South Phoenix
Encyclopedia
South Phoenix, also known as the South Mountain Village, South Mountain District or SoMo, is a neighborhood in Phoenix, Arizona
. It has the boundaries of 27th Avenue to the west, 48th Sreet (Phoenix/Tempe
Border) to the east, the Salt River
to the north and South Mountain Park
to the south. Major arterial east-west streets include Broadway Road, Southern Avenue, and Baseline Road, all of which connect South Phoenix with the suburb of Tempe
.
between what are now 24th St. and 48th St.
In May 1873, Prescott
merchant Michael Wormser made arrangements to supply the Mexican farmers, and required them to obtain legal title to their land. When they ended up falling into debt, he took possession of their land, acquiring 9000 acres (36.4 km²) of land in South Phoenix and Tempe. After Wormser's death on April 25, 1898, most of his real estate holdings were purchased on January 9, 1901 by land and cattle magnate Dwight B. Heard
, who also ran The Arizona Republican (now The Arizona Republic
) newspaper from 1912 until his death in 1929. This land, which includes most of the northeast part of South Phoenix, became the Bartlett-Heard Ranch, which began being subdivided and sold for homesites on March 20, 1910. Most of the land initially sold from the Ranch was between 7th Avenue and 16th Street, and between Broadway Road and Southern Ave., mostly for small farms, in an area that became known as Roosevelt Place when it was developed into residential homes on one- and 2 acres (8,093.7 m²) lots in the 1920s.
During 1912-1913, the Highline and Western canals were built to supply water from the Salt River to the South Mountain area, which led to further agricultural development. In addition to raising cattle
, the land was used for raising alfalfa
, cotton
, oranges
and other citrus trees, canaigre
(a plant that produces tannin used for tanning leather), and even Louis Janssens' Belgian-American Ostrich
Farm, which operated on 230 acre (0.9307778 km²) of Bartlett-Heard subdivided land until World War I
. (Two other families, the Petersons and Pickrells, also operated ostrich farms in South Phoenix; all of these ostrich farms were between 16th St. and 40th St., south of Southern Ave.)
In 1928, Kajuio Kishiyama settled in the South Mountain area to farm vegetables on land which he leased. The Arizona Alien Land Law of 1921 (overturned as unconstitutional by the Arizona Supreme Court in 1935) prohibited "Orientals" from owning land in Arizona. Kishiyama successfully experimented with growing flowers near the Western Canal at 40th St. and Baseline Road, and another Japanese family, the Nakagawas, arrived in the area in the 1930s. These families were relocated to internment camps
during World War II
, of which there were two in Arizona, the Gila River War Relocation Center
and the Poston War Relocation Center
. After the war was over, the Kishiyama and Nakakama families returned to the South Mountain area and started over, again successfully raising large fields of flowers, lettuce
, and other vegetables along the Baseline corridor.
In the decades prior to the 1970s, South Phoenix was the only part of the city in which homes were sold to African American
and Mexican American
residents, due to restrictive covenant
s in place on housing in other parts of the city.
There are numerous sites of historic and natural interest within the boundaries of South Phoenix, including Mystery Castle
, Heard Scout Pueblo
, the San Francisco Chapel, The Farm at South Mountain, South Mountain Park
, and several historic buildings at the entrance of the park called "Scorpion Gulch
."
The south side, always working-class, went into a steep decline following the post-war population boom in the metro area. The neighborhood gained a reputation around the Valley for gang violence, racial tension, and general disrepair and the area became dotted with abandoned housing and urban prairie
s. Since the late 1990s (and especially since 2002), the area has undergone rapid development, especially along the Baseline corridor, where acres of citrus groves and flower fields have been turned into housing developments and commercial properties.
Though much of the area has become predominantly Latino
, the areas closer to downtown and Tempe remain predominantly African-American. Census tract 1160, between Broadway and Baseline, has a population of 4,711 and is 56.3% African-American, the highest percentage in the state. Other traditionally black neighborhoods include Hermoso, South Vistas, Lindo Park and the Park South neighborhood. The South Vistas is clearly the most dominant of all the neighborhoods previously mentioned. The Phoenix Police Department released statistics in 2009;2010 and 2011 referring to the South Vistas as the leader in drug revenue and murder investigations.
