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Lien 2:
'''Peoria''' binon zif in komot: Maricopa, in tat: [[Arizona]], in [[Lamerikän]].
== Nüns taledavik ==
Peoria topon videtü 33°38’ 59’’ N e lunetü 112°15’ 6’’ V (33,649738, ‑112,251584).
Ma el ''U.S. Census Bureau'' (Numädabür Lamerikänik), Peoria labon sürfati valodik mö 366,9 km², kela 358,0 km² binon län e kela 9,0 km² (2,44%) binon vat.
== Lödanef ==
Timü numäd yela 2000, mens 32 km²) of land under cultivation in the valley and a thriving community had been built along the Salt River. Over the years irrigation companies sprung up and in the next three years three canal systems- the Maricopa Grand and Salt River Valley- were constructed each allowing sustaining growth in the Valley. Visionary settlers began to imagine the potential income to be had by reclaiming the rich [[desert]] lying higher up the slope above the recently completed Grand Canal and in 1882 the Arizona Canal Company was organized to do just that. The proposed canal would be larger than its approximately 80 000 acres (320 km²) - including the site that would soon be Peoria- to a more consistent and regulated water system.
The Arizona Canal Company tapped William J. Murphy a former [[Union Army]] officer to head construction on the forty-one-mile canal. The young engineer from [[Illinois]] had just completed the grading of a stretch of the Atlantic and Pacific Railway (which later became the [[Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe Railway|Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe]]). Unable to pay Murphy in cash the canal company offered him land and water rights to a large amount of property as compensation. With vision and foresight he accepted and in 1885 the Arizona Canal was completed.
Murphy returned to Illinois to recruit settlers to transform the land into a sustainable farming community. Several residents of Peoria Illinois were enticed by descriptions of the area’s climate and agricultural potential and soon purchased 5 000 acres (20 km²) among them. Four farming families left Illinois that fall to relocate to what is now Peoria. Before erecting simple [[adobe]] homes the settlers lived in large canvas tents. Peoria stood alone fourteen miles from [[Phoenix Arizona|Phoenix]] at the time a frontier city of approximately 3 500, lomanefs 1887 when a new road was laid out. This hundred foot-wide thoroughfare was named Grand Avenue angled trough the newly designed town sites of Alhambra [[Glendale Arizona|Glendale]] and Peoria and quickly became the main route from Phoenix to Vulture Mine. The actual Peoria town site was owned by Joseph B. Greenhut and Deloss S. Brown. In 1890 the two men from Peoria Illinois acquired four sections of land from the government through the Desert Lands Act. They filed Peoria’s plat map with Maricopa County recorder on May 24 1897 naming the settlement after their hometown.
The original plat 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) Walnut (present day 81st Avenue) the plat was roughly the 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.
As soon as the proposed Peoria town site was surveyed a hand-dug [[water well]] was sunk in 1889 on the public right-of-way at the intersection of Grand Avenue and Washington Street. A “town well” provided water for local residents as well as the traveling public. Five years later the well was refashioned into a [[water tower]] and tank standing eighty-nine feet high. A social gathering place as well as source of water the tower seemed to symbolize the young settlement’s growing sense of civic pride. On August 4 1888 the Territory of Peoria Arizona was granted a post office in its name and served a population of twenty-seven. Maricopa County supervisors defined the boundaries for School District Eleven comprising forty-nine square miles 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. Attendance was erratic and thanks to a wagon full of nine children the district in question by county officials was saved.
===Early growth of the town===
Between 1891 and 1895 a spur line of the Santa Prescott and Phoenix Railroad was placed in Peoria along with Phoenix Glendale Alhambra Hesperla and Marinette. This line helped encourage continued development of Peoria and was beneficial to the community. Peoria persuaded the rail company to build a small [[train station|depot]] on 83rd Avenue just off Grand Avenue. This enabled area ranchers and farmers to ship their cattle and crops from the town site as well as bring goods into the city. The depot was sold to the city of [[Scottsdale Arizona|Scottsdale]] in 1972 where it now resides at McCormick Stillman Railroad Park.
