Maryvale, Phoenix

Plans for Maryvale began to take shape in the 1950s, when developer John F. Long (1920–2008) came up with the idea of a master-planned community on the western part of the city of Phoenix,[5] with an aim of turning the area into a suburb with affordable homes and one of the first master planned communities in the country.[6] Maryvale was designed to include space for parks, schools, and the fulfillment of other community services.[7] Marketing involved famous actors of that era including Buster Keaton, Pat Boone, and future President Ronald Reagan.[8]

The community was named after Long's wife, Mary,[5] and its initial master plan was drawn up by architect Victor Gruen.[5] By 1956, Long was selling 125 homes a week in Maryvale.

Demographic changes came to the area by 1975, as residents began moving to the north Valley.[9] Meanwhile, Hispanic families began moving into the area in the 1980s.[9] Additionally, the discovery of a cancer cluster in the 1980s (see below) reportedly contributed to white flight in the community.[10] The Savings and Loan crisis in the 1980s also hit the area hard, leading to an increase in foreclosures and resident relocation to other areas.[11]

Due to the demographic change, the community experienced major disinvestment leading to slowed development, and increased poverty and crime. This led to the modern day negative reputation of the community.[11]

Maryvale is noted for having a crime problem.[12] Gangs moved into condominium and apartment complexes in the area, and were not afraid of challenging law enforcement.[12] Gang members at one particular condominium complex, Woodmar, were noted to have threatened law enforcement officials to the extent that Phoenix police did not allow its officers to enter the complex without the backup of at least two other police officers.[12] The area also has a problem with graffiti.[13]

In 1999, Phoenix Police Department officer Marc Atkinson was shot and killed in Maryvale, in the first fatal shooting of a police officer in the city of Phoenix since 1991.[12] In that same year, Phoenix police began an effort aimed at reducing crime at Woodmar, with search warrants served, drug and criminal syndicate charges filed against individuals, and restraining orders served on people who did not live at the complex.[14] As a result, there was a decrease in crime at the complex,[14] but the Maryvale community, as a whole, is still experiencing crime problems.[15] The community was rocked by a number of shootings that were allegedly committed by the Serial Street Shooter in 2016.[16] At the time, community leaders expressed concerns that Maryvale had been ignored by city leaders and the Phoenix Police Department.[16]

Maryvale made local, national, and international headlines in 2014, after reports surfaced of feral chihuahuas terrorizing area residents.[17][18][19] The veracity of the reports, however, has been challenged by the Phoenix New Times.[20]

The community is located on the western edge of the City of Phoenix, and encompasses an area southwest of Grand Avenue, West of Interstate 17, north of McDowell Road and Interstate 10, and east and southeast of Phoenix city limits.[1]

Maryvale is the most populous of Phoenix's urban villages.[21]

As of 2010, Maryvale had a population of 208,189.[3] While census figures show no single ethnic group being in the majority, Caucasians made up the largest single racial group, comprising 49.5% of the community's population.[3] Blacks or African Americans make up 6% of Maryvale's population, followed by American Indian or Alaska Native (1.9%), Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islanders (1.9%), and Asian (1.5%).[3] (37% of the community's population are identified as members of "Some Other Race".) [3]

Hispanics comprise 76% of Maryvale's residents.[22][3] This makes the village a minority-majority community.[9]

The median household income in Maryvale is $40,504 per year, and 20.63% of the community's population live under the poverty line.[3]

Maryvale is home to Ak-Chin Pavilion, located at 2121 N 83rd Avenue, an entertainment venue for the Phoenix metropolitan area. The amphitheater first opened in 1990, with a total capacity of approximately 20,000.[23]

Maryvale was noted as being built on farmland at a time when the pesticide DDT was in regular use.[41] Maryvale is also the location of a state Superfund site known as the West Central Phoenix Water Quality Assurance Revolving Fund (WQARF), which involves the dumping of chemicals, including TCE, by a number of industries in the area.

The West Central Phoenix WQARF, according to Arizona's Department of Environmental Quality, is an area that contains five plumes of groundwater contamination, including Volatile organic compound, PCE, and TCE.[42] The water under the area is not used in the public drinking water system.[42]

• Henry Cejudo, wrestler and UFC Flyweight Champion; won gold medal at 2008 Beijing Olympics[9][48]
• Doug Mathis, professional baseball pitcher[49]
• Sandra Day O'Connor, first female justice of the United States Supreme Court[50]
• CeCe Peniston, R&B singer[9]
• Phillippi Sparks, NFL player[51]
• Darren Woodson, NFL player[9]
• Anne Lindeman, Arizona state legislator from 1972 to 1986[52]

• City of Phoenix
• Maryvale Village Planning Committee
• Ak-Chin Pavilion website
• Camelback Ranch website
• American Family Fields of Phoenix website
• Valleywise Community Health Center – Maryvale website
• Grand Canyon University Golf Course website