It all started when a couple was looking for something to drink. When he and his wife, Alice, established what is now known today as the Buckhorn Baths Motel in 1936, Ted Sliger was planning on using the building as a store, a gas station, and a home base for his considerable skills as a taxidermist. For the next three years, Ted and Alice had to haul their own water up to the property, no small task considering how far they were from Mesa’s current borders. In 1939, the Sligers resolved to dig a well and draw their own water. While they did find water, it turned out to be running at 112 degrees. The Sligers had stumbled across a hot spring.

Over the next seven years, the Sliger's operations began to focus more and more on the hot springs they had running underneath the motel, building a bathhouse that could serve 75 patrons a day. In 1947, the Buckhorn Baths was discovered by New York Giants owner Horace Stoneham, who made the motel their official base of operations. This officially propelled the establishment into the spotlight as it hosted baseball players, movie stars, and other celebrities. Rumor has it that it even served a young John F. Kennedy, seeking treatment for back injuries he suffered during World War II. Some also credit the Motel with playing a key role in the formation of the Arizona Cactus League.

The Buckhorn Baths remained open until Alice Sliger closed it down in 1999, Ted having passed away in 1987. Today, the Motel sits empty, with plenty of baseball memorabilia and Alice’s meticulous guest records potentially sealed away inside.

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The origin of the city of Mesa relates directly to the expansion of Mormon settlement out of Utah and into the surrounding territories. In 1887, the first group of Mormon settlers arrived in the Salt River Valley, dispatched by Brigham Young. Over the next three years, two other groups of Mormon settlers joined the original company and began to establish what is now known as the city of Mesa.

Just a few years later, Mesa was undergoing a major tourism boom as flocks of tourist struck out westwards throughout the 1890s. To accommodate these newcomers, a new crop of buildings began to sprout up, including the building that would eventually become the Alhambra Hotel. Due to a fire that all but consumed the building in 1921, the Alhambra was slated to become one of the first of these new Mesa hotels to be converted into a bona fide modern hotel, complete with steam heating and indoor facilities. However, due to difficulties securing the necessary funds, owner O.C. McElrath was unable to perform the renovations and instead sold the Alhambra to H.H. Hall, who had every intention of reopening the hotel. Ironically, Hall’s home caught fire just a few days later, forcing him to give up his interest in the hotel.

The Alhambra fell into disrepair over the next several decades, drifting from owner to owner and even having its name changed to the Pioneer Hotel in 1951. However, in 2015, the building was purchased by Lorenzo Perez in 2015 on behalf of Benedictine University, who intended to renovate the site. Today, Benedictine University uses the renovated Alhambra as student housing for students in the Mesa area.

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In 1887, Mormon leader Brigham Young sent out the Lehi Company to settle the Salt River Valley. A year later, another group of Mormon settlers arrived under the banner of the Mesa Company and camped approximately five miles away from the Lehi settlement. Just a few months later, the settlers filed for possession of the land now known as Mesa’s Town Center. In 1880, a third group of Mormon settlers established a community approximately one mile away from the town, near what is now Alma School Road.

When constructing the town that would eventually grow to become the city of Mesa, the settlers made sure to follow the layout that Joseph Smith had initially envisioned for his City of Zion. Because of persecution driving the Mormons to the frontier, many western towns and cities share this layout, most notably Salt Lake City. Smith's design called for streets 132 feet wide on a one square mile grid. Each block contained eight rectangular lots one and one-quarter acre in size. Though Smith's plan called for three public squares, only two were included in the plat of Mesa. The organizational structure of the Mormon Church dictates the formation of membership units known as wards and stakes. A ward is the local congregational unit in the LDS church, with membership in each one ranging between 300 and 600 people. Members of each ward live within prescribed geographic boundaries. Alma Ward was the ward associated with the third community of pioneers.

As the Alma Ward membership grew, the community made plans to construct the Alma Ward meeting house, which was built in 1908. Eventually, the Mormon church outgrew the building, and the meeting house changed hands numerous times over the decades. In 1962, it served as the very first campus of Mesa Community College, tying the building to Mesa’s educational history as well as its religious history. Today, the Alma Ward Meeting House hosts wedding planning and reception business.

