On this Christmas Eve edition of The Show, we’ll listen back to some of the conversations from our Last Resorts series, which explored the Valley’s history of travel and tourism. We’ll hear about when a stretch of Van Buren was the place to stay and how an artist helped draw people to the state. That and more on The Show.
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Sativa Peterson/KJZZStep back into the 20th century, when a stretch of Van Buren Street was the place to stay. At its peak, my next guest says there were up to 200 hotels and motels, mostly clustered between 16th and 40th streets — although they could go as far east as 52nd Street and as far west as about 11th Avenue. -
Mark Brodie/KJZZAce Bailey is president of Ultimate Art and Cultural Tours and a part-time concierge at the Hotel Valley Ho. The Show's Mark Brodie joined her on a recent tour to see the midcentury modern resort and learn more about its history. -
Susan Arreola Postcard Collection/Phoenix Public LibraryIt's time to visit the Hermosa Inn in Paradise. Specifically, a room that looks like a library, filled with the paintings of Lon Megargee. If his first name sounds familiar — he’s the Lon for whom the resort’s restaurant is named. -
Chelsey Heath/KJZZThe Show visited Litchfield Park and the Wigwam Resort. Now it’s a well-known resort, but it didn’t start out that way. Lisa Hegarty, executive director at the P.W. Litchfield Heritage Center, talked to The Show about it's impact and history on the West Valley. -
Sativa Peterson/KJZZCamelback Inn Chapel is very modest in size and would be easy to miss this piece of the resort’s history. But, it remains relatively unchanged roughly 85 years later.
