Maricopa’s streets have changed significantly since it became a city more than 20 years ago.
Businesses have come and gone, roads have changed course, and government institutions have replaced crops.
Google street view Images dating back to 2011 show how the landscape has changed over the years. This is a ground-based perspective of a popular historical satellite image of Maricopa.
May 2011 – Red Barn
The Maricopa Business Barn, known as the “Red Barn” by locals at the time, was the headquarters for many businesses, including a hair studio, a computer repair shop, a photography studio, and the Tortosa HOA.
The bridge is located at 19428 N. Maricopa Road, adjacent to the old John Wayne Parkway Railroad tracks. The track has since been removed and replaced with an overpass completed in 2019.
When FOR Maricopa Food Bank Executive Wendy Webb purchased the barn in 2017, it was painted “Hawaiian Blue” and became the food bank’s headquarters. Nowadays, a tattoo shop, flower shop and hair salon have been added to the space.
April 2015 – Blockbuster
Two years after all Blockbuster stores (except one in Alaska) closed in 2013, vestiges of the video rental store’s iconic ticket-shaped logo remain in the Maricopa Fiesta Shopping Center. It remained at its previous location at 21116 N. John Wayne Parkway.
The city’s oldest gym, Anytime Fitness, moved from across Bashas to the old Blockbuster space in 2015.
June 2011 – Copper Sky Recreation Complex
Before the Copper Sky Recreation Complex was built, there was a lot of dirt.
The $20 million complex opened to the public in May 2014 and boasts a 5-acre catch-and-keep lake stocked with bass, rainbow trout, catfish, bluegill, and sagebrush.
There are also playgrounds, a skate park, tennis and volleyball courts, four baseball fields, eight multi-purpose sports fields, several ramadas, and a dog park.
The aquatic center opened on Memorial Day of that year with a waterslide, lazy river, rock climbing wall, and 25-yard lap pool.
May 2019 – Elevated construction
For a town with few access roads, many believe building an overpass over State Route 347 over the Union Pacific Railroad tracks is a solution to the traffic backups caused by the large number of trains that pass through Maricopa each day. was thinking.
For others, building overpasses was a greater burden than building railroads. Most of the residents in the area were at the mercy of the Arizona Department of Transportation and had to evacuate the area as an overpass was built where homes and businesses once stood.
NAPA, Spoons Restaurant and Copa Center were some of the businesses forced to close. The Maricopa Fire and Medical Department administration building and FOR Food Bank also had to be relocated.
May 2011 – Radio Shack
Maricopa’s Radioshack, located at 44600 W. Smith-Enke Road in Maricopa Professional Village, sold more than just transistors, batteries and cables.
The store also carries unique items such as paintball guns, paintballs, ink cartridges, office supplies and gun ammunition, which “helped us make a profit and keep our doors open,” owner Ronald Beasley said. he said at the time.
Beasley moved its store across John Wayne Parkway to the Maricopa Marketplace after sales took a hit from commercial taxes and the opening of Walmart. Barro’s Pizza then expanded into the space vacated by Radioshack.
December 2018 – Carl’s Jr.
A Google Street View car passed by Maricopa’s original Carl’s Jr. Restaurant, 21000 N. John Wayne Parkway, a few days before it closed.
Images from December 2018 show cars in the drive-thru and no sign on the door, but the restaurant is set to close permanently in a few days. The store closed at the end of the same month and was replaced by Wendy’s in 2019.
Carl’s Jr. opened a new store on the other side of the parkway last month.
April 2015 – Fletchers
Fletcher’s Tire & Auto Service moved to 20926 N. John Wayne Parkway in the Maricopa Fiesta Shopping Center in late 2005.
The auto shop became Firestone Complete Auto Care in 2017 when Nashville-based Bridgestone Americas completed its acquisition of the brand. The rebrand included 31 stores in the Phoenix and Tucson markets.
May 2011 – Desert Sunrise High School
Nearly 1,000 pecan trees once stood where Desert Sunrise High School now stands at 16200 North Murphy Road, but most have been cut down and recycled.
Maricopa Unified School District says that when construction begins in 2021, pecan tree trunks and large branches will be processed into commercial and non-commercial smokers for use in restaurants and homes, and remaining branches and root balls will be crushed. announced. It is compressed into wood pellets and sold as a fuel source for heating and outdoor cooking in cold regions.
There are about 30 trees on the school grounds that remind us of the history of the place.
June 2011 – City Hall
The government complex, which currently houses the police station, library, and city hall, broke ground in April 2012.
Old Street View images show Maricopa City Center at 39700 W. Civic Center Plaza was just a crop field along North White Road and Parker Road.