In 1899 an atmosphere of permanence and stability for the settlement was created through the construction of the [[Presbyterianism|Presbyterian Church]]. Dedicated in 1900 the church built in the [[Gothic Revival architecture|Gothic Revival]] style and located at 83rd and Madison is the oldest continuously used church in Arizona.
By 1917 Peoria though still small was slowly building into a solid commercial agricultural and residential location. Detracting from its growth however was its impermanent appearance manifested in the tin and wood structures that had popped up around town in what was becoming known as the business district. Community leaders like J.A. Hammond and Frank Akin espoused changing the primary building material to [[brick]] since it looked better and was relatively more stable. Hammond and Akin believed that for Peoria to be acknowledged as a viable community it had to have more substantial and attractive buildings. Due to the expensiveness of brick it was hard to convince local business owners to invest in brick buildings. Hammond and Akins led by example tearing down their own stores to build three new buildings that were attached and made of brick.
===Fire===
In July of 1917 a fire broke out in a [[pool hall]] operated by E.E. Stafford near Wilhelm’s Garage. The cause of the fire was never determined but the fire engulfed almost the entire business district including Hammond and Akins newly constructed buildings. Glendale and Phoenix firefighters responded to the alarm but they were too late. The damage was so severe it was as though the entire town was wiped out. Peoria was devastated. Ironically the fire that destroyed the town’s new brick stores was incentive other business owners needed to rebuild using more sound building techniques and materials. This fire began the new era of sturdier steadier and more pleasing to the eye buildings. The timing of the fire was fortunate. The U.S. had just entered [[World War I]] a few months before leading to increased production and prices around the country especially for agricultural products. Peoria could not afford to fail to rebuild. Farmers had new money to spend and ambitious store owners hastened to reestablish their businesses in order to take advantage of the local prosperity.
===Early 20th century===
[[Image:Old Town Area.JPG |thumb|right|250px|Old Town Peoria (currently under renovation) courtesy Windows Local Live]]
Around 1919 the Peoria [[Chamber of Commerce]] formed and operated as the informal government body until Peoria’s incorporation in 1954. The Peoria volunteer fire district formed in 1920. It remained all volunteer until the mid-1950s. Peoria’s business district flourished by the early 1920s with the building of the three-story Edwards Hotel in 1918 followed by the construction of 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 (serving as Fire Station 1 from 1950 until 2004). The Peoria Woman’s Club House erected in April 1918 became a center for community-wide activities. The town’s first newspaper ''The Peoria Enterprise'' was printed weekly beginning [[November 14]] [[1917]] through 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 where they meet free of rent.
Central School was built in 1906; the two-room masonry schoolhouse featured [[hardwood]] floors and ample storage closets surrounded by trees to shade the horses and mules. By 1910 three additional classroom buildings were built next to the central school and in 1918 another large school building containing an auditorium and four classrooms was opened. In 1918 the attendance for Peoria schools was 190. Schools were set up in outlining areas in order to ease the difficulty in travel: there was the Morgan School southwest of Peoria with eighty-five students in 1918; Greenfield School one mile east and two miles north of town with forty-five students; Bell School to the northeast with thirty-nine students; and Marinette School three miles northwest with about twenty students.
School District Number Eleven was originally an [[elementary school]] district. Children going on to [[high school]] had to travel to [[Glendale High School (Glendale Arizona)|Glendale High School]]. As the student population of Peoria grew up the need for education above the eighth grade level became apparent. In 1919 the school board approved construction of Peoria High School. At the time many believed the three-story building designed to house the high school was too large and expensive but when completed in 1922 had an enrollment of fifty which increased rapidly. It was built in the [[Mission Revival Style architecture|Spanish Mission]] style and featured extravagant architectural elements of [[Moorish Spain]].
