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Hoover Dam
Construction of the Hoover Dam took five years — from 1931 to 1936 — to build what was then the largest concrete dam in the world. It was built in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, in northwestern Arizona on the border with Nevada.
Queen of the Colorado
This Mohave was the largest and most palatial of the paddle-wheelers on the Colorado River a century ago. The photo was taken in 1876, when the Mohave was docked at Yuma taking on school children for a May Day excursion. The ship had been launched earlier that year, replacing a smaller boat (also called the Mohave) that had been dismantled and completely rebuilt.
Toll gate, McDowell at Central
The toll road — Central Ave. (then called Center Street) north of McDowell — was built by the Central Avenue Driving Association. It was a dirt road, eight miles long and 100 feet wide, with a row of olive and ash trees on either side. Property owners north of the gate paid $2.50 a month for sprinkling and improvements. Buggies and wagons paid a 25 cent toll. Bicycles were free.
The High-flying Powderface
Powderface was one of the few horses in the world trained to dive off a platform into a tank of water.
Whist: Rules for Women in the 1890s
Whist, a precursor to the card game bridge, was taken seriously enough in Holbrook to have rules — specifically for women — printed in the local newspaper in the mid 1890s.
Old Main: No Running on the Balcony
During the first session of the Arizona Territorial Legislature in 1864 — when not a single public school existed in the newly formed territory — lawmakers authorized a university and wrote a constitution to guide its affairs.
Swamped On Main Street
This is Main Street in Bisbee in August 1908, during one of the worst months of flooding in the town’s history. In a three-week period, Bisbee was ravaged by three separate storms.
The Governor’s 1912 Race — for the Train
The bald pate and rotund body seen here on the Capitol veranda is that of George W.P. Hunt, photographed on Valentine’s Day, 1912, delivering his inaugural address as the state’s first governor.
Building the Kaibab Bridge, 1921
The Kaibab suspension bridge over the Colorado River was to link Bright Angel Trail on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon with the Kaibab Trail on the North Rim. At the time, the only means of crossing the river between the two trails was by small canvas boat. (The closest ferry crossings were at Lee’s Ferry, upstream near the Utah border and downstream at Needles on the California border.) Const[...]
A Pyramid for the ‘Father of Arizona’
“Upon the summit, where he placed a sun flag, it was his dream to erect a temple where deity would be worshipped with solemnity on the uprising sun, a glorious manifestation of celestial omnipotence.”
1921: The First Republican-Controlled Senate
These are the members of the 1921-1922 Arizona Senate, the first chamber of the Arizona Legislature to be controlled by Republicans. The margin was just one vote, but that was certainly better for the Republicans than the make-up of the 1919-20 Senate, which was composed entirely of Democrats.
The ‘Ancient and Honorable Pueblo’
The Big Apple. The Windy City. The Old Pueblo. Each name says that city is one of a kind. Ever wonder how Tucson came to be called the Old Pueblo? It’s hard to tell how nicknames get started, but like the town itself, it goes back a ways.
