Why the intersection of Grand Avenue, 19th Avenue, and McDowell is called Six Points


Over by the State Fair Grounds in Phoenix is a place that is called Six Points. It's the intersection of Grand Avenue, 19th Avenue, and McDowell. I first heard about this when I started collecting old photos of Phoenix. And there's even a Six Points Hardware.

Of course, many times names don't really mean anything. Look at the names of many apartment complexes and shopping centers, which amuse me as I drive around Phoenix. Things just have to have a name I guess, even if they're pointless, or make no sense. But there is a reason for Six Points. And to see it, you have to either fly over it, or stand in the middle of the intersection. Let's fly over it and take a look.

OK, now let's imagine that we're standing in the middle of the intersection, and we're about to walk in any direction we want to. Count the different directions. There are six, and that's why people called it Six Points.

By the way, don't confuse it with Five Points, which is the intersection of Van Buren, 7th Avenue and Grand. There's only five because Grand Avenue stops (or begins) there.

Image at the top of this post: Flying over Six Points in 1973.

Ad for Six Points Hardware in the 1950s

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