During this time agriculture around Peoria supported a diverse amount of crops. The town was the site of four [[cotton gin]]s the main one being built at 81st and Grand Avenue in the 1923. The town also had [[sheep]] ranching [[citrus]] farms [[wheat]] [[maize|corn]] [[rye]] and much more.
When cotton prices fell due to the [[Great Depression]] it hit Peoria hard until a recession in 1939 due to the [[World War II|Second World War]]. The [[New Deal]] public works projects helped create jobs in Peoria including the construction of the Peoria High School gym in July 1936.
===Post-war development===
Increased economic activity combined with the presence of [[Luke Air Force Base]] and tremendous growth throughout the entire Valley—coinciding with the mass-production of [[air conditioning]] in the early 1950s—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 including an area of 720 acres (2.9 km²). The growing community's need for important services like water and sewage began to be more than the Chamber of Commerce which served as its informal government could provide. After much debate and skepticism Peoria incorporated on [[June 7]] [[1954]]. A seven member city council formed and held its first organizational meeting on June 14th.
In 1955-56 a reliable house numbering system was established to help locate people more easily by street. In 1960 an outside development had major impacts on Peoria. [[Del Webb]] began to develop [[Sun City Arizona|Sun City]] which drew more residents to Peoria. By 1966 Peoria grew to encompass 3.1 square miles with 36 miles of street. In 1968 the city passed a bond to issue securing the money to build a [[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. The change from 1980 to 1990 alone represented a 300 percent increase in the city’s population. In order to support its new residents or better still keep them off the roads and working in Peoria the city turned its focus to expand its commercial and ultimately industrial development in order to maintain a balanced local economy. The Peoria Economic Development Group (PEDG) was initiated and was instrumental in bringing Peoria its first [[ice skating]] facility modern [[movie theater]] and “Class A” office space.
[[Image:City Hall Complex.JPG|thumb|left|250px|Peoria Municipal Complex courtesy Windows Local Live]]
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. In 1990 Peoria approved construction of the [[Peoria Sports Complex]]. It was completed in 1994 and was the first [[Major League Baseball]] [[spring training]] facility in the county that is shared by two teams. The [[San Diego Padres]] and [[Seattle Mariners]] utilize the complex year round for spring training and player development. 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. This much smaller facility was located at 83rd Avenue and the Greenway Road alignment.
[[Image:Peoria Sports Complex WT.JPG|thumb|right|250px|Peoria Sports Complex]]
[[Image:Challenger Space Center.JPG|thumb|right|250px|Challenger Center courtesy Windows Local Live]]
The city invested heavily in the sports complex and continues to subsidize its operations each year. The stadium draws many [[tourism|tourists]] concerts weddings business events boat tours and festivals. This fuels the restaurants and hotels in the area. The stadium has helped make the 83rd Avenue and Bell/Arrowhead Fountains center area into the restaurant center of the West Valley{{Fact|date=March 2007}}. The stadium has more than paid for itself economically and with much of the land around it being owned by the city selling of the land has increased city revenue and ensured the quality of the life for the area{{Fact|date=March 2007}}.
===Current developments===
Peoria continues to grow successfully. In 1999 most of the land around Lake Pleasant Regional Park was annexed into the city. Peoria has gained a world-class educational and cultural destination the Challenger Space Center of Arizona. Also in 2007 the city completed the Peoria Center for the Performing Arts. Today most of the city’s growth is taking place in North Peoria.
[[Image:Peoria Growth Plan.JPG |thumb|left|250px|Peoria General Plan City of Peoria]]
The city in 2003 created a Drought Contingency Plan and the Arizona Department of Water awarded Peoria as having Assured Water Supply a designation that lasts until 2010. In 1999 the Desert Lands Conservation Master Plan was adopted and in May 2001 Peoria’s General Plan- the city’s blueprint for future growth and development-was approved by voters. In 2004 Peoria planners were creating a Desert Lands Conservation ordinance which deals with hillside development protection of native plants and building setbacks from washes and other natural features. It provides a more comprehensive perspective when looking at development considering the overall impact and seeking to provide the greatest amount of beneficial and conservation for both the public and the environment. Through separate development agreements the city has managed to designate over 4 000 acres (16 km²) of mountain preserves and open space to be enjoyed by all of Peoria.
