The Beginning
Del Webb Corporation built Chris-Town on eighty acres of farm land east of 19th Ave. and south of Bethany Home Rd.
The first indoor air-conditioned mall in Arizona, it measured precisely a thousand feet from end to end.
Artist's conception of Chris-Town, circa 1960.
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Before and after construction, 1959 and 1961.
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Chris Harri, the Swiss born farmer who sold Del Webb the land for Chris-Town in 1955 and for whom the mall was named. He died in 1971 at the age of 94.
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| Kansas City sculptor Jac T Bowen was commissioned to create two unique and popular sculptures for Chris-Town: Ferdinand the Bull, and a colorful Roadrunner. Ferdinand was originally placed in the Court of Flowers and the Roadrunner in the Court of Birds. The photos below were taken just after the project's completion and before the pieces were shipped to the mall. |
Artist: Jac T Bowen
Photos by Fred C. Stebbins
