San Paso

[N106 10]

Table of Contents

Page 1

An introduction

Update 1: The debate

Update 2: Central San Paso

Update 3: North San Paso

Update 4: East San Paso

Update 5: South San Paso

Update 6: Hamilton and Riverton

Update 7: Surrounding Areas

An Introduction

Hello. I am N106. A lot of you won't recognize me... I made a few city journals in 2009. My most successful and most popular journal was "A History of San Paso", which was about a city, San Paso, tracking it's growth in the Southern Arizona desert from a small, dusty frontier town in 1870 to a sprawling, rapidly growing metropolis in the 1950s. The last update for San Paso had been in 1959. Since then, I've lost several files, putting the city to its 1954 status. For several months, I completely forgot about the journal and Sim City 4 in general. However, in the past couple of weeks, I've been working on San Paso again, and I've built it up quite a bit. This was possible thanks to my laptop, allowing me to multi-task between city-building and other things. So, I'm going to launch this city journal again, starting in the year 1960. I cannot promise frequent updates. But I do want to try and finish this city. I've noticed the old thread has been deleted, so these first few updates will be more about showing what San Paso is, and less showing new things. This first update, however, serves as a teaser for more to come.

Update 1: The Debate

Daniel Warren was elected into City Council in 1954. In the past 6 years, he has gained a lot of support, and now he is running for mayor in the November election. In a televised debate on March 23, he said:

"Currently, the City Council is divided between two groups. The pro-growth groups, and the anti-growth groups. These groups have characterized our city's politics for decades. The anti-growth groups have made every effort, since they first organized at the turn of the century, to stifle our city. When the San Paso Architect Company contracted businesses to help rebuild downtown after the 1886 fire, the anti-growth people said that architecture would become generic and tasteless. Today, we have some of the most varied and unique downtown architecture west of the Mississippi. When we built the Greater Paso Canal System in the 1930s, they said that the river would dry up and the crops would wither. Today, we have the most farmland in any part of Arizona. When we encouraged industry in the second World War, they said that this city would become a stunted industrial wasteland when the war ended. Today, we are the largest industrial center between Los Angeles and Dallas."

"Now, they are saying that the interstate highway will divide the city..."

"...and encourage unhealthy sprawl."

"These people just don't understand how things work. You cannot stop growth. Growth is natural and healthy for the modern city. The world is growing smaller, and we need infrastructure to remain a part of it. Upon closer examination, many of the arguments against growth don't make any sense. They say the new uptown project will destroy business in downtown."

"But that is untrue, because the demand for business is high enough that downtown cannot possibly satisfy it. Or even come anywhere close. I personally support the migration of business to the suburbs. The city is growing and very soon, the suburbs will be where most everyone is."

"Another advantage of suburban business is that there is far more room, and more effort is put into designing shopping centers on the outskirts. There is ample room for parking, unlike in downtown. Today, downtown is the center of what I like to call 'the parking wars'. There is a major shortage of parking, and businesses there are fighting tooth and nail to prevent getting plowed over for a parking lot. In the end, this hurts businesses, because if nobody can get to downtown, nobody can make any purchases."

"Yet, the anti-growth groups tell me that the parking garage that just opened in downtown is a bad idea? They don't want business to move to the suburbs, yet refuse to provide any way for people to get businesses into downtown? That does not make any logical sense."

"The reality is that these people just don't like business. For some reason, they have decided that business is the enemy of all things good. But please, can someone tell me what this city has been built upon, from the beginning? What this nation has been built upon from the beginning? It is unreasonable to suggest that San Paso can survive without business. Today, we are the industrial capital of the Southwest. And this has partly been made possible through a good infrastructure and the tax breaks we've been giving industry since the turn of the century."

"There is one form of growth that these people have expressed support for. Throughout the aging neighborhoods around downtown, they have pushed for rent-controlled housing projects to be constructed. They say that these projects will help turn San Paso into the ideal city, and will help to end poverty. But, like a lot of well-intentioned projects, I am sure that this will not end well. It is like lightly kissing a shattered knee."

