Light Rail Begins Running in Phoenix

Photos: The train arrives at the Old Spaghetti Factory; and David and Paula on the train (sorta looks like Sara Palin, don't you think?)

My daughter, Paula, came up with a great idea for a family outing. Gene and I drove to their house in Tempe. From there we drove a few blocks to a parking garage next to the new light rail and boarded a train for central Phoenix. There were eight of us: Paula and husband David, my grandson Riley, granddaughters Sarah and Shawnda, and Shawnda's partner Janet. Our destination was the Old Spaghetti Factory at Central and McDowell where we'd have dinner and celebrate Shawnda's 26th birthday.

A light rail in Phoenix! What a contrast to the Phoenix I remember when we arrived on a scorching August day in 1956 and checked into the Frontier Village Motel on east Van Buren. Mom, Dad and six sweating, thirsty, tired kids who had just driven 1800 miles from Chicago to Phoenix to begin a new life. Thank goodness they had a swimming pool, or we would have instantly evaporated that summer day.

Phoenix in 1956 had a population of only 250,000. Mom and Dad quickly bought a house on the outskirts of town near 27th Ave. and Bethany Home Road. Phoenix was separated from surrounding cities, with cotton fields to the west and south and orange groves between Phoenix and Scottsdale to the east. The tallest building was the Westward Ho Hotel, just 10 or 12 stores high with a radio tower on top. My grandfather used to drive us to the top of South Mountain to view the city lights. You could easily identify the Westward Ho, as well as lights defining Central Avenue, Van Buren and mile marker streets set out in a tic-tac-toe grid across the Valley. Today, it is a sea of lights all blending Glendale, Phoenix, Scottsdale and suburbs together. In those summers, monsoon dust storms would roll across Phoenix like a a giant tsunami of roiling sand, we had an evaporative cooler (no AC), and we'd spend every summer day at the closest city pool.

Our ride from Tempe to Phoenix reflected a new Phoenix, with Tempe Town Lake in the place of a dry river bed, freeways criss-crossing the city, an airport with three terminals, high rise buildings, sports stadiums for pro teams, and our new central library and art museum. Today, the new rail runs diagonally across the Valley and connects it all. Next trip we plan on stopping at each of the 25 or so stations to view the public art on display.