SCOTTSDALE

13 ways you know you're a Scottsdale native

Beth Duckett, and Anne Ryman
The Los Arcos Mall in Scottsdale in 1998.

The "West's Most Western Town" has come a long way from the sleepy tourist enclave it was decades ago.

Whether you've lived in Scottsdale 20 years or 50, the city has undergone countless changes, from the creation of the McDowell Sonoran Preserve to the opening of SkySong. See the slideshow above, and the story below, for indicators that you've been in Scottsdale for some time.

Rawhide

Rawhide, the Scottsdale landmark, entertained visitors for 34 years near Pinnacle Peak and Scottsdale roads until it closed in 2005.

Rawhide later re-opened at Wild Horse Pass on the Gila River Indian Reservation near Chandler. Visitors can still enjoy the Old West through gunfights, Western costumes and live country music at its new location.

The north end of the city was desert

What was once considered northern Scottsdale is now the central part of the city.

Scottsdale native Donn Frye, CEO of Prestige Cleaners, remembers staying overnight as a youth in the wilderness near Scottsdale and Bell roads.

"We'd ride our bikes and catch snakes and lizards out there, and go shooting up at Scottsdale and Bell," Frye said.

"My dad would drive us, before I had my license, down Shea to the power lines, which is Frank Lloyd Wright now, and he'd drop us off, me and my buddies, and we'd go hiking south and we'd stay overnight."

You remember the Phoenix Open when it was in Phoenix

The Phoenix Open began in 1932, was discontinued in 1935, and revived by Bob Goldwater Sr. in 1939. The tournament took place at Phoenix Country Club and Arizona Country Club before moving to TPC Scottsdale in 1987, where its attendance numbers have flourished.

The tournament is now called the Waste Management Phoenix Open and posts the highest attendance of all the golf stops on the PGA Tour and worldwide.

The creation of the McDowell Sonoran Preserve

The McDowell Sonoran Preserve is considered one of the largest urban preserves in the country and exists today thanks to countless residents, elected officials and volunteers who worked to save the McDowell Mountains and surrounding desert from development.

Voters approved tax increases to buy land for the preserve in 1995 and 2004, raising the dollars needed for Scottsdale to buy the land.

The preserve now spans 30,200 acres, larger than Tempe.

You remember when Herb Drinkwater was mayor

Former Scottsdale Mayor Herb Drinkwater.

Herb Drinkwater, nicknamed "Mr. Scottsdale," served four terms as mayor until leaving office in 1996. Beloved by many, Drinkwater registered an approval rating of 96 percent in 1987.

He was known for his trademark Stetson and cowboy books and presided over the city during its boom years. He epitomized the city's Western roots, buoyant spirit and friendliness. Drinkwater died in 1997.

You shopped at Los Arcos Mall

The Los Arcos shopping mall opened in 1969 at McDowell and Scottsdale roads and was a main anchor along the bustling McDowell corridor.

By the mid-1990s, the mall was hemorrhaging businesses as newer and more modern commercial centers sprouted up across the Valley.

Los Arcos closed in 2000 and was demolished, eventually making way for SkySong, the ASU Scottsdale Innovation Center, which opened in 2008.

You attended Scottsdale High School

Scottsdale High opened in 1923 and closed in 1983 after a bitter fight to remain open. A bronze marker now marks the spot where the high school once stood at the Hilton Garden Inn at 7324 E. Indian School Road.

You remember McCormick Ranch when it was a ranch

Aerial view of McCormick Ranch in Scottsdale

McCormick Ranch, the city's first master-planned developed community, was once a working cattle and horse ranch.

Fowler and Anne McCormick purchased Merle Chaney's 160-acre ranch in 1944 and added more than 4,200 acres over the next decade.

Fowler was a descendant of John D. Rockefeller and Cyrus McCormick. Cyrus is famous for inventing the mechanical reaper.

After Anne McCormick died in 1969, and the family sold the ranch to Kaiser-Aetna for $12.1 million a year later. The first homes were finished in January 1973.

Tom Chauncey's Arabian Horses

Tom Chauncey Sr. operated an Arabian horse ranch for years off Scottsdale Road. By the late 1980s, the Chauncey Ranch housed about 750 Arabian horses. His children took over the ranch after Chauncey died in 1996 at age 83.

The area later was rezoned for car dealerships, a high-end shopping center and apartments.

Elementary and middle schools were one

Schools, like Pueblo Elementary School, were once K-8 and students would go straight into high school from the elementary schools. But as Scottsdale grew, middle schools were added to the mix.

You went to the movies at Kachina Theatre

The site of the Scottsdale Galleria was once home to the Kachina Theatre and later a Harkins theater. Harkins closed in 1989 to make way for the Galleria.

You shopped at Goldwaters

Goldwaters Department Store at the corner of Camelback and Scottsdale, east entrance.

The Goldwater family expanded their department store in downtown Phoenix to include Scottsdale in the 1950s. Goldwater’s later moved to become a major anchor for Scottsdale Fashion Square.

In the 1990s, Goldwaters became a Robinson's department store.

You ate at the Safari Hotel

The swanky Safari Hotel opened in 1956 near Camelback and Scottsdale roads and became synonymous with the city's resort lifestyle.

Movie stars such as Robert Taylor, Bing Crosby, Burt Reynolds and Fred MacMurray were known to have stayed there. The hotel was torn down in 1999 to make way for condos and a shopping center.

Do you have other suggestions that makes one a Scottsdale native? E-mail your ideas to beth.duckett@arizonarepublic.com.