Phoenix, Arizona

==History==
{{main|History of Phoenix, Arizona}}
{{For timeline}}

===Early history===
[[File:OasisAmerica-es.svg|thumb|upright|right|alt=Map portraying ancestral Hohokam lands circa 1350|Map of [[Hohokam]] lands {{circa|1350}}]]

The [[Hohokam]] people occupied the Phoenix area for 2,000 years.<ref name=Phxgov>{{cite web |url=http://phoenix.gov/pio/publications/history/index.html |title=History of Phoenix |publisher=City of Phoenix |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140415163536/http://phoenix.gov/pio/publications/history/index.html |archive-date=April 15, 2014 |access-date=April 15, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Trimble |first=Marshall |title=Arizoniana |publisher=American Traveler Press |year=1988 |page=103 |isbn=978-1-885590-89-3 }}</ref> They created roughly {{convert|135|mi|abbr=off|sp=us}} of irrigation canals, making the desert land arable, and paths of these canals were used for the [[Arizona Canal]], [[Central Arizona Project]] Canal, and the [[Hayden-Rhodes Aqueduct]]. They also carried out extensive trade with the nearby [[Anasazi|Ancient Puebloans]], [[Mogollon culture|Mogollon]], and [[Sinagua]], as well as with the more distant [[Mesoamerican]] civilizations.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.desertusa.com/ind1/du_peo_hoh.html |publisher=Desert USA |title=Prehistoric Desert Peoples: The Hohokam |access-date=March 19, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160317004347/http://www.desertusa.com/ind1/du_peo_hoh.html |archive-date=March 17, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> It is believed periods of drought and severe floods between 1300 and 1450 led to the Hohokam civilization's abandonment of the area.{{sfn|Trimble|1988|p=105}}

After the departure of the Hohokam, groups of [[Akimel O'odham]] (commonly known as Pima), [[Tohono O'odham]], and [[Maricopa people|Maricopa]] tribes began to use the area, as well as segments of the [[Yavapai people|Yavapai]] and Apache.{{sfn|Montero|2008|pp=10–11}} The O'odham were offshoots of the [[Sobaipuri]] tribe, who in turn were thought to be the descendants of the Hohokam.<ref>{{cite journal | title=Delicate Diplomacy on a Restless Frontier: Seventeenth-Century Sobaipuri Social And Economic Relations in Northwestern New Spain, Part I | last=Seymour | first=Deni J. | issue=2007b | journal=New Mexico Historical Review | page=82}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.srpmic-nsn.gov/history_culture/maricopa.asp |title=Xalychidom Piipaash (Maricopa) People |publisher=Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community |access-date=February 17, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180805082906/http://www.srpmic-nsn.gov/history_culture/maricopa.asp |archive-date=August 5, 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.accessgenealogy.com/native/maricopa-tribe.htm |title=The Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico |publisher=Bureau of American Ethnology, Government Printing Office |year=1906 |access-date=March 24, 2016 |editor=Hodge, Frederick Webb |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140218050828/http://www.accessgenealogy.com/native/maricopa-tribe.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 18, 2014 }}</ref>

The Akimel O'odham were the major group in the area. They lived in small villages with well-defined irrigation systems that spread over the Gila River Valley, from Florence in the east to the Estrellas in the west. Their crops included corn, beans, and squash for food as well as cotton and tobacco. They banded with the Maricopa for protection against incursions by the Yuma and Apache tribes.<ref>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141009142008/http://www.gilariver.org/index.php/about-tribe/profile/history |archive-date=October 9, 2014 | url=http://www.gilariver.org/index.php/about-tribe/profile/history | title=Gila River Indian Community History | publisher=Gila River Indian Community | access-date=February 24, 2014}}</ref> The Maricopa are part of the larger Yuma people; however, they migrated east from the lower Colorado and Gila Rivers in the early 1800s, when they began to be enemies with other Yuma tribes, settling among the existing communities of the Akimel O'odham.<ref name=srpmic>{{cite web | url=http://www.srpmic-nsn.gov/history_culture/maricopa.asp | title=Xalychidom Piipaash (Maricopa) People | publisher=Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community | access-date=February 17, 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180805082906/http://www.srpmic-nsn.gov/history_culture/maricopa.asp | archive-date=August 5, 2018 | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.accessgenealogy.com/native/maricopa-tribe.htm | title=Maricopa Tribe | access-date=February 17, 2014| date=July 9, 2011 }}</ref>{{sfn|Montero|2008|pp=10–11}}

