Arizona 2008 Official State Visitor's Guide - (Page 49) watching, hiking, mountain biking and horseback riding. From Fountain Hills, it’s just a few minutes’ drive to Saguaro Lake, a watery paradise for boating and other recreation. temPe anD the eaSt Valley On any given weekend, something is going on in Tempe. It might be a football game at Arizona State University, a street festival along historic Mill Avenue or an outdoor concert next to Tempe T own Lake. Tempe is a city that boasts its historic charms and knows how to put on a good party. The city sprang up on the south bank of the Salt River in the 1800s, becoming known for its towering flour mills. Its small teacher’s college grew into Arizona State University, one of the largest universities in the country. Past and present are best seen along Mill Avenue, downtown Tempe’s main artery, where old buildings and historically themed new construction house restaurants, shops, nightclubs, coffee shops, bookstores and movie theaters, making it a great place to while away an afternoon or evening. Nearby, the university offers art and culture in the form of the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Gammage Auditorium, where you can catch a touring Broadway production, and the ASU Art Museum, an Antoine Predock-designed gem that doesn’t shy away from controversial exhibits. Closer to the lake, the Tempe Center for the Arts, an 88,000-square-foot facility, opened in September 2007, with two theaters and a 17-acre arts park. If you’re outdoorsy, try a quick hike up to the top of Tempe Butte or ‘A’ Mountain as the locals call it, or walk along two-mile long Tempe Town Lake, where you can also rent a pedal boat, kayak or go for an electric-boat cruise. Follow the boys of summer at Tempe Diablo Stadium, home to Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Spring Training every March. w w w.ari zonaguide.com • 49 http://www.rawhide.com http://www.rawhide.com http://www.ag.arizona.edu/BTA http://www.ag.arizona.edu/BTA http://www.arizonaguide.com
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