Frequently Asked Questions

Below are the frequently asked questions about Tempe's history. Have a question you don't see answered here? Reach out to us at museum@tempe.gov

Q1: What is Tempe’s Date of Incorporation?

A1: The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors voted to incorporate Tempe on 26 November 1894 (source: Minutes of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors).

Q2: What is Tempe's "founding" date?

A2: The commonly accepted date for the establishment of Tempe is 1871. This is when Charles Hayden built the first building on his homestead (which he filed a claim for in 1870). In October, 1871, "Mr. Hayden erected a small pole shanty about 14x16 feet upon the spot now occupied by the old Hayden House [La Casa Vieja]. This shanty was used as a store and was the only structure in this locality for some time, with the exception of an old adobe building on section 17" (source: Arizona Republican, 25 December 1901, 10:1).

Q3: How tall is Hayden Butte (also known as A-Mountain or Tempe Butte)?

A3: Tempe Butte . . . has an elevation of slightly less than 1500 feet; it stands about 300 feet above the level of the river (source: Larry and Chris Loendorf, With Zig-Zag Lines I'm Painted: Hohokam Petroglyphs on Tempe Butte, Arizona, 1995).

Q4: What did the letters on Tempe Butte represent?

A4:
The A is for Arizona State University
The T was for Tempe State Teachers College
The N was for Normal School

Q5: When was the first high school established in Tempe?

A5: Tempe Union High School originally opened in 1908 on the top floor of the Curry Building (southwest corner of Mill Ave. & 5^th Street – location of U.S. Post Office building since 1961).

Q6: When did the original Tempe Union High School at 9^th Street and Mill Avenue open? 

A6: The old high school building opened in 1909.

Q7: When was Tempe High School moved to its present location at Broadway Road and Mill Avenue? 

A7: The new Tempe High School opened in 1952. They continued to use the field at the old high school campus at 9^th Street and Mill Avenue for band practice and gym classes. 

Q8: What is the origin of the name, Kyrene?

A8: The area was known as Kyrene, but it is not known with certainty why the name had been given to the region. It is theorized that Darrell Duppa, who became known as "Lord" Darrell Duppa, may have been responsible for the name. Duppa had a classical education, and from his studies he renamed Pumpkinville as Phoenix, for the mythical bird which rose from its own ashes. This idea came from the fact that the Phoenix area had once been a thriving civilization – the Hohokam civilization – and now a new civilization was beginning. Duppa’s education would have made him familiar with the history and geography along the Mediterranean Sea.

There are two places along the Mediterranean Sea which bear resemblance to the current spelling of Kyrene. Cyraen/Cyrene was a city in what is now the country of Libya. In the New Testament it is recorded that Simon of Cyrene helped Jesus carry the cross. There was also a seaport on the island of Cyprus near Turkey named Kyrenia. The name, Kyrene, very likely was derived from one of these cities. What relevance Duppa may have seen between the area south of Tempe and a seaport on the Mediterranean is hard to understand, but then he named Tempe for a valley in Greece adjacent to Mount Olympus. It can be said in Duppa’s defense that even though Cyprus and Libya border a great sea and there is no sea near our area, the climate and the land along the Mediterranean are similar to that of Kyrene. (source: Ben Furlong, The Story of Kyrene, Kyrene School District, circa 1994).

Q9: What is the population of Tempe?

A9: In 2024 the city’s population was estimated at 190,114 according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Q10: Are Ernie Pyle and Howard Pyle (both journalists/war correspondents) related?

A10: No. Though they both covered the Pacific Theater of World War II.

Q11: What is the name of the small butte (with the water tank on top) located next to the I-10 freeway near 48^th Street?

A11: Bell Butte

Q12: What is the area of Tempe in square miles?

A12: 39.5 square miles

Q13: When was the Ash Avenue Bridge demolished?

A13: 1991 (source: Bill Davis, "Ash Avenue bridge starts to fall today," Tempe Daily News Tribune, 11 January 1991, B1-B6)

Q14: When did the new Mill Avenue Bridge wash away?

A14: January 8, 1993. Camera crews with local news stations captured the dramatic moments when the bridge – still under construction – appeared to disintegrate into the raging waters of the Salt River.

While portions of the bridge were damaged, most of what was swept away was the formwork and shoring – the temporary wooden scaffolding used to form the poured concrete until it hardens. The bridge’s concrete piers remained intact, along with several roadway spans that had already been completed.

Scheduled to open in June 1993, the flood damage delayed the bridge’s completion until February 1994. (Additional note: Upon the opening of this new bridge, the original Mill Avenue Bridge – completed 1931 – carried only southbound traffic while the 1994 bridge carried the northbound traffic on Mill Avenue.)

Q15: What is the oldest Tempe elementary school still in operation?

A15: Broadmor school opened in 1955.

Q16: When did "Apache Boulevard" get named?

A16: East 13th Street was renamed Apache Boulevard in 1950, and designated as a key link in several major routes through the state, including U.S. Highways 60, 70, 80, and 89, and State Route 93.

Q17: When did the Hayden (McClintock) Bridge open?

A17: June 13, 1984 (source: Susan Welker, "Hayden Bridge opens with ceremony," Tempe Daily News, 14 June 1984, 8).

Q18: What are the oldest buildings still standing in Tempe?

A18:
1873 C.T. Hayden House/La Casa Vieja Monti's La Casa Vieja, 1 W. Rio Salado Pkwy.
1880 Mariano Gonzales House, 636 W. 1st St.
1880 Gonzales/Martinez House, 302 W. 1st St.
1883 Brown/Strong House, 604 S. Ash Ave.
1883 Farmer-Goodwin House, 820 S. Farmer Ave.
1888 Centennial (Sampson) House, 320 S. Roosevelt (originally 109 W. 6th St.)
1888 George N. Gage House, 115 W. University Dr.
1888 Tempe Bakery/Hilge Bakery Hackett House, 95 W. 4th St.
1889 Dr. J.A. Dines/Dr. R.J. Hight House, 508 W. 5th St. (originally at 120 W. 7th St.)
1890 Elias-Rodriguez House, 927 E. 8th St.

Q19: When did the Superstition Freeway get its federal highway designation of U.S. 60?

A19: November 1992. The Superstition replaced Apache Boulevard and Mill Avenue as U.S. 60 in Tempe. (source: "Superstition's route number is now U.S. 60", The Arizona Republic, 19 November 1992, B6).