Tempe Hardware Building

Built in 1898 as the Odd Fellows Hall, this is the oldest surviving three-story brick commercial building in Maricopa County, a surprising bit of height for a young desert town. Its second-floor ballroom hosted fraternal lodges, the Tempe town council, the first Mormon congregation, and every kind of dance, rally, and meeting; upstairs offices held tenants from the National Guard to the local canal company. The Curry family ran the Tempe Hardware here from 1906 until 1976. Rehabilitated in 1982 and placed on the National Register, it still commands its corner of old Tempe.

What the plaque says

Known as the Odd Fellows Hall when it was built in 1898, this is the oldest surviving three-story brick commercial building in Maricopa County. Its second-floor ballroom hosted fraternal organizations, Tempe's city council, and the town's first Mormon congregation, along with dances, political rallies, and town meetings. Upper-floor offices held tenants from the State National Guard to the Tempe Irrigating Canal Company. The Curry family ran the Tempe Hardware from 1906 to 1976; the building was rehabilitated in 1982 and placed on the National Register.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Phoenix — 7.9 mi
  The fifth-largest US city, built on the canals of a thousand-year-old one
• Heard Museum — 8.3 mi
  The Native Southwest, told in the first person
• Taliesin West — 14 mi
  Frank Lloyd Wright's desert masterwork, grown from the ground it stands on

More markers nearby

• Hayden House — 0.3 mi
• Site of Hayden's Ferry — 0.3 mi
• Sallie D. Hayden — 0.3 mi
• The Old Church — 0.3 mi