For a few years now, downtown Tempe residents have watched the landlocked city undergo a lot of polishing and vertical growth as high-rise housing complexes and shiny new eateries bloom on seemingly every corner.
Demolition, design and demography have played important roles in the area's growth, and today some say it is slowly but surely becoming a breeding and stomping ground for young urban professionals.
Take a look at some downtown hotspots as they were decades ago:
Long Wong's on Mill
Eleven short years ago, Long Wong's hosted its last show with a slew of local bands who regularly performed there during its heyday. The beloved music venue used to stand humbly on the southeast corner of Mill Avenue and Seventh Street and helped bands as well-known as the Gin Blossoms break onto the scene. Now, it's nothing more than a vacant lot.
Construction on Mill Avenue and Rio Salado Parkway
To impatient weekday drivers and unsuspecting bikers, petty roadwork in Tempe may seem endless and rarely substantial. But these photos show that between 1992 and today, the area surrounding Rio Salado and Mill has cleaned up pretty nicely.
Mill Avenue and Fifth Street
Less than 20 years ago, the corner that now houses a giant Starbucks was once primarily occupied by Lotions and Potions, which still stands today, next door. The decision to build a Starbucks on a popular intersection is hardly a shock, but its 1996 self had much simpler architecture and a quieter environment.
Student Book Center on College Avenue
The sign outside of the College Avenue bookstore today is the same sign that existed in the first photo, in a time where the space south of the Newman Center was noticeably wider and more open. In a classic gentrification move, a Subway has taken the place of the old College Street Deli that neighbored the student book store in 1982. The metered parking, however, is clearly not a new phenomenon.
Tempe Hardware Building
In 1996, the space that now houses trendy boutique Pitaya was once Paris Optique, a neighbor of the Mill Avenue Theatre that occupied the Tempe Hardware Building. These days, the old Tempe Hardware sign is back and the theater is no more.
414 Mill Ave. shops
These days, the shops in the 414 building offer a variety of urban necessities, including fries, jewelry and candy. Back in 1981, the simple architecture of the building was home to a different jewelry store as well as the Center for Body Awareness.
Gordon Biersch
The stretch of buildings now dominated by Starbucks and chain pub Gordon Biersch consisted of a humble one-level shoe shop and barber shop in 1971. Today, Carlyn's Barber Shop is tucked away in the center of the building right next door to The Graffiti Shop.
Lotions and Potions
A pedestrian walking south on their way to Lotions and Potions in 1982 might have paused to window shop at Vee Gee Fashions or browse around Zia Records' old location. Vee Gee is now long gone, and Zia Records relocated to the northeast corner of Mill and Southern.
Reach the reporter at celina.jimenez@asu.edu or follow @lina_lauren on Twitter.
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