1884 — Hispanic settlers are the first residents of the Glendale area

1886 — Arizona Canal completed; William Bartlett started a 640-acre fruit farm now known as Sahuaro Ranch.

1888 — Grand Avenue constructed

February 27, 1892 — Glendale Temperance Colony officially founded when W.J. Murphy’s New England Land Company, along with Burgess Hasdell completes a survey and plat of Glendale’s first residential area. This date is celebrated as Glendale’s official birthday.

1895 — Santa Fe Railroad Depot established along Grand Avenue; first elementary school, the Glendale Grammar School, was built; first library was built on what is now Murphy Park with the help of Victor E. Messinger and 400 books from his own collection.

1909 — Louis M. Sands arrives to establish Manistee Ranch.

1909 — Downtown park donated by Murphy; first telephones installed.

June 18, 1910 — Town of Glendale incorporated; First Mayor is A.W. Bennet and the first Town Clerk is Victor E. Messinger.

1912 — Glendale News founded by Fred C. Woodward: Glendale High School built at a cost of $20,000

1926 — a second newspaper, The Glendale Herald, was established

1927 — Chamber of Commerce founded

1930 — Glendale becomes one of the nation’s top produce shippers; Town of Glendale becomes City of Glendale

1938 — Library built in Murphy Park

1941 — Desert land cleared for Air School site. Thunderbird Airfield created for training pilots for Army Air Corps in World War II. Construction of Luke Air Force Base also begins.

1946 — Thunderbird field transformed into Thunderbird School of International Management.

1948 — Glendale becomes only city in Arizona with 100% of its streets paved.

1951 — Luke Field permanently reactivated as Luke Air Force Base

1965 — Glendale Community College opens

1977 — Glendale Star founded

1981 — Sperry (now Honeywell) builds Glendale’s first aerospace facility

1986 — New Glendale Municipal Airport opens

1988 — ASU West opens

1989 — Cerreta Candy moves into downtown

1990 — Catlin Court Historic Shops District created in downtown Glendale.

1993 — Arrowhead Towne Center mall opens

1994 — Glendale Glitters holiday light display begins

1995 — Luke Air Force Base annexed

1996 —Glitter & Glow, Chocolate Affaire events begin; Midwestern University dedicates first campus building

1998 — Downtown Glendale named one of top 10 antique centers in U.S. by U.S.A. Today

1999 — Glendale Civic Center opens and is site of millennium celebration

2000 — Glendale Visitor Center opens in Historic Downtown Glendale. The Visitor Center is an official state of Arizona local information center.

2003 — Glendale Arena, a state-of-the-art, multi-purpose facility opens at Westgate City Center sports and retail megacomplex

2005 — Business Week Magazine names University of Phoenix Stadium
“A Top 10 Sporting Venue in the World” before it even opens

2006 — University of Phoenix Stadium opens; Glendale Arena naming rights sold to Jobing.com to become Jobing.com Arena

2007 — University of Phoenix Stadium becomes the new venue to host the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl and hosts the BCS National Championship Game for the first time and will do so every 4 years

2008 — Glendale hosts the XLII Super Bowl

2009 — Spring Training facility for L.A. Dodgers & Chicago White Sox opens

2014 — Arena naming rights sold to Gila River to become Gila River Arena

2015 — Glendale hosts the XLIX Super Bowl; the most watched Super Bowl in history