The Tohono O'odham also lived in the region, but largely to the south and all the way to the Mexican border.<ref>{{cite book | title=The Tohono O'odham and Pimeria Alta | last=McIntyre | first=Allan | publisher=Arcadia Publishing | year=2008 | isbn=9780738556338}}</ref> The O'odham lived in small settlements as seasonal farmers who took advantage of the rains, rather than the large-scale irrigation of the Akimel. They grew crops such as sweet corn, tapery beans, squash, lentils, sugar cane, and melons, as well as taking advantage of native plants such as saguaro fruits, cholla buds, mesquite tree beans, and mesquite candy (sap from the mesquite tree). They also hunted local game such as deer, rabbit, and [[javelina]] for meat.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.sanxaviermission.org/Tohono.html | title=San Xavier del Bac Mission-Tohono O'odham | publisher=San Xavier Mission | access-date=February 24, 2014 | archive-date=February 28, 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140228104732/http://www.sanxaviermission.org/Tohono.html | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.tonation-nsn.gov/ton_history.aspx | title=Tohono O'odham History | access-date=February 24, 2014}}</ref>

The [[Mexican–American War]] ended in 1848, Mexico ceded its northern zone to the United States, and the region's residents became U.S. citizens. The Phoenix area became part of the [[New Mexico Territory]].<ref>{{cite book |first=Spencer C. |last=Tucker |title=The Encyclopedia of the Mexican–American War: A Political, Social, and Military History |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I9ceNvefrToC&pg=PA255 |year=2012 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |page=255 |isbn=978-1-85109-854-5}}</ref> In 1863, the mining town of [[Wickenburg, Arizona|Wickenburg]] was the first to be established in Maricopa County, to the northwest of Phoenix. Maricopa County had not been incorporated; the land was within [[Yavapai County, Arizona|Yavapai County]], which included the major town of Prescott to the north of Wickenburg.

The Army created [[Fort McDowell, Arizona|Fort McDowell]] on the [[Verde River]] in 1865 to forestall Indian uprisings.<ref>{{cite book |first=Joan |last=Fudala |title=Historic Scottsdale: A Life from the Land |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oSiRm6fUk4IC&pg=PA28 |year=2001 |publisher=HPN Books |page=28 |isbn=978-1-893619-12-8 | access-date=March 19, 2016}}</ref> The fort established a camp on the south side of the Salt River by 1866, which was the first settlement in the valley after the decline of the Hohokam. Other nearby settlements later merged to become the city of [[Tempe, Arizona|Tempe]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tempe.gov/museum/Tempe_history/basics/timeline.htm#FIRS |publisher=Tempe.gov |title=Tempe History Timeline |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110105115517/http://www.tempe.gov/museum/Tempe_history/basics/timeline.htm |archive-date=January 5, 2011 |access-date=January 31, 2013}}</ref>

===Founding and incorporation===
[[File:Phoenix-Duppa-Montgomery Adobe-1895-2.JPG|thumb|The Phillip Darrell Duppa adobe house was built in 1870 and is the oldest house in Phoenix. The homestead is named after "Lord" Darrell Duppa, an Englishman who is credited with naming Phoenix and Tempe as well as founding the town of New River.]]

