A typical Ahwatukee neighborhood seen from South Mountain Park

Ahwatukee (formally "Ahwatukee Foothills Village") is an L-shaped neighborhood of Phoenix, Arizona bordered on the north by South Mountain Park and Baseline Road, on the east by Interstate 10 and the cities of Chandler, Guadalupe, and Tempe, and on the south and west by the Gila River Indian Community. Nickname: Location in Maricopa County and the state of Arizona Coordinates: , Country State County Maricopa Incorporated February 25, 1881 Government  - Type Council-Manager  - Mayor Phil Gordon (D) Area  - City  515. ... South Mountain Park in Phoenix, Arizona is the largest municipal park in the United States of America. ... Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Interstate 10 Interstate 10 (abbreviated I-10) is the southernmost east-west, coast-to-coast interstate highway in the United States. ... Location in Maricopa County and the state of Arizona Coordinates: , Country United States State Arizona Counties Maricopa Government  - Mayor Boyd W. Dunn (R) Area  - City  58. ... Guadalupe is a town located in Maricopa County, Arizona. ... Location in Maricopa County and the state of Arizona Coordinates: Country United States State Arizona Counties Maricopa Incorporated November 29, 1894 Government  - Mayor Hugh Hallman Area  - City  39. ... The Gila River Indian Community is a reservation in Arizona, south of Phoenix, Arizona, Tempe, Arizona and Chandler, Arizona. ...

Although annexed by the City of Phoenix from 1978 to 1987, before substantial residential growth, many of its residents still think of it as a separate city. It is one of the city's 15 urban villages. The 35.8 square-mile (92.7 km²) village currently has a population of approximately 60,000 people.^{[citation needed]} Year 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar). ... Nickname: Location in Maricopa County and the state of Arizona Coordinates: , Country State County Maricopa Incorporated February 25, 1881 Government  - Type Council-Manager  - Mayor Phil Gordon (D) Area  - City  515. ... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

History

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Legend has it that in 1921, Dr. and Mrs. W.V.B. Ames built a house on approximately 2,000 acres (8.1 km²) on the southeast side of the South Mountains. They gave the area its original name, Casa de Sueños, which in Spanish means, "House of Dreams." Dr. Ames died within just three months of moving into the house, and after Mrs. Ames' death in 1933 the house and most of the land was willed to St. Luke's Hospital, then bought in 1935 by Miss Helen Brinton, who appeared to have retranslated the name of the house to the Crow word which now serves as the name of the village. The house was demolished in 1979, and parts of it were used to build the Our Lady of Guadalupe church. Marty Gibson was the first to write a book on the history of Ahwatukee, titled, "The History of Ahwatukee." Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... Year 1921 (MCMXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar). ... Year 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar). ... The Crow, also called the Absaroka or Absáalooke, are a tribe of Native Americans who historically lived in the Yellowstone river valley and now live on a reservation south of Billings, Montana, and the current chairman of the tribal council is Carl Venne. ... Also: 1979 by Smashing Pumpkins. ...

As it turns out, the Crow translation for "House of Dreams" (ashe ammeewiawe) sounds nothing like Ahwatukee. More likely, the town was named after the Crow words awe chuuke, meaning "land on the other side of the hill," or "land in the next valley." -Which is a curious reference because the Crow are a native northern plains tribe now residing in southeast Montana, and have never been associated with Arizona where the Apache, Hopi, Pima and Navajo are indigenous. ^[1]

In 1971 part of the land was purchased, subdivided, and developed into a residential community by the Presley Development Company, owned by Elvis Presley's uncle. The indie rock band Paul Fowler's Stellar Nursery resides here.^[2] Year 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1971 Gregorian calendar, known as the year of cyclohexanol. ... Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music often used to refer to bands that are on small independent record labels or that arent on labels at all. ...

Ahwatukee has grown as the city acquired other land parcels to the west, including land owned by International Harvester, which operated a proving ground for earth-moving equipment there from 1947 to 1983. The State of Arizona, has bought, sold, or swapped land several times, including transferring state trust land to developers in controversial auctions in which residents and conservationists have lobbied for the space to be converted to parkland.^{[3] [4]} For the song by Craig Morgan, see International Harvester (song). ... Proving Ground is a term for a military installation or reservation where weapons or other military technology are experimented or tested, or where military tactics are tested. ... Year 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1947 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar). ... Official language(s) English Spoken language(s) English 74. ... Conservationists are those people who tend to more highly rank the wise use of the Earths resources and ecosystems. ...

Neighborhood characteristics

The village falls within three zip codes:^{[citation needed]} Mr. ...

• 85044 (population 30,000) - Covers the area north of Chandler Boulevard and roughly east of 32nd Street.
• 85045 (5,000) - Covers area roughly west of Central Avenue.
• 85048 (25,000) - Covers the remaining portion of the village.

Surrounded to the northwest by South Mountain Park, blocked to the east by I-10 and to the south by the Gila River Indian Community, Ahwatukee Foothills is geographically isolated from the city which it is part of, Phoenix. Due to its relatively few access points (through a couple of bridges across Interstate 10), it has been called The World's Largest Cul-de-sac. Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Interstate 10 Interstate 10 (abbreviated I-10) is the southernmost east-west, coast-to-coast interstate highway in the United States. ... For the musical group, see Cul de Sac (group). ...

Education

The area's K-8 students are served by the Kyrene School District. The Kyrene Schools in Ahwatukee include Kyrene Cerritos (K-5), Kyrene De La Colina (K-5), Kyrene de las Lomas (K-5),Kyrene Estrella (K-5), Kyrene Monte Vista (K-5), Kyrene de los Lagos (K-5), Kyrene del Milenio (K-5),and Kyrene Sierra (K-5) elementary schools, and Centennial (6-8), Akimel A-al (6-8), Altadeña (6-8) middle schools. High school students go to one of two in the area: Desert Vista and Mountain Pointe. Both schools are operated by the Tempe Union High School District, the best, by test scores, school district in AZ. There are also a number of private/charter schools, including Keystone Montessori School, Horizon Community Learning Center Charter School, Intelli-School High School, and Skyline Technical High School. Desert Vista High School is located in Phoenix, Arizona, and was established in 1996 and is a part of the Tempe Union High School District. ... Mountain Pointe High School is a secondary school located in Phoenix, Arizona. ...

Climate

Ahwatukee receives approximately 12 inches of rainfall yearly.^[5] Temperatures are mild during the winter months and average around 67 degrees F. In the summer, temperatures average around 95 degrees F.

Lows rarely reach freezing temperatures during the winter months. However, cool air can fall from the upper elevations and settle in the lower terrains, causing variations in temperature.

Snow is rare for the area, but can be seen on the Sierra Estrella mountain range to the southwest.

References

External links

• Ahwatukee Foothills News: Community News & Events
• Ahwatukee Life: Everything about living in Ahwatukee
• Ahwatukee: Homes for Sale, Sold Homes, Businesses, Community Info
• Planning a Move: Ahwatukee
• EastValley.com: Ahwatukee Foothills
• ABM History
• City of Phoenix Planning: Ahwatukee Foothills Village