History of Tempe, Arizona
Tempe is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, with a population of 161,143 according to 2005 Census Bureau estimates. Phillip Darrell Duppa is usually credited with suggesting the name, adopted in 1879, after comparing the Salt River valley near a 300-foot-tall butte, to the Vale of Tempe near Mount Olympus in Greece. Duppa also had the honor of giving name to Phoenix, Arizona 11 years earlier.
Tempe is a major suburb of Phoenix and is located immediately southeast. The upscale suburb of Scottsdale, Arizona and is immediately to the north of Tempe.
Tempe is the headquarters and executive office of US Airways (formerly America West Airlines) and the main campus of Arizona State University. It was the longtime host of the Fiesta Bowl, although the Bowl Championship Series game moved to University of Phoenix Stadium, located in Glendale, Arizona in 2007. On New Year's Eve, the city hosts the Insight Enterprises Fiesta Bowl Block Party, one of the nation's largest New Year's Eve parties. The event typically has a national band heading a concert, along with several other local and national bands. It was also the site of one of the three U.S. presidential election debates, 2004 and Super Bowl XXX. Additionally, it is the spring training host city of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
The city is known in Pima language as Oidbaá¸.