The history of Phoenix begins with [[Jack Swilling]], a Confederate veteran of the Civil War who prospected in the nearby mining town of [[Wickenburg]] in the newly formed [[Arizona Territory]]. As he traveled through the [[Salt River Valley]] in 1867, he saw a potential for farming to supply Wickenburg with food. He also noted the eroded mounds of dirt that indicated previous canals dug by native peoples who had long since left the area. He formed the Swilling Irrigation and Canal Company that year, dug a large canal that drew in river water, and erected several crop fields in a location that is now within the eastern portion of central Phoenix near its airport. Other settlers soon began to arrive, appreciating the area's fertile soil and lack of frost, and the farmhouse Swilling constructed became a frequently-visited location in the valley.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://glorecords.blm.gov/details/survey/default.aspx?dm_id=107721&sid=xzdik1aw.jli#surveyDetailsTabIndex=1|title=Survey Details – BLM GLO Records|website=glorecords.blm.gov}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://wateruseitwisely.com/arizona-water-pioneers-jack-swilling/|title=Arizona Water Pioneers – Part 1 &#124; Jack Swilling|date=April 30, 2019|access-date=July 14, 2020|archive-date=July 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200714175458/https://wateruseitwisely.com/arizona-water-pioneers-jack-swilling/|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Phillip Darrell Duppa|Lord Darrell Duppa]] was one of the original settlers in Swilling's party, and he suggested the name "Phoenix", as it described a city born from the ruins of a former civilization.<ref name=Phxgov />

The Board of Supervisors in Yavapai County officially recognized the new town on May 4, 1868, and the first post office was established the following month with Swilling as the postmaster.<ref name=Phxgov /> In October 1870, valley residents met to select a new townsite for the valley's growing population. A new location three miles to the west of the original settlement, containing several allotments of farmland, was chosen, and lots began to officially be sold under the name of Phoenix in December of that year. This established the downtown core in a grid layout pattern that has been the hallmark of Phoenix's urban development ever since.

On February 12, 1871, the territorial legislature created Maricopa County by dividing Yavapai County; it was the sixth one formed in the Arizona Territory. The first election for county office was held in 1871 when Tom Barnum was elected the first sheriff. He ran unopposed when the other two candidates (John A. Chenowth and Jim Favorite) fought a duel; Chenowth killed Favorite and was forced to withdraw from the race.<ref name=Phxgov />

The town grew during the 1870s, and President [[Ulysses S. Grant]] issued a land patent for the site of Phoenix on April 10, 1874. By 1875, the town had a telegraph office, 16 saloons, and four dance halls, but the townsite-commissioner form of government needed an overhaul. An election was held in 1875, and three village trustees and other officials were elected.<ref name=Phxgov /> By 1880, the town's population stood at 2,453.<ref name=Moffat>{{cite book |last=Moffatt |first=Riley |title=Population History of Western U.S. Cities & Towns, 1850–1990 |publisher=Scarecrow |place=Lanham, MD |year=1996 |page=14}}</ref>

[[File:Phoenix1885-AerialMap HiRes.jpg|alt=Refer to caption|thumb|right|Aerial lithograph of Phoenix from 1885]]

By 1881, Phoenix's continued growth made the board of trustees obsolete. The Territorial Legislature passed the Phoenix Charter Bill, incorporating Phoenix and providing a mayor-council government; Governor [[John C. Fremont]] signed the bill on February 25, 1881, officially incorporating Phoenix as a city with a population of around 2,500.<ref name=Phxgov />

The railroad's arrival in the valley in the 1880s was the first of several events that made Phoenix a trade center whose products reached eastern and western markets. In response, the [[Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce|Phoenix Chamber of Commerce]] was organized on November 4, 1888.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.phoenixchamber.com/about/history |title=History |publisher=Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce |access-date=October 9, 2015}}</ref> The city offices moved into the new City Hall at Washington and Central in 1888.<ref name=Phxgov /> The territorial capital moved from Prescott to Phoenix in 1889, and the territorial offices were also in City Hall.<ref>{{cite book | title=Early Phoenix | editor-first=Kathleen | editor-last=Garcia | page=18| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F25aMroD_IUC&pg=PA18| publisher=Arcadia Publishing | year=2008 | isbn=978-0738548395 }}</ref> The arrival of the [[Santa Fe, Prescott and Phoenix Railway]] in 1895 connected Phoenix to Prescott, Flagstaff, and other communities in the northern part of the territory. The increased access to commerce expedited the city's economic rise. The [[Phoenix Union High School]] was established in 1895 with an enrollment of 90.<ref name=Phxgov />

===1900 to World War II===
[[File:Phoenix1908.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|alt=Refer to caption|Central Avenue, Phoenix, 1908]]

