Maryvale area in Phoenix

[Java Jolt]

Originally Posted by locolobo13

Once Maryvale was as you described it. But it has changed. There are some houses that have been kept up but there are many that have not.

Something I have noticed is the definition of what is Maryvale has changed. We moved into the area near 35th Ave & Thomas when I was a kid. None of us considered that to be Maryvale back then. Yet it seems to be nowadays. So Maryvale is getting a bad rap from neighborhoods that weren't Maryvale.

As to the cancer thing. I really don't know that much about it. But my late father's house received another one of those newsletters showing the chemical contamination plumes. They all seemed to originate from 35th & Indian School area. There were 3 or 4 distinct plumes. They were talking about a class action suit. I tossed it as I don't plan on signing up but the chemical contamination concern isn't gone. No matter what the facts of the case are.

Wouldn't 35th and Indian School area be Alhambra?

Maryvale is getting an honest rap even it's bad, the crime rate is consistently one of the highest in the city and the entire valley for that matter.

I think what is getting an unfair bad rap is the west valley as a whole, people think of Maryvale and automatically associate that with the entire westside.

The west valley has some very nice areas, not necessarily on the Phoenix side though.

[esiebert7625]

Wikipedia gives different boundaries:

West Phoenix is a neighborhood of Phoenix, Arizona, United States. Maryvale is the predominant neighborhood of the near west side, from about 35th Avenue west to 87th Avenue and from I-10 north to the boundary with the suburb of Glendale at Camelback Road. First developed in the 1950s and 1960s by developer John F. Long, these neighborhoods include inexpensive homes largely developed in the 1950s and 1960s.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maryvale_(Phoenix)

[observer53]

Originally Posted by esiebert7625

Wikipedia gives different boundaries:

West Phoenix is a neighborhood of Phoenix, Arizona, United States. Maryvale is the predominant neighborhood of the near west side, from about 35th Avenue west to 87th Avenue and from I-10 north to the boundary with the suburb of Glendale at Camelback Road. First developed in the 1950s and 1960s by developer John F. Long, these neighborhoods include inexpensive homes largely developed in the 1950s and 1960s.

Maryvale (Phoenix) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Wikipedia is only as accurate as the information someone puts in it. As far as the boundaries of the original development, which is where the name came from, I'd trust the source of the man who worked for John F. Long. As indicated upthread, the boundaries of the urban village given the "Maryvale" name by the city are much broader, more in line (or perhaps exactly the same, i haven't compared them) as the ones in the Wiki article. I'd hardly describe an area the size of that described in the Wiki article as a "neighborhood". Again, that's Wikipedia for you.

[esiebert7625]

Originally Posted by observer53

Wikipedia is only as accurate as the information someone puts in it. As far as the boundaries of the original development, which is where the name came from, I'd trust the source of the man who worked for John F. Long. As indicated upthread, the boundaries of the urban village given the "Maryvale" name by the city are much broader, more in line (or perhaps exactly the same, i haven't compared them) as the ones in the Wiki article. I'd hardly describe an area the size of that described in the Wiki article as a "neighborhood". Again, that's Wikipedia for you.

Are you sure about that? Could of swore that I've read somewhere that everthing on the Internet is true ;-)

[observer53]

Originally Posted by esiebert7625

Are you sure about that? Could of swore that I've read somewhere that everthing on the Internet is true ;-)

[kell490]

My wife grew up in Maryvale 1970s went to John F long Elementary 1974-79 she said it was going down hill in the 80's fast. We drive by the house once in a while still looks the same. She remembers an incident where an older woman's home was broken into down the street in the late 80's at night the woman was raped and beaten. The rental house behind them had a lot of dogs mostly pit-bull mixes that were covered in ticks.

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by kell490

My wife grew up in Maryvale 1970s went to John F long Elementary 1974-79 she said it was going down hill in the 80's fast. We drive by the house once in a while still looks the same. She remembers an incident where an older woman's home was broken into down the street in the late 80's at night the woman was raped and beaten. The rental house behind them had a lot of dogs mostly pit-bull mixes that were covered in ticks.

I remember riding the bus in the 1980s and going through Maryvale. It was becoming pretty bad at that time with all the wire fences surrounding front yards, graffiti on walls, kids running loose in the streets, the drug houses, and the like. Unfortunately, this is what happens when a community geared for lower income people is built. The quality of construction is cheap, and it brings in a less desirable crowd. Thus, the increase in crime and the decrease in the appearance of the neighborhoods. John F. Long had good intentions back in the 1950s & '60s, but his intentions eventually resulted in one of the most undesirable districts in Phoenix.