"What I want for San Paso is a return to reality. This city is growing, because it's doing something right. What they're doing right is encouraging the construction of new neighborhoods, improving the infrastructure, and allowing for business to expand as needed. I cannot possibly imagine why that would need to be changed. If I am elected mayor, I promise to encourage business, and to encourage growth. Because that is what is best for this city. Thank you."

The camera panned to a view of Warren's opponent, John Thomas. Thomas is 20 years older than Warren, and has had a much longer career on city council or in city affairs. He was originally elected to city council in 1932, and became the head of the council in 1946. He has had a long history of public service. He ran for mayor unsuccessfully in 1952. Thomas said:

"Now my candidate has stated that growth is a beautiful thing, and that we mustn't stop it. He has used a lot of eloquent metaphors and similes. However, he is a city man. He was born in New York and moved here after the war. Now, he lives in the suburb of Pond Park, which is highly affluent and completely sheltered from the problems of the city."

"As much as he would like to believe it, Pond Park is not San Paso. In fact, neighborhoods like Pond Park are exactly what is wrong with San Paso. Sprawl is destructive to this city. Many people have cleared out the inner city, leaving homes to abandonment, or allowing for the more dangerous elements of society to take over."

"He has asserted that people who think like me are anti-business. I do not endorse the destruction of business, and I believe it is a healthy part of any city. However, it needs to be regulated, and it needs to stay centralized. Office parks do, in fact, drain business from downtown."

"Even the construction of ballparks away from downtown is bad for business. It gives people more reason to stay away from the once popular, thriving stores our core has to offer."

"Unlike Mr. Warren, I grew up in a small town. Juniper Hill, to be exact. And I grew up in a different era. I grew up when people still used the horse and the buggy. When San Paso was a much smaller, and much better place."

"And I grew up in a poor family, unlike Mr. Warren. Mr. Warren believes that we should make budget cuts to the schools, stating that we should encourage private schools."

"However, not everyone can afford the affluent schools which Mr. Warren endorses."

"Also, he suggests that the lowering density of San Paso is a good thing. Does he not recognize how much space some of these new subdivisions, especially on the far outskirts, can waste?"

"Mr. Warren accuses us of having ulterior motives, but it is possible he has some ulterior motives himself. He has recently had a new building constructed for his banking firm in the suburbs, and his major opponent is stationed in downtown. An increase in suburban business would be good for Mr. Warren, as it would put his opponent out of business."

"Also, he speaks about how we are an industrial giant of a city, but many of his ideas will serve to undermine this city's industry. He has no plans to update infrastructure in our aging districts, and would rather invest in things such as the North Paso Industrial Park to serve modern industrial needs."

"To vote for Warren is not a vote for growth... it is a vote against what this city really needs. What we need is to preserve our city, and growth should only occur in a regulated, sustainable way. What Mr. Warren suggests will leave San Paso gutted on the inside, and growing cancerously on the outside. Has he ever considered that with his ideas, maybe, someday, his firm might end up too far in the city to get any business? Because at the rate this city is going, what is considered a suburb now may be a part of the inner city in 20 or 30 years."

The televised speeches ended there. Neither showed any great increases in their polling data. Critics of Warren decried his ideas as oversimplified and generalized. Critics of Thomas have stated that he spent too much time attacking Warren and may not have any real solutions himself, and that he is too nostalgic for the dusty western town San Paso once was to know what it needs as a modern metropolis.

In the next update, we'll actually take a look around San Paso. And also, I won't be doing too much city politics... I was just trying to find a way to get people interested.

  Edited April 22, 2011 by N106  

[AdoxxBE 289]

Looking good, nice pictures. Maybe add a pilar at the end of the railroad?

[nathanthemayor 1,261]

Very awesome city and photo editing!

[Benedict 3,119]

Great to see you back here. I don't think your old CJ has been deleted.... https://www.simtropolis.com/forum/topic/31939-a-history-of-san-paso/page__p__830034__hl__san+paso__fromsearch__1#entry830034

[panthersimcity4 162]

Nice city, I like the picture of the subdivision with the farmland around the houses.

