Discover Paradise Valley Architecture in New Local Book

MT. PLEASANT, S.C. - May 6, 2013 - PRLog -- The newest addition to Arcadia Publishing’s popular Images of America series is Paradise Valley Architecture from local authors Douglas B. Sydnor. The book boasts more than 200 vintage images and memories of days gone by.

Three surveyors in the late 19th century were so attracted to the area's desert beauty that they named it "the Paradise Valley." Starting in the 1920s, adobe homes were constructed in various revival styles.

In 1936, the Camelback Inn resort set a high-quality standard with an inviting and relaxed character. Other guest lodges arrived, including the Hermosa Inn and the El Chorro Lodge. The 1950s brought more luxurious resorts, including the Paradise Valley Racquet Club and the Mountain Shadows Resort. With the threat of Phoenix or Scottsdale annexing the area, the citizens started debating incorporation in 1949 and were successful in 1961.

Churches, schools, town facilities and single-family homes followed. Numerous town ordinances were adopted to preserve a quiet, desert lifestyle such as burying all utilities, restrictive zoning and hillside preservation.

Highlights of Paradise Valley Architecture include:
•   Captures the evolution of architecture since WWII and it being integrated into the lower Sonoran desert environment.
•   Rare images chronicle the Town of Paradise Valley’s infrastructure improvements such as burying utilities, widening streets, providing landscaped medians and adding shaded pedestrian walkways.
•   Features the public and private schools that evolved over the years, including the longest functioning private school in Arizona.

Available at area bookstores, independent retailers, and online retailers, or through Arcadia Publishing at (888)-313-2665 or online.  

Arcadia Publishing is the leading publisher of local and regional history in the United States.  Our mission is to make history accessible and meaningful through the publication of books on the heritage of America’s people and places.  Have we done a book on your town?  Visit www.arcadiapublishing.com/.