How do you remember Phoenix? Stories from long time residents... (Scottsdale: mechanic, limit)

[Donalumni]

Originally Posted by deraffe

yes, that was the Frontier Lanes, there was a Yellow Front next door that became a Popular Outdoors, then when it closed, it became a seasonal Halloween store. there is also a Checker there too.


the Yellow Front i remember was at 32nd St and Indian School.
There was a Yates army surplus at 40th and Thomas, maybe you are thinking of that?

i can't think of a building at 48th and Thomas that could hold a Yellow Front, i don't remember there being 1 in Thomas Mall either. maybe at the strip mall next to Thomas Mall, but that would have had to have beenbefore the early 70's.

Ya know after that post last night it came to me that it was a Yates store and was perhaps connected to a grocery chain like Bayless or something. Thanks deraffe for the help! I was in heaven in either a Yates or Yellow Front as a kid. Anyone remember the Basha's store and the Walgreens connected to it on the SE corner of 74th St, and McDowell? Looks like it was all torn down and Basha's took it over. OLD OLD Jack in the Box across the street. Been there, perhaps, 40 years at least. I used to go there for lunch in 1971 while a sophmore Coronado High school

[Donalumni]

Originally Posted by roosevelt

Someone mention the Crosscut Canal? Now you know where the name came from. It cuts across another canal and then under the road and railroad track. Looks like an Indian archeological dig on the right.

Attachment 69455

Great pic of the old crosscut canal in its heyday Roosevelt! That's the Pueblo Grande in the photo. Cool.

[Donalumni]

Originally Posted by deraffe

i read through the link about Van Buren and there was a link at the bottom for info about Papago Park And the POW camp there. since those white shacks always facinated me as a kid in the 70's after my dad told me it was a German POW camp, i had to read it.
in the article, it states that the white shacks on the south west (ish) corner of Scootsdale and Thomas were actually old POW barrics that were sold off after the camp shut down. i had always wondered about the dumpy buildings there, they seemed out of place.
it also states that the Elks Lodge across the street from the Army reserve was the officers barrics for the POWs.

when i read further it stated that the buildings from Scottsdale and Thomas were being moved to MCcormick Ranch rail road park.

well i an close by and had the day off so i stopped by to take a few pics of the train's headlight to compair it to the one we are restoring for the Pioneer Park Train and ask about the POW barrics.

well they had no idea about the POW barrics.....anyone know about the fate of them?

also i was wondering about the story behind McCormick Ranch railroad park. most of the orginal building have wood framed sliding windows so they have got to be pretty old. anyone know the history of it?

The only POW camp I know of was located at the SW corner of 64th St. and Oak. They were tearing them out around 1962 or so. My father was called out, as a troubleshooter for SRP, to investivate an electrocution of someone working for a contractor who was demolishing the camp.

[deraffe]

most of them were demolished and turned into the HY-VIEW subdivision. i remember there being the white buildings (barrics) along the east end of the national guard up until at least the middle 80's right along the fence.

the ones on Scottsdale and Thomas were from the POW camp and were bought and moved over there from the camp.

[deraffe]

Originally Posted by Donalumni

Ya know after that post last night it came to me that it was a Yates store and was perhaps connected to a grocery chain like Bayless or something. Thanks deraffe for the help! I was in heaven in either a Yates or Yellow Front as a kid. Anyone remember the Basha's store and the Walgreens connected to it on the SE corner of 74th St, and McDowell? Looks like it was all torn down and Basha's took it over. OLD OLD Jack in the Box across the street. Been there, perhaps, 40 years at least. I used to go there for lunch in 1971 while a sophmore Coronado High school

the Yates was free standing. they knocked it down and built a little strip center that had a Tower Records and a Peter Piper Pizza along with a CLicks billards.

i think you are thinking of the Yelloe Front that was right next to a Basha's.

the Basha's/Walgreens is vacant now. has been for over a year now. about 5 years or more ago, they demolished the walgreens next to it.

[Westside Willie]

Originally Posted by deraffe

info about Papago Park And the POW camp

Read the story of the camp and the infamous 1944 escape here: Camp Papago Park - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

and a few goodies for you to peek at.

[desertratz]

Originally Posted by Westside Willie

Read the story of the camp and the infamous 1944 escape here: Camp Papago Park - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

and a few goodies for you to peek at.

Here's about the most complete article on the Papago POW camp that I've ever seen.

Papago Park POW prisoner of war camp in Phoenix Arizona

[Westside Willie]

Originally Posted by roosevelt

Someone mention the Crosscut Canal? ]

This is from an SRP site:

The 'old' Crosscut Canal was built by pioneers in 1888 to bring irrigation water from the Arizona Canal to the Grand Canal. It was sold to the federal government in 1906 for $15,730. Portions of the canal have been turned over to the city of Phoenix to carry away storm drainage from northeast Phoenix.The old Crosscut Canal now takes storm water to the Salt River bed under the Grand Canal. It also can carry water from the Arizona Canal to the Grand Canal.

The graphic is Willie's: Thanks to Roosevelt and Google Earth.
I love Google Earth

[observer53]

Originally Posted by desertratz

Here's about the most complete article on the Papago POW camp that I've ever seen.

Papago Park POW prisoner of war camp in Phoenix Arizona

Thanks for that... really interesting!

[deraffe]

Originally Posted by desertratz

Here's about the most complete article on the Papago POW camp that I've ever seen.

Papago Park POW prisoner of war camp in Phoenix Arizona

that's the one i read. in it , they mention the white hsacks on Thomas and Scottsdale road as being POW barrics that were mover top that location after being sold off from the shut down camp.
it also states that the city of Scottsdale bought them and was moving the to a perminate display at McCormick Ranch rail road park.
so i took a little trip up the road to see if they were there. figuring with all the recent construction there, the display was part of it.
there was nothing there and asking around no one had heard anything about it. i did get a good look at the engine on display's head light though and it seems that we are doing it right.


does anyone have any info on the history of McCormick Ranch railroad park?