Capital Cities Tour: Discover Phoenix, Arizona

The largest city in Arizona and the ninth largest city in the country, Phoenix lies in the valley of the Salt River in a dry river basin known as The Valley of the Sun. The original inhabitants, the ancient Hohokam Indians knew about irrigation techniques and could farm the area for centuries but mysteriously disappeared between 1200-1300 AD. Spanish explorers passed through, but never stayed. Americans arrived during the Civil War when the U.S. army established a post and shortly after a settlement grew in the former Hohokam community. Named after the mythical bird that rose from its own ashes, the city, like the bird, defies nature. It's modern skyscrapers rise above the dry desert to support a thirsty population of more than a million people. Phoenix has a unique character made up of Indian, Spanish, and Wild West influences that compete against a towering background of gleaming high-rise architecture. Its perpetual sun and warm climate attract winter-averse people of all ages, mostly retirement age.

Things to See in Phoenix:

• Arizona Capitol Museum

Designed by James Reily Gordon of San Antonio, the Arizona Territorial Capitol (and later State Capitol) was completed in 1901. Made of native Arizona tufa and granite, the Capitol is crowned with a brilliant copper dome donated by the state copper industry. Adorning this shiny, new-penny crown stands the chalky white statue/weather vane, "Winged Victory."

This Capitol-turned-museum no longer functions as a "working statehouse," (the official state business takes place in the modern buildings flanking the museum) and therefore has the privilege of preserving the building's authentic antiquity. Not being used as a statehouse serving a growing population of state employees, the building escaped the blows of 1960s modernization and maintained its turn-of the-century charm. It is quintessentially quaint. For example, the spittoons in the Congressional Chambers recall a more rough-hewn governmental body, and the old-fashioned wrought-iron elevator cage throughout the building's four floors reminds visitors of the early days of the clinking-clanging Otis invention. Little treasures like these appear often, reminiscent of simpler, slower times. Furthermore, nosy tourists get to peek and poke around much more openly than in a functioning statehouse with its state secrets and all. For example, you can visit the preserved 19th century Governor's office (complete with the wax figure of the first state executive, Governor Hunt), the Secretary of State's office, the State Veterinarian's office (very interesting) and the Mine Inspector's office (also very interesting, especially the 19th century mining caps with little kerosene lamps on top that miners had to set aflame and wear on their heads before the invention of flashlight-equipped hard hats.)

Check it out . . . Look for the Vietnam War memorial in the Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza nearby. A realistic war sculpture; the detail of the three soldiers is heartbreaking.

• Historic Heritage Square

Historic Heritage Square is a part of Heritage & Science Park that includes the Arizona Science Center and Phoenix Museum of History. The historic square consists of eight beautifully restored houses dating back from Phoenix's first settlement. Styles of houses range from the elegant Victorian Eastlake architecture to humbler regional styled homes. The Victorian “Rosson House,� for example was a prominent home in Phoenix during the late 1800s and serves today as the cornerstone of the neighborhood. The “Duplex,� on the other hand, the youngest of the homes on the block, represents the typical Arizonan house with its sleeping porches of canvas and wood panels pushed out at night to admit the cool desert breeze. The “Bouvier-Teeter House� shows the Midwestern bungalow style. These restored residential treasures from the original Phoenix townsite share the neighborhood block with modern museums, shops and restaurants. The “Bouvier-Teeter House� for example, is now a restaurant serving Victorian Tea, and the “Stevens House� is a doll and toy museum.

• Pueblo Grande Museum

Pueblo Grande Museum is a 102-acre park located on the ruins of the ancient Hohokam village, settled by prehistoric Hohokam people who lived in central and southern Arizona from about 100 to 1450 AD. Expert farmers, they built hundreds of miles of canals to irrigate their crops of corn, beans, squash, and cotton. Living in adobe villages, the Hohokam created red-on-buff pottery, wove beautiful textiles and made shell jewelry. Historians estimate that either drought, floods or internal strife, forced the Hohokam to abandon the Salt River Valley in the fifteenth century. The museum focuses on the Hohokam people and their Salt River Valley lifestyle of agriculture, canal building, craft production, trade and astronomy. Visitors can explore the ruins of an 800 year-old platform mound, a ballcourt, and reproductions of prehistoric Hohokam homes. The site also includes the last remaining intact Hohokam irrigation canals.

• The Hall of Flame Fire Museum and National Firefighting Hall of Heroes,

What better site to establish a firefighting museum than in the city associated with rising from ashes? Sponsored by the National Historical Fire Foundation, the museum has almost an acre of fire history exhibits—the largest collection of firefighting equipment in the world dating back to1725, including fire engines and some very peculiar fire extinguishers. The Hall of Flame also sponsors the National Firefighting Hall of Heroes, which honors firefighters who went beyond the call of duty, the real-life Phoenixes.

STATE TOURIST INFORMATION: (602) 364-3700

Priscilla Faith Rhodes is the author of DISCOVER AMERICA DIARIES: 50 STATES, 50 STATES OF MIND, and co-publisher of the award-winning website, Postcards from America, http://www.postcardsfrom.com, a edu-travel site that helps students and families learn about America through postcards.