Just the short "tease" version of the latest vertical stack in Rogue Columnist 24 March 2020 .
Use that link to access and read what else follows those truncated openers - if you don't know Jon Talton - get acquainted.
[in this post using the same image of what the capitol city has risen to appear in purple evening haze from the ashes to be called "Phoenix".]
PLEASE NOTE: It finishes up with the most precious commodity here in the desert
20: Water: "This is the big unknown. The renewable supplies of the Salt and Verde rivers were enough to support a modest city and agricultural economy. The coming of the CAP enabled the explosion of population and sprawl. But the Colorado River is over-subscribed and desalination plants are highly unlikely. Turning central Phoenix into a concrete- and gravel-blasted landscape, "shaded" by palo verdes and wide-open "shade structures" is keeping the short hustle going for now. But...it's Chinatown, Jonny."
A score of things that made today's Phoenix:
Use that link to access and read what else follows those truncated openers - if you don't know Jon Talton - get acquainted.
[in this post using the same image of what the capitol city has risen to appear in purple evening haze from the ashes to be called "Phoenix".]
PLEASE NOTE: It finishes up with the most precious commodity here in the desert
20: Water: "This is the big unknown. The renewable supplies of the Salt and Verde rivers were enough to support a modest city and agricultural economy. The coming of the CAP enabled the explosion of population and sprawl. But the Colorado River is over-subscribed and desalination plants are highly unlikely. Turning central Phoenix into a concrete- and gravel-blasted landscape, "shaded" by palo verdes and wide-open "shade structures" is keeping the short hustle going for now. But...it's Chinatown, Jonny."
20/20 hindsight
A score of things that made today's Phoenix:
1. ASU: In 1920, Tempe Normal School was awarding teaching certificates and providing high-school courses. From there it became Tempe State Teachers College (1925), Arizona State Teachers College (1929), Arizona State College (1945), and finally a university (1958)...
2. Agriculture: A century ago, Phoenix was the center of a major agricultural empire thanks to its location in one of the planet's great alluvial river valleys. Anything would grow — just add water, which was abundant thanks to Theodore Roosevelt...
3. Air conditioning: Refrigerated air showed up in movie theaters and new hotels a century ago. Swamp coolers and central air units made Phoenix bearable for more people year-round...
4. Climate: Contrary to today's myths, climate was not one of Arizona's original "C"s (Cattle, citrus, copper, and cotton). But the dry air did attract people with tuberculosis and other lung ailments...
5. Downtown: The city in 1920 ran from Yavapai Street south (about a quarter mile below the railroad tracks) to Virginia north, 21st Avenue west to 24th Street east, with some islands...
6. Economics: Phoenix is 1920 was agriculture, small local businesses, and local banks. Today it's real estate, back offices, call centers, a few legacy tech fixtures, and catering to tourists and retirees...
7. Ending isolation: Separation from the rest of the nation by mountains, desert, and wilderness was the biggest thing that kept Phoenix small. That started to change with the 1926 completion of the Southern Pacific Railroad's northern main line ...
8. Federal assistance: Despite the myth of rugged individualism and minimal government, Phoenix wouldn't exist without enormous federal investment..
9. Freeways: A century ago, paved streets and highways were relatively rare in the Phoenix area. The Tempe Road (Van Buren Street) was two lanes wide. Phoenix resisted freeways from the 1960s to the 1980s — it didn't want to "become another LA."
But a failure to prevent sprawl and provide transit alternatives - ...
10. Growth: Phoenix always wanted to grow (population increased 65% from 1920 to 1930). But even the wildest civic booster then couldn't have imagined that today it would be...
11. Immigration: Hispanic immigration, especially from Mexico, began to transform the overwhelming Anglo city of Phoenix starting in the 1980s