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The Mesa Temple is decorated on its corners with frieze panels that depict the Latter-Day Saint beliefs about the gathering of Israel from the four corners of the earth, as prophesied by Isaiah in the Old Testament of the Bible.

A.B. Wright crafted the original design of the scenes. Torlief Knapphus sculpted models in plaster of Paris, which were then sent to the California Faience Company in Oakland, California, where the friezes were cast before their Temple installation. Each panel is three feet, six inches tall, and sixteen feet wide.

Begin on the East Corner of the North Side and walk counter-clockwise for a description of each panel.

North side of the Temple, east corner: This panel depicts Dutch and German Latter-day Saints entering their ship bound for America. Note the wooden shoes of the Dutch people and the windmill in the background. The German Saints are packing away bedding and entering the ship.

North side of the Temple, west corner: Here, the Mormon pioneers are depicted crossing the Great Plains and within sight of the Rocky Mountains. To Mormons, this fulfills the prophesy found in Micah 4:1-2: "But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains ... and many nations shall come ..."

West side of the Temple, north corner: Depicted here is the landing of a ship in America carrying Saints from the British Isles. The leader is English, followed by Welsh people in their traditional attire. Irish and Scottish pioneers are on the boat.

West side of the Temple, south corner: This scene depicts the first parties of Saints who, in 1846, were driven from their homes in Nauvoo, IL, and crossed the plains traveling the 1,400-mile journey from the Mississippi River to Salt Lake City. The couple pulling the handcart represents the approximately 4,000 Saints who used a handcart rather than a traditional wagon pulled by oxen to carry their belongings to Salt Lake.

South side of the Temple, west corner: This panel depicts the Hispanic people. They, too, are leaving their homes and gathering with the Saints.

South side of the Temple, east corner: This panel represents the Native American people traveling to unite with the Church. The scene depicts the chief leading his people.

East side of the Temple, south corner: This panel depicts Pacific Islanders (Hawaiians and others). Note that this is the only panel where people are not traveling. While the Temple in Mesa was under construction, a similar temple was being constructed in Laie, Oahu, Hawaii, enabling the Hawaiian Saints to gather there.

East side of the Temple, north corner: Represented here are the Swiss and French people on their way to Holland, where they will embark for America. Those in the rear are Italians. Notice the wife is anxious to join the Saints in America, while the husband is unwilling to go. Some Saints, in addition to leaving their homes, also left family and friends to gather with the Saints.

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The city of Mesa enjoys a 90 year history of Baseball. With the Chicago Cubs and Oakland Athletics thrilling crowds from late February through early April every year, it can be easy to forget that the sport of baseball has made its presence know for nearly a century. The start of that history lurks in a forgotten and demolished piece of land: Rendezvous Park.

As early as 1895 when Depot Park, as it was known then, was born as a place for local residents to enjoy an afternoon stroll or a game of sport. By statehood in 1912, the park found itself with a new name, Drew Park, and a fledgling tradition of baseball. With huge grassy fields and plenty of eager players, baseball quickly grew to become a crowd pleaser. Exhibition games between local teams thrilled crowds. However, these exhibition matches between amateurs were a far cry from the professional contests being played on the east coast. While baseball was a popular game at the newly christened Rendezvous Park, its chief purpose remained as a recreation facility. Park goers spent more time bathing in the pools or skating in the roller rinks than they did watching or playing baseball.

The arrival of the Chicago Cubs to Mesa in 1952 drastically changed the perception of baseball in Mesa. The games at Rendezvous Park no longer smacked of unprofessionalism. Now the park played host to professionals, players and names that many fans recognized from radio broadcasts of games. Names such as Monte Irvin and Ernie Banks quickly became fixtures in the city of Mesa, Particularly Banks, who would spend his entire career with the cubs, and most of that time Spring Training in Mesa. Dwight Patterson, an eccentric local rancher, had somehow managed to convince the owner of the Chicago Cubs to leave their spring training home on Catalina Island. Patterson did not think the task was too difficult and was quoted as saying, “It is hard to get anyone to play at Catalina,” citing the bad weather and remote location of the island from other teams. 

