This partial list of city nicknames in Arizona compiles the aliases, sobriquets and slogans that cities in Arizona are known by (or have been known by historically), officially and unofficially, to municipal governments, local people, outsiders or their tourism boards or chambers of commerce. City nicknames can help in establishing a civic identity, helping outsiders recognize a community or attracting people to a community because of its nickname; promote civic pride; and build community unity.Muench, David "Wisconsin Community Slogans: Their Use and Local Impacts" , December 1993, accessed April 10, 2007. Nicknames and slogans that successfully create a new community "ideology or myth" are also believed to have economic value. Their economic value is difficult to measure, but there are anecdotal reports of cities that have achieved substantial economic benefits by "branding" themselves by adopting new slogans.Alfredo Andia, Branding the Generic City :) , MU.DOT magazine, September 10, 2007
Some unofficial nicknames are positive, while others are derisive. The unofficial nicknames listed here have been in use for a long time or have gained wide currency. Apache Junction Home of the Superstition MountainsApache Junction Ride Choice , accessed March 30, 2007. "© 2004 City of Apache Junction, Arizona Home of the Superstition Mountains " Gateway to Legends, Lakes, Leisure, and Lost TreasureArizona Government Web Sites, accessed March 30, 2007. "City of Apache Junction, Arizona. Gateway to legends, lakes, leisure and lost treasures." Ash Fork – Flagstone Capital of the United StatesClaims to Fame - Rocks , Epodunk, accessed April 16, 2007. Chandler – High-Tech Oasis of the Silicon DesertU.S. City Monikers, Tagline Guru website, accessed January 5, 2008 Flagstaff City in the PinesFlagstaff Arizona , accessed March 29, 2007. "Flagstaff is sometimes called "The City in the Pines" because the town sits in the middle of a Ponderosa Pine stand in the Coconino National Forest. The town is also called "The City of Seven Wonders" because of its proximity to the Grand Canyon, Oak Creek Canyon, Walnut Canyon, Wupatki National Monument, Sunset Crater National Monument and the San Francisco Peaks." City of Seven Wonders The Staff Flag Flag Town (C. W. McCall)Song A' Th' Week , The Legend-News, January 21, 2002. "By golly, it's clean clear to Flag Town, c'mon. => On the highway between Rubber Duck's location and Flagstaff, Arizona ("Flagtown"), there are no reports of police activity." Jerome – America's Most Vertical City Kingman – Heart of Route 66Kingman Area Chamber of Commerce, accessed March 29, 2007. "Kingman, Arizona: The Heart of Route 66 and gateway to the Hoover Dam, Lake Mead and the Grand Canyon!" Phoenix – Arizona's Urban HeartJahna Berry, Downtown Phoenix donning a new label to lure locals, tourists, The Arizona Republic, March 2, 2009 Phoenix metropolitan area The Big Saguaro Silicon Desert Valley of the SunTagline Guru City Branding Survey, Tagline Guru website, accessed August 18, 2009 Prescott – Everybody's Home TownQuick Facts about Prescott , Prescott, Arizona. Accessed May 17, 2007. "Called the "mile-high city" at an elevation of 5,400 feet" Scottsdale – The West's Most Western TownScottsdale Arizona profile, accessed March 30, 2007. "The first mayor was Malcolm White. He also coined the city slogan, 'The West's Most Western Town.'" Sedona – Red Rock Country Show Low – Named for the Turn of a Card Sierra Vista – Hummingbird Capital of the United StatesClaims to Fame - Birds , Epodunk, accessed April 16, 2007. Tombstone – The Town Too Tough To DieThe City of Tombstone's Official Web Site, accessed March 29, 2007. "The Town too Tough to Die," Tombstone was perhaps the most renowned of Arizona's old mining camps.Claims to Fame - Braggadocio , Epodunk, accessed April 16, 2007. Tucson The Old Pueblo The Little Saguaro Dirty T.A Look at the "Old Pueblo"--Tucson, accessed March 30, 2007. Optics Valley The Sunshine FactoryMy opinion Debbie Kornmiller : TV listings' headaches fixed today, Arizona Daily Star, March 18, 2007. "The Sunshine Factory" won a Tucson nickname contest in the 1980s as a replacement for the "Old Pueblo." Wickenburg – The Dude Ranch Capital of the WorldHistory , Wickenburg Chamber of Commerce website, accessed November 20, 2011: "The construction of the Phoenix to California highway (Highway 60) brought even more tourists, making Wickenburg the Dude Ranch Capital of the World." Yuma Experience Our Sense of Yuma Yumadre The Oasis Land o’ Lettuce
See also List of city nicknames in the United States
References