes. The modern-day Pima or Tohono O'Odham tribe may be descended from the Hohokam.

The area was uninhabited until the mid-nineteenth century, when entrepreneur Jack Swilling saw opportunities in using the ancient canals to supply water again. Thanks to his irrigation company, Swilling and English adventurer "Lord" Darrell Duppa established a new community circa 1867. Duppa, trained in Classical literature, called the town "Phoenix" after the mythical Egyptian bird which comes back to life.

Phoenix soon grew, thanks to the water supply, and rapidly became an important regional trading and political center. The community was officially organized in 1870 and incorporated in 1881. By the late 1880s Phoenix was connected to the railroad grid. In 1889, Phoenix snared the territorial capital away from Prescott, and in 1912 became the state capital.

The state's rich mineral deposits brought mining wealth to Phoenix during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This wealth gave the mining companies great influence at the state capitol in Phoenix, though this influence began to decline after World War II. It was not until after the war, however, that the city began its massive growth. The establishment of military bases aided the process, as well as the spread of air-conditioning.

During the second half of the twentieth century, the population of Phoenix skyrocketed over 1,000 percent, from around 100,000 to 1.3 million inhabitants. Despite the difficulties of managing the added population, Phoenix managed to develop and maintain a reputation as one of the best-governed cities in the country.

Trivia

• The area of present-day Phoenix was first settled about 2,300 years ago by the mysterious "Hohokam" people. This Native American civilization created a large-scale irrigation system, which became the basis for modern Phoenix's water supply. The Hohokam disappeared around A.D. 1400.
• Phoenix boasts approximately 325 days of sunshine each Year.
• Phoenix is named for the mythical bird that would renew itself every five hundred years. The city was named by early settler "Lord" Darrell Duppa.

Bibliography

“Phoenix Facts.” Visit Phoenix, 2024, www.visitphoenix.com/about-us/phoenix-facts/. Accessed 21 Feb. 2024.

“Phoenix, AZ.” Census Reporter, censusreporter.org/profiles/16000US0455000-phoenix-az/. Accessed 21 Feb. 2024.

“QuickFacts: Phoenix City, Arizona.” US Census Bureau, www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/phoenixcityarizona/. Accessed 21 Feb. 2024.