By the time the first Cubs begun reporting for spring training on February 17, 1952, the city of Mesa and Rendezvous park were alight with excitement. Large media contingencies were on hand to observe as the first Cubs players arrived. The excitement at old Rendezvous was palpable. Meanwhile, in neighboring Phoenix, the Arizona Republic notes that “No such meeting is planned for the Giants” and jokingly includes that “(New York Giants) Owner Horace Stoneham has spent several weeks sunning himself near Scottsdale.” 

For the next quarter century, the baseball fields at Rendezvous Park would play host to hundreds, if not thousands, of Cactus League Games. The Giants, first of New York and later of San Francisco, Indians, and Orioles were common early opponents for the Cubs. However, after nearly a decade and a half at Rendezvous Park, the Chicago Cubs abruptly abandoned the City of Mesa for Long Beach, California, leaving Dwight Patterson, and the City of Mesa, shocked. Having expressed concerns over ticket sales the previous season, the Cubs decided to leave Mesa behind and try its luck elsewhere. 

Rendezvous and Mesa would be without a tenant for only one spring, as in 1967, the Kansas City Athletics moved to Mesa and became the third team to join the Cactus League that year. The A’s time in Rendezvous Park was short, but prolific. After only five years, and a change of address to Oakland, in the Valley of the Sun, the A’s would win the World Series in 1972, and then again in 1973 and 1974. The A’s, with stars such as Arizona State Alumni Reggie Jackson and Rollie Fingers, enjoyed immense popularity at Rendezvous Park. The A’s tenure at Rendezvous was short lived. By 1976, Hohokam Stadium was completed and the A’s moved one mile north to the new facility. By now woefully outdated and with a new stadium just constructed, Rendezvous Park had little chance to attract a new tenant. Razed not longer after the completion of Hohokam Stadium, Rendezvous Park lives on in the memories of baseball fans.

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Until 2016, the Chicago Cubs have been America’s lovable losers for over a century. For 35 of those years, the Chicago Cubs spent their springs preparing for a grueling season just west of Center Street in North Mesa. Hohokam Stadium opened in the spring of 1977, hosting the Oakland Athletics of the American League. Built to replace the old Rendezvous Stadium, Hohokam Park quickly became a crown jewel of Mesa. In 1979, the team from the North side of Chicago returned to Mesa after a 12-year tenure in Scottsdale. For over three decades, Hohokam Park, as it was then known, was Chicago’s home in the arid Arizona Desert. Much like the friendly confines at Wrigley, Hohokam Park did not enjoy the finest amenities. Described by some as having, “all the charm of an abandoned drive in movie theater,” Hohokam reminded many a dislocated Cubs fan of home in the windy city. By the mid-1990s, Hohokam Park was the place to be for spring training. Despite the stadiums lack of glam, it was the epitome of Spring Training experiences. It drew sellout crowds of die-hard Cubs fans, and transported huge swaths of baseball fans in a way to Chicago. The air, the ambiance, the smells, all harkened back to Chicago. Except, as one author points out, “not everybody is anxious to read about the latest exploits of Shawn Dunston or Ryne Sandberg. Nah it’s just fun to read the temperature chart and imagine your neighbor with a snow shovel while you bask in the sun.” It was not uncommon for fans and visitors to interact with Cubs greats from the 1980s and 1990s, with longtime Cubs announcer Harry Carrey being amongst the most popular.

Even with abysmal performances by the Cubs throughout the 1980s, Hohokam enjoyed record turnouts during the spring. The Cubs continuously ranked at or near the top for attendance and they quickly became the top draw for a floundering Cactus League. In 1991, the stadium at Hohokam Park is officially named Dwight W. Patterson Field, the same Dwight Patterson who is now known as the father of the Cactus League and was integral to bringing major league baseball to Mesa. However, the intimate and nostalgic feel of Hohokam did not stop the slow creep of Mother Nature. Despite the record attendance and popularity of the Cubs, Hohokam was quickly turning from a crown jewel to an eye sore. It was a good day if the scoreboards turned on, let alone functioned properly. The seats succumbed to long years in the Arizona sun, and fans complained of dangerous conditions on the concourse. By 1997, it was clear that Hohokam Park desperately needed a remodel.

