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Old Posted Jul 25, 2022, 4:51 AM
plinko's Avatar
plinko plinko is online now
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Location: Santa Barbara adjacent
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The sun comes up very early in Phoenix in the Summer

Those of you who have been here a very long time might remember that I was one of the first two or three Phoenix forumers. It’s a city I dearly love, but had to leave because I got tired of designing projects in places like Anthem and Queen Creek. I left in 2002 and returned regularly through 2014 or so. Oddly while I have been to Arizona almost yearly since then, I hadn’t been to Phoenix at all during that time.
I had to come back for a funeral. Not something I wanted but had to do.
And so I returned last month. I have a great deal of history with this place, and my children and wife had little to no experience with it. The majority of our 4 day trip was spent with family and lurking around old haunts from childhood and college. It was a nostalgic thing for me.
But on Saturday, on nearly the longest day of the year, I managed to get some time alone. When I was in college one of my favorite things to do was to get up early in the summer and watch the sun come up. This could be done in so many places, hiking in the mountain preserve, Papago Park, roaming downtown, or just driving out to the middle of the desert. In the summer watching the sun come up over Four Peaks is truly magical.
So on that Saturday I got up at 4am and made my way to Tempe Butte, a 350ft tall promontory point anchoring downtown Tempe and Town Lake. I was treated to an absolute gem of a sunrise. The light in the desert is just different. I’ve never been able to pinpoint it, maybe it’s as simple as the dryness in the air. I love that sky.
Enough with the essay. Let’s get to the pictures…

IMG_8323 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8325 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8331 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8332 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8336 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8342 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8346 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8375 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8393 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr

Tempe Town Lake was built at great cost and risk by the City of Tempe within the existing Salt River dry bed. It opened in 1999 and 20+ years later has spurred billions in development. Tempe is now easily equal to Scottsdale and East Camelback (Biltmore) as the premier office district in the state. The transformation has been amazing.

Here is a rendering from the early 1990’s:

tem002 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr

And now:

IMG_8402 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8403 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8412 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8418 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8419 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8422 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8424 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8425 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8426 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8427 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8428 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr

According to the current Phoenix forumers, this is The Pier development and has taken years and years to get to this point…

IMG_8432 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr

I didn’t venture to Mesa this time…there is rarely reason to…

IMG_8433 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8442 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr

The scale of downtown Tempe is so much different than it was when I was at ASU 25 years ago…

IMG_8443 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8445 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8450 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8462 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr

The Superstitions looming large…

IMG_8464 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8468 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8470 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8471 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8475 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8483 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8497 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8501 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8508 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8510 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr

Papago Park, Squaw Peak, Camelback Mountain…my kids were like ‘what are all these rocks in the middle of the city?’

IMG_8511 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8519 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8529 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr

The upsidedown pyramid of Tempe’s City Hall is still badass…

IMG_8530 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8531 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8533 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr

The city has been working on redeveloping the original cotton mill since before I graduated from ASU (1999). Someday it might be something…

IMG_8535 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8538 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr

UofA is a much better school, but of course I’m partial to ASU…

IMG_8543 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8545 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8548 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8552 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8557 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8559 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8571 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr

When Tempe Town Lake opened, ASU created a rowing team. Previously there was no body of water in the state that would work for such a thing. ASU has been relatively successful and unique in that it can be practiced year-round…

IMG_8580 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8581 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8582 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8588 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8594 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8595 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8596 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8597 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8598 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8601 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8606 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8607 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8611 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8612 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8613 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8617 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr

In the early 1990’s, due to traffic, a twin span was added to the Mill Avenue bridge over the Salt River. Unfortunately the twin span lacks much of the grace and uniqueness of the original…

IMG_8624 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8630 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8632 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8651 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8660 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8669 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr

Still a few 19th Century buildings left on Mill Avenue…though not many…

IMG_8671 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8672 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8678 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8685 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8686 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8687 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr

Being only 6:30am, I ventured to downtown Phoenix to see what I could find interesting down there. I have to say, despite all the new buildings (as there should be), it seems to have actually lost ground to Tempe and Scottsdale as a center of activity for the Valley. That’s just my opinion of course (I don’t live there anymore), but in the small time I was there, it didn’t seem much different than 20 years ago…with one exception… ASU has made a concerted effort to build a downtown campus which does seem to activated many more streets than previously existed. I will say that 20 years ago at 6:30am on a June morning you wouldn’t have found anyone in downtown Phoenix. It did seem more lively now…at least people live there…


