How do you remember Phoenix? Stories from long time residents... (Scottsdale: buses, to move)

[AZB3D2]

Originally Posted by roosevelt

Here is Good Sam before they tore it down; all gone now. Maternity was straight in off 10th Street sidewalk. Smaller town then.
Attachment 41405

Thank you for posting the great pic of the hospital and providing the info.

Yes, once upon a time Phoenix was a small town. My grandparents use to show me a small handful of pictures of what Phx looked like when they first arrived back in the late depression era. My grandfather built many houses and commercial buildings in Phoenix (metroplex), some still standing and in use, one recently (& notably) torn down.

The valley continuously reshapes and redirects its identity.

[wyattphx]

Originally Posted by Arizona Mike

I remember Camelback being the big lover's lane in the 70s. Good times. I also remember that area being called "Brother's Lake" - I haven't thought about that in years!!!

I was born in 1958 and went to East High, too - were you class of 1976?

Yup - class of 76

[wyattphx]

Originally Posted by AZB3D2

Thank you for posting the great pic of the hospital and providing the info.

Yes, once upon a time Phoenix was a small town. My grandparents use to show me a small handful of pictures of what Phx looked like when they first arrived back in the late depression era. My grandfather built many houses and commercial buildings in Phoenix (metroplex), some still standing and in use, one recently (& notably) torn down.

The valley continuously reshapes and redirects its identity.

Most of my family was born and has died (and everything in between) in Good Sam, so I know it well...

[Magnum Mike]

Originally Posted by Arizona Mike

I remember Camelback being the big lover's lane in the 70s.
....

Wow, this thread is still alive.

Lover's lane for me was either Squaw Peak Park, or North Mountain Park..

I remember the Levitz furtniture store that was on 29th Ave, just south of Indian School Rd. You could see that sign on top of the building from a mile away. That store closed sometime in the 1990's, and if I remember correctly, Shooter's World now occupies the building.

[roosevelt]

Originally Posted by Magnum Mike

Wow, this thread is still alive.

Lover's lane for me was either Squaw Peak Park, or North Mountain Park..

I remember the Levitz furtniture store that was on 29th Ave, just south of Indian School Rd. You could see that sign on top of the building from a mile away. That store closed sometime in the 1990's, and if I remember correctly, Shooter's World now occupies the building.

Another 'Lover's Lane' was Ship Rock, the Frank Lloyd
Wright cement and stone foundation from a house that burned down in 1940 between Stanford and Lincoln streets. It was on a dirt road which is now the paved 32nd Street; the city tore it down because it was in the way.

[ArizonaBear]

Originally Posted by Magnum Mike

Wow, this thread is still alive.

Lover's lane for me was either Squaw Peak Park, or North Mountain Park..

I remember the Levitz furtniture store that was on 29th Ave, just south of Indian School Rd. You could see that sign on top of the building from a mile away. That store closed sometime in the 1990's, and if I remember correctly, Shooter's World now occupies the building.

May this thread live on-------------and, hopefully be stickied.

It has a lot of neat trivia for us Phx fans

[observer53]

Originally Posted by ArizonaBear

May this thread live on-------------and, hopefully be stickied.

It has a lot of neat trivia for us Phx fans

I vote STICKY!

[Magnum Mike]

Originally Posted by observer53

I vote STICKY!

I'm STUCK on what to vote.... especially when it comes to sticky situations..

I remember 32nd Street used to run through what's now known as the Phoenix mountain preserves, which extended into Phoenix and connected to Northern Ave. Northern, the section of Northern east of 20th Street has been closed since the late 1990's. We used to be able to park on south side of the road, right where the city lights at night below became visable.

You can probably still find a "Lover's Lane" these days, but it would have to be in the emergency lane on the Squaw Peak/SR-51 freeway... between Cactus and Northern..

[yukon]

Wow, this is a great thread!

I moved to PHX in 1961 when I was 4 and it was my first air flight - Sky Harbor was tarmac, they rolled the steps out to the planes, and planes had propellers (gad I'm old ).

We lived off of 44th, between Indian School and Campbell. I went to Kachina Elementary and what I remember most was the huge row of date palms that towered over the playground and ran along a huge canal. This was at 44th & Campbell.

My grandmother had a Studebaker and she'd drive over to Scottsdale to pay the utility bills. I seem to recall hitching posts in near the city and county buildings back then - or was I just dreaming as a kid? I do recall that there wasn't much after you crossed the canal on 44th however.

