City of Mesa

Pioneer Park in Mesa.

Pioneer Park in downtown Mesa has been recognized by the National Planning Association as one of its 13 “Great Places In America” for 2019. 

Jessica Sarkissian, the Arizona chapter president of the association, says one of the main reasons it was considered was the care the city took to preserve the park during its recent redevelopment. 

"We were really happy with the fact that they maintained the locomotive, the location, the natural trees, and the view of the temple," she said. "Everything just came, and memorialized what the park meant to the community when it was originally here."

Pioneer Park becomes the sixth place in Arizona to earn this distinction.