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Old 11-11-2007, 09:07 PM
 
3,819 posts, read 11,885,640 times
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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.
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Old 11-11-2007, 09:19 PM
 
Location: 5 miles from the center of the universe-The Superstition Mountains
1,084 posts, read 5,770,226 times
Reputation: 606


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Old 11-11-2007, 09:52 PM
 
Location: High Desert of California
551 posts, read 1,582,535 times
Reputation: 434
Such happy memories looking at Wallace, Ladmo and Gerald. Notice it is the toy shelf, not the Ladmo Bags, in the background.

My memories are kind of fuzzy but I do remember Black Canyon Highway being built. My sister and I used to watch the construction equipment move dirt, etc. This was in the 6500 block of the highway.

I remember going out to Sky Harbor, the old red brick building, and hiding behind my mother's skirts because all the planes scared us. We were waiting for my Dad to fly home to Phoenix to spend the weekend with us.

I remember going to the old Bethany Home Road theater and watching Wallace and Ladmo plus Gerald entertain us kids with their antics. They used to make the rounds and provide entertainment during the intermission at local movie theaters.

I remember when Chris Town was one of the nicest malls in town. We used to shop at Korricks (usually at Christmas and my grandmother would bring home mysterious boxes wrapped at Korricks and we would wonder...) I remember the monkey and his owner entertaining kids at Chris Town.

I remember going to the Town and Country shopping plaza at Christmas and seeing the place all decorated.

I remember listening to the tales of Super Chicken brought to you by a forgotten ice company. I think it was Blue Ice or something like that. Every morning before heading off to school I would listen to the newest installment.

I remember listening to KOY and KTAR.

I remember going to Mary Coyle's ice cream and enjoying the coool air conditioning plus the yummy ice cream. Nothing better on a hot summer day.

I remember wanting to go to dinner at the Green Gables as I was so impressed with the white horse and rider.

I remember when a trip to Luke AFB seemed a long way off. There was cabbage and grapes growing. I think there was cotton too.

I remember going to school at Orangewood, Ocotillo and Grace Brethren. Grace Brethren used to have an empty lot next to the play ground and we would watch a "paint" horse gallop around the field.

And then I remember going to the Heard Indian Fair. Great fun, especially watching all the Native American dancers dance. Of course the fry bread was a treat too.

Of course my parents remember when Chris Town was nothing but fields.

My mother used to live near Luke and 7th Avenues. I found her old red brick house on Google. She found it too after I showed her how to do so. The palm tree was still in front of the house but I couldn't see the orange tree. Google did not offer a good enough picture for that.

Such happy memories...

LadmoFan
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Old 11-11-2007, 10:12 PM
 
Location: Arizona, The American Southwest
54,465 posts, read 33,753,310 times
Reputation: 91671
Born in October 1956, and raised in Phoenix. I remember when 19th Ave & Greenway was considered a remote area, there was a small airport there for gliders called Turf Soaring school, when I was 16, I used to ride my bike (before I started driving) there and watch gliders take off being towed by another plane, forgot what kind it was, but it was fun.

If you drove on Bell Road in the 1970's, there wasn't much, and it was that way up until the late 1980's.

Last edited by observer53; 07-28-2011 at 03:36 PM..
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Old 11-11-2007, 10:19 PM
 
Location: High Desert of California
551 posts, read 1,582,535 times
Reputation: 434
Hey Mike you are about the same age. I was born in May 1956 and yes you right about Bell Road. I can remember when my grandparents took us out to Fountain Hills to see the new construction. We thought it was in the middle of nowhere...LOL!!

Are my memories holding up well? Do you remember the Super Chicken episodes? Do you remember when all electric homes were the way to go?

