The Phoenix Parks and Recreation Department has three sites up for nomination in 2008 as city Points of Pride. The public can vote for Parks and Recreation Department sites on the Points of Pride Web site at phoenix.gov/pride2008 through March 20.

The Parks and Recreation Department’s extensive collection of parks and facilities is well recognized on the current list of Points of Pride. Of the 30 current Points of Pride, 12 are Parks and Recreation Department locations. Listed below are the three department sites nominated for 2008:

Cesar Chavez Park
7858 S. 35th Ave.

At 355 acres, Cesar Chavez Park is the largest flatland, or city, park in Phoenix. The park is home to multiple city facilities including Cesar Chavez Sports Complex, Alvord Lake, a Parks Department nursery and the Cesar Chavez Library branch. The city’s Aguila Golf Course also is co-located with the park. With a stocked lake, picnic ramadas, a fully accessible playground and plentiful green space, the park is an extremely popular gathering spot for area families. The parks features four lighted softball fields with a batting cage, two lighted baseball diamonds, six lighted basketball courts, eight lighted handball courts, eight lighted tennis courts, one lighted soccer field and a multi-use field. The park's innovative playground is designed with equipment and surfacing to accommodate participants with disabilities. An artist-designed commemorative plaza features an eight-foot-tall bronze statue of Cesar Chavez with four accompanying bronze narrative plaques.

Originally developed as a park in 1982, and further developed in 1995 and 1997, the Phoenix Parks and Preserves Initiative funded the most recent improvements, which brought lighting to the athletic fields, the new playgrounds, decorative fencing along the park drive, lighted monument walls and the park entrances, lakeside seating and improved area lighting and landscaping throughout.

North Mountain Visitor's Center
12950 N. Seventh St.

In just a short time, the North Mountain Visitor's Center has become a community focal point and a regular destination for thousands of visitors each year. The center offers educational classes and displays to interpret and understand the Sonoran Desert, found right outside the center's doors. A series of trails adjacent to the center mean desert exploration is just a step away.

Visitors can find trail maps and talk to a park ranger for information on hikes or mountain bike rides, pick up brochures and pamphlets on a variety of topics related to the Sonoran Desert and the city's mountain preserve system, learn about upcoming park ranger-led outdoor programs or drop in for a Ranger Program on the Sonoran Desert. The center's Coffee House Music Series regularly attracts dozens of people.

Murphy Bridle Path
Central Avenue from Bethany Home Road to the
Arizona Canal, just south of Dunlap Avenue.

The two-and-a-half-mile, six-foot-wide crushed granite path runs along Central Avenue through the heart of north Central Phoenix. Mature ash and olive trees, some more than 100 years old, provide a lush canopy of shade for the thousands of bikers, hikers, joggers, walkers and other people who use the trail each year. The trail was named for William Murphy, who was hired to build the Arizona Canal in 1883. Murphy also was a land speculator who founded the nearby area, dubbing it Orangewood. He dedicated a 100-foot right of way to the public to create North Central Avenue. Area residents gathered in 1995 to celebrate the path's 100th anniversary. Phoenix Parks and Recreation Department staff now maintain the trail and the surrounding ash, aleppo pine and olive trees.