[zcg4755 13]

Glad to see you back. I have always admired your work.

[antsel 841]

Excellent start! Sounds like this is going to be a very interesting CJ!

[N106 10]

Replies

Adooxx: Thanks. Does the end of the railroad need a pillar, though?

nathanthemayor: Thank you. I try.

Benedict: So it was just moved... all the links I followed, such as the one from your thread, didn't work. I thought it had been deleted. I guess I'll go edit the original post to have that link. Thank you very much. And I'm glad to be back. Looks like I couldn't stay away. I just knew I wasn't done with San Paso. Not even close.

panthersimcity4: Thank you. I got inspiration for that subdivision by looking at the actual city of Phoenix. I saw a lot of extremely low density subdivisions with houses in large lots like that. Designed to look rural, even though they were in the suburbs of a major city.

zcg4755: Thank you. I guess you can admire my work some more, then.

selles: Thank you. I hope that this CJ turns out interesting.

Update 2: Central San Paso

Seeing as most of you probably don't know much about San Paso, I have decided to provide a tour of the city. Of course, it's a big city and a big region, so I will divide this into sections. We'll start with the city center.

This is a map of the central areas of San Paso. The I-17 interstate highway runs through, going north to south, about a mile east of downtown, marked in red. The city started growing in the shadow of Mission Hill, which is now a state park marked in brown. The railroad runs through the city, feeding industry, colored in orange. Parks are marked in green. The Rio San Paso runs through the city, marked in blue.

Downtown San Paso is the largest business district between Dallas, Texas and Los Angeles, California. The San Paso skyline is dominated mostly by skyscrapers built in the Roaring '20s. It has a distinct look to it.

San Paso originally grew around the intersection of Central Avenue and Apache Street. For years, this had been the acknowledged business center of San Paso. It stayed as such throughout the city's early history, and downtown's oldest surviving buildings stand here.

The Grand Union Station is the city's major train depot.

The intersection of Central Avenue and Lincoln Avenue is the central intersection and the center of the business district of San Paso.

Carnegie Library overlooks a park.

The Palm Parkway was a Public Works construction, and is now a landmark distinct to downtown San Paso.

From 1929 until this year, the Silk Tower (renamed from a company tower name when the company moved out in 1937) was the tallest building in San Paso. Nearby, the old mayor's house, constructed in 1877, stands as a museum.

San Paso Catholic Church overlooks Pine Park, one of the oldest parks in the city. The church is on the edge of downtown.

To the south of downtown, there is a ballpark. Lincoln Avenue turns into Lincoln Boulevard, another one of San Paso's distinct palm-lined parkways.

Central Avenue leads east from downtown, through some older neighborhoods, towards the highway.

San Paso spent the turn of the century switching from an agricultural to an industrial economy. By the time World War II ended, it had become the industrial powerhouse of the Southwest. Industry first began in San Paso around 1890, along the banks of the Rio San Paso.

Industry has since expanded along the riverbanks...

...to the bottom of Mission Hill...

...and along the railroads.

The railroad system in San Paso is complex, and there are many railyards in the industrial core of the city.

Central Park is the city's largest park. It is right next to the I-17 freeway.

The freeway runs past Washington High School, which is located in an upscale neighborhood about a mile away from the downtown intersection.

Uptown begins on the east side of the freeway, along Central Avenue. The current tallest buildings in the city were just constructed last year. They replace the city's "first suburb", which had been constructed in 1895.

Old neighborhoods surround downtown. They tend to have higher crime rates than homes in the suburbs.

Housing projects can be seen to the north of downtown.

El Barrio Grande is the city's largest immigrant workers neighborhood, located in the shadow of Mission Hill.

To the north of that, another industrial workers neighborhood exists. Some residents have already picked up their things and ran for homes in the suburbs. Crime rates are skyrocketing.

