1. Mesa is part of The Honeymoon Trail, starting at Winslow, AZ and ending at Saint George, UT. The trail was created from members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints traveling there to get their marriages sealed before 1926.
2. The people of Mesa recycled more than 38,000 tires in 2012 that were used to create asphalt overlay to repair Mesa’s roads.
3. The Hohokam Indians were the first settlers to the area, but by 1450 AD they had disappeared without a trace.
4. In 1987, Acquanetta, a B-movie actress most well-known in the area for her infamous car lot commercials, sold the Mesa Grande ruins to the city of Mesa.
5. There are reportedly more than 200 published authors living in Mesa.
6. In Mesa it is illegal to smoke within 15 feet of a public place—without a Class 12 liquor license.
7. Some of your new neighbors: Javelinas, tarantulas, scorpions, coyotes and rattlesnakes.
8. The Mormon Mesa Arizona Temple was the first temple in the country to present the endowment in a non-English language.
9. There is an extravagant Easter Pageant held every year at The Arizona Temple called “Jesus the Christ.” It's the largest annual outdoor Easter pageant, period.
10. Between June 1881 and May 1886, Mesa was called Hayden.
11. Hohokam Stadium, where the Chicago Cubs hold their spring training, has one of the largest seating capacities of any field in the Cactus League.
12. Mesa was found to be the most conservative city in the country according to a study published by USA Today.
13. The Mesa Arizona Temple, formerly the Arizona Temple, was the first temple built in Arizona.
14. Mesa's curbside "green barrel" program for materials like leaves and tree branches is the only such program in the country.
15. The canals that were built in the Mesa area by the Hohokam Indians are considered by historians to be the largest and most advanced of the time.
16. Williams Air Force Base is haunted, or at least that’s what they say. There have been reports of a male spirit seen in the VA hospital and reports of voices being heard in what was once the officer’s club when the location functioned as an Air Force Base.
17. Ernesto Miranda, of the famed U.S. Supreme Court case Miranda vs. Arizona that resulted in the implementation of Miranda rights, is buried in the Mesa Cemetery.
18. The scenes at the fictional Waterloo in the movie “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure” are scenes filmed at both the San Dimas Raging Waters and Golfland Sunsplash in Mesa.
19. Mesa residents donated more than 320,000 bottles of water this year to help the homeless during the summer—enough water to fill two swimming pools.
20. The Mesa Arts Center won the International Association of Venue Managers' award for Venue Excellence—over the famed Sydney Opera House.
21. In 2011, CNN ran a video of two alien spacecraft over Mesa during a particularly intense dust storm. Some think they were just helicopters, but who knows for sure...
22. Mesa might be in the middle of the desert, but believe it or not there are two rivers and three lakes within a half hour of the city.
23. The Starlite Motel's Diving Lady was built in 1960 and made millions of dives until she was damaged during a monsoon in 2010. She was resurrected in 2013 and with any luck, will continue to dive for many, many years.
Source: Youtube user jskrmk
24. An office complex in Mesa had the first evaporative air cooling system in the state. You can bet the city became popular after that.
25. Up until 2013, the Chicago Cubs hosted their training camp at Hohokam Stadium every spring. Once the Hohokam Stadium is reopened in 2015, the Oakland A’s will enter into a 20-year agreement to move to the park.
26. Just because Christmas ends doesn't mean Mesa residents lose the giving spirit. People in Mesa recycled more than 5,000 Christmas trees last year
27. There is a Peek-a-Boo Jesus at the LDS Visitor Center. The large Christ statue is in front of a painted backdrop of clouds and planets, and is revealed when the curtains are opened.
28. In 1917, the city of Mesa purchased the utility company. The revenues from the company provided enough money for paved streets, a new hospital, a new city hall and a library to be constructed—all during the Great Depression.
29. You can hear one of the world's largest Wurlitzer pipe organs at Organ Stop Pizza. Installed in 1927, it makes beautiful music every hour on the hour.
30. The 1980’s cult film “Used Cars” was shot primarily in Mesa at the at the working Darner Chrysler-Plymouth dealership.
31. Looking to start a new career? The Mesa-Phoenix metro area was voted #1 in the country for economic growth by the Brookings Institute last year.
32. The Buckhorn Baths, listed by a national historical society as one of the most endangered roadside inns in the country, has been closed for more than a decade, but rumors fly constantly that ghosts still call the historic motel home.
33. The Lost Dutchman's Gold Mine is supposedly a very rich gold mine in the Superstition Mountains, but no one knows where it’s hidden. Some people have died searching for it.
Feature Image Source: Visit Mesa Facebook
What’s your favorite fun Mesa fact? Tell us in the comments below!