Peoria is not just working on the untouched north but moving forward with some detailed plans to help revitalize the city’s historic center. The theatre was part of the project; other proactive steps for Old Town are the creation of the Façade Renovation and an Appearance Handbook to use in renovating the area. The results of some of these efforts will be seen over the course of many years while others very soon.
[[Image:Gl-peoarch27.jpg |thumb|right|250px|Peoria Center for the Performing Arts courtesy Peoria Times]]
Between 1990 and 2000 Peoria was the fifth fastest growing city in the United States with a population of over 100 000 increasing in population 114 percent. In 2004 Peoria was home to over 130 000 residents spread out over 170 square miles. Growth however does pay for growth. Peoria charges impact fees to developers and requires economic impact analyses on major development projects.
Peoria is said to in the future identify much more with 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 under-construction Loop 303 freeway as an industrial commercial mixed development use unlike the [[Loop 101]] Agua Fria Freeway which has many housing developments up against it.
==Geography==
Peoria is located at {{coor dms|33|38|59|N|112|15|6|W|city}} (33.649738 -112.251584){{GR|1}}.
According to the [[United States Census Bureau]] the city has a total area of 366.9 [[square kilometre|km²]] (141.7 [[square mile|mi²]]). 358.0 km² (138.2 mi²) of it is land and 9.0 km² (3.5 mi²) of it (2.44%) is water.
Peoria has now annexed over 170 square miles and is in two counties [[Maricopa County Arizona|Maricopa County]] and [[Yavapai County Arizona|Yavapai County]]. It is technically the largest incorporated city in Yavapai County even though almost all of Peoria’s current population resides on the Maricopa side.
The Agua Fria River is the only river that flow through Peoria. It is usually dry due to the Waddell and New Waddell Dams that hold back Lake Pleasant in the northern end of the city. There are multiple washes and creeks that flow through the city as well some being New River Wash and Skunk Creek.
Peoria has many smaller mountains and hills in the northern end. Some include Sunrise Mountain West Wing Mountain East Wing Mountain and Twin Buttes.
The street system of Peoria is based off of the Phoenix traditional grid system with most roads oriented either north-south or east-west. The zero point is in Phoenix at Central Avenue and Washington Street. Since Peoria is always west of zero its north-south numbered Streets are Avenues. Major arterial streets are spaced one mile apart (until you are north of roughly Pinnacle Peak Road). The one-mile blocks are divided into approximately 800 house numbers although this varies. 83rd Avenue being 8300 West. The numbers in Phoenix start at Central Avenue at a half-mile increment going west to 7th Avenue ½ mile from Central but considered the arterial. Then the numbers go to 19th (1 mile from 7th) 27th 35th 43rd 51st 59th 67th (in many places Peoria’s eastern border) 75th 83rd 91st 99th and so on. In northern Peoria streets are more curvilinear and begin to not follow the north-south route due to rivers mountains and terrain challenges. The northern end of the city does still follow the alignment theory and still has blocking according to Phoenix.
==Demographics==
{| class="wikitable" style="float:right; margin-left:3px; text-size:80%; text-align:right"
|align=center colspan=2| '''City of Peoria <br>Population by year<ref>Gibson Campbell. "[http://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0027.html Population of the 100 Largest Cities and Other Urban Places in the United States: 1790 to 1990]." ''[[United States Census Bureau]].'' [[June]] [[1998]]. Retrieved on [[October 7]] [[2006]].</ref>'''
|-
|1960 || 2 593
|-
|1970 || 4 792
|-
|1980 || 12 171
|-
|1990 || 50 675
|-
|2000 || 108 364
|-
|2005 || 138 200
|}
As of the [[census]]{{GR|2}} of 2000 there were 108 364 people 39 184 e famüls 29 309 älödons in Peoria. Lödanadensit äbinon mö mens 302,7 a km². Ädabinons valodo lödöps 42 573 (118,9 a km²). Lödanef äbinädon me: vietans (84,95%), blägans (2,78%), lindiyans (0,68%), siyopans (1,92%) e Pasifeana-nisulans (0,11%); mens bidädas votik äbinons mö 7,09% e mens bidäda plu bala äbinons mö 2,48%. Latinans bidädas valasotik äfomons 15,41% lödanefa.