LF
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Old 11-11-2007, 11:18 PM
 
Location: Carefree, AZ
323 posts, read 988,052 times
Reputation: 388
My native zonie husband read this, born in 1963 South Phoenix-Tempe, he remembers all the wonderful things that were posted........also remembers breathing clean air, drinking good tap water in Tempe, bird hunting, farms and courteous drivers, low crime rates etc. Big Surf was huge and drive in movies were popular anyone remember the Silver Dollar Drive-in?
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Old 11-11-2007, 11:46 PM
 
Location: 5 miles from the center of the universe-The Superstition Mountains
1,084 posts, read 5,770,226 times
Reputation: 606
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.
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Old 11-12-2007, 07:59 AM
 
Location: Arizona, The American Southwest
54,465 posts, read 33,753,310 times
Reputation: 91671
Quote:
Originally Posted by LadmoFan View Post
Hey Mike you are about the same age. I was born in May 1956 and yes you right about Bell Road. I can remember when my grandparents took us out to Fountain Hills to see the new construction. We thought it was in the middle of nowhere...LOL!!

Are my memories holding up well? Do you remember the Super Chicken episodes? Do you remember when all electric homes were the way to go?

LF
Ah yes, Fountain Hills. My parents took us out there a few times in the early 1970's and my father drove on Shea Blvd, which had NOTHING east of Scottsdale Rd. Also, Scottsdale Rd and Shea was considered "the boonies" up until the mid 1980's.

I remember the Super Chicken cartoons and I slightly remember commercials by SRP or APS that were promoting all electric homes, as well as the heat pump tehcnology, which was new in the early 1970's.

I also remember when Christown Mall (Now Spectrum Mall) opened in 1961. There wasn't much north of it. When Metro Center opened in late 1973, at the time there wasn't much around it back then.

I remember Goldwater's department stores, which were owned by the Goldwater family, they had a store in Park Central mall, one in Scottsdale Fashion Square in the early 1960's, then another one opened in 1973, when Metro Center opened.

I also remember seeing Wallace and Ladmo and Gerald at Thomas Mall sometime around the middle of June of 1968.

I also remember the 5 TV stations we had back then, and their network affiliates. Channel 3 was KTVK, ABC's affiliate, Channel 5 was KPHO, it was independant back then, Channel 10 was KOOL, CBS's affiliate, and Channel 12 was KTAR, NBC's affiliate. PBS has been channel 8 here for as long as I can remember.

Glendale, Mesa and Chandler were farming communities. Up until the late 1980's, El Mirage and Surprise were the type of towns you could drive by on Grand Ave, and miss if you blinked!

Like many other natives, I'm sure we all agree on the urban sprawl we saw starting sometime around the mid or late 1980's, and ignored downtown Phoenix. I also remember in 1970, when the 40-story Chase Tower (Valley Bank Tower back then) was under construction, my father and I walked by the site when it was a big hole in the ground. To this day, it's still the tallest building in Arizona.
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Old 11-12-2007, 08:02 AM
 
Location: NW Peoria
19 posts, read 194,124 times
Reputation: 52
I remember back in the early eighties. My parents would take us to the Spaghetti Factory used to be the Spaghetti Company. That neighborhood right there off 7th Ave, east to about Central, and just south of McDowell was so run down and scary.

I also remember growing up in the Moon Valley area, and going to Metro Center. The closest mall to that area, and watching the ice skaters on the lowest level before we would go in to Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour.

Ahhh memories.
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Old 11-12-2007, 08:25 AM
 
Location: Arizona, The American Southwest
54,465 posts, read 33,753,310 times
Reputation: 91671
Quote:
Originally Posted by Marshmello View Post
I remember back in the early eighties. My parents would take us to the Spaghetti Factory used to be the Spaghetti Company. That neighborhood right there off 7th Ave, east to about Central, and just south of McDowell was so run down and scary.

I also remember growing up in the Moon Valley area, and going to Metro Center. The closest mall to that area, and watching the ice skaters on the lowest level before we would go in to Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour.

Ahhh memories.
The Spaghetti Company is on Central just south of McDowell, we've gone there a few times.

I remember the skating rink at Metro Center! I also remember the Metro Lounge right above the rink, it had the shape of a TWA jetliner.
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