Editing Glendale, Arizona (section)

==History==
In the late 1800s the area that is now Glendale was all desert. [[William John Murphy]], a native of [[New Hartford, New York]], who resided in the town of [[Flagstaff, Arizona|Flagstaff]] in what was then the [[territory of Arizona]], was in charge of building the {{convert|40|mi|km|adj=mid|-long}} [[Arizona Canal]] from Granite Reef to New River for the Arizona Canal Company. In 1885, he completed the canal, which would bring water to the desert land.<ref name="M">{{cite web|url=https://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=30433|title=William J. Murphy Historical Marker|website=www.hmdb.org|access-date=April 27, 2019|archive-date=June 16, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180616103656/https://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=30433|url-status=live}}</ref> Murphy was deep in debt, since he had agreed to be paid in Arizona Canal Company stock and bonds and land instead of cash.<ref name="SLRP">{{cite web|url=http://www.waterhistory.org/histories/reclamation/saltriver/|title=WaterHistory.org|website=www.waterhistory.org|access-date=June 12, 2013|archive-date=July 18, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140718220810/http://www.waterhistory.org/histories/reclamation/saltriver/|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:William John Murphy.jpg|thumb|left|upright|William John Murphy – founder of Glendale]]

In 1887, Murphy formed the Arizona Improvement Company. His objective was to sell the land and water rights south of the canal. Murphy raised capital from out of state sources in order to meet payroll and construction expenses.<ref name="SLRP"/> Murphy decided to refer to this land as "Glendale". In order to develop and interest potential investors and settlers in this new town, Murphy decided to provide a better way of access from [[Phoenix, Arizona|Phoenix]] to Glendale and ending in the town of [[Peoria, Arizona|Peoria]] by building an {{convert|18|mi|km|adj=mid|-long}} diagonal road which he named Grand Avenue.

In 1891, Burgess Hadsell worked with Murphy to bring 70 Brethren and [[River Brethren]] families to Glendale to form a [[temperance movement|temperance]] colony. Soon settlers, attracted by the town's ban on alcoholic beverages, continued to arrive. In 1895, Murphy platted the original town site and amended the plat to include a town park and some business lots.  It was bounded by Lamar Road on the south, 55th Avenue on the east, Myrtle Avenue on the north, and 59th Avenue on the west.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.glendaleaz.com/economicdevelopment/documents/CCMP.pdf|title=Glendale City Center Master Plan|publisher=glendaleaz.com|access-date=August 5, 2015|archive-date=March 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304024450/https://www.glendaleaz.com/economicdevelopment/documents/CCMP.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> The construction of a railroad from [[Prescott, Arizona|Prescott]] to Phoenix was made possible with an exchange of the right-of-way made by Murphy along Grand Avenue.<ref name="M"/> The railroad allowed Glendale settlers to transport goods to the north and easily receive building materials.

The construction and commercial applications of the [[Beet Sugar Factory (Glendale, AZ)|Beet Sugar Factory]] in 1906 also contributed to the growth of Glendale. Though the operations of the factory only lasted until 1913, it played an important role in the increase of immigrant and migrant settlers in the city.<ref>{{cite web |title=Beet Sugar Factory History, Glendale, Arizona |url=http://molokane.org/molokan/Locations/Americas/Arizona/Noon.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140704092124/http://molokane.org/molokan/Locations/Americas/Arizona/Noon.htm |archive-date=July 4, 2014 |access-date=August 29, 2013 |website=molokane.org}}</ref> Several other businesses were founded around this time such as Glendale Ice Company, Pacific Creamery Company, Glendale Milling Company, and Southwest Flour and Feed.<ref name="GH">{{Cite web |title=History |url=https://www.glendaleazchamber.org/history |access-date=2023-02-05 |website=www.glendaleazchamber.org |language=en}}</ref>

World War I ushered in a renewal for Glendale, with cotton prices rising throughout the period. Cotton continues to be a source of economic prosperity in Glendale with many farms still along the [[Arizona State Route 101|Loop 101]], despite many farmers switching to more profitable crops.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kuhn |first=Casey |date=2015-12-17 |title=Facing Low Prices And Urbanization, West Valley Cotton Farmers Turn To Other Crops |url=https://kjzz.org/content/238904/facing-low-prices-and-urbanization-west-valley-cotton-farmers-turn-other-crops |access-date=2024-05-30 |website=KJZZ |language=en}}</ref> A high demand for food, also kept farmers busy. Numerous farms and orchards were established and thrived through the early 1900s.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2010 |title=History of Glendale |url=https://www.glendalearizonahistoricalsociety.org/history-of-glendale |access-date=2024-05-30 |website=Glendale Arizona Historical Society |language=en}}</ref>

