The famous in old Phoenix

For a frontier town grown large, old Phoenix had its share of visiting statesmen, heroes, and celebrities. Here are a few (click for a larger image).

President William McKinley visited the capital of Arizona Territory in 1901, a few months before his assassination.

Dr. James Swetnam Winton with the first automobile in Phoenix, 1902.

President William Howard Taft passes Melinda's Alley in 1909.

Theodore Roosevelt at the Heard home in 1911, here for the dedication of Theodore Roosevelt Dam.

TR gives a speech at the dedication of his namesake dam. It would begin the Salt River Valley's transformation into an agricultural empire.

A robust young Carl Hayden in 1916. He's still Arizona's sole U.S. Representative. He was elected to the Senate in 1927.

Franklin D. Roosevelt behind the wheel with Gov. George W.P. Hunt and Carl Hayden during the 1932 presidential campaign.

Amelia Earhart at the airstrip south of downtown in 1931 (USC Libraries).

Jean Harlow, the "blonde bombshell" actress, on horseback outside Tucson in 1933. She would be dead four years later from kidney failure at age 26. Black Canyon City offers a Jean Harlow Museum.

Pulitzer-Prize-winning cartoonist Bill Mauldin attended Phoenix Union High School, where he wrote for the school's Coyote Journal. He became famous in World War II for his cartoons of the bedraggled infantrymen Willie and Joe. 

Eleanor Roosevelt visits the Gila River internment center circa 1943. She disagreed with her husband's order interning Japanese-Americans during World War II.

Barry Goldwater with sons Michael and Barry Jr. in 1946.

Frank Lloyd Wright at Sky Harbor in the 1950s.

Del Webb takes a swing at the old Phoenix Municipal Stadium in 1951.

The creator of Sun City.

It's October 1952 and candidates Barry Goldwater and Dwight D. Eisenhower greet each other at Phoenix Union High School's Montgomery Stadium. Gov. Howard Pyle is at right.

Marilyn Monroe in town for making "Bus Stop" in 1956. She's watching the Rodeo of Rodeos at the State Fairgrounds (Thomas Robinson Collection).

Elvis made the first of many Phoenix appearances in 1956. He played before "5,000 screaming teens" sitting in the Fairgrounds grandstand.

John F. Kennedy's speech in Phoenix during the 1960 presidential campaign (National Archives).

Arnold Palmer at the Phoenix Open circa 1961.

A young Nick Nolte in "Cinderella" at the Phoenix Little Theater, 1963.

Future President Ronald Reagan with John F. Long in Maryvale in 1961. Reagan had a long relationship with the city because his mother- and father-in-law owned a house at the Biltmore, where Ron and Nancy often stayed.

LBJ, Carl Hayden, and President John F. Kennedy at the Hotel Westward Ho for "Carl Hayden Day" in 1961. It was the brainchild of Hayden aide Roy Elson, who wanted to re-introduce Arizona's longest-serving Senator to thousands of newcomers during his re-election campaign against Evan Mecham.

Kennedy's welcome at Sky Harbor.

JFK's motorcade wound through downtown Phoenix, here past KPHO's studios on First Avenue. I watched from my mother's office on the sixth floor of the Heard Building on Central.

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. visits Phoenix in 1964.

The Monkees arrive for their 1967 concert at Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

Robert F. Kennedy campaigns for president at Chris-town Mall in 1968. Two months later he would be killed by an assassin in Los Angeles.

Jimi Hendrix, right, in 1968.

Coretta Scott King and Cesar Chavez in 1972 at Santa Rita Hall on Hadley Street.

Democratic presidential candidate George McGovern joined Chavez in 1972.

Robert Blake in the 1973 movie Electra Glide in Blue. It shows unspoiled views of what became north Scottsdale and Fountain Hills.

Bob Hope, center, plays in the 1975 Phoenix Open.

Clint Eastwood and Sondra Locke talk with Arizona first lady Pat Castro, left, during filming of "The Gauntlet" in 1977.

And finally, one for Tucson:

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My book, A Brief History of Phoenix, is available to buy or order at your local independent bookstore, or from Amazon.

Read more Phoenix history in Rogue's Phoenix 101 archive.

 

 

 

 

Comments

[Rob]

NIce collection Jon - thank you. Curious if that is a side-arm hiding under Carl Hayden’s jacket…

[Cal Lash]

Very good.
Roy Elson died taking a lot of secrets with him.

Cool picture of Linda in Tucson
Her Brother became the Police Chief

[Cal Lash]

Rob.
Hayden was Maricopa County sheriff from 1912 to 1927.

[Mariam Cheshire]

I arrived in 1963 and many of these pictures bring back so many of the 'good ol' days' when tall buildings didn't block the sunshine.
Jon, if I may - some of these events are included in "Stories About the Westward Ho," available on Amazon and Kindle
your faithful fan, Mariam

[Jim Adams]

Thanks for the memories. My family moved me to Phoenix in 1956. A great place to be "in those days".

[Cal Lash]

For Michael Hamptons rendering of a Hohokam village
google
Hohokam/City of Tempe
Nice website
Hohokam "Those who are gone" is still somewhat a mystery.
But the current end date seems to be about1450.
About the time Europeans invaded.

I got here to the Slope in 1950
The allergies that brought me to the Valley del sol were excellent until 1980.
Then it seemed an invasion of people, plants and other toxicitys brought back my sinus drips and allergic reactions.
My joke now is when new comers say they have bad allegeries. I say you should "Move to Phoenix."

[Cal Lash]

Note: Phoenix and the surroundings will continue to be toxic physically and politically until it has shrunk to small villages a few feet up the banks of the Salt River.
Sorta like Lehi.

[Kevin in Preskitt]

Great photo of John F. Long with President Reagan.

I was in town for Thanksgiving, and saw that Long's mansion and estate on Indian School Road at the western end of Maryvale had just been demolished. It was perhaps the most unique and beautiful home in west Phoenix. I'm sure it will be replaced by something with zero character or charm. Progress.

[Cal Lash]

Roger Simpson has died.
His family came to Arizona in the 1920's.
Roger was an educator in Valley schools.
He posted here pretty much since Jon began this column.
He was a regular at the fan clubs coffee sessions.
He will be missed for his clarity and wisdom

[Ruben]

Adios Roger

[Pat]

LOL! A buck fifty to see Elvis Presley.

[Patrick Nielsen Hayden]

I met Cesar Chavez in 1973. Jerry Pollack was running his quixotic recall campaign against Gov. Jack Williams, my father was designing Pollack’s printed campaign materials, and Pollack was performing his “walk across Arizona,” prudently supported by an air-conditioned RV. I spent a weekend among the volunteers helping in the RV, and at one point Chavez came on board and had a spirited conversation with the candidate and the rest of us.

I’m well aware of the mixed nature of his legacy, but to this day, although I’ve met and conversed with many famous people, Chavez is, by far, the one with the largest number of actual _places_named after him.

[Tina May]

So fun. Thanks for sharing.