Everything about Flagstaff Arizona totally explained
Flagstaff (
Navajo:
Kinłání) is a city located in northern
Arizona, in the southwestern
United States. As of July 2006, the city's estimated population was 58,213. It is the
county seat of
Coconino County. In 2005,
Men's Journal named Flagstaff as No. 2 on its Best Places to Live list, and
National Geographic cited the city in its list of "10 Great Towns That Will Make You Feel Young." The city is named after a
Ponderosa Pine flagpole made by a scouting party from
Boston (known as the "Flagstaff Tea Party") to celebrate the United States Centennial on
July 4 1876.
Flagstaff lies near the southwestern edge of the
Colorado Plateau, along the western side of the largest contiguous ponderosa pine forest in the continental United States. Flagstaff is located adjacent to
Mount Elden, just south of the
San Francisco Peaks, the highest mountain range in the state of Arizona.
Humphreys Peak, the highest point in Arizona at 12,633 feet (3,850 m), is located about 10 miles (16 km) north of Flagstaff in
Kachina Peaks Wilderness.
Flagstaff's early economy was based on the
lumber,
railroad, and
ranching industries. Today, the city remains an important distribution hub with companies like Nestle Purina Petcare and Walgreen Distribution Center, and is home to
Lowell Observatory and
Northern Arizona University. Flagstaff has a strong
tourism sector, due to its proximity to
Grand Canyon National Park,
Oak Creek Canyon, and historic
Route 66. The city is also home to medical device manufacturing, including such companies as W.L. Gore and Machine Solutions.
History
The first permanent settlement was in 1876, when Thomas F. McMillan built a cabin at the base of Mars Hill on the west side of town. During the 1880s, Flagstaff began to grow, opening its first post office and attracting the
railroad industry. The early economy was based on
timber,
sheep, and
cattle. By 1886, Flagstaff was the largest city on the railroad line between
Albuquerque and the west coast of the United States. Two years later, the specially-designed 24-inch Clark telescope that Lowell had ordered was installed. In 1930,
Pluto was discovered using one of the observatory’s telescopes. During the
Apollo program in the 1960s, the Clark Telescope was used to map the moon for the lunar expeditions, enabling the mission planners to choose a safe landing site for the lunar modules. In homage to the city's importance in the field of
astronomy,
asteroid 2118 Flagstaff is named for the city, and
6582 Flagsymphony for the Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra.
The Northern Arizona Normal School was established in 1899, renamed
Northern Arizona University in 1966.
The city grew rapidly, primarily attributable to its location along the east-west transcontinental railroad line in the United States. In the 1880s, the railroads purchased land in the west from the
federal government, which was then sold to individuals to help finance the railroad projects. By the 1890s, Flagstaff found itself located along one of the busiest railroad corridors in the U.S., with 80-100 trains travelling through the city every day, destined for
Chicago,
Los Angeles, and elsewhere.
Route 66 was completed in 1926 and ran through Flagstaff. Flagstaff was incorporated as a city in 1928, Flagstaff went on to become a popular tourist stop along Route 66, particularly due to its proximity to the
Grand Canyon.
Flagstaff grew and prospered through the 1960s. During the 1970s and 1980s, however, many businesses started to move from the city center, and the downtown area entered an economic and social decline.
Sears and
J.C. Penney left the downtown area in 1979 to open up as anchor stores in the new Flagstaff Mall, joined in 1986 by
Dillard's. By 1987, the Babbitt Brothers Trading Company, which had been a retail fixture in Flagstaff since 1891, had closed its doors at Aspen Avenue and San Francisco Street.
In 1855,
Lieutenant Edward Fitzgerald Beale surveyed a road from the
Rio Grande in
New Mexico to
Fort Tejon in
California, and camped near the current location of Flagstaff. The lieutenant had his men cut the limbs from a straight
pine tree in order to fly the United States flag.
In 1987, the city drafted a new master plan, also known as the Growth Management Guide 2000, which would transform downtown Flagstaff from a shopping and trade center into a regional center for finance, office use, and government. The city built a new
city hall,
library, and the
Coconino County Administrative Building in the downtown district, staking an investment by the local government for years to come. In 1992, the city hired a new
manager, Dave Wilcox, who had previously worked at revitalizing the downtown areas of
Beloit, Wisconsin and
Missoula. During the 1990s, the downtown area underwent a revitalization, many of the city sidewalks were repaved with decorative brick facing, and a different mix of shops and restaurants opened up to take advantage of the area's historical appeal.
