In 1860 Charles Trumbell built a thriving enterprise on the east end of the Salt River. His settlement and trade center was known as Hayden’s Ferry and contained warehouses, a flour mill and a ferry used to cross the river.
This attracted other settlers and the story goes that an English lord, as he approached the settlement from Phoenix said the buttes, green mesquite and river reminded him of the Vale of Tempe in Greece. Thus the name that no one but the locals can pronounce. The town was renamed Tempe in 1872.
In 1886 Tempe became the home of the Arizona Territorial Normal School which later became Arizona State University which can be called anything but ‘normal’. Tempe is home to Arizon State University’s main campus and massive student population. Enjoy the student hangouts on Mill Avenue which is just a short drive from downtown Phoenix. With the university close by, there’s always something fun going on. There are plenty of music venues, sporting events like Spring Training and ASU-Sundevils baseball, basketball and footbal and the Tempe Festival of the Arts.
Tempe kicks of the New Year with the annual Fiesta Bowl. The Fiesta Bowl is often the ‘title’ BCS Bowl and features the best in college football. The actual game has moved from Tempe to the new University of Phoenix stadium located in Glendale, Arizona. Recently, a two-mile long waterway was created by inflatable dams being placed across the Salt River. Now visitors can enjoy the water and the jogging and biking paths that line the perimeter.
Stay in Tempe or in the metro-Phoenix and get great deals on Tempe hotels when using our booking engine. Many visitors to Arizona are actually coming to get married. One popular venue us Villa Siena in adjacent Gilbert.
