At the urging of both Jim and Randy, I went to a brief but quite comprehensive town meeting regarding the state of and proposed changes to the 8th Street corridor on Tuesday. What I initially thought would be a boring Q & A session turned out to be quite insightful and informative.

For those of you unaware, the City of Tempe is trying to get funding to redevelop and enhance the stretch of road that is home to your favorite hometown brewery. In a fashion not too dissimilar to the Great Rio Salado/Town Lake revamp from 10 years ago, city planners are exploring ways to increase parking, safety and aesthetics to an area that has been neglected for far too many years.

Why redevelop it? Because Tempe's 8th Street is an extremely important road that has played and continues to play an integral part in the history of not only Tempe, but all of Arizona.

Did you know that 8th Street used to be part of the Bankhead Highway and is the oldest section of surfaced highway in all of Tempe? It was also started life as the main route to Mesa dating back to 1892.

Did you also know that as part of the Bankhead National Highway project (before the current National Interstate system), 8th Street was once part of a coastal highway that linked San Diego and Washington D.C.? It's true, and it remained that way until the Mill Avenue Bridge and Apache Boulevard curve was completed in the 1930's. Since the 1980's, the current mile-long stretch from McClintock to Rural Roads that passes our Brewery location is last remaining remnant of the 8th st ditch

Bankhead Highway.

Did you know that the Kirkland-McKinney Ditch located just south and east of the brewery was hugely instrumental in the earliest agricultural efforts undertaken in Tempe? It is also the oldest remaining original manmade waterway to still be used through the Salt River Valley until below ground pipelines took over in the late 70's and early 80's.

Constructed in 1871, the Kirkland-McKinney Ditch (at one time a canal) is the product of one of the first organized attempts to irrigate the land south of the Salt River and would later be instrumental in sponsoring the construction of the Roosevelt Dam.

Did you know that the Elias/Rodriguez House located at the far west end of 8th Street is one of the earliest still remaining structures to be built in the area from that bygone era? Built in

1882 by Vincent Elias, a farm laborer from Tucson, for his family, he constructed the house one room at a time over a period of many years. Later his daughter, Irene Rodriguez moved in and she continued to live there through the 1980's. Although augmented and updated through the years it continues to display much of its original adobe look and structure.

And that is only three of the historical aspects of 8th Street and I didn't even mention the 1890's Creamery Building Four Peaks resides in or Arizona's first Railroad that once passed through. I implore you to check out what the City of Tempe has proposed HERE and if you have any comments and/or suggestions to please submit those directly to them HERE.

Four Peaks Brewing Company, the City of Tempe and the Arizona Historical Society would appreciate any and all input you may have in this effort to make our humble little road a safe, vital and beautiful place to work and play for generations to come.

Thanks for reading!