And that concludes this update, with a tour of the central San Paso area. In the next update, we will explore the northern suburbs.

[tonyr 926]

Nice pics,I personally like the color pics best. Thanks for sharing your work! I noticed some beautiful parks in those color pics, excellent job!

  Edited March 31, 2011 by tonyr  

[N106 10]

Replies

tonyr: Yeah... there will only be more color pics as time goes on in this CJ. Also, I really enjoy making the parks. Thanks for responding to my work.

Update 3: Northern San Paso

We will be covering the northern and northwestern suburbs in this update. Here is a map of northern San Paso.

Mount Chance rises above Mission Hill, about 3 miles west of downtown.

Suburbs grow into open desert, where the soil is too rocky and rough for farmland. These mark the foothills of the Cepillo de Dientos Mountains to the west.

A little further north, the land is suitable for farmland. Subdivisions cut through crops along the floodplain of the Rio San Paso.

The Rio San Paso runs through the affluent northern suburbs 2 miles north of downtown.

It makes its way through thinning subdivisions another mile north of that.

Wealthy suburbs often have golf courses. This suburb, built in 1950, marks the beginning of suburban growth to the north, and is located near the Rio San Paso.

Commercial and new industry has grown along the new avenue grid that extends through the suburbs. This is business along Farmers Avenue (which there are now no farms on)

Farmers Avenue eventually meets the I-17 freeway.

The Rivers Baptist Church, constructed in 1954, is one of the larger denominations in the northern San Paso area.

The Oasis Resort is part of what is known as the Oasis District, which describes everything north of Farmers Avenue, around Lincoln Avenue, or between Lincoln Avenue and I-17. It was constructed in 1930, and was well beyond city limits at the time. It is now absorbed in sprawl.

The Oasis Commerce Center is at the intersection of Oasis Avenue and Lincoln Avenue. It is a bustling commercial district, and the largest one north of downtown.

A spring training baseball field has found a home near the Oasis Commerce Center.

The Oasis Commerce Center has a great nightlife, with bars and clubs.

To the west of the Oasis District, there is the West Oasis Industrial Center, a new manufacturing and storage center constructed along the railroad.

A subdivision in Oasis has a golf course.

Another has a park.

The Oasis Technology Center just launched last year and is a new technology center that is rapidly growing in the northern suburbs.

Oasis Avenue meets the I-17 with stores and offices.

The East Oasis Office Park is located near the freeway.

Oasis Catholic School is a private school with a great reputation throughout the city. It is also very expensive.

The I-17 bends to go westbound. It marks the northern boundary of San Paso's current suburban development.

And that concludes today's update. Next time, we will tour the eastern metro area.

[Vern 29]

Nice CJ. I like the presentation style. How do you make the above map? Looking forward to more!

[AdoxxBE 289]

very good looking

To awnser your question:

You don't need to place a pilar at the end but it will make it more realistic but it's all up to you

[Toothless Stitch 2,901]

I like your RHW

[nathanthemayor 1,261]

Amazing photos and highways!

[Muck308 55]

Glad to see you continuing this.

[N106 10]

Replies

Vern: I used photoshop to make the map. First, I took photos of my region in map view. Then, I put them together to be as seamless as possible in Photoshop. I stretched out the photoshop image so that it appeared to be looking down vertically. I rotated it so that streets face up and down. That wasn't enough, so I then proceeded to go over it on another layer with different colored lines to represent different things. It took 2 days. The map you see is cropped... I actually have a map of everything I've developed.

Adooxx: Alright. Thank you for the advice.

skyscraper241: Thanks. Expect to see more RHW in the future.

nathanthemayor: Thank you. I try.

Muck308: I'm glad to see me continuing this too. I mean, as much as I could claim otherwise, San Paso isn't done in 1959.

Update 4: The Eastern Metro

The Eastern Metro, in general, is the parts of San Paso to the east of the I-17 freeway. It is thriving as suburbs continue to make their way further and further from the core. Here is a map.