De lomanefs dabinöl 1887 when a new road was laid out. This hundred foot-wide thoroughfare was named Grand Avenue angled trough the newly designed town sites of Alhambra [[Glendale Arizona|Glendale]] and Peoria and quickly became the main route from Phoenix to Vulture Mine. The actual Peoria town site was owned by Joseph B. Greenhut and Deloss S. Brown. In 1890 the two men from Peoria Illinois acquired four sections of land from the government through the Desert Lands Act. They filed Peoria’s plat map with Maricopa County recorder on May 24 1897 naming the settlement after their hometown.
The original plat 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) Walnut (present day 81st Avenue) the plat was roughly the 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.
As soon as the proposed Peoria town site was surveyed a hand-dug [[water well]] was sunk in 1889 on the public right-of-way at the intersection of Grand Avenue and Washington Street. A “town well” provided water for local residents as well as the traveling public. Five years later the well was refashioned into a [[water tower]] and tank standing eighty-nine feet high. A social gathering place as well as source of water the tower seemed to symbolize the young settlement’s growing sense of civic pride. On August 4 1888 the Territory of Peoria Arizona was granted a post office in its name and served a population of twenty-seven. Maricopa County supervisors defined the boundaries for School District Eleven comprising forty-nine square miles 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. Attendance was erratic and thanks to a wagon full of nine children the district in question by county officials was saved.
===Early growth of the town===
Between 1891 and 1895 a spur line of the Santa Prescott and Phoenix Railroad was placed in Peoria along with Phoenix Glendale Alhambra Hesperla and Marinette. This line helped encourage continued development of Peoria and was beneficial to the community. Peoria persuaded the rail company to build a small [[train station|depot]] on 83rd Avenue just off Grand Avenue. This enabled area ranchers and farmers to ship their cattle and crops from the town site as well as bring goods into the city. The depot was sold to the city of [[Scottsdale Arizona|Scottsdale]] in 1972 where it now resides at McCormick Stillman Railroad Park.
In 1899 an atmosphere of permanence and stability for the settlement was created through the construction of the [[Presbyterianism|Presbyterian Church]]. Dedicated in 1900 the church built in the [[Gothic Revival architecture|Gothic Revival]] style and located at 83rd and Madison is the oldest continuously used church in Arizona.
By 1917 Peoria though still small was slowly building into a solid commercial agricultural and residential location. Detracting from its growth however was its impermanent appearance manifested in the tin and wood structures that had popped up around town in what was becoming known as the business district. Community leaders like J.A. Hammond and Frank Akin espoused changing the primary building material to [[brick]] since it looked better and was relatively more stable. Hammond and Akin believed that for Peoria to be acknowledged as a viable community it had to have more substantial and attractive buildings. Due to the expensiveness of brick it was hard to convince local business owners to invest in brick buildings. Hammond and Akins led by example tearing down their own stores to build three new buildings that were attached and made of brick.
===Fire===
In July of 1917 a fire broke out in a [[pool hall]] operated by E.E. Stafford near Wilhelm’s Garage. The cause of the fire was never determined but the fire engulfed almost the entire business district including Hammond and Akins newly constructed buildings. Glendale and Phoenix firefighters responded to the alarm but they were too late. The damage was so severe it was as though the entire town was wiped out. Peoria was devastated. Ironically the fire that destroyed the town’s new brick stores was incentive other business owners needed to rebuild using more sound building techniques and materials. This fire began the new era of sturdier steadier and more pleasing to the eye buildings. The timing of the fire was fortunate. The U.S. had just entered [[World War I]] a few months before leading to increased production and prices around the country especially for agricultural products. Peoria could not afford to fail to rebuild. Farmers had new money to spend and ambitious store owners hastened to reestablish their businesses in order to take advantage of the local prosperity.
