How do you remember Phoenix? Stories from long time residents... (Glendale: appraisals, sandwich)

[dgsaz1950]

Originally Posted by Desertspiritsteve

I remember Cucaracha. The food was great there. We would go there after having a few underage beers. One night a cigarette butt poured out of the little pitcher of hot sauce. Um-um-um. As a former Spartan (Camelback HS), lunch was the best at Town & Country Village food bazaar. My friends and I used to like riding our bikes up 32nd. St. to Ship Rock. I just remembered a place that was so creepy to us all...Camelback Hospital. It was on 34th. St. north of Camelback. It was a psychiatric hospital. There is some awfully nice real estate in that neighborhood.

Was there anything better than lunch at T&C. Another Spartan (68) here. The kids with fast cars from Central would occasionally make the trip over for lunch.

I lived just west of the Camelback Hospital. Did a bit of beer drinking in the grapefruit orchard just north of the hospital.

Do you recall the older gentlemen we called "the walker". He lived at the hospital and walked all over the place. Sometimes we would see him as far south as Thomas Road, usually between 32nd and 40th. He always wore a suit and tie. I would see him at the El Rancho market at 32nd and Camelback buying milk and donuts or cookies.

On the southwest corner of 32nd and Camelback was the Templeton Mansion. I think it was in the 80's that the house and the surrounding citrus orchards fell to progress. It was a shame, but what are you going to do?

dgsaz

[Desertspiritsteve]

I remember the mansion. The name Templeton does not ring a bell. I think that the Mitchell's biggest Christmas tree lot was on the corner there. The Mitchell's had real estate west of Camelback Hospital just south of the canal. Camelback Hospital was founded by Dr. Otto Bendheim. I went to Camelback HS with a couple of the Bendheim kids. O.B. had a luxurious home on north Palo Cristi Dr. just north of Stanford Dr. in Paradise Valley. There is still property there called the Otto Bendheim split. I don't remember, "The walker." I'd like to know the history of the Templeton Mansion and any photos. There was some controversy when it was demolished.

[jukebox47]

Originally Posted by desertratz

I read today that Jack Ross (Mr. Touchdown) died this week. I still remember his commercials with Acquanetta and offering a trunk load of groceries with each car sold.

I can still hear those commercials and see Aquanetta from the night television. Sorry to hear he is gone.

[desertratz]

Originally Posted by jukebox47

I can still hear those commercials and see Aquanetta from the night television. Sorry to hear he is gone.

Here is a partial of his obituary from the Republic:

Ross, Norman Jack
April 3, 1927 - January 13, 2013, Norman Jack Ross, of Scottsdale AZ, aka "Mr. Touchdown," an accomplished businessman, inventor, and philanthropist, passed away peacefully in Encinitas, California at the age of 85 from complications of Parkinson's disease. Jack was the oldest of three children, born in Chicago, IL to parents Norman A. Ross M.D. and Edna "Hoops" Ross. When Jack was 2, his parents moved to Phoenix, where he attended Kenilworth Elementary and North High School. Jack enlisted in the United States Army and was sent to Stanford University, where he studied engineering and graduated from the Army's accelerated training program. He was deployed to the European Theatre where he served under General George Patton and was assigned to the Criminal Investigations Division or CID. Those who knew him would swear that his traits were that of George C. Scott's depiction of Patton in the movie. Upon his Honorable Discharge and return stateside, he attended and received his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Southern California. Jack was always active and engaged. He was a founding member of the Phi Delta Theta Fraternity at USC. He partnered in an automobile service station from which he occasionally sold used cars. This lead to his taking a position at the nearby Nash dealership in Beverly Hills, where he was a natural and outstanding in sales, all while still attending USC. Jack's ability quickly evolved into managing multiple franchises for Jack Fraim, a WWII General who owned multiple dealerships in Dayton, Ohio and Los Angeles. He was then recruited to work for the Packard Motor Car Company and became their youngest marketing VP in 1952. In 1955 he returned to Arizona and opened Jack Ross Lincoln Mercury with his wife and co-promoter of the business, Acquanetta, a former model and movie actress with RKO and Universal Studios. After 50 years of operation the franchise was sold to the Earnhardt Auto Centers. Longtime residents of Phoenix will remember Jack and Acqua's "Movie of the Week" sponsorship on Channel 5, their support for many causes and their innovative use of early television to promote cultural groups and charities including: Mesa Lutheran Hospital, the Heard Museum, Phoenix Indian School, The Stagebrush Theater, Phoenix Symphony, and valley disadvantaged youth. Jack was brilliant and used his talents to make a difference in the lives of many because he cared deeply about people and the community. Some of the accomplishments for which Jack was responsible, but never sought public recognition include his work as the Founder and First President of the Mesa Lutheran Hospital, serving on the Advisory Board of Surgicenter, Inc. (an innovative concept in out-patient health services), intervention to save the Mesa Municipal Airport, now known as Falcon Field, upon its virtual abandonment in the 1950s and runways being encroached upon and turned into agricultural fields, and support for public health facilities at Sky Harbor Airport. Jack donated 200 acres of land to the Hopi Indian Community, brought the BVD (a garment manufacturing company) to northern Arizona, donated the entire site of the Oro Belle ghost and mining town to the Arizona Historical Society, co-authored the Code of Ethics for the Arizona Automobile Dealers Association, subsequently used as a model for the National Association form, and was instrumental in bringing Motorola to Mesa when he headed the Roslon Development Company. Along with his wife, he maintained a deep commitment to the Arizona Native American population by helping to foster beneficial relationships between Hopi and Navajo leadership and sponsored numerous state youth programs and college scholarships. He served as President of the Arizona Auto Dealers Association, and twice ran for Governor of the State of Arizona. He was a member of the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Among his many accolades he was honored as Time Magazines "Dealer of the Year". He was a man of high moral standards, ethical dealings, and fair play. He loved the automobile business, antique cars and museums. He was an avid reader, as well as an accomplished helicopter and multi-engine airplane pilot. He enjoyed deep-sea fishing, playing the piano and organ, his daily walks and big band music, especially Glen Miller and Benny Goodman. He was partial to ice cream, chocolate, and Wild Turkey Whiskey.