Support from area residents, as well as the snowbirds from Chicago, helped play a role in the development of an expanded and remodeled Hohokam park. This remodel saw the addition of nearly 2,500 seats and updated amenities. The Cubs would continue to enjoy the friendly confines of Hohokam until 2014. With the opening of Sloan Park, Hohokam was forced to find itself new tenants. Spring Training 2015 would see the return of the Oakland Athletics to a newly renovated Hohokam Stadium. Hohokam today is a far cry from the facility of the 1980s and 90s, with High-Definition scoreboards, all new seats, and expanded seating areas to allow visitors new locations to take in a game.

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The first visitors' center for the Mesa Temple consisted of a small table and literature racks set up at the temple's west entrance in the late 1940s. This set-up was soon found to be inadequate, and a permanent structure, the Bureau of Information and Genealogical Library, was built across the street at 464 E 1st Ave. This site, shared with the genealogical library, also proved inadequate to meet demand - and it was difficult to locate from the major streets of Mesa Drive and Main Street.  Thus, plans were made to build another center - and this one would face Main Street. The existing citrus grove was removed, and the ground was excavated to ensure the new structure would not obscure views of the temple behind the new building. Concrete walls were prefabricated in Utah and shipped to Arizona, where they were assembled. The Mesa Visitor Center was the first in the Church to be prefabricated. Church president David O. McKay dedicated the new building on December 30, 1956.  By the 1970s, the building was once again too small to meet the needs of the community. In 1979, the center was enlarged by three and a half times. The newly enlarged structure would be able to house new exhibits and theaters and was completed in 1981. In 2015, the center was remodeled again to update the existing exhibit space.  However, the second iteration of the visitors' center was demolished in 2018 as part of the Church's more extensive plans for renovating the Mesa Temple. A new visitors' center will be located on Main Street adjacent to the Mesa Dr/Main St light rail station. Perhaps the most striking feature inside the building is the ten-foot Christus statue. This 1,200-pound statue is a replica of the larger original by Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen (1768-1844).  The visitors center hosts special holiday events twice each year: lights at Christmas and the Pageant at Easter. Beginning the evening after Thanksgiving and continuing each night until New Year's Eve, from dusk until 10 pm, visitors are invited to tour the Christmas light display on the temple grounds, a choral performance in front of the visitors' center, and a nativity display inside.  The Mesa Easter Pageant, entitled "Jesus the Christ," is performed for two weeks before Easter each year (excluding Sundays and Mondays) on a large stage constructed on the front lawn of the visitors' center. Between 5,000 and 13,000 guests, each evening view the outdoor performance that boasts 475 cast members. Visitors often arrive several hours before the 8 pm starting time to reserve seats.

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The Phoenix Suns played their inaugural NBA season in 1968-1969. Prior to the start of the season, the Suns and the Los Angeles Lakers played a series of exhibition games around the state to generate publicity for the team. On October 1, 1968 the Suns and Lakers faced off here at the Mesa Inter-Stake Center. Unfortunately for the Suns, Wilt Chamberlain led the Lakers to a 113-90 rout of the home team.

The Inter-Stake Center opened as the Mesa Tri-Stake Center in 1955 (A "stake" is a group of congregations in the LDS Church. The structure was originally constructed to serve the three stakes in the valley, the Mesa, East Mesa, and Maricopa Stakes). Additions and renovations in 1959, 1970, and 2013 brought this multi-purpose facility to its current size of 53,170 square feet. The gymnasium can be set up for three basketball courts or four volleyball courts. Also in the building is a 586-seat auditorium, seven meeting rooms, and a food serving area. Open not just to the Latter-day Saint community, the center has played a significant role for the entire Mesa community.

