Phoenix's 'Yellow Brick Road': The mystery of the pink sidewalk at the Biltmore
“Is there a pink sidewalk on a Valley mountainside?” It was a question that the former Phoenix Gazette “Answer Line” often received over 50 years ago. The simple answer then, was YES! As for today, you might find remnants if you know where to look.
As many of Phoenix’s quirky historic tidbits go, the story behind this celebrated pink sidewalk depends on who is telling the story. One thing for certain, it is connected to the Biltmore Hotel and William Wrigley, Jr.
Wrigley of chewing gum fame and that baseball stadium in Chicago, was a major investor in the Biltmore Hotel. After the completion of the Biltmore, Wrigley purchased 30 acres nearby in April 1930 and began construction of his 16,000-square-foot home (the smallest of his five properties) in July of that year. Billed as his winter home, the house was completed in 1931. When you go there, you will understand why Wrigley selected that spot. Prior to its completion, Wrigley would stay at the Biltmore. After all, he owned the place.
One story relates that Wrigley and his wife liked to walk their dogs and did not enjoy getting sand in their shoes. Did that annoying desert sand give impetus for Wrigley to have a pink sidewalk built that meandered from the hotel north to the hotel’s reservoir? Or, was the sidewalk constructed for the hotel guests to allow them to enjoy the pristine desert, at the time, and the views as they strolled northward along the walkway up a portion of what we now call Piestewa Peak?
Here's what we do know from various sources. The color pink, or terra cotta depending on your knowledge of colors, matched the pool deck or the driveway in front of the hotel; the sidewalk was 1 mile or 2 miles long; the end was at a reservoir that provided water to the hotel (and kids loved to sneak in and swim in it); it was called Gran Paseo; the path went through a culvert beneath what is now Lincoln Drive, and there were pink benches resembling beds with white concrete pillows along the walk.
Before all the development began to occur on the north side of the hotel and Lincoln Drive, high schoolers often rendezvoused at night along the sidewalk. Some to skateboard, others to play pranks on classmates. Young lovers and old found the pink sidewalk provided a romantic glow on moonlit nights. Others came during the day and had picnics, perhaps using the “bed” benches where they could lay out the food.
In 1973, the Biltmore ceased using the reservoir when it connected to the Phoenix water system. The owners at the time filled the reservoir with dirt to eliminate it as a hazard. And developments spelled the end of the pink sidewalk as it slowly crumbled from lack of maintenance.
Did Albert Chase McArthur have the sidewalk built in 1928 or did William Wrigley, Jr. add it in 1931? Lots of unknowns may always remain, but one thing is for sure: The memory of the Biltmore pink sidewalk is equivalent to Phoenix’s “Yellow Brick Road.”
Donna Reiner has co-authored three books on Phoenix history and numerous National Register Nominations.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix's version of the 'Yellow Brick Road' at the Biltmore
