Lunch at Monti's

President Pam Ryan, Margaret Baker and Pam Stevenson are ready to enjoy lunch inside.

Framed oil painting of the original Hayden home.

Charles Turnbull Hayden

Historical League members wander through the many rooms of the restaurant.

Charles Turnbull Hayden had been a merchant in Tucson since 1858. Seeing new opportunities, he moved to the Salt River Valley when the first settlers started coming here to dig canals and clear fields. His store offered good and credit, and his mill and freight wagons provided a market for the wheat local farmers grew.
 Charles Hayden’s 80-acre settlement was called Hayden’s Ferry. It was the business center for the growing town of Tempe. By the 1880’s he had built the mill, store and home, and warehouses and orchards. This home is now Monti’s La Casa Vieja Restaurant.
Former Tempe Mayor Hugh Hallman was an interesting guest speaker at the lunch. Mary Garbaciak presented him with a copy of Tastes & Treasures as a thank you gift.

Inside Hayden Flour Mill

Carolyn Mendoza is amazed at the pipes overhead

There are pipes curving everywhere on the ceiling. Think of gobs of spaghetti and you get the picture. We don't know the function of all those chutes, valves, generators, hoses, ladders, tubing and belts but it must have been very noisy and dusty with flour powder everywhere. What would OSHA think?

 One of my favorite items is the safe. Mary Garbaciak shows us the date of 1849. What stories that safe could tell.

Tour chair Mary Garbaciak points out the 1849 date.

Beautiful Victorian scroll painting inside and out.

Modern day Hayden Flour Mill - outside walking tour

The Hayden Flour Mill was booming after WWII and we learned so much about Tempe history at the Mill on Thursday. Thanks to our great tour chair Mary Garbaciak, we were able to walk all around the building while listening to ASU architect Mark Vincent tell us insider stories.  The new photo/informational lighted signs are also most informative.

Did you know that the Mill is considered Ground Zero for Tempe? All addresses start there.

We are so grateful the City of Tempe owns the building and is working on gaining Historical Preservation Status. It is a most important landmark for the area.

As a thank you to Mark Vincent, Mary presented him with Tastes & Treasures A Storytelling Cookbook of Historic Arizona.

More photos and stories of our trip inside the Mill coming soon.