World War II brought the birth of [[Thunderbird Field No. 1|Thunderbird Field]] to train civilian pilots for the Army.  In late 1940, a few Hollywood actors and businessmen, headed by [[Leland Hayward]], approached the Army to establish a primary flight training school. This group chose the site of Thunderbird Field primarily because of its abundance of space, excellent weather, and good visibility.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Southwest Airways and Thunderbird Field #1 |url=https://azmemory.azlibrary.gov/nodes/view/197#:~:text=Out%20of%20this%20need%2C%20Thunderbird,a%20primary%20flight%20training%20school. |access-date=2024-05-30 |website=AZ Memory Project}}</ref> While this field was being built in 1941, the Army was busy working on a larger base for $4.5 million, Luke Field (now Luke Air Force Base). This base was named for the first pilot to receive a Medal of Honor, Lt. Frank Luke Jr. Thunderbird Field would later become the [[Thunderbird School of Global Management|Thunderbird American Graduate School for International Management.]]

The military and college presence, as well as the increase in population (nearly doubling between 1950 and 1960),<ref>{{Cite web |title=Glendale, Arizona Population 2023 |url=https://worldpopulationreview.com/us-cities/glendale-az-population |access-date=2023-02-05 |website=worldpopulationreview.com}}</ref> sparked a need for utilities, parks, schools and streets. Over the next 40 years, the city added a landfill, water treatment plant, sewage plants, libraries, parks, public safety facilities, an airport, a city hall and a civic center. In the 1970s, Glendale practiced strip annexation to claim future territory to annex that another city couldn't claim. Current strip borders are along [[Northern Avenue]], Peoria Avenue, Perryville Road, and [[Camelback Road]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Annexation |url=https://www.glendaleaz.com/work/planning___zoning/annexation |access-date=2025-01-29 |website=www.glendaleaz.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

Arrowhead Towne Center opened in 1993, and the surrounding neighborhood, [[Arrowhead Ranch, Arizona|Arrowhead Ranch]], made the area a hotspot for housing and shopping. The completion of Loop 101 throughout Glendale opened the city to the rest of the Valley.<ref name="GH" />

In recent decades, the city has begun major investment into tourism. The establishment of the [[Westgate Entertainment District]], housing [[Desert Diamond Arena]], and [[State Farm Stadium]] in the early 2000s made Glendale a destination for locals and visitors. Construction of the VAI Resort and [[Mattel Adventure Park]], scheduled to open in 2025, will continue to grow Glendale’s tourism economy creating hundreds of new jobs and proving more than a thousand new hotel rooms for the city.<ref>{{Cite web |title=FAQs {{!}} VAI Resort near Phoenix |url=https://www.vairesort.com/faqs.htm |access-date=2024-05-30 |website=www.vairesort.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Salerno |first=Michael |date=April 3, 2024 |title=New Arizona mega-resort will rival Vegas and Southern California. What visitors can expect |url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/travel/arizona/2024/04/03/vai-resort-opening-2024-update/10527431002/ |access-date=2024-05-30 |website=AZCentral}}</ref> The completion of [[Arizona State Route 303|Loop 303]] in 2011 also resulted in an increase in industrial development.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/2417753288|title=Preview unavailable - ProQuest|website=www.proquest.com|accessdate=April 14, 2025}}</ref>

In 2024, the city called on the Department of Defense to lobby for Arizona Governor [[Katie Hobbs]] to veto bipartisan legislation to increase housing supply in Arizona. Ryan Lee, the city’s intergovernmental-programs director, confirmed to ''The Atlantic'' that he was behind the move. State Representative [[Analise Ortiz]], whose district includes parts of Glendale, criticized the city for going behind legislators' back to lobby against the legislation, "This is not the way we typically go about creating policy."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Demsas |first=Jerusalem |date=2024-09-22 |title=How Glendale, Arizona, Used the Pentagon |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/09/how-glendale-arizona-used-pentagon/679980/ |website=The Atlantic |language=en}}</ref>