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…

It all began with two men. One, a master architect. The other, a university president leading a small school toward becoming a major university. Gammage Auditorium resulted from that collaboration--becoming a symbol for ASU and Tempe and emerging as…

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…

A little more than a hundred years ago, Tempe was all farmland.The Hayden Flour Mill that still stands at the north end of Mill Avenue reminds us of the agricultural roots of the city and the importance of water for human habitation of the region.…

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…

Perhaps the most visited property in Tempe is the former home of Arizona's eighth governor Dr. Benjamin Baker Moeur. Since his arrival in Tempe, the physician's contributions to the community grew substantially and quickly. He began as…

Garfield A. Goodwin moved to Tempe in 1888 and began his long-time commitment to Arizona State University and the revitalization of Tempe. As a student, Goodwin played on the Territorial Normal School's first football team. As an alumnus, he…

Scotty's Blacksmith Shop, established in the late 1920s by E. G. Scott, once stood on the land now occupied by the Sugar Bowl. It was here that the gate to Frank Lloyd Wright's iconic winter home and school, Taliesin West, was forged. As…