IN EVERY ISSUE

LOOKING BACK
Arizona Falls: Picnic Haven Reinvented

In 1884, while forging Arizona Canal across uncharted territory, railroad entrepreneur William J. Murphy first engineered Arizona Falls by dropping the canal over a 20-foot shelf of rock he encountered in the outskirts of town. From its onset, the site was taken for a prime rendezvous by water-parched pioneers.

In 2003, after being under wraps for over a century, a joint venture between SRP and the Phoenix Arts Commission reinvented the public space for a new millennium. A new hydroelectric power plant was strategically designed to unmask the falls, which had been hidden by its defunct predecessors.

Many times removed from it raw state, today the main juncture at the falls is known as the water room, a cool sandstone enclosure planted with a uniform garden of stone seats. A waterfall roars to the back of the room, while the sidewalls sweat off moisture in diminutive rivulets. Further forward, two more sheets of water race off tracks to curtain away corners, completing the historic falls’ 21st century renovation.

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If you go

Arizona Falls
G.R. Herberger Park
56th Street and Indian School Road
srpnet.com/water/canals/azfalls.aspx
Open 24 hours. On-site parking is available from 5:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Main Attractions
Three waterfalls
Shaded viewing room
Renewable-energy hydroelectric plant
Solar-paneled roof
Pedestrian bridge
Dance floor
Informational kiosk

Photos courtesy of Salt River Project