Geography
Flagstaff is located at .
At 7,000 feet (2,121 m) elevation, located adjacent to the largest contiguous
Ponderosa Pine forest in
North America, the area around Flagstaff is considered a high altitude
semi-desert. As of
July 1,
2006, the total population of the Flagstaff
MSA is 124,953.
Cityscape
Downtown Flagstaff lies immediately to the east of Mars Hill, the location of Lowell Observatory. Streets in the downtown area are laid out in a grid pattern, parallel to
Route 66 and the
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Rail Line, running east-west through the city. Milton Road branches off from Route 66 west of downtown, and travels south, adjacent to the Northern Arizona University campus, to the junction of
Interstate 17 and
Interstate 40. Milton continues to the south, becoming
State Route 89A, and traveling through
Oak Creek Canyon to
Sedona. Traveling north from downtown, Fort Valley Road (
U.S. 180) connects with the Museum of Northern Arizona,
Arizona Snowbowl, and
Grand Canyon National Park. Traveling east from downtown, Route 66 and the railroad run in parallel toward East Flagstaff (and beyond), at the base of
Mount Elden. Much of Flagstaff's industry is located east of downtown, adjacent to the railroad tracks, as well as in East Flagstaff.
Several towns are located close to Flagstaff along
Interstates 40 and
17. Approximately 6 miles south are the small urban areas of
Kachina Village (west of I-17) and
Mountainaire, Arizona (east of I-17; 2 miles). Both of these areas were built in the early 1960s as second homes for people escaping the Phoenix heat in summer. Recently these areas are now permanent all-year-round housing. About 35 miles (56 km) to the west is
Williams, 20 miles (32 km) to the south is
Munds Park, which sports a great semi-public Golf Course called Pinewood, and 30 miles (48 km) to the south on AZ HWY 89a is
Sedona. 15 miles (24 km) to the east of Flagstaff is the town of
Winona, mentioned in the famous song,
Route 66.
Holbrook is 90 miles (144 km) to the east.
Climate
Flagstaff has a highland
semi-arid climate (
Koppen climate classification BSk) with four distinct seasons. The combination of high altitude and low humidity provide mild weather conditions throughout most of the year, and the predominantly clear air radiates daytime heating effectively. Temperatures often fall precipitously after sunset throughout the year, and winter nights can be very cold. Winter weather patterns in Flagstaff are cyclonic and frontal in nature, originating in the eastern Pacific Ocean. These deliver periodic, widespread snowfall followed by extended periods of fair weather. This pattern is usually broken by brief, but often intense, afternoon rain showers and dramatic thunderstorms common during the so-called
monsoon season of July and August. Summer temperatures are moderate and high temperatures average around 80 °F.
The average annual rainfall is 22.91 inches (58.2 cm) and annual snowfall averages 100 inches (254 cm). Overall, the city enjoys an average of 283 days without precipitation each year, and the climate is officially classified as "semi-arid." Although snow often covers the ground for weeks after major winter storms, Flagstaff's relatively low latitude and plentiful winter sunshine quickly melt much of what falls, and persistent deep snowpack is unusual.
Demographics
City of Flagstaff
Population by year |
| 1890 |
963 |
| 1900 |
1,271 |
| 1910 |
1,633 |
| 1920 |
3,186 |
| 1930 |
3,891 |
| 1940 |
5,080 |
| 1950 |
7,663 |
| 1960 |
18,214 |
| 1970 |
26,117 |
| 1980 |
34,743 |
| 1990 |
45,857 |
| 2000 |
52,894 |
| 2005 |
57,391 |
As of the
census of 2000, there were 52,894 people, 19,306 households, and 11,602 families residing in the city. The July 2006 estimated population of the city was 58,213.
There were 19,306 households out of which 32.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.0% were
married couples living together, 11.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.9% were non-families. 23.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.13. While the property crime rate fell in 2005, it's still high for a town of this size. This is primarily attributable to a significant number of
methamphetamine addicts,
alcoholics, and the transient nature of many residents. Flagstaff's high number of college students and tourists attract a disproportionally high number of thieves and
scam artists.