===Early 20th century===
[[Image:Old Town Area.JPG |thumb|right|250px|Old Town Peoria (currently under renovation) courtesy Windows Local Live]]
Around 1919 the Peoria [[Chamber of Commerce]] formed and operated as the informal government body until Peoria’s incorporation in 1954. The Peoria volunteer fire district formed in 1920. It remained all volunteer until the mid-1950s. Peoria’s business district flourished by the early 1920s with the building of the three-story Edwards Hotel in 1918 followed by the construction of 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 (serving as Fire Station 1 from 1950 until 2004). The Peoria Woman’s Club House erected in April 1918 became a center for community-wide activities. The town’s first newspaper ''The Peoria Enterprise'' was printed weekly beginning [[November 14]] [[1917]] through 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 where they meet free of rent.
Central School was built in 1906; the two-room masonry schoolhouse featured [[hardwood]] floors and ample storage closets surrounded by trees to shade the horses and mules. By 1910 three additional classroom buildings were built next to the central school and in 1918 another large school building containing an auditorium and four classrooms was opened. In 1918 the attendance for Peoria schools was 190. Schools were set up in outlining areas in order to ease the difficulty in travel: there was the Morgan School southwest of Peoria with eighty-five students in 1918; Greenfield School one mile east and two miles north of town with forty-five students; Bell School to the northeast with thirty-nine students; and Marinette School three miles northwest with about twenty students.
School District Number Eleven was originally an [[elementary school]] district. Children going on to [[high school]] had to travel to [[Glendale High School (Glendale Arizona)|Glendale High School]]. As the student population of Peoria grew up the need for education above the eighth grade level became apparent. In 1919 the school board approved construction of Peoria High School. At the time many believed the three-story building designed to house the high school was too large and expensive but when completed in 1922 had an enrollment of fifty which increased rapidly. It was built in the [[Mission Revival Style architecture|Spanish Mission]] style and featured extravagant architectural elements of [[Moorish Spain]].
During this time agriculture around Peoria supported a diverse amount of crops. The town was the site of four [[cotton gin]]s the main one being built at 81st and Grand Avenue in the 1923. The town also had [[sheep]] ranching [[citrus]] farms [[wheat]] [[maize|corn]] [[rye]] and much more.
When cotton prices fell due to the [[Great Depression]] it hit Peoria hard until a recession in 1939 due to the [[World War II|Second World War]]. The [[New Deal]] public works projects helped create jobs in Peoria including the construction of the Peoria High School gym in July 1936.
===Post-war development===
Increased economic activity combined with the presence of [[Luke Air Force Base]] and tremendous growth throughout the entire Valley—coinciding with the mass-production of [[air conditioning]] in the early 1950s—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 including an area of 720 acres (2.9 km²). The growing community's need for important services like water and sewage began to be more than the Chamber of Commerce which served as its informal government could provide. After much debate and skepticism Peoria incorporated on [[June 7]] [[1954]]. A seven member city council formed and held its first organizational meeting on June 14th.
In 1955-56 a reliable house numbering system was established to help locate people more easily by street. In 1960 an outside development had major impacts on Peoria. [[Del Webb]] began to develop [[Sun City Arizona|Sun City]] which drew more residents to Peoria. By 1966 Peoria grew to encompass 3.1 square miles with 36 miles of street. In 1968 the city passed a bond to issue securing the money to build a [[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. The change from 1980 to 1990 alone represented a 300 percent increase in the city’s population. In order to support its new residents or better still keep them off the roads and working in Peoria the city turned its focus to expand its commercial and ultimately industrial development in order to maintain a balanced local economy. The Peoria Economic Development Group (PEDG) was initiated and was instrumental in bringing Peoria its first [[ice skating]] facility modern [[movie theater]] and “Class A” office space.