, parent company of University of Phoenix
and Western International University
and corporate offices for SuperShuttle Int. are located in the South Mountain Village area.
which is west of South Phoenix. The South Mountain District News is a free monthly publication.
The South Mountain Villager also covers the area with a format that includes only printing positive stories about the area.
show property crime rates at or below those in the more affluent communities in north Phoenix. Violent crime rates are also similar with most of the activity concentrated between Southern and Broadway..
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
. It has the boundaries of 27th Avenue to the west, 48th Sreet (Phoenix/Tempe
Tempe, Arizona
Tempe is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, USA, with the Census Bureau reporting a 2010 population of 161,719. The city is named after the Vale of Tempe in Greece. Tempe is located in the East Valley section of metropolitan Phoenix; it is bordered by Phoenix and Guadalupe on the west, Scottsdale...
Border) to the east, the Salt River
Salt River (Arizona)
The Salt River is a stream in the U.S. state of Arizona. It is the largest tributary of the Gila River. The river is about long. Its drainage basin is about large. The longest of the Salt River's many tributaries is the Verde River...
to the north and South Mountain Park
South Mountain Park
South Mountain Park in Phoenix, Arizona, is the largest city park in the United States, one of the largest urban parks in North America and in the world. It has been designated as a Phoenix Point of Pride.-Geography and Ecology:...
to the south. Major arterial east-west streets include Broadway Road, Southern Avenue, and Baseline Road, all of which connect South Phoenix with the suburb of Tempe
Tempe, Arizona
Tempe is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, USA, with the Census Bureau reporting a 2010 population of 161,719. The city is named after the Vale of Tempe in Greece. Tempe is located in the East Valley section of metropolitan Phoenix; it is bordered by Phoenix and Guadalupe on the west, Scottsdale...
.
History
The first land purchase recorded in South Phoenix occurred near what is today 15th Avenue and Broadway, where Noah Matthew Broadway, who was Maricopa County Sheriff from 1884–1885, purchased land in 1871 which became the 160 acre (0.6474976 km²) Broadway Ranch. The land was otherwise unpopulated at the time except for a few Mexican grain farmers who lived south of the Salt RiverSalt River (Arizona)
The Salt River is a stream in the U.S. state of Arizona. It is the largest tributary of the Gila River. The river is about long. Its drainage basin is about large. The longest of the Salt River's many tributaries is the Verde River...
between what are now 24th St. and 48th St.
In May 1873, Prescott
Prescott, Arizona
Prescott is a city in Yavapai County, Arizona, USA. It was designated "Arizona's Christmas City" by Arizona Governor Rose Mofford in the late 1980s....
merchant Michael Wormser made arrangements to supply the Mexican farmers, and required them to obtain legal title to their land. When they ended up falling into debt, he took possession of their land, acquiring 9000 acres (36.4 km²) of land in South Phoenix and Tempe. After Wormser's death on April 25, 1898, most of his real estate holdings were purchased on January 9, 1901 by land and cattle magnate Dwight B. Heard
Dwight B. Heard
Dwight B. Heard was a rancher in Arizona, along with the president of the Arizona Cotton Association. He is famous for publishing the Arizona Republican, now the Arizona Republic, from 1912 to 1929. He was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1928...
, who also ran The Arizona Republican (now The Arizona Republic
The Arizona Republic
The Arizona Republic is a daily newspaper published in Phoenix. Circulated throughout Arizona, it is the state's largest newspaper. Since 2000, it has been owned by the Gannett newspaper chain. It was ranked tenth in US daily newspapers by circulation in 2007.-Early years:The newspaper was founded...
) newspaper from 1912 until his death in 1929. This land, which includes most of the northeast part of South Phoenix, became the Bartlett-Heard Ranch, which began being subdivided and sold for homesites on March 20, 1910. Most of the land initially sold from the Ranch was between 7th Avenue and 16th Street, and between Broadway Road and Southern Ave., mostly for small farms, in an area that became known as Roosevelt Place when it was developed into residential homes on one- and 2 acres (8,093.7 m²) lots in the 1920s.
