Phoenix, Arizona in the 1940s


Since most of the people that I talk to about Phoenix were born after World War II (the generation that was originally called "the Baby Boom", now called Boomers), they can't possibly have much in the way of memories of Phoenix in the 1940s, other than the fact that they were kids. In fact, I was once told, a few years ago, that Phoenix didn't really begin until the 1940s (by someone who was born in the 1940s). And I can understand that point of view. Phoenix didn't really begin for me until the 1980s, when I moved there as a teenager.  Everything that I've learned about Phoenix before that time comes from old photos, from what I've read, and what people have told me. And Phoenix definitely was there before me. In fact, it goes all of the way back to 1870. And even photos from the 1940s seem to be so different from the Phoenix that I know that it kinda freaks me out.

Since Phoenix changes so quickly, it can be difficult to imagine what it was like in the past. Trying to understand this is my hobby, and my passion. I'm not pining away for the "good old days" before a cure for Polio was found, or before schools were desegregated. I understand that the world has gotten much better, especially air conditioning, since "the old days". But it enriches my life to learn more, and I'm particularly fascinated by Phoenix in the 1940s. Let's go visit.

The Alhambra Garage in the 1940s, Grand Avenue and Thomas, Alhambra, Arizona. This was very far away from the city limits of Phoenix, back when Alhambra was its own town.

Actually, we have to start with the 1930s, which was the time of the Depression, when times were hard. The "roaring 20s" had been a time of plenty, and it all came crashing down with the Stock Market crash of '29. So the thirties were a tough time for all Americans. And then America entered World War II in 1941, and until September 2nd of 1945, when the war finally ended, the United States was still a place where there was scarcity - the attitude of the Depression continued on through the mid-1940s, an attitude of doing without, of making do with what was available. So half of the 1940s had a feeling more like the Depression Era, and then everything changes after the war, and in 1945, the 1950s begins.

And by 1950s, I mean a time of plenty which the United States hadn't seen for decades. Suddenly the economy was booming, there was money everywhere. Houses were built, cars got gigantic and developed fins. And Phoenix went into an era of growth which, even for a city that had grown quickly in the past, was spectacular.

Image at the top of this post: Looking north at 16th Street from Camelback Road in the 1940s, Phoenix, Arizona.
If you like pictures of old-time Phoenix, please consider subscribing to History Adventuring on Patreon. I share a LOT of cool old photos there, copyright-free, with no advertising. Your support makes it happen! Thank you!

Click here to become a Patron!

Comments

  1. UnknownApril 2, 2019 at 3:27 PM

    My family moved to Phoenix in Nov,1951, when I was 14. I went to North Phoenix High School. The valley has changed considerably since then. Not always for the best, but it's still HOME.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Why cars in the future won't need stop signs, red lights, or stripes on the road

Image
Time-travel with me into the future. Where we're going, we'll still need roads, but our cars won't need the kind of stuff that human drivers need, like stop signs, or stuff painted on the road. And if you're already panicking that computers will take over, don't worry, they already have. The fact that you're reading this right now combines so much amazing computing power that it would have been unthinkable to anyone in the 1960s, or '70s, when I was a kid. Speaking of being in the geriatric age group, if you're like me or older, you took a lot of pride in knowing the rules of the road, such as what to do at a stop sign if four cars approach at the same time, the difference between a "yield" sign and a "merge" sign, or maybe how to parallel park. But calm down there old-timer, that type of knowledge will just be as quaint as how to use a horse and buggy is nowadays. Sorry! The best way to picture how traffic will flow in the future is ...
Read more

Watching a neighborhood grow and change in Phoenix, Arizona

Image
I stopped to take a closer look yesterday at where the old Circle K had been in my neighborhood, which is a suburb of Phoenix. And it's got me to thinking about how much Phoenix grows and changes over the years, and how people feel about it. This particular neighborhood was built in the mid 1980s, when there had been only a smattering of houses and a community college (Glendale Community College, built in 1965). There are some houses that I can tell are from the 1970s, and a few even older, but what happened here is that the neighborhood suddenly appeared in 1985 or thereabouts. There are three shopping centers on the corner of 67th Avenue and Peoria - the one in the photo is called "Peoria Station", and it was designed to kinda look like a train station. The other three are called Westporte Village, Brittany Square, and Crossroads Plaza. I've lived in this neighborhood for a very long time, and no one ever uses those names, even though the signs are still up. But the...
Read more

Why did Adolf Hitler always have such a bad haircut?

Image
As someone who has been interested in history since I was a little kid, I've always asked the most childish questions, and quite often never got an answer. As a kid, I was told to run along and play, and don't bother the grownups, so I set my questions aside to work on when I myself became a grownup. But some questions I really haven't found a satisfactory answer for, and get thrown away as I find myself learning the more important stuff. I now understand the grownups, but the kid in me still has childish questions like "Why did Adolf Hitler always have such a bad haircut?" The first question to ask is whether a particular style (whether hair, clothing, etc.) was in style at the time. The moustache was, and you can Google a photo of Charlie Chaplin, who wore the same style of moustache at the time, and quite stylishly. The wide lapels were in style in the 1930s, as was were the tall shirt collars and small ties. But the haircut wasn't - it's just awful. Me...
Read more