Arizona Highways

Arizona Highways is a magazine that contains travelogues and artistic photographs related to the U.S. state of Arizona. It is published monthly in Phoenix by a unit of the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT). Background The magazine began in July 1921 by the Arizona Highway Department (now the Arizona Department of Transportation) as a 10-page pamphlet designed to promote "the development of good roads throughout the state." Publication of the pamphlet ended on December 30, 1922, after nine issues. The publication was relaunched on April 15, 1925, as a regular magazine. In addition to the engineering articles, cartoons and travelogues were also included in the early issues. Over the next two decades the magazine reduced, and then stopped, inclusion of the road engineering articles and dedicated itself to the present format of travel tales, historical stories, and humor about the state of Arizona (including stories about Arizona's contribution to the history of the Old West), always enhanced by the now-legendary photography. This transition began largely under the watch of Raymond Carlson, who began as editor in 1938 and served until 1971; under his leadership the magazine stopped accepting advertisements and developed the editorial tone and style for which it is best known to the present day. Arizona Highways has been well known for documenting the Native American people of Arizona and the Southwest, especially the Navajo, the Hopi and Apache; this includes stories and photos of life on the reservations, and centuries-old Native ceremonies such as the "sunrise dance" of the Apache. (Future U.S. Senator and 1964 presidential candidate Barry Goldwater first became known in the late 1930s for his photographs of Native American life in Arizona, as well as other scenic landscapes such as the Grand Canyon, published in the pages of Arizona Highways.) From time to time, special issues would be devoted to major places of interest in Arizona, such as the Phoenix and Tucson areas (as well as each of Arizona's major state-run universities), and the Grand Canyon. In selected issues, destinations in the Southwest outside of Arizona have been featured, including Bryce Canyon National Park in southern Utah.