During 1912-1913, the Highline and Western canals were built to supply water from the Salt River to the South Mountain area, which led to further agricultural development. In addition to raising cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
, the land was used for raising alfalfa
Alfalfa
Alfalfa is a flowering plant in the pea family Fabaceae cultivated as an important forage crop in the US, Canada, Argentina, France, Australia, the Middle East, South Africa, and many other countries. It is known as lucerne in the UK, France, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand, and known as...
, cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
, oranges
Orange (fruit)
An orange—specifically, the sweet orange—is the citrus Citrus × sinensis and its fruit. It is the most commonly grown tree fruit in the world....
and other citrus trees, canaigre
Rumex hymenosepalus
Rumex hymenosepalus, commonly known as canaigre, ganagra, wild rhubarb, Arizona dock, or tanner's dock, is a perennial flowering plant which is native to the United States and Mexico. It has been cultivated in the southwestern United States as the roots are a good source of tannin, for use in...
(a plant that produces tannin used for tanning leather), and even Louis Janssens' Belgian-American Ostrich
Ostrich
The Ostrich is one or two species of large flightless birds native to Africa, the only living member of the genus Struthio. Some analyses indicate that the Somali Ostrich may be better considered a full species apart from the Common Ostrich, but most taxonomists consider it to be a...
Farm, which operated on 230 acre (0.9307778 km²) of Bartlett-Heard subdivided land until World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. (Two other families, the Petersons and Pickrells, also operated ostrich farms in South Phoenix; all of these ostrich farms were between 16th St. and 40th St., south of Southern Ave.)
In 1928, Kajuio Kishiyama settled in the South Mountain area to farm vegetables on land which he leased. The Arizona Alien Land Law of 1921 (overturned as unconstitutional by the Arizona Supreme Court in 1935) prohibited "Orientals" from owning land in Arizona. Kishiyama successfully experimented with growing flowers near the Western Canal at 40th St. and Baseline Road, and another Japanese family, the Nakagawas, arrived in the area in the 1930s. These families were relocated to internment camps
Japanese American internment
Japanese-American internment was the relocation and internment by the United States government in 1942 of approximately 110,000 Japanese Americans and Japanese who lived along the Pacific coast of the United States to camps called "War Relocation Camps," in the wake of Imperial Japan's attack on...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, of which there were two in Arizona, the Gila River War Relocation Center
Gila River War Relocation Center
The Gila River War Relocation Center was an internment camp built by the War Relocation Authority for internment of Japanese Americans during the Second World War. It was located about southeast of Phoenix, Arizona....
and the Poston War Relocation Center
Poston War Relocation Center
The Poston War Relocation Center, located in Yuma County of southwestern Arizona, was the largest of the ten American internment camps operated by the War Relocation Authority during World War II....
. After the war was over, the Kishiyama and Nakakama families returned to the South Mountain area and started over, again successfully raising large fields of flowers, lettuce
Lettuce
Lettuce is a temperate annual or biennial plant of the daisy family Asteraceae. It is most often grown as a leaf vegetable. It is eaten either raw, notably in salads, sandwiches, hamburgers, tacos, and many other dishes, or cooked, as in Chinese cuisine in which the stem becomes just as important...
, and other vegetables along the Baseline corridor.
In the decades prior to the 1970s, South Phoenix was the only part of the city in which homes were sold to African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
and Mexican American
Mexican American
Mexican Americans are Americans of Mexican descent. As of July 2009, Mexican Americans make up 10.3% of the United States' population with over 31,689,000 Americans listed as of Mexican ancestry. Mexican Americans comprise 66% of all Hispanics and Latinos in the United States...
residents, due to restrictive covenant
Restrictive covenant
A restrictive covenant is a type of real covenant, a legal obligation imposed in a deed by the seller upon the buyer of real estate to do or not to do something. Such restrictions frequently "run with the land" and are enforceable on subsequent buyers of the property...
s in place on housing in other parts of the city.
There are numerous sites of historic and natural interest within the boundaries of South Phoenix, including Mystery Castle
Mystery Castle
Mystery Castle is located in the city of Phoenix, Arizona, in the foothills of South Mountain Park. It was built in the 1930s by Boyce Luther Gulley for his daughter Mary Lou Gulley. After learning he had tuberculosis, Gulley moved from Seattle, Washington, to the Phoenix area and began building...
