Mesa
2010: 439,041, #38 in U.S., #3 in Arizona 1950: 16,790 Mesa is in the Phoenix Metropolitan Statistical Area. Setting Mesa, founded in 1878 by Mormon pioneers, was named for the mesa on which it is located. It was mainly an agricultural community until the population exploded in recent decades. In 2008 the city of Mesa annexed five square miles in an area southeast of the existing city. A new city center is planned there. Buildings Tallest building: Financial Plaza, 224 feet, southwest of downtown (1985) Stores Mesa has no downtown department stores. Trains Mesa has no Amtrak service. Valley Metro Rail opened a light-rail line from Phoenix to Mesa in 2008.
|  Mesa Bank Building and Mesa Arts Center Museums The Arizona Museum of Natural History and the i.d.e.a. Museum are in downtown Mesa. Mesa Contemporary Arts is in the Mesa Arts Center.Theaters Mesa has no downtown movie theaters. The Symphony of the Southwest plays at the Mesa Arts Center Ikeda Theater (2005).Sports Hohokam Stadium, north of downtown, hosts spring training games of the Oakland A's. Sloan Park (2015) hosts spring training games of the Chicago Cubs. |