The East Valley Tribune estimates that in its long history, over 23,000 basketball games and 33,600 volleyball games have been played here, along with over 20,000 softball games on the adjoining Ellsworth Park.

Though originally conceived and intended to house church-sponsored sporting events, such as basketball tournaments, the Inter-Stake Center's utility has been expanded to include dance festivals, plays, church meetings, and the Special Olympics. Besides the Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers, the Harlem Globetrotters, Mesa Public Schools, the Boy Scouts of America, and most recently, Benedictine University have all made use of the facility.

Beginning in 1946 and continuing until the completion of the LDS temple in Mexico City in 1983, members of the church from Mexico and Central America traveled to Mesa to worship in the LDS Temple. Those who were part of these "excursions" typically spent all or most of their money to afford the round-trip bus ticket to and from Mesa, leaving no money to pay for lodging or food. Originally, the excursionists were housed by local members and in the Mezona building. However upon completion in 1955, the Inter-Stake Center took over the housing of these Saints, providing dormitories, kitchen, hygiene, and recreational facilities.

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The Vance Auditorium was built in 1904 by John Thomas Vance. People all around Mesa came to the dances. At the time of its construction, it was the biggest auditorium in the southwest. In 1919, Vance sold the building to the Maricopa Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).The church expanded the building and renamed it the Mezona in 1926. Mezona, the product of eliding MEsa and AriZONA, was selected as a result of a city-wide naming contest.

Though its primary use was ecclesiastical—the LDS Church utilized this building for regional conferences and other, smaller meetings for decades—the building filled many needs of the Mesa community. Local, regional, and church-wide leaders addressed the valley’s LDS community, including presidents Heber J. Grant, who announced the construction of the Mesa Arizona Temple on January 1, 1920, and Spencer W. Kimball.

In addition to church use, and due to its status as the largest capacity building in the East Valley, countless politicians and community leaders spoke to Mesa residents from the pulpit of the Mezona building. John J. Rhodes kicked off his first congressional campaign here on May 16, 1952. Other prominent speakers include perennial presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan, postmaster general James A. Farley, 1920 Democratic presidential candidate James Cox, Arizona Governor George W.P. Hunt, Arizona Senator Ralph Cameron, Representative Carl Hayden, and many others seeking local and statewide offices.

However, meetings were not the building’s only use. This multi-purpose facility also housed dances, theatrical productions, funerals, operas, fairs, movies (Mesa’s first Edison moving picture machine was installed in 1909), community classes, LDS Church welfare projects, and dances. The LDS Church hosted dances. Mesa High School hosted dances. As did the WPA for several years during the Great Depression.

For those who remember the Mezona, it is these dances for which they have the fondest memories. One of the most famous dances was the Valentine’s Day Dance on opening night in 1908. There were about 1,600 people Mesa residents at that time and yet 2,500 came to the opening dance from all over the valley attended, most travelling by train to get there.

Every Friday and Saturday night for decades, the Mezona hosted teenagers and young adults from around the valley. Each Friday, a live band led the dancing, while Saturday’s dances were hosted by a DJ. Youth from all over the valley attended dances here, including airmen from Williams Air Force Base, future-Senator Barry Goldwater, artist Arnold Frieberg, and future Arizona governors Paul Fannin, and Jack Williams. Many of those that went to the dances at the Mezona met their future spouse there.

Beginning in 1943, and continuing until the completion of the Inter-Stake Center in 1955, Mexican and Central American Saints on temple excursions were housed in the Mezona building during their stay.

After the initial expansion and remodel in 1926, further expansion projects continued. In 1935, the Mezona was equipped with air conditioning. In 1956, the Mezona underwent a second remodel. However, by the late-1960s the building began to show its age. The dance floor was declared a fire hazard in 1971. On February 26, 1971, the building held its last memorial dance before it was torn down the next day. Today the Mezona Inn Motel is located on the Mezona’s former location.

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The arrest and conviction of Ernesto Miranda, as well as the subsequent overturning of that conviction on appeal, introduced the nation to “Miranda Rights.” Buried in the City of Mesa Cemetery on Center and Brown. Ernesto Arturo Miranda was born March 9, 1941 in Columbus, Arizona. Miranda died January 31, 1976 at age 34; he was murdered during an argument at a bar in Phoenix. Miranda died in the ambulance on the way to the Good Samaritan hospital.

