Tempe Beach Park
Mill Ave. & Rio
Salado Pkwy.
25 acres
Tempe Beach Park, like Tempe it
has had a long and storied history. It has changed,
adapted and arguably readapted to its environment, each
time achieving a greater level of success than the time
before.
Tempe
Beach Park has been the main gathering place for Valley
residents and visitors since its development in the
early 1920’s. At its earliest stages, the major
attraction at Tempe Beach Park was Arizona’s first
Olympic-sized pool, built in 1923. The pool hosted two
women’s national championship swim meets in the 1930s,
and provided much-needed refreshment for local families.
Even through the dark days of the Great Depression,
Tempe Beach Park remained the Valley’s most popular
recreational venue, expanding to include a baseball
diamond, a cobblestone bathhouse and bleachers. Later in
1934, the new concept of an open-air movie theater came
to Tempe Beach.
Many
Tempeans recall Tempe Beach Park with fond memories.
Former city councilmember and McKemy Middle School
principal Joe Spracale was both a lifeguard and pool
manager at the Tempe Beach Pool. It was there where he
met his future bride to be Sandy Palmer, daughter of Vic
Palmer who served at Tempe’s first Parks and Recreation
Department Director. Former City Councilmember Pat
Hatton also found true love through Tempe Beach where
she and husband Roger first kindled their romance.
And
who can forget the years of use of the Little League
baseball diamond where Wallace and Ladmo coached Tempe
summer ball teams giving guidance, discipline and
inspiration to youth such as news anchor Bill Mosely,
APS CEO Bill Post and City Councilmember Ben Arredondo.
For those who grew up with Tempe in the 1950’s, 60’s and
70’s Tempe Beach was the place to go and be seen.
While there have been renovations
to Tempe Beach Park over the years, the most recent came
in 1999 with the
construction of Tempe Town Lake. Tempe Beach Park is
still one of the top recreational attractions in Arizona
and the centerpiece to our Tempe community. The 25-acre
park is the perfect setting for outdoor fun and
relaxation for everybody, offering more than five miles
of paths and exercise trails, picnic areas, ramadas,
Luis Gonzalez Arizona Diamondbacks Field of Dreams
baseball diamond and the Cox Splash Playground. Tempe
Beach Park also hosts over 75 events of all shapes and
sizes each year, including the Ford Ironman Arizona, PF
Chang’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon, Fourth of July
celebration, Circle K Tempe Music Festival, Way Out West
Oktoberfest and many, many others.
Tempe
Beach Park is the crown jewel in a parks system that is
the envy of cities and town throughout the state and
country.
