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Phoenix - The 90s—2000 |
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Phoenix - 2000—2010 |
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Prior to the 1940’s, Phoenix was almost unknown to most Americans, as explained in the above page. This map of Phoenix, from 1950 shows most of the City at that time. You can learn more about Phoenix from its founding days until the present day, at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix,_Arizona Information on the surrounding communities during the 1940’s can be viewed at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottsdale,_Arizona The WWII Miltary Bases CLICK HERE were numerous during WWII, and provided much of the Army Air Forces Training. |
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But first let’s look at how Phoenix has changed. This is a map of Phoenix in the 1950s. The city limits didn’t really extend much north beyond Indian School Road. Phoenix was the country’s 99th largest city in 1950 with a population of 106,818. To see more photos of Phoenix in the 1950s, click here. |
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The surrounding communities were mainly agricultural in nature, and quite a bit of Citrus and other crops were seen between Phoenix and surrounding towns. Tempe of course was the College town, and the City of Mesa was about 16, 800 in population. By 1960, the population had doubled, and by 1970 when Bob & Marlene lived in East Mesa, the population had grown to 63,000. By 2006 it had reached a population of 447, 541. See more: http://tripatlas.com/Mesa,_Arizona and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lehi,_Arizona For Tempe see; |
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City Limits of Phoenix Circa 1950 |
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Maricopa County communities outside of Phoenix were mainly Agricultural. In the East Valley, the Towns of Gilbert, Chandler, Higley, Apache Junction were established and growing by 1950. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chandler,_Arizona , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilbert,_Arizona and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apache_Junction,_Arizona In the West Valley area are the cities and towns of; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avondale,_Arizona , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Mirage,_Arizona , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glendale,_Arizona , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodyear,_Arizona , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Litchfield_Park,_Arizona , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peoria,_Arizona , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surprise,_Arizona and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tolleson,_Arizona These cities and towns began to grow rapidly in the 70’s, and by the year 2000, the farming areas surrounding Phoenix had shrunk to the point that the cities and towns began to become one huge urban area. Now it is possible to drive from Apache Junction West to Buckeye, and never leave the urban area. Phoenix has become the 5th largest City in the United States, and Maricopa County is over Four Million Population. At 9,224 Square Miles in area, you can fit Conneticut and Rhode Island into the County with 2,467 Square miles to spare. |
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During the 60’s the Phoenix area was caught up in the Vietnam War, with several plants in the area manufacturing equipment for the Military, and protests against the War by the youth in the Valley. |