Uptown runs through this part of the metro, starting at the freeway and extending along Central Avenue for 2 miles, to the edge of the city's current growth. At the inner edge of uptown there are the 3 new skyscrapers.

As you make your way further along, commercial growth thins (this is temporary. Planners already want to demolish older neighborhoods to connect both parts of Uptown) Warren Bankers has an office in the thinner commercial areas.

Commercial development thickens into concentrations of offices and shops along Central Avenue as one enters the suburbs.

Uptown continues along Central Avenue.

It thins rapidly as suburbs give way to farmland. This is where uptown's end is considered to be, and that won't likely change as San Paso continues to grow eastward.

Meanwhile, throughout the suburbs, commercial shopping centers are starting to appear, like the one shown below.

To the northeast, new subdivisions are being plowed over the farmland.

This subdivision in east San Paso represents what suburbia is all about.

Meanwhile, further in town, is Pond Park, the current residence of mayoral candidate Daniel Warren.

San Paso gets most of its electricity from the Greater Paso Power Station, constructed in East San Paso in 1946.

High schools in the suburbs tend to have more room and better quality sports and schooling than those in the city.

There's our tour. Next update, we'll take a look at the south.

[nathanthemayor 1,261]

Very awesome suburbs there!

[Vern 29]

The effort you put into making the map was not wasted. It adds another dimension to your presentation and spatially ties together the different parts of San Paso. I like it. Looking forward to more.

[N106 10]

Replies

nathanthemayor: Thanks. I've spent a lot of time working on the suburbs.

Vern: Thank you. I feel the need to make a map because I think it's useful to help a user know San Paso. And not feel like they're just looking at randomly selected photos.

Update 5: The Southern Suburbs

San Paso's south is home of the university, the first of the city's modern suburbs, and a variety of attractions. Here's a map.

To the west of the Rio San Paso, some newer suburbs were planned out. This is the planned community of Westside. Planned in 1952, constructed from 1954 to 1958.

South San Paso is the home of the planned neighborhoods. Centerville is a suburb planned in 1955, started in 1956, and completed in 1959.

South Paso Hospital is located near Centerville, opened in 1960.

Jackson Creek runs through the southern suburbs.

Parkview, the suburb that marked the start of the modern, uncontrolled suburban growth, was first planned in 1946, started in 1948, and completed in 1953. It was constructed along Washington Boulevard, a park lined road. Here is the northern part of Parkview.

The southern part.

There are two parks, built along Jackson Creek, that give Parkview its namesake. Here is one of them.

The other.

Stores line Washington Boulevard throughout Parkview.

Washington Boulevard runs north into the city, passing neighborhoods that were built in the 1920s.

The I-17 runs up towards San Paso from the south, and becomes a sunken highway as it makes its way north. Here is the freeway towards the southern edge of the suburbs, 5 miles out from downtown.

The I-17 runs north, passing the university.

The University of San Paso (U of SP) is 4 miles south of downtown, and when it opened, was well outside of the city. Now it is engulfed in development. Here is the entrance.

The original university buildings.

The university has a ballpark for their team, the San Paso Coyotes.

Near the university, there is a thriving commercial district with clubs, bars, stores, and restaurants.

Here is the full campus of U of SP.

As one makes their way further east, they reach less planned development. Here is a spot where the 1914 avenue plan meets the 1949 grid.

That concludes this update. In our next update, we'll explore Riverton and Hamilton, two of the smaller cities of the region.

[nathanthemayor 1,261]

Nice layout and stadium!I like it!

[Kifflom112 355]

Your city looks beautiful, but you really need to do something about keeping your pictures, they're disappearing.

[AdoxxBE 289]

Good Cj, lots of pictures to keep your attention

[zcg4755 13]

Washington Boulevard looks great!

[N106 10]

Replies

nathanthemayor: Thanks. I try.

Zulu2065: My pictures are disappearing? That could be problematic. I'll see what I can do.

Adooxx: Yeah... there's lots of things to take pictures of.

zcg4755: I know, right? A little bit of effort and you get something pretty.

