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Old 11-25-2014, 07:44 AM
 
2,324 posts, read 7,581,260 times
Reputation: 1065

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Quote:
Originally Posted by chaparrito View Post
Here's one for the geezers here.
When I was a kid in the fifties, the downtown branch of First National Bank had a drive-up teller on the street. I don't remember the address, but it was, as I remember, an elaborate bronze affair about the size of an ATM. The teller actually sat in the basement below it and you saw each other through a periscope style mirror thing. Transactions were handled through a sort of dumb-waiter. My aunt worked for the bank and my mother used to save her banking for when my aunt was on shift at the drive-up as it was so unique.

I have mentioned this to several people over the years and they looked at me like I was nuts. I am reasonably, but not 100 percent sure I didn't dream it. Any help?
The ony thing I remember are the portable drive thru tellers on Van Buren and 1st Street,
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Old 11-27-2014, 09:32 PM
 
16 posts, read 91,996 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr.Stoic View Post
I was born in Phoenix at St. Joseph's Hospital in 1961. In addition to most of the aforementioned here are a few other things I remember. Growing up around 15th Ave.& Glendale in north central Phoenix. There was a big field west of 15th Ave. from Glendale almost to Myrtle. There were two huge pecan trees running against the ditch which was a small canal that ran along 15th Ave. I used to play in the ditch and catch crawdads and minnows. Myrtle was a gravel road and there were peacocks running around there. In the field we used to catch horny toads and lizards, and there were also jackrabbits and Road Runners. In later years we had seen quail in the area and coyotes so they must've been there too. We used to shoot pecans and the knock them out of the tree with our BB guns. By Orangewood Grade School my buddy and I used to pick the elusive sting beans from one of the only bushes we knew about at the time. I remember Boondocker's out at seventh Street and Deer Valley Road. I remember pallet bonfires at the winter parties with flames 20 feet in the air. Good times they were. I remember one Boondocker at Quailrun Ranch north of Phoenix that even had a stage and a live band along with multi kegs of beer in the middle of the desert. I know the parties on the east side often took place at "the power lines." One of the last keggers I was to attend in my youth was supposed to be at Happy Valley Road around 43rd Ave. As soon as we got off I-17 headed west traffic was backed up and the red lights were a flashing. Yep the 60 kegger was shut down by the police. Saw my first concert at the Celebrity Theater I'm thinking it was in 1975. It was Montrose and a ticket was $2.50. Saw Van Halen there before any body here knew who they were. KDKB promotion. Tickets $3.93. As an aside. My cousins in L.A. at the time used to attend backyard parties with Van Halen playing them. On a very somber note. There was a paperboy who's bike they found in a field where I used to play when I was a kid. He collected from our house that fateful day and has never been found. If I am not mistaken this was the beginning of the end for paperboys. His name is Brian Bleyl I remember being in the desert north of Phoenix four wheeling before the failed Iranian hostage rescue. All of the sudden a bunch of military choppers came over the mountains real low and blasting through right by us. I believe they were training for the mission. Sometimes I think of the Dollar store or the 99¢ store and remember the Ben Franklin store by my Grandma's house on Dunlap just west of Central avenue. Back then it was "The Five & Dime." Also over there In Sunnyslope High Schools territory, ( Where if I am not mistaken the frosh used to get the job of painting the "S" for Sunnyslope on the mountain.) Close to "Duck Park" and towards 7th street there was an old House-compound that was favored for partying called "Monkey Mountain" it had a mysterious air. Oh that brings me back to numerous parties at North Mountain park and Squaw Peak park which usually ending with the police coming in riot gear and commencing to bust up and arrest party goers. (Maybe more on that later) I know Mary Coyles had a standing deal. It was Little Leauge at Orangewood grade School. Any one who hit a home run over their sign on the fence got a free ice cream or sundae. One year I hit five over but not over their sign. I do remember going there with the team though.
Well thats it for now. There are so many, many more though.
Oh yes, and the organ grinder at Christown Mall and giving his monkey pennies, for a little boy that was so cool. And I remember the stuff I used to get from the gumball machines in the mall all said "Made in Japan on them" I really must stop now, cause this now reminds me of "The Janitor's Closet" at the same mall, which was underground or downstairs at Christown. I know this was already mentioned I believe, as was "Ferdinand The Bull. My dad told me of shooting dove around 16th street and Cheery Lynn.......
Wow. I grew up in exactly that same area. We lived on 15th ave between Northern and Glendale on a small horse ranch beginning in about 1955. I went to Orangewood and played in those ditches too. My brother played drums with Alice Cooper sometimes before he became famous. My father put up the fence at Orangewood that those signs were on. The Purtser boys played on our ball team.
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Old 12-01-2014, 03:44 PM
 
