Community History:Old Tempe
The City Grows

Living in Tempe: the culture grows

The women also made certain that there were churches and they wanted fashionable brick houses.

Two early Tempe churches and a fashionable brick house. Tempe Historical Museum

In those days, most women worked at home taking care of their families. The housewives insisted on having the newest coal stoves for their cooking and some of the new-fangled machines for washing and wringing out clothes. But they did have to hang their clothes on a line outside to dry. This was no problem because in the desert it was warm all year long.

Because it was so hot in the summer, the mothers put the beds outside on the porches. Sometimes they hung up wet blankets to cool the air.

A brick farm house in Tempe. See the bed on the porch? Tempe Historical Society

To protect themselves from the very hot sun in the summer, the women carried parasols, small umbrellas, to keep off the sun. But they still wore long dresses with bustles. It was the fashion.

A fashionable dress for sale. Tempe Historical Museum

Tempe families had many ways to entertain themselves. They used the Normal School Library, but they also opened the Tempe Free Reading Room in 1900. The next year they started two music groups, the Tempe Choral Society and the Beethoven Study Club. They had several drama clubs. They could go to music concerts and see plays. Perhaps one of the most enjoyable ways to spend an evening was at the Goodwin Opera House and at the outdoor Airdome. Here they saw the silent movies as well as live entertainment. Most children had a horse to ride. Also, they could go swimming in the river. The little children loved their dolls, toy trains and stuffed animals.

Swimming in the Salt River. Tempe Historical Museum

Children’s toys. Tempe Historical Society