The legend of the mythological Phoenix tells the story of a “female sacred firebird with beautiful gold and red plumage”. It was said that at the end of its centenarian plus life-cycle, the Phoenix ignited herself among a nest of twigs, and, reducing itself to ashes, a new young Phoenix would arise from the smolder. It’s a fitting metaphor for Phoenix, Arizona, a relatively young city at 150 years, yet located in the Salt River valley, a Sonoran Desert region that has been inhabited and abandoned by people for thousands of years before its current form as a sprawling metropolitan area.
