Almost every summer, US 89's route through Tucson was blocked by Fake Lake Elmira. Perhaps only in The Old Pueblo could a frequently-flooded underpass be declared a "lake". But it was...and it still is...dutifully marked with a plaque. And therein lies a whopper of a story.

Back in the 1930's veteran newsmen weren't above pulling pranks on their gullible readers. And so it was on August 16, 1936 that The Legend was born. Arizona Daily Star Reporter Howard Welty wrote: “Joseph J. Doakes, 329 N. Church St., circulated the petition presented to the council in which the city fathers are asked by more than 125 residents of the neighborhood to officially designate the lake 'Elmira.’ It is set forth in the petition that Doakes’ 7-year-old daughter, Elmira, a student in Safford Elementary School, was the first child to swim unassisted from the Toole Avenue entrance to the subway to the landing at the juncture of Stone Avenue and Sixth Street. Of course, Elmira didn't exist but the story stuck....and still sticks to this day.