FEATURE
STORIES
Tempe
By Rebecca Antioco
Your college years may be long gone, but it’s never
too late to see what you may have
missed the first
time around.
A college town has a certain vibe. It is — by both
nature and design — youthful and eclectic, with
an embarrassment of riches to satisfy your every
craving. As home to the largest public university
in the country, Tempe certainly fits this bill.
It teems with vibrancy, from Mill Avenue to Tempe
Beach Park. It is alive with history, art, culture,
adventures both culinary and athletic, and the
energy endemic to its denizens. And, it is probably
the most pedestrian-friendly city in the Valley.
A Brief History Lesson
The Hohokam were the first residents ofTempe, building
irrigation canals that were later excavated and
used by farmers who moved to the area after the
1865 establishment of Fort McDowell on the Salt
River.
What is today known as Tempe originally consisted
of two sections: a farming region south of the
Salt River founded by mostly Hispanic families
from southern Arizona, and a settlement to the
west homesteaded by Charles Trumbull Hayden in
1870.
Within a few years of moving to the valley from
Tucson, Hayden had built up several businesses,
including the flour mill that would give the town’s
most famous street its name, and a ferry to transport
goods and passengers across the river. The city
was thus called Hayden’s Ferry, after the man and
his vessel. The name “Tempe” was adopted in 1879
after British settler Lord Darrell Duppa likened
the view of the butte and the Salt River to the
Vale of Tempe in ancient Greece. Tempe was officially
incorporated as a town in 1894.
The city’s roots as an educational center were
planted in 1885 when Tempe was selected as the
site for the Territorial Normal School, which would
train public school teachers, and teach husbandry
and the “mechanical arts.” The institution that
would become Arizona State University accepted
its first class of 31 students a year later. Today,
you can visit Old Main on the ASU campus, eventual
home of the Normal School and the first building
in Tempe to be wired for electricity.
Expansion in curriculum and scope of degrees offered
led to several name changes, eventually to Arizona
State College in 1945. The institution petitioned
the state legislature for a change to university
status, which was granted by the governor in 1958.
This defining act was accomplished in large part
through the efforts of the university’s then-president
Grady Gammage. The rest, as they say, is history.
Arts and Culture 101
In addition to leading the charge to elevate the college
to university status, the legendary ASU president
also lends his name to the best-known of Tempe’s
cultural attractions, Grady Gammage Memorial Auditorium.
Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright to be as acoustically
perfect as possible, Gammage Auditorium was constructed
in 1964 and plays host to concerts, lectures, special
events and the M&I Bank Broadway in Arizona
series. But it is far from being the only venue
for artistic enlightenment in Tempe.
Much of the city’s artistic offerings are centered
at ASU. The University’s Herberger College of the
Arts comprises four nationally ranked academic
units with its schools of art, music and theater,
and department of dance. Students of these disciplines
regularly stage top-notch performances — experimental
and traditional theater, symphony, dance, even
opera — in more intimate on-campus venues like
the Lyceum Theatre, Prism Theatre, Galvin Playhouse
and the Nelson Fine Arts Center.
The ASU Art Museum and its companion venue the
Ceramics Research Center house impressive collections
of contemporary art, craft and ceramics. The Ceramics
Center is particularly intriguing, simply due to
its medium. Nearly 4000 pieces comprise the collection,
most of it on display in open storage in the center.
Subject matter ranges from the beautiful to the
sublime to the bizarre. Check your bags at the
door, keep your arms at your side, and try not
to be the proverbial bull in a china shop browsing
the aisles.
Off campus, the Tempe Center for the Arts houses
a 600-seat proscenium theater, a 200-seat studio
theater and a 3,500 square-foot gallery. It is
the home of Childsplay, Tempe Little Theatre, the
Tempe Symphony Orchestra, Desert Dance and others.
It is located on a 17-acre park at the south end
of Tempe Town Lake, and offers spectacular views
and lakeside paths for strolling before or after
taking in a performance. It even has space available
to rent for weddings, meetings or other special
events.
Extracurricular Activities
But to truly get a feel for the city, to revel
in its character and charm, take a stroll through
the Mill Avenue district, one of the only truly
walkable downtowns in the Valley. More than 75
shops, restaurants and bars line the streets, catering
to every style, taste and entertainment preference.
Irish pubs neighbor upscale Italian dining; nightclubs
and coffee shops sit in comfortable proximity.
