Retro El Paso (Center, West, Stanton: buy, price, shopping center)

[joqua]

Originally Posted by melish22

I'm trying to find some history about Sunrise Shopping Center & the blue spire. Does anyone know where I can find this. Have been searching everywhere for 3 days. Thanks

You might try emailing Trish Long who does the occasional "From the Morgue" article for the El Paso Times. And reference librarians at the public library are yet another source. From what little I can recall, that shopping center dates to the 1950s when the area first began developing residentially.

[XChucoresident]

I remember all those times..because I was also here..I am a child of the 60s..!

[nmantooth]

Originally Posted by joqua

You might try emailing Trish Long who does the occasional "From the Morgue" article for the El Paso Times. And reference librarians at the public library are yet another source. From what little I can recall, that shopping center dates to the 1950s when the area first began developing residentially.

Did you ever find any information on the Sunrise Center blue spire? I've been searching for a picture of it and have been unsuccessful. Back in the mid 60's we went to church at Sunrise Baptist Church and my Dad built a blue spire similar to the one at Sunrise Center but much shorter. I think ours was about 50 feet tall. I'd love to have a picture of that too because I helped him build it. Please let me know if you found anything on the spire.

[Strider62]

Check out the Irvin High School Reunion Page Here: Irvin History

[nmantooth]

Thank you Strider62 for responding with the photo of the spire at Sunrise Center. If you happen to find a photo of the matching, but smaller, spire which was erected at Sunrise Baptist Church, I'd love to have that. My Dad built that back in the 60's but I haven't been able to find a picture of it.

[joqua]

Thought I'd revive this thread by calling attention to a 7-image slide show that depicts a common sight when I was growing up in El Paso during the post-WWII years.

Banana Man Philosopher of El Paso

There are double arrows at the top of the first photo that will let you scroll through all seven. These were taken in the years before downtown El Paso began its decline.

[Strider62]

Thanks, joqua for posting. I did not know about the Banana Man. Fascinating. Do you know anything else about him?

[joqua]

Originally Posted by Strider62

Thanks, joqua for posting. I did not know about the Banana Man. Fascinating. Do you know anything else about him?

Sorry, but no I don't. I ran across the photos on the El Paso Times web site and it brought back memories of having seen him often when I was a youngster growing up. Looking at that load of bananas, I have to guess that his horse must have liked them too since there surely must have been a lot that weren't fit for sale after a few days.

There was also a man who made outdoor furniture from the salt cedar he harvested along the banks of the Rio Grande. He would come to town with a new load and camp out on a vacant lot, his old Model A panel truck covered with his handiwork. Many a backyard in El Paso was furnished by his products.

There was another Chinese man who drove an old Model A flatbed truck with fresh produce that he sold to people as he passed through various neighborhoods, like Sunset Heights, on a regular schedule. My grandmother, who lived on Prospect, bought from him regularly.

Then there was the knife and scissor sharpener man who also came around on a regular schedule in an old truck where he has his grindstones and such. He'd take whatever you offered him to be sharpened and return to the truck and later bring the sharpened items back to your door.

[atrabilius]

Originally Posted by joqua

Sorry, but no I don't. I ran across the photos on the El Paso Times web site and it brought back memories of having seen him often when I was a youngster growing up. Looking at that load of bananas, I have to guess that his horse must have liked them too since there surely must have been a lot that weren't fit for sale after a few days.

There was also a man who made outdoor furniture from the salt cedar he harvested along the banks of the Rio Grande. He would come to town with a new load and camp out on a vacant lot, his old Model A panel truck covered with his handiwork. Many a backyard in El Paso was furnished by his products.

There was another Chinese man who drove an old Model A flatbed truck with fresh produce that he sold to people as he passed through various neighborhoods, like Sunset Heights, on a regular schedule. My grandmother, who lived on Prospect, bought from him regularly.

Then there was the knife and scissor sharpener man who also came around on a regular schedule in an old truck where he has his grindstones and such. He'd take whatever you offered him to be sharpened and return to the truck and later bring the sharpened items back to your door.

I remember a clock shop on Gateway North at Skyline. I don't know if it's still there; instead of getting clocks, and TVs, fixed, and having knives and scissors sharpened, people just trash them and get new ones.

I would have liked to have a look around town, especially Northeast, when I came through El Paso back in August, but I had deadlines to meet. It was the wee hours, I had a motel reservation around the Crossroads to keep and then I had to get to someplace in New Mexico that afternoon by a certain time. All I saw was the area around Doniphan and the Interstate west from the eastern city limits to Raynolds (where I had to get off because I couldn't make the minimum speed limit towing a heavy cargo trailer--there was a cop right behind me on the offramp who passed me and got back on the freeway just before I turned left off Gateway West onto Raynolds), and the neighborhood around me as I took a detour around the Interstate in Central: Raynolds to Durazno, then Durazno to Piedras, Piedras to Paisano, and Paisano to Doniphan. I suspect it all looked better at night.

[simbared]

The main thing I remember about the blue spire at Sunrise was that it was no match for the West Texas winds. Quite often it seemed to be missing several of its blue panels after a windstorm. In addition to the blue spire, Sunrise had a miniature train that ran on rails parallel to the sidewalks outside the stores. It cost a whopping $30,000 in the early 60's. I'm sure I rode it at some point, but I mostly remember seeing it locked in its chain-link enclosure, even on busy Saturday afternoons.

I also remember the smaller spire at Sunrise Baptist Church. It is a long shot, but perhaps the current church has some photos in its archives.

Here's an article on the train:

Trish Long: Sunrise Center train a fond memory - El Paso Times