IMG_8688 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8689 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8697 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8699 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8706 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8707 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8710 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8711 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8712 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8721 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8722 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8723 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr

This will eventually be a two tower complex called Central Station if I understand correctly…

IMG_8731 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8732 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8738 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8739 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8743 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8746 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8752 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8754 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr

For some reason I cannot remember this building at all from when I lived down here…

IMG_8769 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8773 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8776 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr

The now empty Chase Bank Plaza…a building I like very much in form (Welton Beckett), but meets the street…poorly to say the least…

IMG_8777 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8780 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8781 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8792 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8793 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8799 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8808 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr

Whomever decided that the stucco should be painted light landlord beige to contrast with the splitface brown block should be shot…

IMG_8813 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8817 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8829 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr

At least it’s not pink anymore…

IMG_8831 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8837 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8838 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8839 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8840 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr

Finally partook in Matt’s Big Breakfast. It’s pretty good…

IMG_8842 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr

Bertrand Goldberg…mmm…

IMG_8856 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8857 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr

Midtown looks exactly the same…20 years later…

IMG_8858 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8859 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8864 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8869 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8876 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8878 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8882 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8884 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8885 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr

mmm…Honey Bears…

IMG_8889 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr

Scottsdale…had to take my kids to the Sugar Bowl…

IMG_8890 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr

Hole-in-the-Rock…

IMG_8892 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8900 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8901 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr

This was not much of a view when I lived here…

IMG_8909 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8910 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8916 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8917 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8923 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr

South Mountain…

IMG_8924 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8925 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8931 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8934 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8936 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8945 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8951 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8952 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8953 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8954 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8970 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr

Phoenix…

IMG_8971 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr
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  #2  
Old Posted Jul 25, 2022, 4:54 AM
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Some panoramics...

IMG_8973 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8974 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8975 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


IMG_8976 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr
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  #3  
Old Posted Jul 25, 2022, 6:01 AM
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Great tour!
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Old Posted Jul 25, 2022, 2:29 PM
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The Sonoran Desert is such a magical place and I am with you on the sunlight, it really is like nowhere else. I love Phoenix for many reasons and it's amazing to see the growth, especially in Tempe. Wonderful pics!

And my condolences.
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Old Posted Jul 25, 2022, 3:09 PM
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my brother literally texted me this last night: "hey this is random... didn't you have a friend way way back who was a bass player and was into Rush?"

i wonder how Chris is doing these days, hope all is well. we haven't talked in over a decade.

sweet pics. phoenix is cooler than people give it credit for, the setting, the vibe i get from these pics - especially here where it's one of those places people love to jump on. my SO got to visit a couple of years ago for a conference, regret not tagging along.
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Old Posted Jul 25, 2022, 7:27 PM
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Beautiful scenery, I would love to visit Phoenix other than just passing through. Hopefully I can convince my wife to visit for a few days this coming winter.
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Old Posted Jul 25, 2022, 9:06 PM
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Some great shots of some of my favorite places Papago Park, South Mt., Tempe, Central Ave. When I lived there I use to ride my bike from Tempe over to Central Ave. and ride up South Mt. to enjoy the view. Then cruise back down into downtown Phoenix and ride back to Tempe riding through Sky Harbor Airport on Sky Harbor Blvd. I loved riding my bike all over the valley and occasionally having a monsoon sand storms blow in. Now I really wanna return for a few days... Thank you Plinko

Last edited by innov8; Jul 25, 2022 at 9:33 PM.
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  #8  
Old Posted Jul 25, 2022, 9:49 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ChrisLA View Post
Beautiful scenery, I would love to visit Phoenix other than just passing through. Hopefully I can convince my wife to visit for a few days this coming winter.
We drove by this place when I toured the Southwestern US in summer very long ago, that was in the late 1990s.

I can remember, it was hot, the city looked like a ghost town. People were indoor cause A/C was necessary.
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Old Posted Jul 25, 2022, 10:52 PM
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Beautiful pics. Every time I see photos of Tempe I am surprised at how much it has grown.
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  #10  
Old Posted Jul 26, 2022, 12:24 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mousquet View Post
We drove by this place when I toured the Southwestern US in summer very long ago, that was in the late 1990s.

