The streets of Maricopa have changed a lot since the city was incorporated more than two decades ago.
Businesses have come and gone, roads have changed course and government complexes have sprouted in place of crops.
Google Street View imagery dating back to 2011 shows how the landscape has transformed throughout the years. Here’s a ground-level perspective of our popular historic satellite imagery of Maricopa.
May 2011 – The Red Barn
The Maricopa Business Barn, then dubbed by locals as “The Red Barn” was the headquarters for many businesses like a hair studio, computer repair shop, photography studio and the Tortosa HOA.
It sits at 19428 N. Maricopa Road, adjacent to the old John Wayne Parkway railroad tracks, which have since been removed and replaced with an overpass, finished in 2019.
When Wendy Webb, an executive at F.O.R. Maricopa food bank bought the barn in 2017, it was painted “Hawaiian Blue” and became the headquarters for the food bank. Now, a tattoo shop, florist and hair salon have joined it there.
April 2015 – Blockbuster
Two years after all Blockbuster locations (except one in Alaska) shuttered in 2013, the imprint of the video rental store’s iconic ticket-shaped logo remained on its former location at 21116 N. John Wayne Parkway in the Maricopa Fiesta shopping center.
The city’s longest standing gym, Anytime Fitness, moved from the other side of Bashas’ into Blockbuster’s old space in 2015.
June 2011 – Copper Sky Recreation Complex
Before Copper Sky Recreation Complex was built, there was dirt, and a lot of it.
The $20 million complex opened its doors to the public in May 2014, sporting a 5-acre catch-and-keep lake stocked with bass, rainbow trout, catfish, bluegill and white armur.
It also has playgrounds, a skate park, tennis and volleyball courts, four baseball fields, eight multipurpose sports fields, several ramadas and a dog park.
The aquatic center opened Memorial Day that year, with its waterslide, lazy river, rock-climbing wall and 25-yard lap pool.
May 2019 – Overpass construction
For a town with few inroads, the construction of the State Route 347 overpass at the Union Pacific railroad tracks was regarded by many as a solution to traffic backup caused by the numerous trains chugging through Maricopa daily.
For others, the construction of the overpass was a greater burden than the trains. Most in the neighborhood were at the mercy of the Arizona Department of Transportation and had to flee the area as the overpass was built where homes and businesses once sat.
NAPA, Spoon’s restaurant and Copa Center were some of the businesses that were forced to close. Maricopa Fire and Medical Department’s administration buildings and F.O.R. food bank were also forced to move.
May 2011 – Radioshack
Maricopa’s Radioshack at 44600 W. Smith-Enke Road in Maricopa Professional Village sold more than just transistors, batteries and cables.
The store also carried some unique items like paintball guns, paintballs, ink cartridges, office supplies and gun ammunition to “help drive a profit and keep the doors open,” owner Ronald Beasley said at the time.
Beasley moved the store across John Wayne Parkway to Maricopa Marketplace after commercial taxes and Walmart’s opening took a toll on sales. Barro’s Pizza later expanded into the spot vacated by Radioshack.
December 2018 – Carl’s Jr.
A Google Street View car passed by Maricopa’s original Carl’s Jr. restaurant, 21000 N. John Wayne Parkway, days before it closed.
Imagery from December 2018 show cars in the drive-thru and no signs in the doors, although the restaurant would shutter permanently days later. The storefront closed late that month and was replaced by Wendy’s in 2019.
Carl’s Jr. opened a new location on the other side of the parkway last month.
April 2015 – Fletcher’s
Fletcher’s Tire & Auto Service moved into 20926 N. John Wayne Parkway in the Maricopa Fiesta shopping center in late 2005.
The auto shop became Firestone Complete Auto Care in 2017 when Nashville-based Bridgestone Americas completed its acquisition of the brand. The rebrand involved 31 stores in the Phoenix and Tucson markets.
May 2011 – Desert Sunrise High School
Nearly 1,000 pecan trees once stood where Desert Sunrise High School is now at 16200 N. Murphy Road, and most were chopped down and recycled.
During the start of construction in 2021, Maricopa Unified School District said the trunks and large limbs of the pecan trees would be processed for commercial and non-commercial food smokers for use in restaurants or homes, while the remaining branches and root balls would be ground and compressed into wood pellets and sold as a fuel source for heating in colder climates or outdoor cooking.
A row of about 30 trees remains at the school site as a nod to the history of the location.
June 2011 – City Hall
The government complex that now contains a police station, library and the city hall broke ground in April 2012.
Old street view imagery shows Maricopa City Center at 39700 W. Civic Center Plaza was nothing more than a field of crops along North White and Parker Road.