Miranda was arrested in 1963 on suspicion of kidnapping and rape. He was subsequently convicted for these crimes after he confessed. Miranda was questioned by the police for several hours and signed his confession. However, he was neither told of his right against self incrimination nor against having legal counsel, as was customary in the era. Miranda's state-provided lawyer filed an appeal after the conviction. He was eventually released because the United State Supreme Court ruled that the police violated his rights under the Fifth and Sixth Amendments were violated.

The phrase Miranda Rights has become synonymous in popular culture with criminals "being read their rights." The legal framework of the Miranda decision continues to evolve with further litigation, most recently in a 2010 decision before the U.S. Supreme Court.

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Prior to the construction of the Mesa Arizona Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, church members wishing to marry in a temple were required to make the grueling journey on the "Honeymoon Trail." The trail was named "Honeymoon" because, after marrying civilly in Mesa, the couple then spent their honeymoon traversing old wagon trails across northern Arizona, crossing the Colorado River at Lee's Ferry, and north though the "Arizona strip. Alternatively,they traveled via railroad to California, and then north, to St. George, Utah, the site of the nearest temple, to be "sealed" together in a temple ordinance. Members of the Church believe that in the temple, they are married not just until death but for all eternity.

Because of the distance and great effort required to reach the temple, especially in Mesa's earliest days before the advent of automobiles and graded roads, church leaders in Mesa began almost immediately to petition Church leadership in Salt Lake City to construct a temple in Mesa. Finally, in 1920, church president Heber J. Grant announced the construction of a temple in Mesa. The Mesa temple was the Church's ninth temple and Arizona's first (it has since been joined by temples in Snowflake, the Gila Valley, Gilbert, Phoenix, and Tucson). The temple was completed in 1927 at the cost of $800,000. After significant expansion and remodeling, the temple was rededicated in 1975 by then-president, and Arizona native, Spencer W. Kimball.

The temple was again closed for a major renovation in 2018 and is scheduled to reopen in 2020.

The temple's design was meant to reflect the Temple of Herod and ancient religious structures found on the American continent. The temple is only one of three built by the Church that does not have a spire topped by an angel.

Reflecting the pioneer heritage of the LDS community in Mesa, the eight friezes on the corners of the temple's roof depict various peoples gathering of Israel, or into the Lord's Church—from natives of the British Isles, and other various European nations, to the Native Americans and Pacific Islanders. For more detailed information, see the entry "Mesa Arizona Temple Friezes."

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An iconic blonde in blue swimsuit stands at the heart of Mesa's identity. The 78 foot tall neon light lady lit up the Starlite Motel. Owners Elmo and Richard Kaesler added the sign--now a classic piece of roadside American architecture from the 1960s--in an effort entice passersby to stay and visit the hotel pool. She's lasted for more than half a century, her three-part plunge embedding itself into the community’s memory and hearts. This sign became more than just a symbol for an oasis in the desert, but a literal sign of home for Mesa residents traveling back into town.

In October of 2010 the Diving Lady was tragically destroyed in a storm. Many feared the damage would be irreparable, but the Mesa Preservation Foundation rose to the challenge of restoring and reviving the animated vintage sign. The restoration project was designed to maintain the original metal integrity of the sign utilizing time-consuming methods, while forgoing using less expensive materials. Although a more tenuous process, the dedication to preservation mattered to those involved, and more importantly, to the public who admired the Mesa neon treasure.

The restoration of this staple relied upon more than just tender love and care. Finances were a significant component to the project, with the expected cost of restoring the sign changing significantly from the start to the completion of the endeavor. The East Valley community rallied and raised funds for the project, yet the recession was at the forefront of the struggle to meet the financial goal. Ultimately, through the hard work of the community, neon artist Larry Graham, the Mesa Preservation Foundation, and countless travelers and residences alike, the Diving Lady now continues her nightly plunge on East Main Street.

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