By Chris Coppola | The Arizona Republic
For the better part of a century, the Hayden Flour Mill in downtown Tempe has stood as perhaps the most recognizable marker of the city’s early history.
Built in 1918 and expanded in 1951 with towering silos adjacent to the building, the mill served a a “welcome-to-Tempe” sign of sorts, greeting motorists crossing the Mill Avenue bridge on the Salt River, a striking piece of an otherwise humble skyline.
The mill’s place in the downtown pecking order dropped as a new urban skyline emerged.
But city officials are hoping that will change.
