Completed in 1892, The Niels Peterson House was designed by James Creighton. At the time of construction, the Tempe population was roughly under 1,000. After arriving from Denmark in 1871, Niels Peterson homesteaded 160 acres of the Salt River…

Citrus played a prominent role in Mesa's history. Along the Southern Pacific Railroad tracks near Creamery Road (present-day Broadway) sat a packing house for citrus. C.H. McKellips' plant washed and waxed citrus fruit before it shipped across the…

Finished in 1930, the U.S. Post Office in downtown Phoenix was built by private architects who designed typical federal buildings from the 1920s and 1930s. The art that is found inside the building is quite unique. The murals reflect the economic…

The Maricopa County Courthouse and Phoenix City Hall stand on the same plot of land as the original courthouse, which was built in 1884. For more than 40 years, the original courthouse stood out as an architectural landmark in a city that was…

The site for Phoenix Union High School was surveyed in 1897 to build a high school. Once complete, the complex served the community in more ways than education. For 40 years, it was the educational, cultural, theatrical, civic, and athletic center…

The Orpheum Theatre opened in 1927 when the movie industry took the nation by storm. It was built as a large, expensive, and ornate theater to showcase productions and provide high culture to the valley. The theater was built to house a variety…

The railroad changed the West and the world in many different ways. In the mid 19th Century, the US expanded its rail lines west. The railroad made it much faster to travel across the American West. Phoenix grew from railroad expansion. The city…

The Hotel San Carlos was built in 1928 and sports a Renaissance Revival style. Renaissance Revival is also known as Neo-Renaissance and was popularized during the 19th century in Europe. During the early 20th century the style leaped across the pond…

Located in downtown Phoenix, the Arizona State Capitol draws on several architectural styles, including federal and classical elements. Its symmetry, windows, roofline, and center entrance call forth architecture from the so-called Federal era of…

Built in 1908, the current University Club building is open only to exclusive members and their guests. If you want to waltz your way into a delicious meal or some afternoon tea, you must be current or retired faculty, staff, alumni, a member of the…

Looking at the beautiful brick building that still fits perfectly in the modern world, it is hard to imagine that for decades Old Main was the largest building in the Valley at only three stories tall. Old Main was built in 1898, when Arizona was…

The businessmen of Tempe opened up Tempe National Bank in 1901 to put the then small agricultural town on the map financially. Some stockholders included popular figures in Arizona history like Thanks Anderson, Carl Hayden, and Michael E. Curry…

Although it may not look the part now, the Vienna Bakery building was built as a Victorian-style commercial store in 1893 by John S. Armstrong. Armstrong was postmaster in Tempe, president of the Farmers and Merchants Bank, and he introduced the…

When he was just 25 years old, Dwight “Red” Harkins founded Harkins Theatres and built the College Theatre in 1940 at the tail-end of the Great Depression. Originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, Harkins was bound for Hollywood, with dreams of becoming…

It is a common sight to see someone sit and marvel at the Tempe Municipal Building’s architecture. The upside-down pyramid is a modern and edgy mash-up of Egyptian and Mayan architecture. The eye-catching design sparks conversation, which is…

The Tempe Hardware Building’s story extends beyond the hammers, saws, and long pieces of plywood that were displayed on its first floor walls for 70 years between 1906 and 1976. The three-story brick commercial building is the last of its kind from…

Across from the old Hayden Flour Mill sits a building that was once known as the Tempe Bakery. The Hackett House is a fired red brick structure that still has almost all of its original material. This building was completed in 1888 and is actually…