Before Tempe’s Mill Avenue became the anchor of trendy restaurants and high-rise housing, the downtown was known for a mix of aging retail stores, biker bars and head shops. But a transformation in the 1980s brought the iconic red brick sidewalks and ficus trees — along with new businesses that revitalized the historic downtown.
You can hear the stories behind this rebirth April 11 from former Congressman Harry Mitchell, who was Tempe’s mayor from 1980 to 1992. Mitchell will discuss what was behind the transformation at 11:30 a.m. at the Tempe History Museum, 809 E. Southern Ave. The event is free, and coffee will be provided.
Information: (480) 350-5100 or www.tempe.gov/museum
Juggernaut8000 posted at 2:18 pm on Sat, Apr 7, 2012.
You can start by draining that filthy cesspool called the 'Tempe town Lake' and bulldozing that rotting, decrepid flour mill.
Suelee posted at 3:08 pm on Sat, Apr 7, 2012.
When we moved to Tempe in 1973, Mill Ave. was a fun, college downtown with many local businesses and filled with local residents. Harry Mitchell catered to the yuppies on Mill Ave., chasing away local businesses and local residents, replacing them with national chains (most of which fled to Tempe Marketplace) leaving downtown Tempe with the "ghost town" feel it has today. The exception would be the drunks that stagger around Mill Ave. on the weekends.
Other blunders by Tempe leadership include the Tempe Town Lake (with the ruptured dam that left a large chunk of Tempe with an insect infestation), and the planned slow-motion Mill Ave. trolly which Tempe will not be able to afford to maintain and operate and will only benefit a few merchants on Mill Ave from Southern to Michael Monti's business.