On February 25, 1901, Governor [[Oakes Murphy]] dedicated the permanent [[Arizona State Capitol|Capitol building]],<ref name=Phxgov /> and the [[Phoenix Carnegie Library and Library Park|Carnegie Free Library]] opened seven years later, on February 18, 1908, dedicated by Benjamin Fowler.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://focus.nps.gov/GetAsset?assetID=96837a7b-19b5-4010-808e-7d9ae7bfbd04 |publisher=National Park Service |title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory – Nomination Form: Phoenix Carnegie Library and Library Park |access-date=March 22, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160407100007/http://focus.nps.gov/GetAsset?assetID=96837a7b-19b5-4010-808e-7d9ae7bfbd04 |archive-date=April 7, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The [[Newlands Reclamation Act|National Reclamation Act]] was signed by President [[Theodore Roosevelt]] in 1902, which allowed dams to be built on waterways in the west for reclamation purposes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ccrh.org/comm/umatilla/primary/newlands.htm |publisher=Center for Columbia River History |title=Reclamation Act/Newlands Act of 1902 |access-date=March 19, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303171114/http://www.ccrh.org/comm/umatilla/primary/newlands.htm |archive-date=March 3, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The first dam constructed under the act, [[Theodore Roosevelt Dam|Salt River Dam#1]], began in 1903. It supplied both water and electricity, becoming the first multi-purpose dam, and Roosevelt attended the official dedication on May 18, 1911. At the time, it was the largest masonry dam in the world, forming [[Theodore Roosevelt Lake|a lake]] in the mountains east of Phoenix.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.srpnet.com/water/dams/roosevelt.aspx |publisher=Salt River Project |title=Theodore Roosevelt Dam |access-date=March 19, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303200331/http://www.srpnet.com/water/dams/roosevelt.aspx |archive-date=March 3, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The dam would be renamed after Teddy Roosevelt in 1917,<ref>{{cite web|title=GNIS Detail: Theodore Roosevelt Dam|url=http://geonames.usgs.gov/apex/f?p=gnispq:3:::NO::P3_FID:42945|website=USGS|publisher=United States Department of the Interior|access-date=January 5, 2017}}</ref> and the lake would follow suit in 1959.<ref>{{cite web|title=GNIS Detail: Theodore Roosevelt Lake|url=http://geonames.usgs.gov/apex/f?p=gnispq:3:::NO::P3_FID:42942|website=USGS|publisher=United States Department of the Interior|access-date=January 5, 2017}}</ref>

On February 14, 1912, Phoenix became a state capital, as Arizona was admitted to the Union as the 48th state under President [[William Howard Taft]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.history.com/topics/us-states/arizona |publisher=History.com |title=Arizona |access-date=March 19, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304055223/http://www.history.com/topics/us-states/arizona |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> This occurred just six months after Taft had vetoed a joint congressional resolution granting statehood to Arizona, due to his disapproval of the state constitution's position on the recall of judges.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.archives.gov/legislative/features/nm-az-statehood/taft-veto.html |publisher=National Archives |title=President William Howard Taft's veto of H.J. Res. 14 to admit the territories of New Mexico and Arizona as States into the Union, August 15, 1911 |access-date=March 19, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160403094105/http://www.archives.gov/legislative/features/nm-az-statehood/taft-veto.html |archive-date=April 3, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 1913, Phoenix's move from a mayor-council system to [[Council-Manager government|council-manager]] made it one of the first cities in the United States with this form of city government. After statehood, Phoenix's growth started to accelerate; eight years later, its population reached 29,053. In 1920, Phoenix would see its first skyscraper, the [[Heard Building]]; it was the tallest building in the state until the completion of the [[Luhrs Building]] in 1924.<ref name=Phxgov /> In 1929, [[Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport|Sky Harbor]] was officially opened, at the time owned by [[Grand Canyon Airlines|Scenic Airways]]. The city purchased it in 1935 and continues to operate it today.<ref name=Skyharbor>{{cite web |url=http://skyharbor.com/about/earlyYears.html |title=1935 and The Farm – Sky Harbor's Early Years and Memories |publisher=skyharbor.com |date=August 30, 1930 |access-date=February 5, 2014}}</ref>

