During the first year of the Civil War, the Confederacy was making a concerted effort to gain control of the Southwest. The idea was to expand the Confederate boundaries considerably to make it much more difficult for the Union to maintain a successful blockade. The only battle in what we now know as Arizona took place at Picacho Peak between Tucson and Phoenix.

High on a hill overlooking the Arizona Biltmore Hotel stands the Wrigley Mansion. Like the Biltmore, the Wrigley Mansion was a place that epitomized gracious living. The histories between the two are entwined thanks to gum magnate and former Chicago Cubs owner, William Wrigley Jr.

In 1933, with the country in the grip of the Great Depression, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a bill that authorized the creation of the Civilian Conservation Corps. The CCC gave unemployed young men an opportunity to make money while preserving the country’s natural resources. From 1933 to 1942, nearly 53,000 men worked on CCC projects in Arizona, such as the construction of the Walnut Canyon Visitor Center east of Flagstaff.

Crowds packed Riverside Ballroom on Saturday nights. Riverside was the home of the big-name bands, and all of America’s best played there. Discover the social scene of mid-century Phoenix in this episode.

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