How do you remember Phoenix? Stories from long time residents... (Scottsdale: big house, company)

[roosevelt]

I scanned my postcard to show how the photograph was staged, the '56 Lincoln Continental was blocking traffic making an illegal left turn.

Attachment 55342

[Greatday]

Originally Posted by roosevelt

I scanned my postcard to show how the photograph was staged, the '56 Lincoln Continental was blocking traffic making an illegal left turn.

My parents had that model! Weighed in at a zillion pounds. But, what a ride!!!!

Thanks for sharing.

[desertratz]

It may have been posted somewhere in here previously, but if not, here is another great site for pictures of Phoenix.

Phoenix, Arizona Historical Photos

[glsmas]

I remember Thomas Rd east of 58th st being an old concrete and tar 2 way street, and no buildings between there and about 68th st. There were horses grazing out there in huge desert fenced in fields. My brother and I used to feed them sugar cubes.

Some of the old crumbling buildings from the WWII prison camp at Papago were right down the street from where we lived (c 1960) and I thought they were pretty strange-looking. My friend, Bubby Saba (Roger Saba, of Saba's Dept. Stores) and I used to ride our bikes to those buildings and they were all decrepit with trash and broken glass and grafitti. At the time I didn't have a clue as to what they were.

The Az Army Nat'l guard at Papago used to practice target shooting on Sundays not a mile from our house, and the noise was very loud sometimes. I think they used to throw a few hand grenades too.

Is the Big Apple restaurant on Van Buren still there? We used to eat there regularly. Being from St. Louis I and my family got a real kick out of the saw dust on the floor. They had the best burgers.

My dad taught at ASU and I remember going to his office on the campus. The main mall from Forest and University Ave south used to be a regular driving road, as well as other parts of the mall, before they made them walkways.

My brother and his new wife stayed at the Kon Tiki on Van Buren in 1966 on their wedding night, and woke up the next morning to their car broken into and all their wedding presents stolen!

My dad used to take me to the Sugar Bowl on Scottsdale Rd. for an ice cream. I hope they don't tear it down. There used to be a Bashas I think it was the corner of Indian School and Scottsdale Rd. and my mom used to grocery shop at the Bayless on Thomas and 56th St.

I remember the hot days and nights at Legend City. My sister, attending ASU, was a waitress at the Red Garter Saloon one summer about the time Vonda Kay Van Dyke was there.

I saw Wallace and Ladmo at I think it was Tower Plaza on 40 St and Thomas and we used to go to Guggy's restaurant there.

To be continued...

[Arizona Mike]

Originally Posted by glsmas

Is the Big Apple restaurant on Van Buren still there? We used to eat there regularly. Being from St. Louis I and my family got a real kick out of the saw dust on the floor. They had the best burgers.

Still there, with other branches around the valley. I always liked the apple pie a la mode.

My brother and his new wife stayed at the Kon Tiki on Van Buren in 1966 on their wedding night, and woke up the next morning to their car broken into and all their wedding presents stolen!

The area was fairly safe back then but that wouldn't be at all unusual in the area now! The Kon Tiki is long gone but not forgotten.

I saw Wallace and Ladmo at I think it was Tower Plaza on 40 St and Thomas and we used to go to Guggy's restaurant there.

That Guggy's (or, as their ashtrays said "G-o-o-o-o-gy's!") was a favored after school hang-out for me in high school days. There was an underground bar next door (literally underground - it had a basement) that we gravitated to as we reached drinking age (19, back then).

[glsmas]

Originally Posted by Arizona Mike

Still there, with other branches around the valley. I always liked the apple pie a la mode.


The area was fairly safe back then but that wouldn't be at all unusual in the area now! The Kon Tiki is long gone but not forgotten.



That Guggy's (or, as their ashtrays said "G-o-o-o-o-gy's!") was a favored after school hang-out for me in high school days. There was an underground bar next door (literally underground - it had a basement) that we gravitated to as we reached drinking age (19, back then).

Thanks for the info on the Big Apple. I think I'll get a few folks together for a visit.


Cool. By the time I hit high school the malls started being the neat place to hang around. We used to hang at Thomas Mall on Thomas and 44th St. (attended East High on 48th and VB)

I also remember the motel on VB st. we stayed at while waiting for the moving van to arrive. (can't remember the name) We had moved in August 1960 and it was HOT so we really enjoyed the motel's cool pool. We were there 2 weeks and it was heaven!

[glsmas]

Originally Posted by aj661

KRIZ, 1230 AM, the best rock and roll station ever!

The TG&Y store in Papago Plaza, Scottsdale Road and McDowell. Always had a HUGE selection of toys many of which a little 7 year old () in 1962 could buy for a dime. Also at Papago Plaza, the "Blue Chip" trading stamp redemption store where I got my first camera, a simple plastic box that used 127 film and took great photos.

