POPULATION: 3,629,114 (Uban), 4,489,109 (metro) | TIME ZONE: Mountain | CLIMATE: Hot desert climate (Long, very hot summers, short, mild winters, arid, average high temps the hottest of any major U.S. city)
No joke: hot, arid, cartoon cactus-filled desert Phoenix started as a farming community. The idea that anything besides cactus grows here is fascinating. Apparently, despite the Sonoran Desert’s climate, a canal system turned this bone-dry desert landscape into booming farm country. The alfalfa, cotton, citrus and hay that built early Phoenix all begin in 1867 with Jack Swilling, a Confederate Civil War veteran. He recognized the farming potential because the military had already established such farmland further east. He formed a small community, and Lord Darrell Duppa, a friend of Swilling’s, suggested the name "Phoenix." As in, a city rising from the ashes.
The first election for Maricopa County was in in 1871, and Tom Barnum became Phoenix’ first sheriff. (He ran unopposed after the other two candidates fought a duel. One candidate was killed, and the candidate who killed him had to drop out of the race.) When the railroad showed up in the 1880s, it changed Phoenix significantly. The city became a trade center, and then territorial capital. In 1902, President Teddy Roosevelt signed the National Reclamation Act, which funded dams and irrigation on semi-arid public lands. Virtually overnight, the first dam went up. Besides supplying water and electricity, it formed Theodore Roosevelt Lake. (It’s difficult to not imagine big, bulging, air-filled Teddy Roosevelt pool toys floating around.) In 1912, Arizona became a state with Phoenix as the capital. The Heard Building, Phoenix’ first skyscraper, went up in 1920. Sky Harbor airport opened in 1929. Soon after, former President Calvin Coolidge stood on the Gila River, dedicating his namesake dam. This happened at the end of a long drought, so the reservoir behind the dam was pretty much dry and grassy. Guest speaker Will Rogers joked, “If that was my lake, I'd mow it.” During the 1930s, in an effort to attract tourists, greater Phoenix became known as “The Valley of the Sun.”
NICKNAME(S)
Valley of the Sun
The Valley
MOTTO(S)
Ditat Deus ("God enriches")
RANDOM SONG ABOUT THE CITY
“By The Time I Get To Phoenix” by Glen Campbell
PRO SPORTS TEAMS
Arizona Cardinals (NFL)
Arizona Diamondbacks (MLB)
Phoenix Sins (NBA)
Arizona Coyotes (NHL)
Phoenix Mercury (WNBA)
Arizona Rattlers (AFL)
Arizona United SC (USL)
Arizona Rattlers (AFL)
Arizona Scorpions (ABA)
Arizona Assassins (WFA)
Arizona League Angels (Arizona League)
Arizona League Athletics (Arizona League)
Arizona League Brewers (Arizona League)
Arizona League Cubs (Arizona League)
Arizona League Diamondbacks (Arizona League)
Arizona League Dodgers (Arizona League)
Arizona League Giants (Arizona League)
Arizona League Indians (Arizona League)
Arizona League Mariners (Arizona League)
Arizona League Padres (Arizona League)
Arizona League Rangers (Arizona League)
Arizona League Reds (Arizona League)
Arizona League Royals (Arizona League)
Arizona League White Sox (Arizona League)
Mesa Solar Sox (Arizona Fall League)
Salt River Rafters (Arizona Fall League)
Scottsdale Scorpions (Arizona Fall League)
West Peoria Javelinas (Arizona Fall League)
Surprise Saguaros (Arizona Fall League)
Glendale Desert Dogs (Arizona Fall League)
ALSO KNOWN FOR…
The Sonoran Desert
Heat
But it’s a dry heat
More sunshine than any other U.S. city
Camelback Mountain
Saguaro cactus
Sheriff Joe
Golf
The Cactus League (15 MLB teams)
19 minor league ball teams
The largest municipal park in North Americav 22 American Indian tribes
Stevie Nicks, Glen Campbell, Barry Goldwater, Lynda Carter, Joe Arpaio, Wayne Gretzky, Bret Michaels, Phil Mickelson, Danica Patrick, Ted Williams, Del Webb, Bob Parsons, Erma Bombeck, Robert Kiyosaki, Steve Allen, Dom Ameche, Glenn Beck, Danny Bonaduce, Barbara Eden, Paul Harvey, Leslie Nielsen, Steven Spielberg, Dick Van Dyke, George Benson, Alice Cooper, Duane Eddy, Waylon Jennings, Sam Moore, The Tubes, G. Gordon Liddy, John McCain, Dan Quayle, Sandra Day O'Connor, Frank Lloyd Wright