With a business plan based on a Japanese word, the Club Red and Owl Red club knows what they want their business to be. “Kaizen” is a Japanese word meaning “improvement” or “change for the better” and it is what Club Red applies to try to make their venue better. They strive to improve the sound of the bands and make them look better, according to the Club Red website. The Red Owl started as a sports bar with live music every Friday and Saturday night. After the pizza place next door went under, the Red Owl took it over and built a big stage; big enough for national acts, and paid extra to reinforce the stage to cut down any extra sound caused by pounding feet, according to the Red Owl website, they took out the kitchen because a venue does not need a kitchen. Club Red is a dual-stage music venue. With a wide variety of shows, from 80′s and classic rock, to alt rock, indie rock, reggae, metal, punk, rockabilly, jazz, blues, hip-hop, rap, country, singer-songwriter and acoustic, you can find something to see that you will enjoy. With a big screen and a green room backstage, the Club Red and Owl Red is all about the music. They even removed the tin cover on the bar to improve the sound quality. You can walk from the “L” shaped Club Red and Red Owl and back through the roll-up door, which also provides a barrier for the sound from either stage getting to the other on the opposite side of the “L”. Club Red and Red Owl go through great lengths to make the bands on their stage look good. They changed the design of the club and even paying extra to improve the sound quality. Club Red and Red Owl is a great place to see great sounding bands. For more information and a calender of events visit the Club Red and Red Owl website
A Brief History of Tempe
Curtesy: The Tempe Historical Museum:
Following the establishment of Fort McDowell on the eastern edge of central Arizona’s Salt River Valley in 1865, enterprising farmers moved into the area. They dug out the irrigation canals left by the prehistoric Hohokam people and built new ones to carry Salt River water to their fields. Valley farms soon supplied food to Arizona’s military posts and mining towns.
The first settlers to move to the Tempe area, south of the Salt River and east of Phoenix, were Hispanic families from southern Arizona. They helped construct the first two irrigation canals, the Kirkland-McKinney Ditch and the San Francisco Canal, and started small farms to the east and west of a large butte (Tempe Butte). In 1872, some of these Mexican settlers founded a town called San Pablo east of Tempe Butte.
Another settlement, known as Hayden’s Ferry, developed west of Tempe Butte. Charles Trumbull Hayden, owner of a mercantile and freighting business in Tucson, homesteaded this location in 1870. Within a few years, he had built a store and flourmill, warehouses and blacksmith shops, and a ferry. This community became the trade center for the south side of the Salt River Valley.
Both settlements grew quickly and soon formed one community. The town was named Tempe in 1879. “Lord” Darrell Duppa, an Englishman who helped establish Phoenix, is credited with suggesting the name. The sight of the butte and the wide river, and the nearby expanse of green fields, reminded him of the Vale of Tempe in ancient Greece.
As more farmers came to settle in the Valley and started raising alfalfa and grains for feeding livestock, the Tempe Irrigating Canal Company provided all of necessary water. With a network of canals that extended several miles south of the river, irrigation water was carried to more than 20,000 acres of prime farmland. Crops of wheat, barley, and oats ensured a steady business for the Hayden Mill. The milled flour was hauled to forts and other settlements throughout the territory. By the 1890s, some farmers started growing new cash crops such as dates and citrus fruits.
In 1885, the Arizona legislature selected Tempe as the site for the Territorial Normal School, which trained teachers for Arizona’s schools. Soon, other changes in Tempe promoted the development of the small farming community. The Maricopa and Phoenix Railroad, built in 1887, crossed the Salt River at Tempe, linking the town to the nation’s growing transportation system. The Tempe Land and Improvement Company was formed to sell lots in the booming town. Tempe became one of the most important business and shipping centers for the surrounding agricultural area.
The completion of Roosevelt Dam in 1911 guaranteed enough water to meet the growing needs of Valley farmers. On his way to dedicate the dam, former President Theodore Roosevelt applauded the accomplishments of the people of central Arizona and predicted that their towns would grow to become prosperous cities. Less than a year later, Arizona became the 48th state, and the Salt River Valley was well on its way to becoming the new population center of the Southwest.
Tempe was a small agricultural community through most of its history. After World War II, Tempe began growing at a rapid rate as veterans and others moved to the city. The last of the local farms quickly disappeared. Through annexation, the city reached its current boundaries by 1974. Tempe had grown into a modern city. The town’s small teachers college had also grown, and in 1958, the institution became Arizona State University.
Tempe’s commercial center along Mill Avenue declined during these years. Prompted by Tempe’s centennial in 1971, Mill Avenue was revitalized into an entertainment and shopping district that attracts people from throughout the Valley. Today, Tempe is well known nationally as the home of the Fiesta Bowl and the Arizona Cardinals. It is the seventh largest city in Arizona, with a strong modern economy based on commerce, tourism, and electronics manufacturing.
New Tempe Calendar of Events
I recently added a Tempe Calendar of Events to the www.tempethoughts.org web site. My inspiration in doing so was that I could not find a collective calendar out in cyberspace. If you know of a Tempe related event that you would like the public to be aware of please send me the info and I will get it posted. The more content that I receive the better resource this Calendar will become so whether it is a fund raiser, ASU happening, school district, neighborhood, or even a political event, please contribute.
City Boards and Commission Positions
By: Karyn Gitlis
Do you have a few spare hours each month? Do you enjoy volunteer work? Are you interested in the ins and outs and details of historic preservation or aviation or mechanics/engineering or libraries or museums? Opportunities abound to get involved in interesting and rewarding work with similarly interested and interesting people. Apply for a City of Tempe board or commission seat. See below.
I currently work with the Tempe Aviation Commission and have been a member of other city committees. The work has been educational and gratifying. Feel free to call me if you would like to chat about these opportunities.
Karyn 480.967.5226
City of Tempe Board & Commission Recruitments
September 8, 2011 – October 7, 2011
Applications are accepted for all boards and commission listed. Please note that the highlighted boards and commissions have no vacancies at this time.
- Aviation Commission*
- Board of Adjustment*
- Building Code Advisory Board
- Structural Engineer
- Commission on Disability Concerns*
- Development Review Commission*
- Double Butte Cemetery Advisory Board*
- Historic Preservation Commission (Alternate)
- Archeology
- Community member at large
- Historical Museum Advisory Board*
- Housing Trust Fund Advisory Board*
- General housing related issues
- Human Relations Commission*
- Industrial Development Authority*
- Joint Review Committee
- Judicial Advisory Board*
- Library Advisory Board*
- Merit System Board*
- Municipal Arts Commission*
- Neighborhood Advisory Commission*
- Electrical Code Advisory Board of Appeals
- Electrician
- Electric Utility Representative
- Fire Department Representative
- Maintenance Electrician
- Parks, Recreation & Golf Advisory Board*
- Plumbing and Mechanical Code Advisory Board of Appeals
- Plumbing Contractor
- Doctor or Health Official
- Mechanical Contractor
- Architect
- Mechanical Engineer
- Police Citizens Review Board*
- Tardeada Advisory Board*
- Transportation Commission*
Applications are available at the City Clerk’s Office, 31 East Fifth Street, 2nd floor or at www.tempe.gov/clerk. Applications are kept on file for one calendar year.
* Tempe residency required
Tempe Thoughts 