Phoenix, Arizona Vacation and Travel Information

Arizona Biltmore

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Phoenix was first settled near the year 300 BC by the Hohokam Indian people. By creating an extensive irrigation system fed by the Salt River, the Hohokam prospered there until approximately the year 1450 A.D. Historians are not certain of the cause of their disappearance but it may have been caused by a significant draught or they may be the ancestors of the Pima or Tohono O'Odaham Indian peoples who live in the area and southern Arizona. Encouraged by the fertile soil he found in the area, Jack Swilling and a group of farmers dug a small canal from the Salt River and colonized what is now Tempe, Arizona in 1867. On March 4, 1868, the town of Phoenix was recognized and the city gained charter in 1881. Since 1890, the population of Phoenix has exploded from 3,500 to more than 1.3 million according to the 2000 census. It is rumored that the population of Phoenix surpassed that of Philadelphia, thus making it the fifth largest city in the U.S.

Phoenix City Info

• Largest City in Arizona
• Largest Capital City in the United States
• Sixth Largest City in the United States
• Land Area: 475.1 square miles
• Parks: Boyce Thompson Arboretum State Park, Papago Park, Encanto Park, White Tank Mountain Regional Park, South Mountain Park, the largest municipal park in the world with 16,500 acres
• Number of radio stations: 28 FM, 20 AM
• Number of television stations: 13 (KPNX, KNXV, KPHO, KSAZ, KUTP, KASW, KAET, KPAZ, KTVW, KDRX, KPPX, KTVK, KATZ)
• Number of newspapers: 2 (The Arizona Republic, The East Valley Tribune)
• Elevation: 1,117 feet (340 m) · Transportation: Sky Harbor International Airport, Williams Gateway Airport, Valley Metro Public Transportation

Phoenix Weather and Climate:

• Average daily temperature — 86 F
• Average daily temperature from May — September - 100 F 
• Average annual rainfall — 8.4"

Distances to other Metropolitan Areas from Phoenix (in miles):

• Las Vegas 290
• Los Angeles - 390
• Miami - 2,350
• Minneapolis - 1,680
• New Orleans - 1,500
• New York - 2,450
• Orlando - 2,080
• Philadelphia - 2,370
• Pittsburgh - 2,090
• Salt Lake City - 650
• San Diego - 350
• San Francisco - 760
• Santa Fe - 600
• Seattle - 1,470
• St. Louis - 1,480
• Washington, DC - 2,300

Phoenix Safety Phone # and Major Hospitals:

• Police/Fire/Ambulance: 911
• Arrowhead Community Hospital: 18701 N. 67th Ave. Glendale, AZ 85308 Telephone: 623-561-1000
• Banner Desert Medical Center: 1400 S. Dobson Rd. Mesa, AZ Telephone: 480-512-3000
• Phoenix Baptist Hospital: 2000 W. Bethany Home Rd. Phoenix, AZ 85015 Telephone: 602-249-0212
• St. Joseph's Hospital: 350 W. Thomas Rd. Phoenix, AZ Telephone: 602-406-3000
• Tempe St. Lukes Hospital: 1500 S. Mill Ave. Tempe, AZ 85218 Telephone: 480-968-9411

Phoenix Top Tourism Draws and Seasons:

• Arizona Biltmore
• Arizona Center
• Arizona Historical Society Museum
• Arizona Renaissance Festival (February — April)
• Arizona Science Center, designed by Antoine Predock
• Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum at the Arizona State Fairgrounds
• Burton Barr Central Library, designed by Will Bruder
• Camelback Mountain Castles N' Coasters amusement park
• Desert Botanical Garden
• Fall Festival of the Arts in Tempe, AZ
• Fleischer Museum Hall of Flame Heard Museum
• Heritage Square
• Hotel San Carlos Mystery Castle
• New Years Eve Block Party in Tempe, AZ
• Old Towne Scottsdale Oktoberfest in Tempe, AZ (October)
• Ostrich Festival in Chandler, AZ (March)
• Phoenix Art Museum
• Phoenix Mountains Park and Recreation Area
• Phoenix Museum of History
• Phoenix Zoo
• Pueblo Grande Museum and Cultural Park
• Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art
• St. Mary's Basilica State Capitol Symphony
• Hall for the Phoenix Symphony at the Phoenix Civic Plaza Taliesin West and Gammage Auditorium, both designed by Frank Lloyd Wright
• Tovrea Castle Wrigley Mansion

Phoenix Major Shopping Areas:

• Arizona Center Phoenix - Downtown
• Arrowhead Towne Center Mall — Glendale
• Biltmore Fashion Park
• Borgata
• Caitlin Court — Glendale
• Chandler Fashion Center
• Desert Sky Mall
• El Pedregal Festival Marketplace
• Fiesta Mall · Historic Downtown Glendale
• MetroCenter
• Scottsdale Fashion Square
• Scottsdale 5th Avenue Shops
• Tempe Mill Avenue
• The Shops at Gainey Village
• Arizona Mills Outlets
• Factory Stores of America
• Outlets At Anthem
• Outlets at Casa Grande

Phoenix Major Dining Areas:

• Ahwatukee Area: Café Boa, Va Bene, Raffino Italian Cuisine, Fogo & Brasa, macayo's Mexican Kitchen, Thai Basil, Mary Ann & Richie's, El Paso BBQ Grill, Keegan's Grill, Barro's Pizza, Shenanigan's
• Phoenix Downtown: Seamus McCaffey's Irish Pub, Alice Cooperstown, Duck & Decanter, Kincaid's Fiah, Chop & Steakhouse, La Mesa pit BBQ, Lombardi's Restaurant, Majerle's Sports Grill, Stoudemire's Downtown
• Scottsdale Area: Carlsbad Tavern, Bloom New American Cuisine, Downside Risk Grill & Bar, Medizona, Stingray Suishi, Chart House Restaurant, Razz's Restaurant, Tutti Santi Ristorante Italiano, Roy's Hawaiian Fusion Cuisine
• Tempe Area: Monti's La Casa Vieja, Café Boa — The Original, House of Tricks, Improv — Comedy Restaurant, Islands Restaurant, John Henry's Continental Italian Cuisine, Margarita Rocks Beach Club, Top of the rocks, The Big bang Bar, Ztejas Southwestern Grill

Phoenix Famous Landmarks & Historic Places:

• Camelback Mountain
• Mystery Castle
• Historic Heritage Square
• Pueblo Grande Museum and Archaeological Park
• St. Mary's Basilica
• The Wrigley Mansion
• Tovrea Castle and Carraro Cactus Garden
• Phoenix Famous Natives and Residents:
• Erma Bombeck, humorist and writer
• Glen Campbell, singer
• Lynda Carter, actress
• Cesar Chavez, labor leader
• Cochise, Apache chief
• Alice Cooper, singer and songwriter
• Wyatt Earp, marshall
• Max Ernst, painter
• Geronimo (Goyathlay), Apache chief
• Barry Goldwater, politician
• Mark Grace, former MLB player
• Zane Grey, novelist
• Randy Johnson, former NY Yankees pitcher
• Bill Keane, cartoonist
• Frank Luke, Jr., WWI fighter ace
• Charles Mingus, jazz musician and composer
• Carlos Montezuma, doctor and Indian spokesman
• Stevie Nicks, singer
• Leslie Nielsen, actor
• Sandra Day O'Connor, jurist
• William H. Pickering, astronomer
• Dan Quayle, 44th Vice-President of the U.S.
• Linda Ronstadt, singer
• Paolo Soleri, architect
• Tanya Tucker, singer

Notable Moments in Phoenix History:

• 1868s — The town of Phoenix was officially recognized.
• 1872 — First school was opened in the courtroom of the county building.
• 1881 — The City of Phoenix was incorporated.
• 1880s — Construction of the Railroad brought expansion to the city.
• 1903 — The Sun Valley Water Users' Association was founded to govern and protect the use of the city's water supply.
• 1911 — Roosevelt Dam was built which created Roosevelt Lake and increased the water supply to the area.
• 1912 — President Taft approved Arizona as a state and made Phoenix its capital.
• 1917 — President Coolidge sold 13,000 acres of the South Mountain to the city of Phoenix for $17,000 which created the South Mountain Park, the largest metropolitan park in the world.
• 1926 — US Highway 60 commissioned as a transcontinental highway.
• 1940 — World War II turned Phoenix from an agricultural area to an industrial city due to the influx of men working at the several nearby military bases.
• 1993 — Phoenix was chosen as the "Best Run City in the World" by the Bertelsmann Foundation of Germany.
• 2008 — The first 20-mile installment of a $1.2 billion lightrail system called "The Metro" is scheduled to open which will connect the downtown areas of Phoenix, Glendale, Tempe and Mesa, Arizona.

Interesting facts about Phoenix:

• Phoenix is home to teams from all five major professional sports including women's basketball: Phoenix Suns, NBA; Phoenix Mercury, WNBA; Arizona Diamondbacks, NL/MLB; Arizona Cardinals, NFL; Phoenix Coyotes, NHL
• Phoenix's nickname is the "Valley of the Sun" due to the fact that it sees approximately 300 sunny days each year.
• Since 1896 snow in excess of .1 inches (.25cm) has only fallen seven times.
• The population of greater Phoenix is twice that of Manhattan, but the area in which this population lives is more than 200 times the area of Manhattan.
• Until 1985 Phoenix was the largest metropolitan area with no freeway system circling or crossing the city.
• With over 50,000 students on its main campus Arizona State University, located in Tempe, is the largest university in the country.
• Since 1950, Phoenix has been selected four times as an All-America City, which is a rare honor for a large metropolitan area.

Phoenix Population and Demographics:

• City of Phoenix Population — 1,321,045 (according to 2000 census)
• White — 938,866 (71.07%)
• Black — 67,373 (5.10%)
• Asian — 26,421 (2%)
• Native American — 26,685 (2.02%)
• Pacific Islander — 1,717 (0.13%)
• Hispanic or Latino — 449,947 (34.06%)
• Other race, or two or more races — 258,924 (19.6%)
• Population 18 and under — 28.9%
• 65 and over — 8.1%
• Median age — 31 years
• Average household size — 2.79
• Median family income - $46,467

Phoenix Colleges and Universities:

• Arizona State University
• University of Phoenix

Phoenix Economy & Business — Notable Employers and Industries:

• Avnet
• Phelps Dodge
• US Airways Group
• Allied Waste Industries
• Apollo Group
• Best Western
• Fender Musical Instruments
• Petsmart

Phoenix Hispanic Community Media and Churches:

• Radio Stations: AM — KCKY/KASA 1150/1540, KSUN 1400; FM — KOMR 100.3/106.3, KLNZ 103.5, KDVA/KVVA 106.9/107.1, KHOT 105.9, KVIB 95.1
• Television: Univision, Telemundo