Yes, KRIZ and KRUX were the two contenders. I remember listening on our tiny transistor radios. Pat McMahon used to do a really funny impression of Paul Harvey.

There also was a Baskin Robbins at Papago Plaza, and a really cool Bob's Big Boy across McDowell. Then came Los Arcos (next to Skaggs) and the Broadway dept. store, Sears, the Gap, etc., and the downstairs movie theaters. So nice in summer to duck into the cool A/C when it was 115 outside!

[glsmas]

Originally Posted by HX_Guy

Greatday made a comment in another post about how he remembers when Sky Harbor Airport was a grass strip...out in the middle of nowhere. That had to have been quite a while back...but I love to hear of how Phoenix used to be.

If you've never been, I highly recommend checking out some of the downtown neighborhoods...right off 7th Ave, east to about Central, and just south of McDowell. The streets are lined with huge palm trees, the houses are small, everyone has lawns and it just has a great feel about it.

I've heard stories of when I-17 stopped at Bell Rd and everything up here in North Phoenix was just orange tree groves in every direciton...that must have been something!

I've been here since 1992 and didn't catch any of that, but things have changed a bit since I've been here.
The 101 was...well, there was no 101. The bridges for the overpasses were in place, but it was just dirt and Beardsley was the road that everyone used. There were some older houses north of Beardsley (101), but only between 35th Ave and say 7th St...nothing else was developed, it was just open desert. I remember the merchantile store at 91st Ave and Pinnacle Peak being in the middle of nowhere and it was sort of a half way point on the way to Lake Pleasant, a place you stopped to gas up and grab some snacks...now it's in the middle of everything.

I remember the first 727 jet at Sky Harbor in 1962. I was 8. It was so strange-looking with the engines in the back. That was back when people used to go to the airport just to watch the planes (at least my family did) and then we would eat dinner at the restaurant there.

The first plane I took out of SH was a turbo-prop Western airlines to San Diego. That was one of my coolest childhood memories.

I used to work at Reata Pass north of the valley in 1974 and there used to be practically nothing built north of Shea on Scottsdale Rd all the way to Reata! The airport was the only thing. Bell was an isolated narrow 2 way road.

Speaking of Beardsley, in '74 it was a dirt road and I spun out my car once and landed in a ditch. I think my accident was somewhere on N. 32nd St. which was also a dirt road.

[glsmas]

Anyone remember the Christmas tree exhibits at the Phx Art Museum? And the ginger bread house exhibits?

The Cine Capri on Camelback and 32nd St? Saw some great movies there. Star Wars, Alien, the Godfather.

And how about the Kachina theater on Scottsdale Rd? I saw Ben-Hur there in 1960, then they had Cinerama (kind of like today's Imax) and I saw How the West was Won and Mad mad mad mad World. Too cool! Cinerama was I guess too expensive to sustain movie production and was gone soon. Nothing better than being inside a dark air conditioned theater with an icy Coke in the middle of August in Phx!

Saw The Sound of Music in 1965 at the Fox in downtown Phx.

I remember the Scottsdale public pool across the street from the Los Olivos restaurant (great Mexican food--my wife and I still go there) in old downtown Scottsdale. They had the coolest diving pool. Deep, 13 ft I remember. (that was deep for a kid)
Trying to touch the drain, my ears would be killing me. Being able to touch that drain was a rite of passage for us 12 year olds!

Legend City--- whoa some memories there! I remember the first time on the Mine Ride the part where the train light is in front of you really scared me, thought there was a train there! It was so hot there, but the coolness of the indoor rides was always blessed relief.

To be continued...

[azdr0710]

Originally Posted by glsmas

The Cine Capri on Camelback and 32nd St? Saw some great movies there. Star Wars, Alien, the Godfather.

And how about the Kachina theater on Scottsdale Rd?

I remember the Scottsdale public pool across the street from the Los Olivos restaurant (great Mexican food--my wife and I still go there) in old downtown Scottsdale. They had the coolest diving pool. Deep, 13 ft I remember. (that was deep for a kid)
Trying to touch the drain, my ears would be killing me. Being able to touch that drain was a rite of passage for us 12 year olds!

Cine Capri was actually on the SW corner of 24th St and Camelback, but, gee, same feeling as 32nd almost these days....Star Wars was there as a first run for over a year in 1977!!

too bad we lost the Kachina to that silly Galleria fiasco....too many egos during that S and L crisis in the late 80s, I guess....

yes, swimming down to touch the drain was big stuff as a kid...ears hurt like heck, but it had to be done