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”…

The intersection of Main and Center street has been at the heart of Mesa's history for over a century. Now home to the Mesa Arts Center, conceived Mesa's firs shopping center was built in 1908 by A.J. Chandler on the corner of Main and…

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…

Settled by Mormon pioneers in 1880, “Stringtown” emerged as one of Mesa's earliest settlements-a linear district running south for a couple of miles along present-day Alma School Road.   Settlers dug an extension of the Mesa Canal canal bringing…

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…

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…

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…

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…