Editing Peoria, Arizona (section)

==History==

===Initial settlement===
Peoria sits in the [[Salt River (Arizona)|Salt River]] Valley, and extends into the foothills of the mountains to the north. [[William John Murphy]], who had worked on the [[Arizona Canal]], recruited settlers to begin a community in Arizona, many of them from Peoria, Illinois. Albert J. and Elizabeth Straw were the first to establish residency in November 1886. They were followed by William T. and Sylvia Hanna, James M. and Clara Copes, and James and Ella McMillan, all from Peoria, Illinois.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/peoria/2014/06/16/peoria-grows-water-delivered-canal/10615591/|title=Peoria grows with water delivered by canal|website=azcentral}}</ref> An old desert road connecting Phoenix to the [[Hassayampa River]] near present-day [[Wickenburg, Arizona|Wickenburg]] was the only major transportation route in the area until 1887, when a new road was laid out. Named Grand Avenue, this road angled through the newly designed town sites of Alhambra, [[Glendale, Arizona|Glendale]], and Peoria and became the main route from Phoenix to [[Vulture Mine]]. The settlers filed Peoria's plot map with the Maricopa County recorder on May 24, 1897, naming the settlement after their hometown.

The original plot map of Peoria included east and west streets (from south to north) Monroe, Madison, Jefferson, Washington, Jackson, Lincoln, Grant, and Van Buren. Streets going north and south were (from west to east) Almond (present-day 85th Avenue), Peach (present-day 84th Avenue), Orange (present-day 83rd Avenue), Vine (present-day 82nd Avenue), and Walnut (present-day 81st Avenue). The plot was roughly from present-day Peoria and 85th avenues to Monroe Street and 85th Avenue to Monroe Street and 81st Avenue to 81st Avenue and south of the Desert Cove alignment.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.peoriaaz.gov/uploadedFiles/Peoriaaz/Departments/Community_Development/Planning_and_Zoning/Historic_Preservation/2012HPMasterPlanFINAL.pdf |title=City of Peoria 2012 Historic Preservation Master Plan  |access-date=September 26, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160124065754/https://www.peoriaaz.gov/uploadedFiles/Peoriaaz/Departments/Community_Development/Planning_and_Zoning/Historic_Preservation/2012HPMasterPlanFINAL.pdf |archive-date=January 24, 2016 |url-status=dead  }}</ref> On August 4, 1888, the Territory of Peoria was granted a post office in its name and served a population of 27. Maricopa County supervisors defined the boundaries for School District Eleven, covering {{convert|49|sqmi}}, and the first class took place in an unoccupied brick store that faced north on Washington Street until Peoria's first school building, a one-room structure completed in 1891.

===Early growth===
[[File:SD-Peoria Train Depot.jpg|thumb|Peoria Railroad Depot, built in 1895]]

Between 1891 and 1895, a spur line of the [[Santa Fe, Prescott and Phoenix Railway]] was placed through Peoria, along with Phoenix, Glendale, Alhambra, Hesperla, and Marinette. Peoria's small [[railroad station|depot]] on 83rd Avenue just off Grand Avenue was purchased by the city of [[Scottsdale, Arizona|Scottsdale]] in 1972 and now resides at [[McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park]].

About 1919 the Peoria [[Chamber of Commerce]] formed. It operated as the informal government body until Peoria incorporated in 1954. The Peoria volunteer fire district formed in 1920 and remained all volunteer until the mid-1950s. The three-story Edwards Hotel was built in 1918, followed by the Mabel Hood building in May 1920 at the southwest corner of Washington Street and 83rd Avenue. The John L. Meyer or "flatiron" building was completed in June 1920 and the O.O. Fuel's Paramount Theatre in July 1920. (It served as Fire Station 1 from 1950 until 2004.) The town's first newspaper, ''The Peoria Enterprise'', was printed weekly from November 14, 1917, to April 1921.

Peoria's first [[library]] was held at the women's club in 1920 until it moved to the old Peoria City Hall in 1975 (where the [[Peoria Center for the Performing Arts]] was constructed and currently sits). The library eventually moved to the Peoria Municipal Complex. In May 1959 the Women's Club gave the clubhouse to the City of Peoria.

[[Central School (Peoria, Arizona)|Central School]] was built in 1906. By 1910, three additional classroom buildings were built next to the central school, and in 1918 another school building, containing an auditorium and four classrooms, was opened. In 1918, the attendance for Peoria schools was 190. School District Number Eleven was originally an [[elementary school]] district. Children going on to [[High school (North America)|high school]] had to travel to [[Glendale High School (Glendale, Arizona)|Glendale High School]]. In 1919, the school board approved construction of [[Peoria High School (Arizona)|Peoria High School]].

===Postwar expansion===
[[File:Peoria Sports Complex WT.JPG|thumb|right|Peoria Sports Complex]]

Increased economic activity, combined with the presence of [[Luke Air Force Base]] and [[air conditioning]], led to an increase in residential housing in Peoria. A postwar construction boom set the stage for Peoria to become a [[suburb]] of Phoenix, providing housing for the capital city as growth moved west.

