How do you remember Phoenix? Stories from long time residents... (Tucson: wedding, dangerous)

[roosevelt]

Originally Posted by brian740

The sidewalk actually led to the Biltmore's own water reservoir. It was just a dusty trail for a number of years, but I think portions of it were "paved" in the mid to late 50's. I could be wrong on the dates, and not sure when the whole trail was paved.. but it was a nice little hike. Too much for a lot of the winter visitors. Thats why they added benches. You can kind of follow it up the mountain in the pic.

I worked there in the mid-70's after it re-opened.

Cool, you show the Biltmore fire, here are some more photos I have.

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[dsh1127]

Originally Posted by jimmybeverage

I was born at St. Joe's in 1970. They gave pics of your mom in a wheel chair with you in her arms, in a little St Joe's card.


I remember...

Visiting Hazel, the gorilla, at the Phoenix Zoo.

I too was a frequent visitor to both Big Surf and Legend City.

Maryvale Mall started as an open air mall, they enclosed it in the late 70s.

"That ain't no bull."

The bar under Christown Mall, the Janitor's Closet. The entrance was right by Orange Julius. I was way to young to go in, but I was always so tempted to just go down those stairs and peek in.

The square slices of pizza at Pizza D'Amore at both Christown and Metrocenter.

I saw "Corvette Summer", "Roller Boogie", "Thank God Its Friday", "Close Encounters" and many others at the UA theater at Christown.

Shopping at Skaggs, Thrifty, u-Totem, Yellow Front, Sprouse Rietz, Revco, AJ Bayless.

The band shell at Encanto Park was in front of a grassy, tiered hill. We used to roll down that hill, getting grass stains everywhere.

Cruising Metrocenter, Central Avenue, south Central Avenue had the lowriders.

WOW guys, I saw this thread and had to get a look! I remember all of the above things! I grew up in Phoenix from about 1968 to 1984. We used to walk to Thomas Mall. I also remember playing "Gooney Golf" at John's Green Gables and as a teenager seeing concerts at Compton Terrace and partying at the riverbottom!

Fun thread!

[fpcoach]

Wow, what a great thread! Not the usual 'rip on where you live' posts. I just discovered this and have spent most of the day captivated.

I was born at Good Sam and grew up in Phx around Metro Center in the 70s. Like many from that era, Wallace & Ladmo were big, as was the mall. Here are a few memories that have been stirred up:

- There was a small zoo, on 7th ave or street, near Camelback that actually had little, free-roaming monkeys that you could buy food for and feed - can you imagine something like that today? Someone please verify this, as no one else in my family remembers it.

- Bought my first ball glove and bat at L.L. Smith's on 35th Ave & Bethany. Hardware and sporting goods in the same store, guy's paradise.

- How the water would fill up the 'breezeways' at my grade school during those flood years - I grew up expecting to it rain like that - still waiting.

- Buying baseball cards at U-totem on 19th ave & Peoria. For some reason, they had cards from the previous year still out, and I liked that - but oh the gum was even grosser than usual.

- I must have been sick alot as a kid, because I remember going to the doctor - 5th Ave & Thomas, anyone have Dr. Keefrey? He was so fun. I remember the building had those old, heavy wooden doors, a little cafe / soda fountain, and a real-life bomb shelter!

- Eating at Pancho's 47th Ave & Glendale, raise the flag for more chips.

- Phoenix Giants games at Muni, my dad for some reason would not take I-17, but straight down 35th to Van Buren and across. The neon, the bums, the ladies, what an eye-opener for a little kid!

- KUPD, KDKB, KOPA, KZZP

- The Ben Franklin store on 3rd St and Dunlap (long gone), used to get hot wheels cars in there, I swear I saw Wallace working in there one day.

- Dove hunting in the early 80s in the citrus groves at 83rd Ave & Bell where Peoria Stadium now stands - for real

- Cruisin' the loop at Metro - THREE TIMES PAST THE SAME POINT IN TWO HOURS IS CRUISING - remember that sign?

- Somehow in HS days (Moon Valley), we were able to get on the ice at Metro after hours and play some 'killer' broom hockey.

Like a previous poster said, the best memories of childhood are the simple times spent with friends or family where you fell asleep in the back seat on the way home. Those emotions, that security seem hard to replicate as an adult.

[roosevelt]

Originally Posted by fpcoach

Wow, what a great thread! Not the usual 'rip on where you live' posts. I just discovered this and have spent most of the day captivated.

I was born at Good Sam and grew up in Phx around Metro Center in the 70s. Like many from that era, Wallace & Ladmo were big, as was the mall. Here are a few memories that have been stirred up:

- There was a small zoo, on 7th ave or street, near Camelback that actually had little, free-roaming monkeys that you could buy food for and feed - can you imagine something like that today? Someone please verify this, as no one else in my family remembers it.

That was the Tropic Garden Art Gallery and Zoo on north 7th Street about 2 blocks north of Bethany Home Rd. There was also the Jungle Park Pet Shop near by. Those were spider monkeys by the way.

