The Historical League is proud to present the 2025 Historymakers Lobby Exhibit. 2025 Arizona Historymakers: Bob Boze Bell, Diana 'DeDe' Devine, John W. Graham, Sharon and Dr. Oliver Harper, Sister Adele O'Sullivan, Ron Rayner, Eric M. Reiman, M.D., Duane M. Wooten, M.D.. The exhibit showcases the exceptional contributions the 2025 honorees have made to our state and provides viewers direct access to the amazing oral histories and accomplishments of each diverse group of Historymakers since the program's inception in 1992.

This exhibit highlights how the state of Arizona gained its current shape and how that influences us today. The land and shape that we know as Arizona has been formed by different negotiations, violent disputes, agreements, and purchases.

This moving exhibit sheds light on the human toll of border crossings, memorializing lives lost in the desert through handmade quilts of materials found. Each quilt carries the name of those identified, and the word "Desconocido/a" meaning "Unknown" for those who have yet to be identified.

Experience the Post-WWII suburban boom that transformed the Phoenix Metropolitan area into a cultural hub.
Explore the changes in employment, culture, and housing during the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. Experience collections form Arizona’s most
prominent entertainers and artists and read about the history of Arizona sports teams. Don’t miss Bob’s Big Boy and the beloved
Wallace and Ladmo!

Tour through recreations of an incarceration camp, a prisoner of war camp, and military barracks to see how WWII changed the lives of all Arizonans. Walk through a Japanese incarceration camp, pile into a WWII jeep, and climb up an observation deck to view our AT-6A military training airplane. Listen to calls home from military members and discover the plans of The Great Escape in the Papago Park Prisoner of War Camp.

Traditions in the Trade: Indigenous Arts and Trading Posts explores how Arizona's historic trading posts connected Indigenous artisans to wider markets, facilitating cultural exchange while introducing Indigenous-made goods, art, and textiles to Anglo-American consumers.

Barry Goldwater was a lifelong ham radio enthusiast. His civilian call sign was K7UGA, but he was also known for his military call sign AFA7UGA. Lonely GIs often found solace in a phone call–through ham radio–with their loved ones back home. This exhibit features the radio Barry Goldwater built over the course of thirty years.