Jerry Howard

Mesa Grande Interpretive Trail grand opening is held

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[Source: Kevin Christopher, Arizona Museum of Natural History] — A community vision to bring an archaeological treasure to the public is finally realized!  A grand opening of the Mesa Grande Interpretive Trail [was] held Saturday, March 27 from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. at Mesa Grande, located at West 10th Street and Date/Brown.  Mesa Grande is a major prehistoric Hohokam site that flourished from about 1000-1450 A.D.  The main feature is a large platform mound, about 27 feet high, that covers the size of a football field.  The site is administered by the Arizona Museum of Natural History.

“This is a day we have been looking forward to for a long time.  The opening of the trail will allow people to learn more about this unique site built by the Hohokam and our efforts to save it,” Arizona Museum of Natural History Curator of Anthropology Dr. Jerry Howard said.  The City of Mesa purchased the Mesa Grande ruins to preserve this cultural treasure and open it to the public as an educational and recreational facility.  Mesa Grande is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and has also been designated by the Arizona Historical Advisory Commission as an Arizona Centennial Legacy Project.  [Note: To read the full article, click here.]

Hohokam ruins restoration in Mesa to begin at last

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[Source: Jim Walsh, Mesa Republic, 11-18-2009] — Visitors will get their first opportunity to use a new interpretive trail through the Mesa Grande Ruins in March during the annual open house.  Construction on the trail begins on Dec. 1 and is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, the first stage of development of ruins as a tourist attraction and educational facility since the city bought it in 1987.

The open house is scheduled for March 27.  It includes tours and a free pancake breakfast sponsored by the Mesa Grande Community Alliance, a west Mesa neighborhood organization.  “It’s kind of the grand opening of the trail,” said Tom Wilson, director of the Arizona Museum of Natural History.  “It’s very gratifying to finally get some of the funding together to begin Phase One.”

Bids on the trail project came in so low that the museum may also include a small visitors parking lot for 15 vehicles on 10th Street and a small visitors entry area featuring a ticket booth, restrooms and a display area, said Jerry Howard, the museum’s curator of anthropology.  [Note: To read the full article, click here.]