[[Image:City Hall Complex.JPG|thumb|left|250px|Peoria Municipal Complex courtesy Windows Local Live]]
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. In 1990 Peoria approved construction of the [[Peoria Sports Complex]]. It was completed in 1994 and was the first [[Major League Baseball]] [[spring training]] facility in the county that is shared by two teams. The [[San Diego Padres]] and [[Seattle Mariners]] utilize the complex year round for spring training and player development. 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. This much smaller facility was located at 83rd Avenue and the Greenway Road alignment.
[[Image:Peoria Sports Complex WT.JPG|thumb|right|250px|Peoria Sports Complex]]
[[Image:Challenger Space Center.JPG|thumb|right|250px|Challenger Center courtesy Windows Local Live]]
The city invested heavily in the sports complex and continues to subsidize its operations each year. The stadium draws many [[tourism|tourists]] concerts weddings business events boat tours and festivals. This fuels the restaurants and hotels in the area. The stadium has helped make the 83rd Avenue and Bell/Arrowhead Fountains center area into the restaurant center of the West Valley{{Fact|date=March 2007}}. The stadium has more than paid for itself economically and with much of the land around it being owned by the city selling of the land has increased city revenue and ensured the quality of the life for the area{{Fact|date=March 2007}}.
===Current developments===
Peoria continues to grow successfully. In 1999 most of the land around Lake Pleasant Regional Park was annexed into the city. Peoria has gained a world-class educational and cultural destination the Challenger Space Center of Arizona. Also in 2007 the city completed the Peoria Center for the Performing Arts. Today most of the city’s growth is taking place in North Peoria.
[[Image:Peoria Growth Plan.JPG |thumb|left|250px|Peoria General Plan City of Peoria]]
The city in 2003 created a Drought Contingency Plan and the Arizona Department of Water awarded Peoria as having Assured Water Supply a designation that lasts until 2010. In 1999 the Desert Lands Conservation Master Plan was adopted and in May 2001 Peoria’s General Plan- the city’s blueprint for future growth and development-was approved by voters. In 2004 Peoria planners were creating a Desert Lands Conservation ordinance which deals with hillside development protection of native plants and building setbacks from washes and other natural features. It provides a more comprehensive perspective when looking at development considering the overall impact and seeking to provide the greatest amount of beneficial and conservation for both the public and the environment. Through separate development agreements the city has managed to designate over 4 000 acres (16 km²) of mountain preserves and open space to be enjoyed by all of Peoria.
Peoria is not just working on the untouched north but moving forward with some detailed plans to help revitalize the city’s historic center. The theatre was part of the project; other proactive steps for Old Town are the creation of the Façade Renovation and an Appearance Handbook to use in renovating the area. The results of some of these efforts will be seen over the course of many years while others very soon.
[[Image:Gl-peoarch27.jpg |thumb|right|250px|Peoria Center for the Performing Arts courtesy Peoria Times]]
Between 1990 and 2000 Peoria was the fifth fastest growing city in the United States with a population of over 100 000 increasing in population 114 percent. In 2004 Peoria was home to over 130 000 residents spread out over 170 square miles. Growth however does pay for growth. Peoria charges impact fees to developers and requires economic impact analyses on major development projects.
Peoria is said to in the future identify much more with 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 under-construction Loop 303 freeway as an industrial commercial mixed development use unlike the [[Loop 101]] Agua Fria Freeway which has many housing developments up against it.
==Geography==
Peoria is located at {{coor dms|33|38|59|N|112|15|6|W|city}} (33.649738 -112.251584){{GR|1}}.
According to the [[United States Census Bureau]] the city has a total area of 366.9 [[square kilometre|km²]] (141.7 [[square mile|mi²]]). 358.0 km² (138.2 mi²) of it is land and 9.0 km² (3.5 mi²) of it (2.44%) is water.