[observer53]

Originally Posted by Desertspiritsteve

I remember the mansion. The name Templeton does not ring a bell. I think that the Mitchell's biggest Christmas tree lot was on the corner there. The Mitchell's had real estate west of Camelback Hospital just south of the canal. Camelback Hospital was founded by Dr. Otto Bendheim. I went to Camelback HS with a couple of the Bendheim kids. O.B. had a luxurious home on north Palo Cristi Dr. just north of Stanford Dr. in Paradise Valley. There is still property there called the Otto Bendheim split. I don't remember, "The walker." I'd like to know the history of the Templeton Mansion and any photos. There was some controversy when it was demolished.

Actually, their big lot was further west, at 24th, as I recall. We bought trees there every year for a long time. Knew one of their daughters well from her activity with horses, and Mrs. Mitchell was around for a lot of that.

I'd like to know more about that mansion, too... time to do some research.

I'd forgotten about the history on Camelback Hospital, though Dr. Bendheim's name is certainly familiar, and I had a relative who was a patient there at times.

[Bondurant]

Phoenix lacks an old movie house. It's the only major city I've visited without one (or at least that I've seen). My guess is that the remaining movie houses turned to porn in the 70s and 80s, became rundown and ultimately demolished. Would I be correct?

[jukebox47]

Originally Posted by Bondurant

Phoenix lacks an old movie house. It's the only major city I've visited without one (or at least that I've seen). My guess is that the remaining movie houses turned to porn in the 70s and 80s, became rundown and ultimately demolished. Would I be correct?

The downtown Orpheum is probably a wonderful example of an "old" Phoenix movie theatre. As a kid we knew it only as the Paramount. It was too pricey for us but I do (think, I do anyway) going there once. The ceiling had clouds and stars that moved as we waited for the show to begin.

It later became a run down building where I believe only Spanish pictures were shown. The City of Phoenix returned it to its original beauty as a well deserved overdue project. They sold bricks to help raise funds. I toured it several times, during restoration, and watched it transform back into what it once was.

I suppose it was most famous for a visit by May West; others may have lots to add and perhaps some corrections.

The downtown Fox theatre was a jewel but it slipped away into rubble as so many wonderful old buildings do. It was a terrible loss for Phoenix.

[observer53]

Originally Posted by Bondurant

Phoenix lacks an old movie house. It's the only major city I've visited without one (or at least that I've seen). My guess is that the remaining movie houses turned to porn in the 70s and 80s, became rundown and ultimately demolished. Would I be correct?

I think the Fox and the Palms were both torn down, without being porn houses first. There was a porn movie house at Central and Washington in the 70's and maybe early eighties, I don't think it had been a regular theater before. There was another theater up Central from Washington a little ways in the 70's, I don't remember what it was called, I only remember seeing "Swashbuckler" there...

The Vista was not as large as the Fox or the Paramount... it would have been about where the theater up Central I talked about above was, but I don't think the Vista was still operating in the 70's.

[Desertspiritsteve]

The only thing left for me is the Harkins' Cinemas. They employ such nice people and keep the theaters so nice and clean. I like the freestanding theater at Goldwater north of Camelback. They show the independent films there. If you buy a $25 card you get a free popcorn which can upgraded to the family bucket size at the snackbar for $1.50 and then get a refill one time. And I do own a Harkins' loyalty cup that I refill for only one dollar for the year after an initial purchase price of $5 full of drink. I used to do the twilight specials but now I take advantage of the geezer discount. My most recent favorite movie there was Hugo. My worst experience was sitting over and behind some obese and physically challenged folks that brought in a cooler full of food and drink. They rummaged though the cooler looking for another sandwich or sugar drink using a BIG FOUR D-CELL LED flashlight. They passed bag after bag of potato chips back and forth rattling the bags like I'd never heard. It was surely white trash dinner theater. May I recommend the play, "Equus," at Nearly Naked Theatre at Central and McDowell behind the art museum. This was the second production of Equus I've seen there, and Damon Dering did a wonderful job again. The Republic gave it a very good review. It runs through Feb. 2nd.

[locolobo13]

The mention of a Christmas tree lot reminded me of the giant Christmas tree Chandler used to make out of tumbleweeds. Used to look forward to seeing that in the early 60s. Anybody else remember that?