Peoria

Peoria, Arizona 

Peoria is a city in Arizona's Maricopa and Yavapai counties. The majority of the city is in Maricopa County, with a small section in Yavapai County to the north. It is a significant Phoenix suburb. Peoria had 190,985 residents as of the 2020 census, up from 154,065 in 2010. It is currently the ninth-largest city in terms of population and the sixth-largest city in terms of land area in Arizona. Its name is a reference to Peoria, Illinois. The Miami-Illinois word for "prairie fire" has been corrupted into the word "peoria." The San Diego Padres and Seattle Mariners both have spring training facilities in the Peoria Sports Complex. 

History 

First Agreement 

Peoria is located in the Salt River Valley and stretches into the northern mountain foothills. In order to establish a settlement in Arizona, William John Murphy, who had worked on the Arizona Canal, attracted residents, many of whom came from Peoria, Illinois. The first residents to do so were Albert J. and Elizabeth Straw in November 1886. James M. and Clara Copes, William T. and Sylvia Hanna, and James and Ella McMillan, all from Peoria, Illinois, came after them. Up until 1887, the only significant transportation route in the region was an old desert road connecting Phoenix to the Hassayampa River near modern-day Wickenburg. Grand Avenue became the primary route from Phoenix to Vulture Mine as it curved past the newly developed town sites of Alhambra, Glendale, and Peoria. On May 24, 1897, the pioneers submitted a plot layout for Peoria to the Maricopa County recorder, named the village after their home city. 

East and west streets in Peoria's original layout comprised Monroe, Madison, Jefferson, Washington, Jackson, Lincoln, Grant, and Van Buren (from south to north). Almond (today's 85th Avenue), Peach (today's 84th Avenue), Orange (today's 83rd Avenue), Vine (today's 82nd Avenue), and Walnut were the streets that traveled north and south (from west to east) (present-day 81st Avenue). The site roughly extended south of the Desert Cove alignment from present-day Peoria and 85th avenues to Monroe Street, 85th Avenue to Monroe Street, and 81st Avenue to 81st Avenue. The Territory of Peoria had a post office on August 4, 1888, serving a population of 27. Before Peoria's first school facility, a one-room structure finished in 1891, the boundaries of School District Eleven, which covered 49 square miles (130 km2), were established by Maricopa County supervisors. The first lesson was held in an empty brick store that faced north on Washington Street. 

Early Town Development 

 A branch of the Santa Fe, Prescott and Phoenix Railway was built through Peoria, Phoenix, Glendale, Alhambra, Hesperla, and Marinette between 1891 and 1895. The city of Scottsdale bought the tiny Peoria depot on 83rd Avenue, just off Grand Avenue, and it is currently located at McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park. 

The Peoria Chamber of Commerce was established about 1919. It served as Peoria's unofficial administration until the city was incorporated in 1954. Up until the middle of the 1950s, the Peoria volunteer fire district was entirely comprised of volunteers. At the southwest intersection of Washington Street and 83rd Avenue, the Mabel Hood building was erected in May 1920 after the three-story Edwards Hotel, which had been constructed in 1918. The O.O. Fuel's Paramount Theatre and the John L. Meyer or "flatiron" building were finished by the end of 1920. (From 1950 until 2004, it functioned as Fire Station 1). From November 14, 1917, to April 1921, The Peoria Enterprise, the town's first newspaper, was published every week. 

From 1920 until 1975, Peoria's original library was housed within the women's club before moving to the former Peoria City Hall (where the Peoria Center for the Performing Arts was constructed and currently sits). Eventually, the library relocated to the Peoria Municipal Complex. The Women's Club donated the clubhouse to the City of Peoria in May 1959. 

In 1906, Central School was constructed. Next to the central school, three additional classroom buildings were constructed by 1910, and in 1918, a new school building with an auditorium and four classrooms opened. There were 190 students attending Peoria schools in 1918. Eleventh School District began as an elementary school district. High school students had to travel to Glendale High School. The Peoria High School was built with approval from the school board in 1919. 

Development After the War 

 Residential housing increased in Peoria as a result of increased economic activity, the presence of Luke Air Force Base, great growth throughout the entire Valley, and the start of the mass manufacture of air conditioning in the early 1950s. Peoria became a suburb of Phoenix thanks to a post-World War II construction boom, which also provided homes for the capital city as development pushed west. 

