Mill avenue

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Mill Avenue is a famous and historic street in Tempe, Arizona. In north Tempe near Arizona State University, the street runs through a popular, pedestrian-friendly shopping and nightlife district. Mill Avenue was originally centered around a Flour Mill, which still exists on the north end of the Avenue.

Today, the avenue plays host to many bars, designer shopping stores, as wells as many fairs, and city festivals. [1]

Contents

[edit] History

Named after Charles T. Hayden, the Hayden Mill lends its name to Mill Avenue in Tempe, AZ
Named after Charles T. Hayden, the Hayden Mill lends its name to Mill Avenue in Tempe, AZ

After the founding of Fort McDowell on the east side of central Arizona’s Salt River Valley in 1865, farmers moved into the area. These early settlers further developed the irrigation canals that the Hohokam people originally created and built new ones to carry Salt River water to their farms. Agriculture in the Salt River valley soon gave food to Arizona’s military posts and mining towns. In 1871, Hiram C. Hodge commented that there were two stores and a population of about 100 in Tempe. [2]

A substantial addition to the Tempe economy was established in 1877, when Charles T. Hayden, a business man from Connecticut, [3] opened a flour-mill operation that was supplied with water from the Tempe Irrigating Canal. Charles T. Hayden, and his family operated the mill for three full generations, and it was the crucial to Tempe's community industry. [4]

The Hayden's Ferry Post Office, was renamed the Tempe Post Office in 1879. In 1889, the new Phoenix and Maricopa Railroad linked Tempe with Phoenix. In 1894, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors incorporated the town of Tempe. Tempe finally became a city after being inhabited for over 30 years. [5]

In 1962, the Laird and Dines Drug Store closed after 68 years of operation at the corner of Mill Avenue and Fifth Street. This drug store was one of the original fixtures on the commercial district of Mill Avenue. 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 Phoenix Valley. [6]


In 1997, the Hayden Flour Mill closed after 123 years of continuous operation. The mill's last operator was Bay State Milling, which had purchased it in 1981. The Hayden Flour Mill is significant as the oldest continuously used industrial site in the Salt River Valley.[7]

[edit] Bars on Mill Avenue

Bars and Restaurants on Mill Avenue include, the Big Bang Dueling Pianos, Bison Witches Bar and Deli, The Cherry Lounge and Pit, Chronic Taco, Coconut Club Bar and Grill, Dirty Devil, Fat Tuesday Bar, Harry's Lounge at Tempe Mission Palms, Hooters of Tempe, Library Bar and Grill, The Loft Bistro, Mamcita's Cantina, Margarita Rocks Beach Club, Mill Cue Club, Rula Bula, Suite 301, The Tavern on Mill, Zuma Grill. [8][9] In 2002, Tempe unilaterally through a ballot measure invoked a smoking ban. In the next year, many Mill Avenue bars changed ownership, but most have survived, some drastically changing their clientele (most notably the change from Beeloe's, a premier Jazz Club, to th Big Bang with its Dueling Pianos).

Notable bars that survived the smoking ban are Mill Cue Club, Rula Bula and Fat Tuesday Bar.

[edit] Casual Dining

Casual Dining on Mill Avenue include Bamboo Club Asian Bistro, Caffe Boa Bistro and Wine Bar, Chili's, Dragonfly Vietanese Kitchen, Gordon Biersch, Grilled Expedition, House of Tricks Fine Dining, La Bocca Urban Pizzeria and Wine Bar, Macayo's Depot Cantina, Mission Grille, Monti's La Casa Vieja, My Big Fat Greek Restaurant, P.F. Chang's China Bistro, Pizzeria Uno Chicago Bar and Grill, RA Sushi Bar Restaurant, Restaurant Mexico, Ruby Tuesday, Rula Bula Irish Pub and Restaurant, Z-Tejas Southwestern Grill. [10]

Monti's La Casa Vieja is located in one of the oldest buildings in Arizona and the oldest continuously occupied structure in the Phoenix area and has been a restaurant since the 1890s.

[edit] Cafes

Coffee houses on Mill Avenue include the Coffee Plantation, CUPZ Coffee, eJoy Internet Cafe', Mill's End Cafe, Romancing the Bean, Seattle's Best Coffee, Starbucks Coffee[11]

[edit] Deli and Quick Dining

Deli and Quick Dining restaurants on Mill Avenue include Arizona Bun Devils Hot Dog, Center Bistro and Wine Bar, Chuck Box, Cold Stone Creamery, Cookiez on Mill, Corleone's Authentic Philly Steaks, Dave's Dog House, Extreme Pita, Fatburger, In Season Deli, Jack in the Box, La Pita Bar and Grill, Lorenzo's Villa Pizza, Ma'i Island Grill, Med Fresh Grill, Munchies Cafe, Panda Express, Phoenicia Cafe Mediterranean Cuisine, Pita Pit, Pot of Subs, Rinaldi's, Rollerz, Salam's, Silver Mine Subs, Simply Burgers, Slices Pizza, Subway, Taco Del Mar[12]

[edit] Theatres

The Valley Art Theatre (operated by Harkins Theatres) is located on Mill Avenue as a comfortable single screen theatre that typically shows art house and occasionally foreign films. The current building was built in 1938, although it underwent substantial internal renovations in the 1990s making it one of the best theatres in the valley.

[edit] References

  1. ^ www.Downtowntempe.com
  2. ^ mill
  3. ^ Bio: Charles Trumbull Hayden - Tempe, Arizona
  4. ^ mill
  5. ^ mill
  6. ^ mill
  7. ^ mill
  8. ^ googlemaps.com
  9. ^ http://www.downtowntempe.com/Bars--Grills.asp
  10. ^ http://www.downtowntempe.com/Casual-Dining.asp
  11. ^ http://www.downtowntempe.com/Coffee--Drinks.asp
  12. ^ http://www.downtowntempe.com/Delis--Quick-Eats.asp

[edit] See Also

v • d • e
Notable Streets in the Phoenix metro area

Camelback Road • Mill avenue • University • Van Buren • Rio Salado • 7th Street • Rural/Scottsdale Rd. • Mcklintock •
Phoenix, Arizona