Location: Phoenix
21 posts, read 38,888 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Drtierra View Post
Wow. I grew up in exactly that same area. We lived on 15th ave between Northern and Glendale on a small horse ranch beginning in about 1955. I went to Orangewood and played in those ditches too. My brother played drums with Alice Cooper sometimes before he became famous. My father put up the fence at Orangewood that those signs were on. The Purtser boys played on our ball team.
Good to hear from you Drtierra. I knew several guys that lived in that area too. Here is an aside about "The Coop" taken from, /https://rockhall.com/inductees/alice-cooper/bio/
"The roots of Alice Cooper extend back to Cortez High School in Phoenix, Arizona, where the core members came together as music aficionados with a shared yen for the macabre and surreal. They weren’t necessarily alienated misfits, as three members of the Earwigs – the first group in the Alice Cooper lineage – were high-school track stars who ranked among the fastest milers in the state. Dunaway, original drummer John Speer and Alice Cooper himself (known as Vince Furnier to his friends) could run a 4:30 mile, according to Cooper. Renaming themselves the Spiders, they scored a regional hit with “Don’t Blow Your Mind.” They changed names again to the Nazz and moved to Hollywood in 1968 with the idea of making it nationally. The final name change to Alice Cooper came when they learned there already was a Nazz – the Todd Rundgren-led group from Philadelphia – in existence."
Take care.
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Old 12-08-2014, 07:40 AM
 
2,324 posts, read 7,581,260 times
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Click image for larger version

Name:	Central_Washington_looking_north_getting_out_car_Lerners_1950s.jpg
Views:	430
Size:	29.1 KB
ID:	140814looks like 1950. No lane stripes.
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Old 12-08-2014, 04:37 PM
 
220 posts, read 651,040 times
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Default 1950 downtown

Quote:
Originally Posted by roosevelt View Post
Attachment 140814looks like 1950. No lane stripes.
I love this photograph. I got my driver's license in 1952, and I drove downtown, parked on the street in a car that resembles some of these. Young and fearless, the traffic and no lanes didn't seem to thwart my adventures. Lordie I feel so old looking at this photo. Thanks for sharing it, Roosevelt.
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Old 12-14-2014, 07:19 AM
 
Location: St. Joseph, MO.
65 posts, read 65,872 times
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I was born in Phoenix in 1959 and was raised in Glendale in a little WPA-built housing development in a twin cul-de-sac on the corner of 51st Ave. and Northern. 5002 W. Waite Place. Went to Grace Lutheran School for all 8 years of elementary school and Apollo high for high school. Graduated in '77. Worked at E. L. Gruber/Spring City Knitting from '77 until '81 when I moved Northwest to Kingman.

The place right across 51st Ave to the west was some kind of date farm or something with an ornate-looking italianate building that looked like a mansion to us as kids and there were all kinds of peacocks running all over the grounds there.

Used to go to Legend City. Never made it to Big Surf. Loved Christown Mall, Valley West Mall and Metro Center. The first time we went to Metro Center it seemed like it was half-empty with painted dry wall buffers covering up some of the stores that were still vacant. For a couple years at Christmas Christown mall had a huge Christmas tree in the main entrance area that had snow that blew out of the top, "fell" down over the tree and into a big tray at the bottom where it would get sucked up and blown back out the top. Sears always had a vacuum cleaner display that kept a ping pong ball bobbing up and down. Seemed like that same display was there for years. Thomas mall always seemed like a ghost town and we never went there much even though my Uncle lived on that side of town. We went to Maryvale mall quite often too.

