Sunnyslope originated as a haven for indigent tuberculosis patients hoping to be cured by the Valley’s dry, warm air.
Douglas Towne, Author at PHOENIX magazine
LifestyleMalfunction Junctions
Douglas TowneMarch 2019
The bygone Arizona hamlets of Hightown, Weedville and Norton’s Corner had unusual names – and even more unusual histories.
Valley NewsDrip Drop Dilemma
Douglas TowneMarch 2019
Phoenix labors to fix its leaky water pipes during a decades-long drought.
HistoryDisorder on the Court
Douglas TowneFebruary 2019
The Phoenix Racquets of World Team Tennis smashed overheads and sports barriers during their successful run in the mid-1970s.
HistoryBoot-Scootin’ Station
Douglas TowneDecember 2018
KNIX’s 50 years of broadcasting country music as one of the nation’s top stations has been one wild hayride
HistoryArizona’s Long Straw
Douglas TowneNovember 2018
The Central Arizona Project celebrates its 50th Anniversary while facing a drought that may impact 80 percent of the population.
HistoryTucson’s Titanic Warheads
Douglas TowneNovember 2018
For two decades beginning in 1963, Tucson was ringed by 18 missile silos with enough combined might to trigger a nuclear apocalypse.
HistoryGarfield’s Little Chef
Douglas TowneOctober 2018
A former Route 66 diner near Roosevelt Row creates an atmosphere that stimulates appetites, conversation and nostalgia.
HistoryKing of the Coconino
Douglas TowneSeptember 2018
In 1927, the nation sank its fangs into the real-life drama of a Hollywood lion stranded in Arizona’s Rim Country.
HistoryThe “Other” Road
Douglas TowneAugust 2018
Nostalgic motorists are rediscovering U.S. 80, a historic southern Arizona highway that has long been overshadowed by Route 66.
HistoryDicey Proposition
Douglas TowneJuly 2018
A scandalous financing scheme at the Security Building went untold for 50 years after the Downtown building opened in 1928.
PeopleVacation Visionary
Douglas TowneJune 2018
Hotel icon Bill Marriott reveals his surprising history with the Camelback Inn and the four most important words in the English language.
HistoryThe Big Chill
Douglas TowneJune 2018
Technology developed by local air-conditioning pioneers created a livable climate indoors that fueled the Valley’s midcentury growth
Casa Grande will soon illuminate the city’s history with a new downtown park featuring its orphaned commercial signs.
HistoryRobin Hood of Food
Douglas TowneMarch 2018
When John van Hengel founded St. Mary’s Food Bank in Phoenix in 1967, he started a global revolution in food distribution.