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…

The Hayden House, or La Casa Vieja as it came to be known, is the longest-standing Mexican-adobe structure in Arizona. It was originally constructed in 1873 near the South bend of the Salt River by local Mexican and indigenous craftsmen for Charles…

Fast food restaurants emerged as a vital part of American auto culture, first as drive-in restaurants and later with drive-thru lanes. The term itself appeared in the dictionary for the first time in 1951, about the time that Apache Boulevard's…

Opened in 1952 by Dave and Belle Harman along the Tempe-Mesa Highway, the Red Barn served customers for only about twenty years. Among the many items on Harman's menu was "Kentucky Fried Chicken." The family had licensed the…

The Rusty Spur Saloon in the heart of Old Town Scottsdale showcases the city’s Wild Western roots. This was precisely the sort of establishment the city had in mind when creating its slogan as the “West’s Most Western Town”. The bars atmosphere…

Los Olivos Mexican Patio located in the heart of Old Town Scottsdale not only offers excellent and authentic Mexican food, it is also a classic American success story. Since its establishment the restaurant has always been family owned and operated.…

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…

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…

If, as poet Wallace Stevens suggested, “The only emperor is the emperor of ice cream,” then Sugar Bowl founder Jack Huntress was a very important man. Huntress opened the Sugar Bowl on Christmas Eve 1958, a date that seems especially appropriate…