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Tempe, Arizona

Following the establishment of Fort McDowell on the eastern edge of central Arizona’s Salt River Valley in 1865, enterprising farmers moved into the area. They dug out the irrigation canals left by the prehistoric Hohokam people and built new ones to carry Salt River water to their fields. Valley farms soon supplied food to Arizona’s military posts and mining towns.

The first settlers to move to the Tempe area, south of the Salt River and east of Phoenix, were Hispanic families from southern Arizona. They helped construct the first two irrigation canals, the Kirkland-McKinney Ditch and the San Francisco Canal, and started small farms to the east and west of a large butte (Tempe Butte). In 1872, some of these Mexican settlers founded a town called San Pablo east of Tempe Butte.

Tempe is well known nationally as the home of the Fiesta Bowl and the Arizona Cardinals. It is the seventh largest city in Arizona, with a strong modern economy based on commerce, tourism, and electronics manufacturing.

Attractions and Upcoming Events

ASU Planetarium

Evening shows are offered Tuesday and Thursday nights from Sept.-Nov. and Feb.-April. Shows begin promptly at 6:30 p.m. and last approximately 30 to 50 minutes. Weather permitting; viewing though ASU telescopes follows each show. Reservations are required for all evening shows.

Tempe, AZ Planetariums

ASU Art Museum/Ceramics Research Center

Houses permanent collections of 19th and 20th century American paintings and sculpture, an extensive print collection, Latin American art, craft and contemporary art with an emphasis on new media. The Ceramics Research Center houses a 3500 piece ceramics collection of 20

Tempe, AZ Arts

Arboretum at ASU

Arizona's largest public urban arboretum, ASU'

Tempe, AZ Arboretums

R.S. Dietz Museum of Geology (ASU)

Physical Sciences Complex, Wing F Minerals, gems, dinosaurs and other fossils; the only active seismograph in central Arizona and a 6

Tempe, AZ Museums

Petersen House Museum

Restored Queen Anne Victorian home built in 1892 by one of Tempe'

Tempe, AZ Museums

Things to do near Tempe, AZ

Arizona Historical Foundation (ASU)

Political papers, business records of the Goldwater family and other prominent Arizona individuals/enterprises, maps, books, ...

Odysea Mirror Maze

Can you find the true path through the mirror maze, discover the elusive butterfly and escape the perils of the forest? As Ar...

Gainey Ranch Golf Club -Arroyo/Lakes

Course Access: ResortHoles: 18Reserve Advance Tee Times: 30 days...

Paradise Peak West

Course Access: PrivateHoles: 9Reserve Advance Tee Times: Yes...