[[File:Phoenix downtown03.ca1940s.jpg|thumb|right|alt=Photo of the skyline of downtown Phoenix circa 1940|Phoenix skyline, c. 1940]]

On March 4, 1930, former U.S. President [[Calvin Coolidge]] dedicated a dam on the Gila River named in his honor. However, the state had just been through a long drought, and the reservoir which was supposed to be behind the dam was virtually dry. The humorist [[Will Rogers]], who was on hand as a guest speaker joked, "If that was my lake, I'd mow it."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.azcentral.com/story/travel/road-trips/2014/12/12/arizona-scenic-drive-globe-safford/20091963/ |newspaper=Arizona Republic |title=Arizona scenic drive: Globe to Safford |date=October 2, 2015 |access-date=March 19, 2016 |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/6g8qERyv7?url=http://www.azcentral.com/story/travel/road-trips/2014/12/12/arizona-scenic-drive-globe-safford/20091963/ |archive-date=March 20, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Phoenix's population had nearly doubled during the 1920s and by 1930 stood at 48,118.<ref name=Phxgov /> It was also during the 1930s that Phoenix and its surrounding area began to be called "The Valley of the Sun", which was an advertising slogan invented to boost tourism.<ref name=Valley101>{{Cite book | publisher=Primer Publishers | year=1999 | last=Thompson | first=Clay | title=Valley 101: A Slightly Skewed Guide to Living in Arizona | pages=[https://archive.org/details/claythompsonsval0000thom/page/1 1–2] | isbn=978-0-935810-71-4 | url-access=registration | url=https://archive.org/details/claythompsonsval0000thom/page/1 }}</ref>

During World War II, Phoenix's economy shifted to that of a distribution center, transforming into an "embryonic industrial city" with the mass production of military supplies.<ref name=Phxgov/> There were three air force fields in the area: [[Luke Air Force Base|Luke Field]], [[Williams Air Force Base|Williams Field]], and [[Falcon Field (Arizona)|Falcon Field]], as well as two large pilot training camps, [[Thunderbird Field No. 1]] in Glendale and [[Scottsdale Airport|Thunderbird Field No. 2]] in Scottsdale.<ref name=Phxgov /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.scottsdaleaz.gov/airport/history.asp |title=Scottsdale Airport History |publisher=scottsdaleaz.gov |access-date=February 19, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Manning |first=Thomas A. |year=2005 |title=History of Air Education and Training Command, 1942–2002 |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofaireduc00gop |publisher=Office of History and Research, Headquarters, AETC |place=Randolph AFB, Texas |isbn=978-1-178-48983-5}}</ref>

===Post-World War II explosive growth===
A town that had just over 65,000 residents in 1940 became America's fifth largest city by 2020, with a population of nearly 1.6 million, and millions more in nearby suburbs. After the war, many of the men who had undergone their training in Arizona returned with their new families. Learning of this large untapped labor pool enticed many large industries to move their operations to the area.<ref name=Phxgov /> In 1948, high-tech industry, which would become a staple of the state's economy, arrived in Phoenix when [[Motorola]] chose Phoenix as the site of its new research and development center for military electronics. Seeing the same advantages as Motorola, other high-tech companies, such as [[Intel]] and [[McDonnell Douglas]], moved into the valley and opened manufacturing operations.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/history/2015/05/14/125-republic-anniversary-arizona-internment-camps-high-tech-firms/27188081/ |newspaper=Arizona Republic |date=May 14, 2015 |title=1940s in Arizona: Internment camps and high-tech firms |access-date=March 22, 2016 |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/6gDKWZAIL?url=http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/history/2015/05/14/125-republic-anniversary-arizona-internment-camps-high-tech-firms/27188081/ |archive-date=March 23, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | title=Urbanization and Sustainability | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JGa-DCN5ODoC&pg=PA164 | editor-first1=Christopher G. | editor-last1=Boone |editor-first2=Michail |editor-last2=Fragkias | publisher=Springer Science & Business Media | year=2012 | pages=64–65 | isbn=9789400756663 }}</ref>

