Glendale is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, located about nine miles (14 km) northwest from Downtown Phoenix. According to the 2017 estimate, the population of the city is 246,709.
In the late 1800s what is now known as Glendale, Arizona, was all desert. William John Murphy, a native of New Hartford, New York, who resided in the town of Flagstaff in what was then known as the territory of Arizona, was in charge of building a 40-mile-long (64 km) Arizona Canal from Granite Reef to New River for the Arizona Canal Company. In 1885, he completed the canal, which would bring water to the desert land. Murphy was deep in debt, since he had agreed to be paid in Arizona Canal Company stock and bonds and land instead of cash.
William John Murphy – Founder of Glendale.
In 1887, Murphy formed the Arizona Improvement Company. His objective was to sell the land and water rights south of the canal. Murphy had to raise capital from out of state sources in order to meet payroll and construction expenses. Murphy decided to refer to this land as “Glendale”. In order to develop and interest potential investors and settlers in this new town, Murphy decided to provide a better way of access from Phoenix to Glendale and ending in the town of Peoria by building an 18-mile-long (29 km) diagonal road which he named Grand Avenue.
In 1891, Burgess Hadsell worked with Murphy to bring 70 Brethren and River Brethren families to Glendale to form a temperance colony. Soon settlers, attracted by the town’s ban on alcoholic beverages, continued to arrive. In 1895, Murphy platted the original town site and amended the plat to include a town park and some business lots. It was bounded by Lamar Road on the south, 55th Avenue on the east, Myrtle Avenue on the north, and 59th Avenue on the west.
The construction of a railroad from Prescott to Phoenix was made possible with an exchange of the right-of-way made by Murphy along Grand Avenue. The railroad allowed Glendale settlers to transport goods to the north and easily receive building materials.
The construction and commercial applications of the Beet Sugar Factory in 1906, also contributed to the growth of Glendale. Though the operations of the factory only lasted until 1913, it played an important role in the increase of immigrant and migrant settlers in the city.
Arizona’s Antique Capital
Glendale, with an estimated population of 246,709, bills itself as “Arizona’s Antique Capital”, with support for its claim from both Sunset magazine (2004) and a 1998 article in USA Today.
Glendale is home to the popular Arrowhead Towne Center mall in the northwest part of the city. Glendale also is home to Midwestern University, metropolitan Phoenix’s first medical school, as well as a major post-graduate international business school: the Thunderbird School of Global Management.
Metro Light Rail
An extension of METRO light rail service is planned to serve the city, opening in 2026, reprising a role played by the Phoenix Street Railway between 1911 and 1926.
Many of Glendale small businesses have partnered with The Mobile Stylists to support their communities. The Mobile Stylists would like to introduce you to some of these businesses and other companies who will give you a discount on products and services just for connecting with them.
We encourage you to continue to show your support for small business and the local merchants as local residents and visitors. Connect with them right here.