I can remember, it was hot, the city looked like a ghost town. People were indoor cause A/C was necessary.
I suspect at night when the sun goes down a lot of people come outside. I lived in Fresno for five years and the summers are very hot (although not as bad as Phoenix) people either come outside early mornings or later in the evening. The parks were busy and there was a lot of basketball going on at night in the park.
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  #11  
Old Posted Jul 26, 2022, 1:32 PM
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very nice thread. while the modernization is great to see, the unsustainable growth around there makes one sad.
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  #12  
Old Posted Jul 26, 2022, 2:33 PM
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Good photos with some nice views!
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  #13  
Old Posted Jul 26, 2022, 3:05 PM
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I thought you hinted at this thread a while ago, it was worth the wait - thanks for doing this thread. Gorgeous photos of the sky and sunrise.

Although, I'm a little disappointed possibly the OG Phoenix forumer made these two errors:

1. It was a flour mill, not a cotton mill.
2. UofA is not a better school than ASU, in some areas yes, in other areas no.

I have aged out of really experiencing the hot spots of the Valley (plus now have kids), but anecdotally, and other Phoenix forumers would definitely know better than me, I think downtown Phoenix (northern areas around Roosevelt mostly, as well as north Central and northeast Phoenix toward Arcadia) I'd say compete with Scottsdale and Tempe although have a different clientele.
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Old Posted Jul 26, 2022, 10:17 PM
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The desert metropolis. Good shots, it really has grown a ton. I have a couple of high end home builder friends mainly building around Scottsdale and Paradise Valley, but the amount of massive and complex homes they are doing is insane.
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Old Posted Jul 27, 2022, 1:12 AM
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I think ASU has a better campus than U of A as far as architecturally interesting projects are concerned, and the ASU downtown campus is included in that observation.
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Old Posted Jul 27, 2022, 7:54 AM
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One of the top-notch threads on this forum.
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  #17  
Old Posted Jul 27, 2022, 11:29 AM
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I’ve been on this forum so d@mn long, I remember when you first joined Thanks for sharing these great pics, I have in-laws in Phoenix/Scottsdale and so many of these places look familiar but so much has changed since our last trip out there.
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  #18  
Old Posted Jul 28, 2022, 5:04 PM
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Fantastic photo tour!! I visited Phoenix for the first time 4-5 years ago. I really enjoyed the area. I do wish I had a bit for time to explore some of the areas around Phoenix and maybe find some great trails for some great views, but hey, just reasons to come back.
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  #19  
Old Posted Jul 28, 2022, 8:40 PM
muertecaza muertecaza is offline
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Awesome thread, thanks for posting. I work in Tempe every day and the growth still surprises me sometimes.

Quote:
Originally Posted by mrnyc View Post
very nice thread. while the modernization is great to see, the unsustainable growth around there makes one sad.
I doubt you are interested enough to read the whole book (nor should you be), but if by chance you are, a local booster wrote a book recently pushing back on the idea that Phoenix is unsustainable:

https://www.amazon.com/Future-Suburb...s%2C141&sr=8-2

Reasonable people could disagree about how successful he is in making his case, but I thought at the very least that he was convincing in arguing that Phoenix is not particularly more unsustainable than other modern American cities.
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  #20  
Old Posted Jul 28, 2022, 10:12 PM
Obadno Obadno is offline
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U of A is NOT a better school that is simply Baja Arizona propaganda They've been trying to live off of that reputation for 30 years when ASU was a big party School and UofA wasnt but they are pretty on par now.

That being said, Downtown doesn't have a lot going on at 630am, Quite to the reverse of your opinion I think Downtown has been creeping in on Old Towns Market share hard over the last 5 years, Old Town has been stagnant for the most part while downtown has boomed especially in the nightlife department. The Core Business district is still 9-5 (worse cause covid and WFH) but the area along Roosevelt is just as busy and crowded as Mill or Old Town any day of the week.

Many of the larger apartment complexes are still under construction or just coming online so the population is still set to multiply significantly over the next several years.


Oh and the pier has taken years to get there and its still like only half done.
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