Glendale, Arizona

Lore & Background

In the late 1800s the area that is now Glendale was all desert. William John Murphy, a native of New Hartford, New York, who resided in the town of Flagstaff in what was then the territory of Arizona, was in charge of building the 40-mile-long Arizona Canal from Granite Reef to New River for the Arizona Canal Company. In 1885, he completed the canal. In 1887, Murphy formed the Arizona Improvement Company.

He decided to refer to this land as 'Glendale'. In order to develop and interest potential investors and settlers, Murphy built an 18-mile-long diagonal road which he named Grand Avenue. In 1891, Burgess Hadsell worked with Murphy to bring 70 Brethren and River Brethren families to Glendale to form a temperance colony. In 1895, Murphy platted the original town site.

The construction of a railroad from Prescott to Phoenix was made possible with an exchange of the right-of-way made by Murphy along Grand Avenue. The Beet Sugar Factory in 1906 contributed to the growth of Glendale, though its operations only lasted until 1913. World War I ushered in a renewal for Glendale, with cotton prices rising. World War II brought the birth of Thunderbird Field to train military cadets for the U.S. Army Air Corps.

In 1941, a few Hollywood actors and businessmen, headed by Leland Hayward, approached the Army to establish a primary flight training school. This group chose the site of Thunderbird Field primarily because of its abundance of space, excellent weather, and good visibility. While this field was being built in 1941, the Army was busy working on a larger base for $4.5 million, Luke Field (now Luke Air Force Base). Thunderbird Field would later become the Thunderbird School of Global Management (formerly American Graduate School of International Management).

Over the next 40 years, the city added a landfill, water treatment plant, sewage plants, libraries, parks, public safety facilities, an airport, a city hall and a civic center. In the 1970s, Glendale practiced strip annexation. Arrowhead Towne Center opened in 1993. The completion of Loop 101 throughout Glendale opened the city to the rest of the Valley.

In recent decades, the city has begun major investment into tourism. The establishment of the Westgate Entertainment District, housing Desert Diamond Arena, and State Farm Stadium in the early 2000s made Glendale a destination.

Reader's Guide

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 65.1 square miles, of which 0.4 square miles, or 0.63%, is water. The New River and Agua Fria River flow southward through the western extremities of the city. Glendale has a hot desert climate typical of Southern Arizona, with very hot and dry summers and mild winters.

Did You Know?

• Glendale was founded as a temperance colony in 1891, with a ban on alcoholic beverages.
• The city's population nearly doubled between 1950 and 1960.