Scenic Drive "Scottsdale Places" Award Winner

On Wednesday, February 24th, Mayor Campagna announced that the Scottsdale Desert Foothills Scenic Drive was one of the twenty-two first place winners of the "Scottsdale Places" program. The goal of  the program was to identify and celebrate the places that give the city its unique character and its special sense of place.

Scottsdale residents were asked to submit their nominations.  In fact, more than 90,000 announcements were sent with utility bills in the fall, 1998. The prestigious 5-person jury composed of architects, historians and educators received more than 200 nominations.  As juror Vernon Swaback, architect and former apprentice to Frank Lloyd Wright, put it "... the jury was charged with identifying three kinds of places: places that make you feel good when you are there; places that speak to the city's history; places that we will not build more of but we should restore and keep; and places that could be models, ones we would like to emulate." Other winners were:

• Civic Center Mall
• Indian Bend Wash
• Historic Old Town
• Urban Trail
• Desert Trail
• McDowell Mountains
• Taliesin West
• Hyatt Regency at Gainey Ranch
• Cattle Track
• Kerr Cultural Center
• Pearson and Company
• Loloma School
• Triple Arcade of Trees
• Coronado High School Mural
• Railfair/McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park
• Art Walks/Downtown
• Parada del Sol/Scottsdale Road
• Hayden Road
• Pinnacle Peak Road
• DC Ranch

The Scottsdale Places awards booklet contains the following quote from the nomination submitted by Friends of the Scenic Drive. "The Desert Foothills Scenic Drive represents the visual appearance that many people associate with Scottsdale and the dedication of Scottsdale residents to preserve their environment."