Peoria had 1,925 inhabitants and covered 720 acres in 1954. (2.9 km2). On June 7, 1954, Peoria became a city. On June 14, a city council made up of seven members convened for the first time. Peoria expanded to 3.1 square miles (8.0 km2) and 36 miles (58 km) of streets by 1966. The city approved a bond issue in 1968 to provide the funding for the construction of a sewer system, which was finished in 1969. Peoria started making the switch to professional firefighters in 1970. The city's population increased from 4,792 in 1970 to 12,351 in 1980 and 50,675 in 1990. In the outskirts of Peoria's Old Town, work on the $30 million municipal complex began in 1988. The main municipal hall building and courts opened in 1991, the library in 1993, and the police department in 1989. 

In Peoria, spring training has a lengthy tradition. The Milwaukee Brewers baseball team used Peoria's Greenway Sports Complex as a minor-league training ground from the late 1970s to 1990. This little building was situated where the Peoria Sports Complex will eventually be, near 83rd Avenue and the Greenway Road alignment. The new complex's construction was given the go-ahead in 1990. It was the first Major League Baseball spring training complex in the county shared by two clubs when it was finished in 1994. The complex is used all year round for spring training and player development by the San Diego Padres and Seattle Mariners. The Arizona United also briefly called the Sports Complex their home in 2014 before moving to Scottsdale. 

Present-day Developments 

As this lifestyle moves from the northeast Valley to Peoria, Peoria's identity is now more closely tied to resort and leisure living than in the past. The new Loop 303 freeway corridor will be developed as a mixed-use industrial, commercial, and residential area as part of Peoria's economic development strategy. Geography 

Peoria is located in northern Maricopa County, and its boundaries extend into Yavapai County to the north. The city is surrounded by Phoenix to the east, Glendale to the southeast and south, Youngtown and unincorporated Sun City to the southwest, and Surprise to the west. The city has a total area of 179.2 square miles (464 km2), of which 176.1 square miles (456 km2) are land and 3.2 square miles (8.3 km2), or 1.77%, are water. This is based on data from the United States Census Bureau. Lake Pleasant, a reservoir on the Agua Fria River in the northern portion of the city, is to thank for the water area. 

The only rivers that flow through Peoria are the New River and the Agua Fria River. Due to the New Waddell Dam's ability to keep Lake Pleasant at bay in the northern part of the city, the Agua Fria River is typically dry. Due to the New River Dam and flood control measures, the New River is typically dry. A number of creeks and washes also pass through the city; Skunk Creek, with its trails and proximity to Glendale, is one of the most noteworthy. 

At its northernmost point, Peoria has a lot of hills and mountains. Some of these are Twin Buttes, Cholla Mountain, White Peak, Hieroglyphic Mountains, Sunrise Mountain, West Wing Mountain, East Wing Mountain, Calderwood Butte, and Cholla Mountain. 

Government 

In 1989, a city council district system that divided the city into six geographical districts, each of which elects one member of the city council, was established. Peoria residents had previously decided to demand the direct election of the mayor in November 1983. The council members are chosen at random to serve four-year terms. Each time there is a census, the districts are redrew. The City Charter was amended on March 11, 1997, and as a result, the mayor is now elected at-large for a four-year term. Jason Beck is the mayor at the moment. Henry Darwin is the city manager at the moment. The Deputy City Managers are Katie Gregory, Chris Hallett, and Art Miller. Eric Echevarria is the current police chief, and Gary Bernard is the current fire chief. 

Population 

Arizona's Maricopa County is home to the city of Peoria. It will have 202,061, making it the 132nd largest city in the United States and the eighth largest city in Arizona. Peoria's population has grown by 5.8% from the most recent census, which showed a population of 190,985 in 2020, and is now rising at a pace of 1.86% yearly. Peoria, which spans more than 179 miles, has 1,148 inhabitants per square mile. 

The poverty rate of Peoria is 10.54%, with an average household income of $92,916. The median monthly cost of rent in recent years has been, and the median value of a home is. In Peoria, the median age is 40.3 years, with men being on average 38.8 years old and women 41.7 years old. 

Peoria is a significant Phoenix suburb that is largely in Maricopa, Arizona, and is situated about 14 miles to the northwest of the city. Peoria is the eighth-largest city in Metro Phoenix and ranks ninth in terms of population in Arizona. Its name is a distorted version of the Illini phrase for "prairie fire." With 61% of the state's population, Maricopa County is where Arizona is most populated.