Phoenix to honor ‘Sesame Street’ co-creator with ceremonial street sign

By Mark Carlisle
Mail | X: @mwcarlisle

Can you tell me how to get, how to get to Joan Ganz Cooney Way?

The city of Phoenix is dedicating a ceremonial street sign to honor one of the co-creators of “Sesame Street” who was born and raised in Phoenix.

The sign honoring Joan Ganz Cooney will be displayed at Seventh and Van Buren streets, just outside of the Children’s Museum of Phoenix.

“It’s a true opportunity to recognize someone from Phoenix whose impact reached children and families across the world,” said Vice Mayor Kesha Hodge Washington during Wednesday’s Phoenix City Council meeting.

City council approved the street sign with an 8-0 vote.

Cooney was born Joan Ganz in Phoenix in 1929. She earned a Bachelor of Arts from University of Arizona in 1951. After working for the State Department in Washington D.C., she returned to Phoenix to work as a journalist. In 1961, she moved to New York to work for a children’s TV network. She and Lloyd Morrissett Jr. later created ‘Sesame Street,’ which premiered in 1969.

“She made learning more accessible, more engaging, more joyful for many generations of children, including myself,” Hodge Washington said.

Mayor Kate Gallego said she also watched “Sesame Street” as a child.

Cooney, who is 96, still lives in New York and is supportive of the Phoenix street sign, said Sunnyslope Historical Society President Julia Taggart, who brought the idea for the street sign to city council. Ganz is credited as a writer on the upcoming “Sesame Street” movie, starring Bo Burnham and Chance the Rapper.

Councilmember Debra Stark pointed out another connection Cooney had to Phoenix. Cooney’s grandfather, Emil Ganz, was mayor of Phoenix. He was elected in 1885 and oversaw the creation of the Phoenix Fire Department. He was also the city’s first Jewish mayor.

Stark said she hoped the Children’s Museum of Phoenix might one day have a corner dedicated to ‘Sesame Street” and honoring Cooney.

“'Sesame Street' is part of the American fabric, and I’m very excited we’re doing this,” Stark said about the street sign.

Taggart said the street sign was a good location because it was between the children’s museum and the University of Arizona building, which is Cooney’s alma mater.

The front of the former Monroe School building in Phoenix, which is now home to the Children's Museum of Phoenix, 215 N. 7th St.

(Independent Newsmedia/Mark Carlisle)

“I really want more people to know about what Joan did with ‘Sesame Street,’ and that there’s amazing people from Arizona that maybe they still don’t live here but they’ve done amazing work for the country,” Taggart said.

Hodge Washington said she hoped Cooney’s far-reaching impact could be an inspiration to Phoenix residents.

“It reminds us that extraordinary things from our own neighborhoods are possible,” she said.

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Mark Carlisle
Associate Editor | Phoenix

mcarlisle@iniusa.org

Meet Mark

Mark Carlisle joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2017, covering Glendale. He has since moved to the Daily Independent team, primarily covering the city of Phoenix along with other topics affecting the Valley at-large.

Community: Mark enjoys taking his two young sons to parks, the Phoenix Zoo, the Phoenix Public Library  and other fun events around the Valley. He also participates in a local book club.

Education: Chapman University with a BA in English Journalism and one in Screenwriting.

Random Fact: Mark worked at a tuxedo shop in college. Just don’t ask him to tie a bowtie.

 Hobbies: Spending time with his wife, sons and dog, watching sports and TV shows, listening to audiobooks and occasionally writing fiction or designing a board game.