Used to go to the movies at a little theater Called Grants in Glendale at the corner of W. Glenn Drive and N 58th Avenue it was torn down when they re-built the Velma Teague Library in the late 70's. Saw Star Wars at the Cine Capri. More than once.
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Old 12-14-2014, 11:36 PM
 
Location: Phoenix, Az
107 posts, read 156,432 times
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I also remember Legend City and Big Surf. Those were great.
I remember when there was the Bodine horse pasture just north of Indian school rd. on the west side. East of it were the olive groves. There were many orange groves in that area.
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Old 12-15-2014, 08:22 AM
 
Location: St. Joseph, MO.
65 posts, read 65,872 times
Reputation: 90
Quote:
Originally Posted by Catavenger View Post
I also remember Legend City and Big Surf. Those were great.
I remember when there was the Bodine horse pasture just north of Indian school rd. on the west side. East of it were the olive groves. There were many orange groves in that area.
I was very upset when my sister told me they tore Legend City down. The last time I was there was in '81 and you could tell that the place wasn't doing well. What amazed me is the roller coaster they had there called the Sidewinder. The steel one. It originally came from Addison, ILL. Then it was moved to Legend City. When Legend City went belly-up it moved to a park in Tipton, Pennsylvania. Then it moved to a park in Newcastle, Delaware. When that park went under, it sat there for a few years but last year it was moved to a park in Daytona Beach, Florida. So if you wanted to ride the old roller Coaster at Legend City, you could, you would just have to go to Daytona Beach to do it.

I was looking on Google Earth where Dad used to take us out in the desert to go plinking or have a picnic out past Union Hills Rd, out past Thunderbird park and the whole area is nothing but houses now. I can't remember exactly what road he took straight out north but I am pretty sure it was 59th Ave. Past a certain point, there was nothing but orange groves until you hit the desert.
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Old 12-15-2014, 04:05 PM
 
Location: Phoenix, Az
107 posts, read 156,432 times
Reputation: 288
Oops I forgot to post they (horse pasture & olive groves) were on the west and east side of 28st just south of Camelback high school.
At least the save some of the olive trees and Los Olivos Park is there now.
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Old 12-16-2014, 04:53 AM
 
218 posts, read 566,086 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cobalt1959 View Post
I was very upset when my sister told me they tore Legend City down. The last time I was there was in '81 and you could tell that the place wasn't doing well. What amazed me is the roller coaster they had there called the Sidewinder. The steel one. It originally came from Addison, ILL. Then it was moved to Legend City. When Legend City went belly-up it moved to a park in Tipton, Pennsylvania. Then it moved to a park in Newcastle, Delaware. When that park went under, it sat there for a few years but last year it was moved to a park in Daytona Beach, Florida. So if you wanted to ride the old roller Coaster at Legend City, you could, you would just have to go to Daytona Beach to do it.

I was looking on Google Earth where Dad used to take us out in the desert to go plinking or have a picnic out past Union Hills Rd, out past Thunderbird park and the whole area is nothing but houses now. I can't remember exactly what road he took straight out north but I am pretty sure it was 59th Ave. Past a certain point, there was nothing but orange groves until you hit the desert.
Very interesting history of the roller coaster. My memory is poor but it seems like there was a very bad accident on a coaster at Legend City in it final months. It was a lawsuit thing.

I remember riding the train and seeing structural components of a large coaster (I think) spread out but I don't think it was ever assembled. When Legend City closed we went there during the "sell off" of everything that could be sold. The only thing I came away with was a bunch of brochures on carnival equipment from their maintenance shop. I still have those "somewhere". A "junker" friend bought a bunch of big stuff like cable cars and other items that I do not remember.
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