Economy
In its early days, the city's economic base comprised the
lumber,
railroad, and
ranching industries. Today, that has largely been replaced by
tourism,
education,
government, and
transportation. Some of the larger employers in Flagstaff are
Northern Arizona University, the
Flagstaff Medical Center, and the Flagstaff Unified School District. Tourism is a large contributor to the economy, as the city receives over 5 million visitors per year.
There are five industrial parks in the city, situated near
I-40 and
I-17. Major manufacturers in Flagstaff include
W.L. Gore & Associates, widely known as the maker of
Gore-Tex;
Nestlé Purina PetCare, manufacturer of pet food; SCA Tissue, a major
tissue paper producer; and Joy Cone, manufacturer of ice cream cones.
Walgreens also operates a distribution center in the city.
Arts and culture
Despite the town's small size, Flagstaff has an active cultural scene. The city is home to the
Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra, which is popular among
classical music enthusiasts. Concerts are held from September through April at Ardrey Auditorium on the NAU campus. Popular bands play throughout the year at the
Orpheum Theater, and free concerts are held during the summer months at Heritage Square.
Flagstaff is home to an active theater scene, featuring several groups. Theatrikos, the community theater company, was founded in 1972 in the basement of the
Weatherford Hotel, and today puts on five major productions per year. The group recently moved into a new venue in 2002, the Doris-Harper White Community
Playhouse, a downtown building which was built in 1923 as an
Elks Lodge and later became the Flagstaff library. Since 1995, the Flagstaff Light Opera Company has performed a variety of
musical theatre and light
opera productions throughout the year at the Sinagua High School auditorium. There are several dance companies in Flagstaff, including the Northern Arizona Preparatory Company and Canyon Movement, which present periodic concerts and collaborate with the Flagstaff Symphony for free concerts during the summer and holiday seasons.
A variety of weekend festivals occur throughout the year. The annual Northern Arizona Book Festival, held in April, brings together nationally known authors to read and display their works. The Flagstaff Mountain Film Festival is held every spring, featuring outdoors, environmental, and other experimental films. The summer months feature several festivals, including Hopi and Navajo Festivals of Arts and Crafts, the Arizona Highland Celtic Festival, and the Made in the Shade Beer Tasting Festival. The Coconino County Fair is held every September at the Fort Tuthill County Fairgrounds, featuring a
demolition derby, livestock auction, carnival rides, and other activities.
On
New Year's Eve, people gather around the
Weatherford Hotel as a 70-pound, 6 foot tall, metallic
pine cone is dropped from the roof at midnight. The tradition originated in 1999, when Henry Taylor and Sam Green (owners of the Weatherford Hotel), decorated a garbage can with paint, lights, and pine cones, and dropped it from the roof of their building to mark the new
millennium. By 2003 the event had become tradition, and the current metallic pine cone was designed and built by Frank Mayorga of Mayorga Welding in Flagstaff.
The
Museum of Northern Arizona includes displays of the biology, archeology, photography, anthropology, and native art of the
Colorado Plateau. The
Arboretum at Flagstaff is a 200 acre (81 hectare)
arboretum featuring 2,500 species of drought-tolerant native plants representative of the high-desert region.
Route 66, which originally ran between
Chicago and
Los Angeles, greatly increased the accessibility to the area, and enhanced the culture and tourism in Flagstaff. Route 66 remains a historic route, passing through the city between
Barstow, California, and
Albuquerque, New Mexico. In early September, the city hosts an annual event, Route 66 Days, to highlight its connection to the famous highway.
Sports
There are no major-league professional sports teams in Flagstaff. The
Arizona Cardinals of the
National Football League have held their summer training camp at
Northern Arizona University since the Cardinals moved to Arizona in 1988, with the exception of the 2005 season due to an outbreak of a flu-like
virus. The NAU training camp location has been cited as one of the top five training camps in the NFL by
Sports Illustrated.
Northern Arizona University and the city of Flagstaff are home to the
Center for High Altitude Training, a facility where athletes can train in the unique environment provided by the city's 7,000-feet elevation. The center has been designated by the
United States Olympic Committee as an official U.S. Olympic Training Site.