Across the street was Jordan's Mexican Food, I think they closed but not sure. My son went to school with old Joe's daughter; last time I saw him he was still driving his old 50's pickup truck.

[roosevelt]

Originally Posted by fpcoach

Wow, what a great thread! Not the usual 'rip on where you live' posts. I just discovered this and have spent most of the day captivated.


- I must have been sick alot as a kid, because I remember going to the doctor - 5th Ave & Thomas, anyone have Dr. Keefrey? He was so fun. I remember the building had those old, heavy wooden doors, a little cafe / soda fountain, and a real-life bomb shelter!

-

Took me a while to think but Dr. Keefrey and Dr. Harper were also my kids' doctor; they inherited the practice from a Dr. Schoffman and Dr. Shembab in the Grunow Clinic who were my doctors. If you remember, there were drawings of Mother Goose figures framed on the walls, they were drawn by Dr. Schoffman back in the 1930's.

[fpcoach]

I knew that I was right about the monkeys! Thanks for proving that my mind isn't failing, yet.

I also remember the drawings in the Doctor's office, and the big fish in the pond in the courtyard outside. Also, as a treat for getting shots, we got to go to the Pepper Tree Restaurant close by. Don't remember the food, but they had the coolest old time arcade games, where you could ride in the car as you looked at the screen.

One time when we were coming home from the doctor, my mom somehow ended in the middle of a parade on Central! Us little kids thought it was awesome, my older sister was mortified, but my mom ate it up, she always wanted to be a star. I remember the policeman on horseback with the bulllhorn yelling at "the woman in the brown thunderbird", and my mom just saying "kids, wave to everyone!"

[fpcoach]

Here's one - school's starting in a couple of weeks (after Labor Day in those days), so you make the trip to Yellow Front to get some jeans, about $7.99 & size 10 SLIM, right? Stiff and scratchy as an old board, take them home and start washing, and washing, and washing to get them faded and a little softer...cuz you're too cool (stupid) to wear shorts to school, even though it's still hot as blazes.

Then back to Smitty's Big Town for some pizza, mmmmm, so good, so greasy.

[roosevelt]

Originally Posted by fpcoach

I knew that I was right about the monkeys! Thanks for proving that my mind isn't failing, yet.

I also remember the drawings in the Doctor's office, and the big fish in the pond in the courtyard outside. Also, as a treat for getting shots, we got to go to the Pepper Tree Restaurant close by. Don't remember the food, but they had the coolest old time arcade games, where you could ride in the car as you looked at the screen.

the Pepper Tree was inside the International Food Court I believe, 7th Ave. just north of Thomas next to Valley Bank. There were lots of places to eat inside. A German place, Italian, Chinese, pastry shop, Fat Eddies, Rib Adams, Barnaby's, Country Kitchen. I used to eat there all the time. Much later it became a nightclub and had so many problems it closed within the month. A few doors up was the Gas Light restaurant that stayed open a long time.

[Arizona Mike]

Originally Posted by roosevelt

Took me a while to think but Dr. Keefrey and Dr. Harper were also my kids' doctor; they inherited the practice from a Dr. Schoffman and Dr. Shembab in the Grunow Clinic who were my doctors. If you remember, there were drawings of Mother Goose figures framed on the walls, they were drawn by Dr. Schoffman back in the 1930's.

The Grunow Clinic, with that very recognizable bas-relief out front, was also where Winnie Ruth Judd, "The Trunk Murderess" worked. She lived up the street off Brill before her arrest. Judd was confined at the Arizona State Hospital at 24th and Van Buren for much her life before being pardoned by Gov. Jack William. She escaped while I was going to school at nearby St. Mark's Elementary, and I remembered being ushered back into school by the nuns for lockdown. By all reports, Winnie was a model prisoner and just walked off the property occasionally (in the end, for quite some time as she got a job as a nurse to a wealthy invalid. She never hurt anyone again). She was also probably railroaded into taking a plea of insanity to avoid involving some wealthy Phoenix businessmen. See Jana Bommersbach's book "The Trunk Murderess" on the case for an interesting view on life, sex, and crime in early 20th-century Phoenix. You can find it in most libraries in the valley.

[billyincaneyville]

Originally Posted by fpcoach

Here's one - school's starting in a couple of weeks (after Labor Day in those days), so you make the trip to Yellow Front to get some jeans, about $7.99 & size 10 SLIM, right? Stiff and scratchy as an old board, take them home and start washing, and washing, and washing to get them faded and a little softer...cuz you're too cool (stupid) to wear shorts to school, even though it's still hot as blazes.

Then back to Smitty's Big Town for some pizza, mmmmm, so good, so greasy.

I remember it well! That's also where our school shoes came from, we didn't have much money and Dad could never afford the Converse High Tops that everybody else was wearing at the time. I look back now and realize I didn't need them in the first place!