Peoria has now annexed over 170 square miles and is in two counties [[Maricopa County Arizona|Maricopa County]] and [[Yavapai County Arizona|Yavapai County]]. It is technically the largest incorporated city in Yavapai County even though almost all of Peoria’s current population resides on the Maricopa side.
The Agua Fria River is the only river that flow through Peoria. It is usually dry due to the Waddell and New Waddell Dams that hold back Lake Pleasant in the northern end of the city. There are multiple washes and creeks that flow through the city as well some being New River Wash and Skunk Creek.
Peoria has many smaller mountains and hills in the northern end. Some include Sunrise Mountain West Wing Mountain East Wing Mountain and Twin Buttes.
The street system of Peoria is based off of the Phoenix traditional grid system with most roads oriented either north-south or east-west. The zero point is in Phoenix at Central Avenue and Washington Street. Since Peoria is always west of zero its north-south numbered Streets are Avenues. Major arterial streets are spaced one mile apart (until you are north of roughly Pinnacle Peak Road). The one-mile blocks are divided into approximately 800 house numbers although this varies. 83rd Avenue being 8300 West. The numbers in Phoenix start at Central Avenue at a half-mile increment going west to 7th Avenue ½ mile from Central but considered the arterial. Then the numbers go to 19th (1 mile from 7th) 27th 35th 43rd 51st 59th 67th (in many places Peoria’s eastern border) 75th 83rd 91st 99th and so on. In northern Peoria streets are more curvilinear and begin to not follow the north-south route due to rivers mountains and terrain challenges. The northern end of the city does still follow the alignment theory and still has blocking according to Phoenix.
==Demographics==
{| class="wikitable" style="float:right; margin-left:3px; text-size:80%; text-align:right"
|align=center colspan=2| '''City of Peoria <br>Population by year<ref>Gibson Campbell. "[http://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0027.html Population of the 100 Largest Cities and Other Urban Places in the United States: 1790 to 1990]." ''[[United States Census Bureau]].'' [[June]] [[1998]]. Retrieved on [[October 7]] [[2006]].</ref>'''
|-
|1960 || 2 593
|-
|1970 || 4 792
|-
|1980 || 12 171
|-
|1990 || 50 675
|-
|2000 || 108 364
|-
|2005 || 138 200
|}
As of the [[census]]{{GR|2}} of 2000 there were 108 364 people 39 184, 37,7% äkeninükons cilis bäldotü yels 18 u läs 18 in lödöp älödölis, 62,0% äbinons matans äkobolödöl, 9,1% pädugons fa vom nen himatan e 25,2% no äbinons famüls. 20,5% lomanefas äbinädons me pösods äsoelöl; 10,3% äbinädons me pösod äsoelöl bal bäldotü yels 65 u plu 65. Ädabinons zänedo pösods 2,73 a lomanef e pösods 3,16 a famül.
Demü bäldot, 28,4% lödanas ela Peoria älabons bäldoti lifayelas läs 18, 6,7% bäldoti lifayelas 18 jü 24, 30,6% bäldoti lifayelas 25 jü 44, 19,8% bäldoti lifayelas 45 jü 64 e 14,4% bäldoti lifayelas 65 u plu 65. Bäldot patedik äbinon mö lifayels 36.
Demü gen, ädabinoms mans 92,5 a voms 100. Pato ädabinoms mans 88,0 a voms 100 bäldotü lifayels 18 u plu 18.
Lemesed patedik lomanefa in Peoria äbinon mö US$52 199 e lemesed patedik famüla äbinon mö US$58 388. Mans älaboms lemesedi patedik mö US$40 448, leigodü US$29 205 vomas. Lemesed „per capita“ (a pösod) äbinon mö US$22 726. Zao 3,3% famülas e 5,3% lödanefa lölik älifons dis pöfasoliad, keninükamü nek bäldotü lifayels 18 u läs 18 e 6,3% utanas bäldotü lifayels 65 u plu 65.
[[Klad:Zifs in Arizona]]
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