Winter sports—including snowshoeing, alpine and Nordic skiing—are also popular in the area, and the surrounding National Forests provide an extensive network of roads and trails for winter use. The
Arizona Snowbowl ski resort is 15 miles to the north of the city on the
San Francisco Peaks. The resort had plans to expand their facilities, adding a fifth chair lift and
snow-making capabilities using
reclaimed wastewater to extend its ski season in dry years. However, these plans faced opposition by the
Navajo and several other
Native American tribes, who claimed that it violated their religious freedom, as the
San Francisco Peaks are considered sacred in many of their religions. In March, 2007, the
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the snowmaking scheme violated the
Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993, and the resort's expansion program is currently at a standstill.
Parks and outdoor recreation
Flagstaff has acquired a reputation as a magnet for outdoor enthusiasts, and the region's varied terrain, high elevation, and amenable weather attract campers, backpackers, climbers, and mountain bikers from throughout the southwestern United States. There are 679.2 acres (275 hectares) of city parks in Flagstaff, the largest of which are Thorpe Park and Buffalo Park. Wheeler Park, located adjacent to city hall, is the location of summer concerts and other events. The city maintains an extensive urban trail system, consisting of surface trails for hiking, running, or cycling. The trail network extends throughout the city, connecting the downtown area with the Fort Tuthill Fairgrounds, and extends to Peaks View County Park in Doney Park and Sawmill Multicultural Art and Nature County Park.
Northern Arizona Trail Runner's Association, road cycling and mountain biking clubs, organized triathlon events, and annual cross country ski races attest to the area's status as a recreational hub. Several major river running operators are headquartered in Flagstaff, and the city serves as a base for Grand Canyon and Colorado River expeditions.
Flagstaff's proximity to
Grand Canyon National Park, about 75 miles (120 km) north of the city, has made it a popular tourist destination since the mid-19th century. Other nearby outdoor attractions include
Walnut Canyon National Monument,
Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument,
Wupatki National Monument, and
Barringer Crater.
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and
Lake Powell are both about 135 mi (216 km) north along U.S. Route
89.
Media and popular culture
The major daily
newspaper in Flagstaff is the
Arizona Daily Sun. The
Navajo Hopi Observer is a weekly newspaper that's commonly read by the
Native American population. Other publications that serve the city include the weeklies "Flagstaff Live" and "the Lumberjack", and the monthlies "Mountain Living Magazine" and "
the Noise".
Flagstaff is included in the
Phoenix Designated market area (DMA), the 13th largest in the U.S., due to the use of several
repeaters that provide access to local television and radio stations. There are two local broadcast
television stations serving the city;
KNAZ-2 (
NBC) and
KFPH-13 (
TeleFutura). The city's major cable television provider is NPG Cablevision.
In the early 20th century, the city was considered as a site for a
film by
Jesse Lasky and
Cecil B. DeMille, but was abandoned in favor of
Hollywood. Several recent movies have been filmed, at least in part, in Flagstaff. A small scene in
Midnight Run was filmed in Flagstaff at the train depot, the city was also referenced in the film. Several of the running scenes in
Forrest Gump were filmed in and around the area, including a memorable scene where Forrest is seen jogging in downtown Flagstaff and gives inspiration to a bumper sticker designer. Parts of
2007 Academy Award winner Little Miss Sunshine were filmed at the junction of
I-40 and
I-17 in Flagstaff, and
Terminal Velocity was partially filmed in the city.
During the 1940s and 1950s, over 100
western movies were filmed in nearby
Sedona and
Oak Creek Canyon. The
Hotel Monte Vista in Flagstaff hosted many film stars during this era, including
Jane Russell,
Gary Cooper,
Spencer Tracy,
John Wayne, and
Bing Crosby. A scene from the movie
Casablanca was filmed in one of the rooms of the hotel.
The city has been mentioned in several
novels, such as
The Monkey Wrench Gang by
Edward Abbey, depicting an encounter with a Flagstaff policeman. Frank Poole discusses his childhood growing up in Flagstaff in
Arthur C. Clarke's novel .
Author Richard Bausch wrote a
short story called,
All the Way in Flagstaff, Arizona. The city also appeared in
Stephen King's book,
Firestarter.
Italian comedian and novelist
Giorgio Faletti set his 2006 thriller novel
Fuori da un evidente destino in Flagstaff.