But all is not rowdy bars and drunken revelry.
Sure, that can be found if you’re looking for it,
but if you’re happy to leave that aspect of your
college years in the past where it belongs, there are
plenty of grown-up alternatives. Places that your
Raman-Noodles budget didn’t allow you to indulge
back in the day.
I’m loath to play favorites when there are so many
tantalizing meals to be had, but here goes. Hidden
in two turn of the century homes on 7th Street,
about a block and a half off of Mill Avenue, is
the seductively named House of Tricks. Situated
in this location since 1987, a cozy outdoor patio
links the two buildings and provides a comfortable
ambiance for sharing a glass of wine or a bite
to eat.
The wine cellar holds more than 2500 bottles and
the Tricks describe their menu as New American
and “a delicate fusion of French and Southwestern
flavors.” With seasonally fresh ingredients and
top-quality meats, cheeses, seafood and poultry,
I just call it hard to decide. Great wine and exquisite
cuisine in a vine-strewn courtyard — is there a
better way to spend an evening? Oh, and they’re
open for lunch too.
Now that you’ve got those two meals covered, what
about breakfast? Wander into ASU Memorial Union
and you’ll find a place on the complete opposite
end of the spectrum: Cereality. Yes, that’s right,
a cereal restaurant. Choose from your favorite
cereal, add your preferred toppings (go healthy
with fruits and nuts, or crazy with malted milk
balls or M&Ms), pour some milk, if you desire,
and voila, breakfast! Or a mid-day snack, even
lunch. Hey, I’ve been known to have cereal for
dinner. You can even order a smoothie or parfait.
Haute cuisine it’s not, but sometimes you have
to indulge that inner Cap’n Crunch-craving kid.
In the course of your visit to Tempe, you can satiate
any number of appetites. The most difficult part
is deciding where to begin.
M&I Bank Broadway in Arizona
The following shows round out the Broadway season
at ASU’s Gammage Auditorium. For information on
tickets, visit asugammage.com or ticketmaster.com.
Happy Days, November 18-23
Spring Awakening, December 9-14
The Lion King, January 2-February 8
Frost/Nixon, March 31-April 5
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, June 16-21
Rent, March 17-22
Cats, April 7-12
Stomp, May 5-10
Wicked, July 1-26
Tempe Signature Events
In addition to the year round attractions and activities,
Tempe plays host to several 
special events that
feature live music, family attractions, arts, food
and fun. Here are several that you can look forward
to in the coming months.
Tempe Festival of the Arts
December 5-7; March 27-29
Mil Avenue District
480-355-6069
tempefestivalofthearts.com
APS Fantasy of Lights Boat Parade
December 13
Tempe Town Lake
480-921-2300
downtowntempe.com/APS-Fantasy-of-Lights.aspx
Insight Fiesta Bowl Block Party
December 31
480-350-0900
insightbowl.com
P.F.Chang's Rock n' Roll Marathon and 1/2 Marathon
January 18
Tempe/Scottsdale/Phoenix
800-311-1255
rnraz.com
Circle K Tempe Music Festival
April 3-4
Tempe Beach Park
480-663-0700
tempemusicfestival.com
If you go:
ASU Art Museum
Nelson Fine Arts Center
Southeast corner of Mill Avenue and 10th Street
Open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Tuesday; 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.,
Wednesday through Saturday, 1 to 5 p.m., Sunday.
Admission is free.
480-965-2787
asuartmuseum.asu.edu
ASU Art Museum Ceramics Research Center
Northeast corner of Mill Avenue and 10th Street
Open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday.
Admission is free; tours available by appointment.
480-727-8173
asuartmuseum.asu.edu/ceramicsresearchcenter
Grady Gammage Memorial Auditorium
1200 S. Forest Ave., Tempe
(Mill Avenue and Apache Boulevard)
480-965-3434 (box office)
asugammage.com
Herberger College of the Arts
480-965-6536
Herbergercollege.asu.edu
Tempe Center for the Arts
700 W. Rio Salado Pkwy.
480-350-2829
tempe.gov/tca
House of Tricks
114 E. 7th St.
480-968-1114
houseoftricks.com
Cereality
ASU Memorial Union
Cereality.com
For more information, contact the Tempe Convention
and Visitors Bureau at tempcvb.com, 480-894-8158
or 800-283-6734.
Photos from top to bottom: jwestphotography.com; Tim Trumble/ASU; Tempe CVB