, Heard Scout Pueblo
Scouting in Arizona
Scouting in Arizona has a long history, from the 1910s to the present day, serving thousands of youth in programs that suit the environment in which they live.-The founding of the Boy Scouts in Arizona:...
, the San Francisco Chapel, The Farm at South Mountain, South Mountain Park
South Mountain Park
South Mountain Park in Phoenix, Arizona, is the largest city park in the United States, one of the largest urban parks in North America and in the world. It has been designated as a Phoenix Point of Pride.-Geography and Ecology:...
, and several historic buildings at the entrance of the park called "Scorpion Gulch
Scorpion Gulch
Located in South Mountain Park in Phoenix, Arizona, Scorpion Gulch was built as a home and store by William Lunsford. Lunsford's store sold curios, Indian-made items, sodas, and candy. It was still in operation in 1966, when Lunsford was 75. In the 1970s, it became a bar...
."
The south side, always working-class, went into a steep decline following the post-war population boom in the metro area. The neighborhood gained a reputation around the Valley for gang violence, racial tension, and general disrepair and the area became dotted with abandoned housing and urban prairie
Urban prairie
Urban prairie is a term coined to characterize vacant city lots. Urban prairie results from widespread building demolition to facilitate urban renewal....
s. Since the late 1990s (and especially since 2002), the area has undergone rapid development, especially along the Baseline corridor, where acres of citrus groves and flower fields have been turned into housing developments and commercial properties.
Though much of the area has become predominantly Latino
Hispanic and Latino Americans
Hispanic or Latino Americans are Americans with origins in the Hispanic countries of Latin America or in Spain, and in general all persons in the United States who self-identify as Hispanic or Latino.1990 Census of Population and Housing: A self-designated classification for people whose origins...
, the areas closer to downtown and Tempe remain predominantly African-American. Census tract 1160, between Broadway and Baseline, has a population of 4,711 and is 56.3% African-American, the highest percentage in the state. Other traditionally black neighborhoods include Hermoso, South Vistas, Lindo Park and the Park South neighborhood. The South Vistas is clearly the most dominant of all the neighborhoods previously mentioned. The Phoenix Police Department released statistics in 2009;2010 and 2011 referring to the South Vistas as the leader in drug revenue and murder investigations.
Business
The headquarters for the Apollo GroupApollo Group
Apollo Group, Inc. is an S&P 500 corporation based in the South Phoenix area of Phoenix, Arizona. Apollo Group, Inc., through its subsidiaries, owns several for-profit educational institutions....
, parent company of University of Phoenix
University of Phoenix
The University of Phoenix is a for-profit institution of higher learning. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Apollo Group Inc. which is publicly traded , an S&P 500 corporation based in Phoenix, Arizona...
and Western International University
Western International University
The Western International University is a regionally accredited for-profit university owned by the Apollo Group. Western International University is a college for adult learners and allows adults to remain responsible for their careers and family life by offering online and evening programs.Western...
and corporate offices for SuperShuttle Int. are located in the South Mountain Village area.
Media
The South Mountain Village is served by the community newspaper South Mountain District News, which also covers news from LaveenLaveen, Arizona
Laveen is a suburban community in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, situated eight miles southwest of Downtown Phoenix near the confluence of the Gila and Salt rivers. Parts of Laveen constitute an unincorporated area in Maricopa County, while the remainder falls within the city limits of...
which is west of South Phoenix. The South Mountain District News is a free monthly publication.
The South Mountain Villager also covers the area with a format that includes only printing positive stories about the area.
Crime
South Phoenix has similar crime rates to other areas of Phoenix. Uniform crime rate reports from the Phoenix Police DepartmentPhoenix Police Department
The Phoenix Police Department is the law enforcement agency responsible for the city of Phoenix, Arizona.Today, the Phoenix Police Department comprises more than 3,500 officers and 700 support personnel who protect a population of more than 1.6 million and patrol almost of the sixth largest city...
show property crime rates at or below those in the more affluent communities in north Phoenix. Violent crime rates are also similar with most of the activity concentrated between Southern and Broadway..