In 2005, built a home just outside of Flagstaff for slain soldier
Lori Piestewa's two children and parents. Grizzly Peak Films also filmed
Sasquatch Mountain, a feature-length film for the
Science Fiction Channel about a
Yeti, in Flagstaff and nearby
Williams.
The town's name is mentioned in the lyrics to the song, "
Route 66" by
Bobby Troup.
Government
The city government is organized under a
Council-Manager system. The current mayor of Flagstaff is Joseph "Joe" C. Donaldson, who was first elected in 2000, and the current town council consists of the mayor and six councilmembers: Scott Overton (vice mayor), Karen Cooper, Joe Haughey, Kara Kelty, Rick Swanson, and Al White. The city's current city manager is Kevin Burke. Regular meetings of the city council are held on the first and third Tuesday of every month.
Flagstaff is the
county seat of
Coconino County.
Education
There are 19
public schools, with 11,500 students and 800 faculty and staff, in the
Flagstaff Unified School District. In 1997, Mount Elden Middle School was named an A+ School, citing an outstanding school climate, progressive use of technology and zero-tolerance approach to discipline. The 1999 National Science Teacher of the Year, David Thompson, teaches
physics at Coconino High School. Three Arizona Teachers of the Year from 2001 through 2003 teach at Flagstaff High School.
In addition to the numerous public schools, there are several
charter schools operating in the Flagstaff area including Flagstaff Junior Academy, Northland Preparatory Academy, the Flagstaff Arts and Leadership Academy and the
Montessori Schools of Flagstaff.
Flagstaff is home to two institutions of higher education,
Northern Arizona University (one of the three public state universities in Arizona), and
Coconino Community College.
Infrastructure
Transportation
Flagstaff is at the northern terminus of
Interstate 17, which runs 145 miles (232 km) south to
Phoenix, Arizona.
Interstate 40 runs east-west through the city, traveling to Barstow, California in the west and
Albuquerque, New Mexico (and beyond) in the east. Historic
Route 66 also runs east-west through the city, roughly parallel to I-40, and is a major thoroughfare for local traffic. Butler Avenue connects I-40 with downtown Flagstaff, and the major north-south thoroughfare through town is Milton Road.
State Route 89A travels through the city (concurrently as parts of Milton Rd. and Route 66), going south through
Oak Creek Canyon to
Sedona.
Passenger rail service is provided by
Amtrak at the
downtown station, connecting on east-west routes to Los Angeles and Albuquerque via the
Southwest Chief line. Amtrak also provides connecting
Thruway Motorcoach service via
Open Road Tours, which has an office inside the Flagstaff depot. Local
bus service is provided throughout the city by the
Mountain Line.
Air travel is available through
Flagstaff Pulliam Airport, located just south of the city. The airport is primarily a small,
general aviation airport with a single 6,999 feet (2,133 m) runway. The airport is currently undergoing a major expansion project to add 1,800 feet (549 m) to the north end of the current runway and lengthen the taxiway, to increase its viability for commercial and regional jets.
Utilities
Electricity generation in Flagstaff is provided by
Arizona Public Service, an electric utility subsidiary operated by parent company Pinnacle West. The primary generating station near Flagstaff is the
coal-fired, 995-
MW Cholla Power Plant, near
Holbrook, Arizona, which uses coal from the McKinley Mine in
New Mexico. Located near
Page, Arizona is the coal-fired, 750-MW Navajo Power Plant, supplied by an electric railroad that delivers coal from a mine on the
Navajo and
Hopi reservations in northern Arizona. Flagstaff is also home to Arizona's first commercial
solar power generating station, which was built in 1997 and provides 87
kW of electricity. Combined with 16 other solar power locations in Arizona, the system provides over 5 MW of electricity statewide.
Drinking water in Flagstaff is produced from conventional surface water treatment at the Lake Mary Water Treatment Plant, located on Upper Lake Mary, as well as from springs at the inner basin of the San Francisco Peaks. Groundwater from several
water wells located throughout the city and surrounding area provide additional sources of drinking water.
Health care
The city's primary hospital is the 270–bed
Flagstaff Medical Center, located on the north side of downtown Flagstaff. The hospital was founded in 1936, and serves as the major regional
trauma center for northern Arizona.
Sister cities
Flagstaff has four
sister cities:
Further Information
Get more info on 'Flagstaff Arizona'.
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