By 1950, over 105,000 people resided in the city and thousands more in surrounding communities.<ref name=Phxgov /> The 1950s growth was spurred on by advances in air conditioning, which allowed homes and businesses to offset the extreme heat experienced in Phoenix and the surrounding areas during its long summers. There was more new construction in Phoenix in 1959 alone than from 1914 to 1946.<ref name=AZed>{{cite web |url=http://www.arizonaedventures.com/reference-guide/arizona-history-timeline/20th-century/ |title=20th Century |publisher=Arizona Edventures |access-date=February 5, 2014 |archive-date=February 22, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222055917/http://www.arizonaedventures.com/reference-guide/arizona-history-timeline/20th-century/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Like many emerging American cities at the time, Phoenix's spectacular growth did not occur evenly. It largely took place on the city's north side, a region that was nearly all Caucasian. In 1962, one local activist testified at a [[United States Commission on Civil Rights|US Commission on Civil Rights]] of hearing that of 31,000 homes that had recently sprung up in this neighborhood, not a single one had been sold to an African-American.<ref>{{Cite book|title = Power Lines: Phoenix and the Making of the Modern Southwest|last = Needham|first = Andrew|publisher = Princeton University Press|year = 2014|location = Princeton, NJ|pages = 84}}</ref> Phoenix's African-American and Mexican-American communities remained largely sequestered on the south side of town. The color lines were so rigid that no one north of [[Van Buren Street (Arizona)|Van Buren Street]] would rent to the African-American baseball star [[Willie Mays]], in town for spring training in the 1960s.<ref>{{Cite book|title = Power Lines: Phoenix and the Making of the Modern Southwest|last = Needham|first = Andrew|publisher = Princeton University Press|year = 2014|location = Princeton, NJ|pages = 86}}</ref> In 1964, a reporter from ''[[The New Republic]]'' wrote of segregation in these terms: "Apartheid is complete. The two cities look at each other across a golf course."<ref>{{Cite book|title = Power Lines: Phoenix and the Making of the Modern Southwest|last = Needham|first = Andrew|publisher = Princeton University Press|year = 2014|location = Princeton, NJ|pages = 87}}</ref>

===1960s to present===
[[File:The View of Phoenix's Urban Sprawl from 4000 Ft. South Mountain in Background , 6 1972.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Phoenix in May 1972, with [[South Mountains (Arizona)|South Mountain]] in the background]]

