Featured Stories
Crossing the Salt River
Charles Trumbull Hayden came to the western half of the United States in search of economic gain and adventure like the many settlers before him. Shortly after the Gadsden Purchase in the 1850s, Charles Hayden opened a profitable general store in…
Johnny Rose's Store
The sign read "John Rose, Fancy Groceries: Shoe Repairing, Barber Shop, Pool Hall, Ice Cream, Confectionary, and Soft Drinks." At various times it was also a vaudeville stage, silent movie theater, lunch counter, and classroom. Who was the…
Sycamore Station
Farming gave Mesa its early identity. The legacies live on in street names, such as Dobson Road. Cliff Dobson co-owned the Baseline Cattle Company and Sheep Springs Sheep Company that was started in the early 1900s. The companies, known as Dobson…
Recent Stories
Eisendrath House
The Eisdendrath House, managed by the Tempe History Museum, is one of the best examples of Arizona's Pueblo Revival style of architecture. It was built in 1930 by a wealthy Chicago widow, Rose Eisendrath. At the time, many affluent…
Monti's La Casa Vieja
La Casa Vieja, also known as Hayden House, has long been a pillar of Tempe's history. Charles Hayden purchased a tract of land along the Salt River. He eventually built a general store, flour mill, and ferry, giving rise to the name…
Sanctuary Resort
Sanctuary Resort on Camelback Mountain sits beneath The Praying Monk, a rock formation perched upon the proverbial camel’s head. This monk has been in pious meditation since long before humans resided in the Salt River Valley. If this monk, who has…
Mecca for the Wealthy
Forty-five years before The Sanctuary Resort on Camelback Mountain opened its doors as a luxurious paradisiacal resort, the property's story began in 1956 as the Paradise Valley Racquet Club. Created during the greatest boom in Arizona's tourist…
The Center of Mesa Revitalization
When walking through downtown Mesa, the relatively small-scale streets and buildings have a quaint feeling that does not hint at Arizona's largest arts center sitting squarely downtown on Main and Center Street. However, once you get within a…
The Parkway Theater
At the conclusion of World War II, a couple by the names of Joe and Alice Woods would purchase the building from the Chandler Improvement Company and convert it into the Parkway Theater; one out of three theaters that the couple would own in their…
Salt River Stories
A project by Arizona State University & Mark TebeauSalt River Stories brings the history, cultures, and communities of the Valley of the Sun, the Phoenix-Scottsdale-Tempe metro area to your fingertips. Salt River Stories is created by students & faculty at Arizona State University in collaboration with the community. It is powered by Omeka + Curatescape, a humanities-centered web and mobile framework available for both Android and iOS devices.
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