In 1954, Peoria was home to 1,925 residents, with an area of {{convert|720|acre|km2}}. Peoria incorporated on June 7, 1954. A seven-member city council formed and held its first organizational meeting on June 14. Peoria was named the "Rose Capitol of the World" in 1956. By 1966, Peoria grew to encompass {{convert|3.1|sqmi|km2}} with {{convert|36|mi|km}} of street. In 1968, the city passed a bond to issue securing the money to build a [[sanitary sewer|sewer]] system, which was completed in 1969. In 1970, Peoria began to transition to paid [[firefighting]] staff. From a population of 4,792 in 1970, the city grew to 12,351 in 1980 and 50,675 in 1990. Construction of the $30 million municipal complex began in 1988 at the edge of Peoria's Old Town. The Police Department opened in 1989, the main city hall building and courts in 1991, and the library in 1993.

Spring training has a long history in Peoria. From the late 1970s to 1990, Peoria's Greenway Sports Complex served as a minor league training facility for the [[Milwaukee Brewers]] baseball team.<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 24, 1990 |title=Arizona Rookie League |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/122018814/ |access-date=January 4, 2024 |website=Newspapers.com |language=en}}</ref> This small facility was located at 83rd Avenue and the Greenway Road alignment, the location of the future [[Peoria Sports Complex]]. Construction of the new complex was approved in 1990. It was completed in 1994 and was the first [[Major League Baseball]] [[spring training]] facility in the county shared by two teams.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Balazs |first=Diana |date=February 16, 1994 |title=Peoria primos for 1st season in big leagues |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/123384897/ |access-date=January 4, 2024 |website=Newspapers.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Spring Training Baseball {{!}} Visit Peoria |url=https://www.visitpeoriaaz.com/things-to-do/spring-training#:~:text=The%20Peoria%20Sports%20Complex%20was,country%20shared%20by%20two%20teams. |access-date=January 4, 2024 |website=www.visitpeoriaaz.com |language=en}}</ref> The [[San Diego Padres]] and [[Seattle Mariners]] utilize the complex year-round for spring training and player development.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Spring Training Arizona {{!}} Peoria Sports Complex |url=https://www.peoriasportscomplex.com/spring-training |access-date=January 4, 2024 |website=www.peoriasportscomplex.com |language=en}}</ref> The Sports Complex was also the short-lived home of the [[Arizona United]] for the 2014 season before they relocated to Scottsdale.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Peoria Sports Complex |url=http://arizonaunited.com/peoria-sports-complex/ |access-date=January 4, 2024 |website=Arizona United |language=en-US}}</ref>

In 2005, the city broke ground on the [[Peoria Center for the Performing Arts]], what the city saw as the keystone of the city's “Old Town” area. Mayor at the time, [[John C. Keegan|John Keegan]], saw the building as the key to the revitalization of the downtown district of Peoria, as well as a much needed cultural center for the northwest valley. The city chose the successful local community theater company, [[Theater Works (Peoria, Arizona)|Theater Works]], as the facility's anchor tenant, agreeing to a 20-year lease. The performing arts center opened in 2007.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Arizona Republic 18 Nov 2005, page Page 192 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/125735462/ |access-date=June 5, 2023 |website=Newspapers.com |language=en}}</ref>

===Current developments===
Peoria's identity is more related to resort and leisure living than the past, as that type of lifestyle migrates from the northeast Valley to Peoria. Peoria's economic plan focuses on establishing the “Desert Empire,” a new corridor of industrial, commercial, and mixed development along the Loop 303, especially under mayor, Jason Beck.<ref>{{Cite web |title=West Valley cities look to Loop 303 to spur development |url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/glendale/2014/12/17/west-valley-cities-look-loop-spur-development/20483283/ |access-date=June 5, 2023 |website=The Arizona Republic |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Rogers |first=Jordan |date=November 24, 2022 |title=Jason Beck to be 'mayor for all' for Peoria |url=https://www.peoriatimes.com/news/article_77fc9c0c-6b6f-11ed-973b-f3b534d5e325.html |access-date=January 4, 2024 |website=Peoriatimes.com |language=en}}</ref>
The building of an [[Amkor Technology|Amkor]] semiconductor plant in the city has bolstered the city’s hopes of this development, with an estimated 2,000 new jobs.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Raymundo |first=Shawn |date=February 28, 2024 |title=Metro Phoenix city inks deal with Amkor for largest semiconductor testing facility in US |url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/peoria/2024/02/21/peoria-amkor-ink-agreement-for-2-billion-semiconductor-testing-plant/72680775007/# |access-date=April 20, 2024 |website=subscribe.azcentral.com}}</ref>

The City of Peoria opened Paloma Community Park on October 3, 2020. The park offers a variety of recreational activities and amenities including fishing, lighted multi-purpose fields, and picnic ramadas.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Paloma Community Park {{!}} City of Peoria |url=https://www.peoriaaz.gov/government/departments/parks-recreation-and-community-facilities/parks-and-trails/paloma-community-park |access-date=January 4, 2024 |website=www.peoriaaz.gov |language=en}}</ref>