The continued rapid population growth led more businesses to the valley to take advantage of the labor pool,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://archive.azcentral.com/business/articles/2011/09/01/20110901biz-centennial0902trends1960s.html |newspaper=Arizona Republic |title=1960s trends in Arizona |date=September 1, 2011 |access-date=March 20, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304055223/http://www.history.com/topics/us-states/arizona |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and manufacturing, particularly in the electronics sector, continued to grow.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://repository.asu.edu/attachments/75299/content/DevelopmentOfPhx.pdf |publisher=History.com |title=Development of Metropolitan Phoenix: Historical, Current and Future Trends |access-date=March 20, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160324102211/https://repository.asu.edu/attachments/75299/content/DevelopmentOfPhx.pdf |first=Tom R. |last=Rex |page=9 |archive-date=March 24, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The convention and tourism industries saw rapid expansion during the 1960s, with tourism becoming the third largest industry by the end of the decade.{{sfn|VanderMeer|2010|p=42}} In 1965, the [[Phoenix Corporate Center]] opened; at the time it was the tallest building in Arizona, topping off at 341 feet.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.emporis.com/building/phoenixcorporatecenter-phoenix-az-usa |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121019010641/http://www.emporis.com/building/phoenixcorporatecenter-phoenix-az-usa |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 19, 2012 |title=Phoenix Corporate Center |publisher=Emporis |access-date=February 5, 2014}}</ref> The 1960s saw many other buildings constructed as the city expanded rapidly, including the Rosenzweig Center (1964), today called [[Phoenix City Square]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.emporis.com/complex/phoenix-city-square-phoenix-az-usa |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221184444/http://www.emporis.com/complex/phoenix-city-square-phoenix-az-usa |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 21, 2014 |title=Phoenix City Square |publisher=Emporis |access-date=February 5, 2014}}</ref> the landmark [[Phoenix Financial Center]] (1964),<ref>{{cite web |url=http://modernphoenix.net/phoenixfinancial.htm |title=The Phoenix Financial Center a.k.a. Western Savings and Loan |publisher=ModernPhoenix.net |access-date=February 5, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222135937/http://modernphoenix.net/phoenixfinancial.htm |archive-date=February 22, 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> as well as many of Phoenix's residential high-rises. In 1965 the [[Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum]] opened at the [[Arizona State Fairgrounds]], west of downtown. When Phoenix was awarded an [[National Basketball Association|NBA]] franchise in 1968, which would be called the [[Phoenix Suns]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://origin.nba.com/suns/history/00827382.html |title=Suns Timeline |publisher=National Basketball Association |access-date=February 5, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140205184137/http://origin.nba.com/suns/history/00827382.html |archive-date=February 5, 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nba.com/suns/media/SunsMediaGuide2011-12.pdf |title=Season Review 68–69 |publisher=National Basketball Association |page=122 |access-date=February 5, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120208210906/http://www.nba.com/suns/media/SunsMediaGuide2011-12.pdf |archive-date=February 8, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> they played their home games at the Coliseum until 1992, after which they moved to [[Talking Stick Resort Arena|America West Arena]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nba.com/suns/media/SunsMediaGuide2011-12.pdf |title=Season Review 92–93 |publisher=National Basketball Association |page=170 |access-date=February 5, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120208210906/http://www.nba.com/suns/media/SunsMediaGuide2011-12.pdf |archive-date=February 8, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 1968, President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] approved the [[Central Arizona Project]], assuring future water supplies for Phoenix, Tucson, and the agricultural corridor between them.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cap-az.com/about-us/history |publisher=Central Arizona Project |title=History |access-date=March 20, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303061616/http://www.cap-az.com/about-us/history |archive-date=March 3, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://content.library.arizona.edu/collections/mo_cap/index.php |publisher=University of Arizona |title=Morris Udall Papers – Central Arizona Project |access-date=March 20, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305065806/http://content.library.arizona.edu/collections/mo_cap/index.php |archive-date=March 5, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The following year, [[Pope Paul VI]] created the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix|Diocese of Phoenix]] on December 2, by splitting the Archdiocese of Tucson, with [[Edward A. McCarthy]] as the first Bishop.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.diocesephoenix.org/about-history.php |title=History of the Diocese of Phoenix |publisher=The Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix |access-date=February 27, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140227211250/http://www.diocesephoenix.org/about-history.php |archive-date=February 27, 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In the 1970s the downtown area experienced a resurgence, with a level of construction activity not seen again until the urban real estate boom of the 2000s. By the end of the decade, Phoenix adopted the Phoenix Concept 2000 plan which split the city into urban villages, each with its own village core where greater height and density was permitted, further shaping the free-market development culture. The nine original villages{{sfn|Luckingham|1995|pp=235–237}} have expanded to 15 over the years (see [[#Cityscape|Cityscape]] below). This officially turned Phoenix into a city of many nodes, which would later be connected by freeways. The [[Phoenix Symphony Hall]] opened in 1972;<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.azcentral.com/thingstodo/arts/phxsymphonyhall.html |newspaper=Arizona Republic |title=Valley Arts Guide |access-date=March 19, 2016 |archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20160515180922/http://www.azcentral.com/thingstodo/arts/phxsymphonyhall.html |archive-date=May 15, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> other major structures which saw construction downtown during this decade were the [[Wells Fargo Plaza (Phoenix)|First National Bank Plaza]], the [[Chase Tower (Phoenix)|Valley Center]] (the tallest building in Arizona),<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.emporis.com/building/chasetower-phoenix-az-usa |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121106135205/http://www.emporis.com/building/chasetower-phoenix-az-usa |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 6, 2012 |title=Chase Tower |publisher=Emporis |access-date=February 27, 2014}}</ref> and the [[U.S. Bank Center (Phoenix)|Arizona Bank building]].<!--These were the names of the buildings at the times they were built. Please do not change.-->