Update 6: Hamilton and Riverton

Riverton is the second largest city in Anasazi County. I don't have a map available for me at the moment. It was founded in 1878 as a farming community.

Downtown Riverton has shopping and plenty of things to do.

The Depot Park, built next to the train station, in the old, historic neighborhoods.

Riverton is home to the Anasazi County fairgrounds.

Riverton has a single rail depot with industry.

Riverton city park.

Riverton High School.

Central Riverton shopping center, built in 1949, is a suburban styled shopping center, despite its proximity to the city's core.

The Interstate Riverton Outlet is the city's other shopping center, built in 1959.

Hamilton is the 3rd largest city in Anasazi County. It was founded in 1892. Like Riverton, it has seen major growth since World War II.

Downtown Hamilton is built along the palm-lined Main Street.

Hamilton City Hall.

The Church Park Triangle.

Hamilton High School.

Hamilton Elementary.

South Bank Shopping Center, on the road out from Hamilton. The cinema is a good place to see bad science fiction films.

A factory in Hamilton.

That concludes this update. After this, we're going to tour the less urbanized areas of Anasazi County, and then move on to actual time progression.

[Kifflom112 355]

Oh, my computer was just running slow, sorry about that. Anyway, your city is really making me want to do a journal of my own. It's going to be called,"The City & County of Auburn, NC".

[N106 10]

Replies

Zulu2065: It's okay. I'm glad to see that I've inspired you. I'll be sure to check out your journal when I see it.

Update 7: Surrounding Areas

There are two small towns that have yet to see the area's explosive suburban growth. These towns were smaller than Riverton or Hamilton were by the 1930s, and were founded a good 20 years later. Citrus was founded as a farming town in 1892, and Juniper Hill in 1898.

This is the town of Citrus. It has about 2,000 people, and is in the exact middle between San Paso and Riverton.

The small downtown of Citrus exists around the Citrus Plaza, a park in the center of town.

Citrus grew up around the Citrus Lake Train Depot, constructed in the 1880s as a trading post for farmers leaving San Paso.

Juniper Hill is 12 miles south of downtown San Paso. About 1,000 people live there.

Downtown Juniper Hill.

The hill which gives the town its name.

The I-17 makes its way past Juniper Hill, continuing southwards until it reaches the Mexican border.

San Paso International Airport began as a dirt landing strip in the 1920s. A commercial airline began running to it in the 1930s, and it saw a temporary career as a military airbase during World War II. The terminal was constructed and opened in 1959.

The main terminal of the airport.

The original buildings of the airport.

A couple of manufacturing towns were built near the airport during World War 2.

And that concludes our tour of Anasazi County. Stay tuned for the next update, television viewers.

[kakado_to_save 514]

WOW!! nice work

[hamsterTK 93]

I think you've done a nice job capturing the look of cities in Southwestern US, or at least as close as you can get with Simcity 4.

Like the parking lots around the suburban office parks and the commercial corridors along main avenues, that looks much like Phoenix. A small art-deco downtown, with some modern buildings along a avenue that goes north(central ave) and random clusters of buildings in places like Tempe and Scottsdale. Also kind of reminds me of the parts of Denver like Glendale and Colorado Blvd.

[N106 10]

Replies

kakado_to_save: Thank you.

hamsterTK: Yeah... Sim City 4 isn't always the best for designing suburbs. The parking lots I've introduced recently, and I think it's partly a suburban thing. I've been to Phoenix, and I've also learned quite a bit about that city, so it's not hard to figure out that this is what I base it on.

Update 8: Cepillo los Dientes Oasis- A retirement community

On April 14, 1961, San Paso City Planner William Leyland announced the opening of Cepillo los Dientes Oasis (I brush my teeth Oasis, translated) It's a retirement community that can house about 45,000 people. It was constructed 5 miles northeast of downtown. The project was started in 1956.

I don't feel like writing full descriptions for each picture, so I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

And an overview of the entire community.

Posted May 4, 1961. That concludes this update.

[legoman786 1]

I need more!!