Legend City

Conceived and built in the early 1960s by local artist and advertising man Louis E. Crandall, Legend City was an ambitious and star-crossed mid-century attempt to bring a world-class theme park to the Phoenix metropolitan area. Despite daunting financial challenges and an unforgiving Arizona sun, the park managed to survive for two full decades, entertaining countless Arizonans and forging an enduring place for itself in the hearts and minds of local residents. A sad tale of broken dreams and economic failure on the surface, the story of Legend City is actually an exhilarating and fascinating chapter in the cultural history of Arizona.

Author John Bueker was raised in the Phoenix area in the 1960s and 1970s, and he absorbed the local culture and developed a marked affinity for Phoenix nostalgia. He started a Web site tribute to Legend City in 2001 and has, over the years, assembled an extensive collection of images and tales of the long-lost Arizona amusement park.