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Photo gives unique glimpse of downtown Phoenix in the 1930s

A Phoenix historian shows us what the downtown area looked like almost 100 years ago.

PHOENIX — It hard to imagine what life was like 100 years ago. From the cars to the clothing, virtually everything has changed.

Nearly a century of growth and evolution throughout the city of Phoenix has turned the Valley into a thriving metropolis.

But even though a lot has changed over the past several decades, there are still pieces of the past visible in the present. And there's a picture to prove it.

Official Phoenix Historian Steve Schumacher recently shared a historical photo of downtown Phoenix that showed a little of what life was like in the 1930s.

In the photo taken from the Westward Ho Hotel, you can see down a portion of Central Avenue and find several buildings. South Mountain is also visible in the background.

Credit: Steve Schumacher

Schumacher said this photo is particularly significant to him.

"Phoenix has developed a reputation over the years of knocking their buildings down, and we don't have any history left," Schumacher stated. "To some degree, that's true, but every one of these buildings in this photograph is still standing today."

Several buildings now tower the older structures, but they are still very much a part of the Phoenix skyline.

While more modern structures dominate the downtown area today, the legacy of Phoenix's past can always be found.

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