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The City of Chandler, Arizona was named for a veterinarian, Dr. A. J. Chandler, who settled in the area in 1891. The town of Chandler began in 1912, with the opening of the Hotel San Marcos in 1913. In 1920 the Town of Chandler incorporated, with Dr. Chandler as its first Mayor. The San Marcos Resort and Spa is the oldest golf resort in Arizona, and is located in historic downtown Chandler, adjacent to Dr. A. J. Chandler Park, where many of Chandler's special events are held. Most of the north and south streets in the original town site were named after states, and most of the east and west streets were named after American cities." Several of those street names remain today, like Boston Street, California Street, and Arizona Avenue. Chandler is located in the East Valley, in the southeast part of the Greater Phoenix area. The city offices of Chandler are about 20 miles from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. Generally, Tempe and Mesa are to the north, Mesa and Gilbert are to the east, and Phoenix (Ahwatukee) is to the west. Chandler, Arizona covers about 70 square miles, and the elevation of Chandler is about 1,215 feet. Between 1990 and 2000, Chandler was the 7th fastest growing city in the United States of those with a population more than 100,000. The population of Chandler is 240,595. That makes it the 5th largest city in Arizona. Chandler is thought of as a family-oriented city, with lots of parks and many family festivals and events. The largest employers in the City of Chandler are: · Intel Corporation · Wells Fargo · Verizon · Freescale Semiconductor · Bashas · Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. · Motorola · Countrywide · Chandler Regional Hospital · Orbital Sciences Corporation
In the 1980s Chandler saw a shift in its economic base from agricultural to high tech companies. Intel began operations in Chandler in 1980; the Intel® Pentium® processor set of products is manufactured in Arizona. Chandler was nicknamed the Silicon Desert, as companies opted to locate here instead of Silicon Valley. |