On September 25, 1981, Phoenix resident [[Sandra Day O'Connor]] broke the gender barrier on the [[U.S. Supreme Court]], when she was sworn in as the first female justice.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.historycentral.com/Today/SandraDayO'Connor.html |title=First Woman to Supreme Court |publisher=History Central |access-date=February 27, 2014}}</ref> In 1985, the [[Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station]], the nation's largest nuclear power plant, began electrical production.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.azcentral.com/centennial/news/articles/2011/03/11/20110311arizona-centennial-1980s.html?page=5 |title=Arizona Centennial |publisher=The Arizona Republic/AZCentral.com |access-date=February 27, 2014 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> [[Pope John Paul II]] and [[Mother Teresa]] both visited the Valley in 1987.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.azcentral.com/centennial/news/articles/2011/03/11/20110311arizona-centennial-1980s.html?page=7 |title=Arizona Centennial |publisher=The Arizona Republic/AZCentral.com |access-date=February 27, 2014 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

There was an influx of refugees due to low-cost housing in the [[Sunnyslope, Arizona|Sunnyslope]] area in the 1990s, resulting in 43 different languages being spoken in local schools by 2000.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jcl.com/about/timeline/1990s |title=John C. Lincoln Timeline – 1990s |publisher=John C. Lincoln Health Network |access-date=February 27, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140228064753/http://www.jcl.com/about/timeline/1990s |archive-date=February 28, 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The new 20-story [[Phoenix City Hall|City Hall]] opened in 1992.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://skyscraperpage.com/cities/?buildingID=4219 |title=Phoenix City Hall |publisher=SkyscraperPage.com |access-date=February 27, 2014}}</ref>

Phoenix has maintained a growth streak in recent years, growing by 24.2% before 2007. This made it the second-fastest-growing metropolitan area in the United States, surpassed only by [[Las Vegas–Paradise, NV MSA|Las Vegas]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.forbes.com/2007/10/31/property-cities-growth-forbeslife-cx_mw_1031realestate_slide_3.html?thisSpeed=15000 |title=In Pictures: America's Fastest-Growing Cities from |work=Forbes |date=October 31, 2007 |access-date=June 30, 2010 |first=Matt |last=Woolsey}}</ref> In 2008, Squaw Peak, the city's second tallest mountain, was renamed [[Piestewa Peak]] after Army Specialist [[Lori Ann Piestewa]], an Arizonan and the first [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American]] woman to die in combat while serving in the U.S. military, as well as being the first American female casualty of the [[Iraq War|2003 Iraq War]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-04-10-2715750201_x.htm |title=Feds OK naming Phoenix peak for soldier |newspaper=USA Today |last=Myers |first=Amanda Lee |date=April 10, 2008 |access-date=February 20, 2014}}</ref> 2008 also saw Phoenix as one of the cities hardest hit by the [[subprime mortgage crisis]], and by early 2009 the median home price was $150,000, down from its $262,000 peak in 2007.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/02/17/obama.foreclosures/ |publisher=CNN |title=Obama expected to announce foreclosure plan |date=February 17, 2009 |first1=Mary |last1=Snow |first2=Jim |last2=Acosta |access-date=May 22, 2010}}</ref> Crime rates in Phoenix have fallen in recent years, and once troubled, decaying neighborhoods such as [[South Phoenix|South Mountain]], [[Alhambra, Phoenix, Arizona|Alhambra]], and [[West Phoenix|Maryvale]] have recovered and stabilized. On June 1, 2023, the State of Arizona announced the decision to halt new housing development in the Phoenix metropolitan area that relies solely on [[groundwater]] due to a predicted water shortfall.<ref name="PhoenixRunningOutOfWater">{{cite web |first=Brandon |last=Loomis |date=June 1, 2023 |title=Arizona will halt new home approvals in parts of metro Phoenix as water supplies tighten |url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-environment/2023/06/01/new-arizona-groundwater-model-shows-shortfall-state-will-halt-growth/70279189007/ |website=azcentral.com |access-date=June 1, 2023 |agency=USA TODAY Network}}</ref>