Phoenix owes its existence to this ephemeral desert river, but even so it doesn’t seem to hold the Salt in high esteem. On both banks, the floodplain is encroached on by industrial parks, trailer parks, RV parks, but no real parks. The flood channel itself has been developed to a degree, playing host to establishments which are, by nature, transient: topless-bottomless joints, chop shops, cock-fighting emporia. Paris built its great cathedral by its river, Florence its palaces of art; Phoenix seems to have decided that its river is the proper place to relegate its sin. When the Bureau of
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