We used to go to Pete's Fish N Chips on Indian School, and I'd walk up to the Circle K at 44th/Indian School to pick up stuff for my grandmother. Our favorite Mexican restaurant was on Indian School, about 5-6 blocks past 44th. I don't remember the name, not even sure it's still there, but boy was it good! The house on the corner of our street took up about 3 lots and had a barn. It was really neat at sunset to watch the bats flying out, in search of the evening's meal. I remember going to a drive-in, although I don't remember where it was - had to be in the same general area, since my grandmother never drove very far. We also went to a huge city pool in the summer. My best memories are about being a kid in Phoenix and riding my bike all over that part of town. I was Christopher Columbus, out to discover the New World!

I moved to SoCal in 1967. I wasn't able to visit Phoenix again until 2001. Obviously the changes were huge. The school is long gone, Equity Residential has apartments where the K-4 buildings once stood, and the back sports fields are now Kachina Park. While it was sad to see the school gone, I was so happy to see the awesome date palms I remembered as a child still standing guard over the canal. The house was still there, too - only thing changed in the neighborhood was the type of cars parked in the driveway. Pete's Fish N chips was no longer on Indian School, they've moved to the old Circle K on 44th.

I didn't visit again until 2007, and sometime in the prior 6 years, someone bought my gran's old house, tore it down and built some huge western wagon wheel monstrosity on the lot (way too big for the lot and neighborhood). Other than that, though, things were the same. I visit often now, since I'm so close, and I always find time to drive by the old neighborhood every time I visit. Personally, I'm impressed with the growth and changes. I think the east freeways are by far the prettiest highways I've seen. Phoenix has done a good job of growing up.

[Arizona Mike]

Originally Posted by yukon

Wow, this is a great thread!

I moved to PHX in 1961 when I was 4 and it was my first air flight - Sky Harbor was tarmac, they rolled the steps out to the planes, and planes had propellers (gad I'm old ).

We lived off of 44th, between Indian School and Campbell. I went to Kachina Elementary and what I remember most was the huge row of date palms that towered over the playground and ran along a huge canal. This was at 44th & Campbell.

My grandmother had a Studebaker and she'd drive over to Scottsdale to pay the utility bills. I seem to recall hitching posts in near the city and county buildings back then - or was I just dreaming as a kid? I do recall that there wasn't much after you crossed the canal on 44th however.

We used to go to Pete's Fish N Chips on Indian School, and I'd walk up to the Circle K at 44th/Indian School to pick up stuff for my grandmother. Our favorite Mexican restaurant was on Indian School, about 5-6 blocks past 44th. I don't remember the name, not even sure it's still there, but boy was it good! The house on the corner of our street took up about 3 lots and had a barn. It was really neat at sunset to watch the bats flying out, in search of the evening's meal. I remember going to a drive-in, although I don't remember where it was - had to be in the same general area, since my grandmother never drove very far. We also went to a huge city pool in the summer. My best memories are about being a kid in Phoenix and riding my bike all over that part of town. I was Christopher Columbus, out to discover the New World!

I moved to SoCal in 1967. I wasn't able to visit Phoenix again until 2001. Obviously the changes were huge. The school is long gone, Equity Residential has apartments where the K-4 buildings once stood, and the back sports fields are now Kachina Park. While it was sad to see the school gone, I was so happy to see the awesome date palms I remembered as a child still standing guard over the canal. The house was still there, too - only thing changed in the neighborhood was the type of cars parked in the driveway. Pete's Fish N chips was no longer on Indian School, they've moved to the old Circle K on 44th.

I didn't visit again until 2007, and sometime in the prior 6 years, someone bought my gran's old house, tore it down and built some huge western wagon wheel monstrosity on the lot (way too big for the lot and neighborhood). Other than that, though, things were the same. I visit often now, since I'm so close, and I always find time to drive by the old neighborhood every time I visit. Personally, I'm impressed with the growth and changes. I think the east freeways are by far the prettiest highways I've seen. Phoenix has done a good job of growing up.

You weren't mistaken on the hitching posts in downtown Scottsdale - they had them in front of a lot of the businesses on Scottsdale Road and elsewhere in "The West's Most Western Town".

You can't see them here, but here's a postcard from that time: