Phoenix, Arizona in the 1990's and early 2000's. A Short History from my Video Collection

I grew up in Tucson, Arizona, a short drive (at least it was back in the 90's 😅) from Phoenix and I have many quick clips from several of my trips to the Valley of the Sun.

Most of the time we would drive to Phoenix to see a sports event, such as the recently formed Diamondbacks baseball team, and the Cardinals football team. Other times we would visit Phoenix to travel to other parts of the country, as Phoenix was a major hub for many of the airlines at the time, such as America West Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and several other large names that didn't have a presence in Tucson.

Some of the 1990's footage that I've included in this video include:

Arizona Mills Mall, Tempe
Bank of America, now Mesa Financial Plaza, Mesa
Piestewa Peak, Phoenix
Bank One Ballpark, Now Chase Field, Phoenix
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport
Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe
The Thing, Mystery of the Desert, on I-10
Rooster Cogburn Ostrich Ranch, Picacho
A dust storm, also referred as a haboob, reaching Chandler
Chandler lake communities
American West Airlines fleet, including Phoenix Suns livery
Southwest Airlines fleet, including their "Desert Gold" fleet


Some quick facts included in this video:

Arizona Mills Mall opened in 1997. The mall, and Rainforest Cafe, is still open

Piestewa Peak is the 2nd highest peak in the Phoenix Mountains, and is named after Lori Ann Piestewa, who served in the U.S. Army

Phoenix Sky Harbor is Arizona's busiest airport, and it's #8 in the United States as of 2021

The Cardinals played at ASU's Sun Devil Stadium until the opening of Cardinals Stadium in 2006

The Mesa Financial Plaza is Mesa's tallest building, at 224ft, and was built in 1985

Southwest Airlines had a "Desert Gold" color palette, until updating their colors in the early 2000's to their more modern blue and hearts color palettes.

Music by DjLeeJ, Felipe, and NCS Kontest

Shot mostly with Sony Handycam. Edited with Final Cut Pro

#phoenix #tempe #arizona #monsoon #history #vintage #1990s #1990 #2000s #2000 #skyharbor #airport #americawest #southwestairlines #dbacks #chasefield #mesa