VOLUME 13 ISSUE 5
$5.99 SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2024 SERVING CONTRACTING FIRMS AND THE ARIZONA COMMUNITY. . . THEN & NOW
HERB’S UNDERGROUND FOUND THE GROOVE AS PHOENIX’S FIRST DISCO RINGSIDE HARMONY: BOXING CHAMP TONY DEMARCO’S PIANO LOUNGE O.H.S.O. BECOMES 23RD RESTAURANT TO OPEN AT THE “TOP OF CENTRAL” CRAWFORD TRACTOR TO COPPER STATE: 50 YEARS OF ARIZONA EQUIPMENT MARION JORDAN: PROVIDING EXPERTISE IN DIESEL ENGINES AND HOT-RODS MICHAEL DEFIEL, AIA: BRINGING CREATIVITY AND CARE TO ARCHITECTURE
Arizona’s Timeless Magazine
DCS CONTRACTING: PAVING ITS WAY TO 30 YEARS
THE “KRAZY” STORY OF KOKO:
ONE OF PHOENIX’S “HOTTEST” NIGHTCLUBS HUNTER CONTRACTING BUILDS FUN AT QUEEN CREEK PARK
ACADEMY FOR CONSTRUCTION EXCELLENCE OPENS IN PHOENIX
LAYTON TOPS OUT CENTRAL STATION IN DOWNTOWN PHX
BILL CONOVER AND BRANCO MACHINERY’S INSPIRING LEGACY
CHASSE BUILDS CHILD & FAMILY WELLNESS CENTER
THE LEADER IN PROVIDING TEMPORARY POWER GENERATION SYSTEMS IN THE GREATER PHOENIX AREA
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Contributors Alison Bailin Matt DiBara Ed Dobbins Maria Khokhlova Luke M. Snell Doug Sydnor
My Mom’s corn casserole
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Arizona Contractor & Community (ACC) magazine is published bi-monthly (Jan/Feb, Mar/Apr, May/June, July/Aug, Sept/Oct, Nov/Dec). ACC is a professional publication designed for the contracting industry, engineers, architects, equipment rentals, suppliers, and others interested in Arizona and its history. Content including text, photographs or illustrations may not be reproduced without the written permission from the publisher. The publisher does not assume responsibility for unsolicited submissions. ACC reserves the right to reject any editorial and advertising material and reserves the right to edit all submitted content material. Arizona Contractor & Community Copyright © 2024 All rights reserved.
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CONTENTS Contributors - Ed Dobbins & Maria Khokhlova From The Editor: When Jo Jo and I Lived in Tucson, Arizona - Douglas Towne Construction Around Arizona: Projects • People • Practices DCS Contracting Celebrates 30 years - Special Advertising Section Back When: Tempe’s Twangy Riverbottom Roadhouse Douglas Towne The “Krazy” Story of KoKo: One of Phoenix’s “Hottest” Nightclubs - Billy Horner Herb’s Underground: Finding The Perfect Beat as Phoenix’s First Disco - Douglas Towne Ringside Harmony: World Boxing Champion Tony DeMarco’s Piano Lounge - Douglas Towne One Location, 22 Businesses: O.H.S.O. and Little O’s Open in Sunnyslope - Ed Dobbins Crawford Tractor to Copper State: 50 Years of an Arizona Equipment Company - Billy Horner Saluting Arizona’s Builders: Edward Earl Douglas Towne Old School Equipment: International Harvester Pay Scraper - Billy Horner Building on the Past: 1962 - Phoenix Municipal Stadium Billy Horner Architect’s Perspective - Michael Defiel, AIA - Bringing Creativity and Care to Architecture - Doug Sydnor, FAIA Digging Through the Archives: Marion Jordan: Expertise in Diesel Engines and Hot-Rods - Billy Horner Bid Results Advertising Index
Front Cover KoKo restaurant, 1955. Article on page 48 Image Courtesy of Arizona Contractor & Community
EIGHT
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CONTRIBUTORS
ED DOBBINS ARTICLE ON PAGE 62
E
THE MISSION OF AZUCA ARIZONA CHAPTER OF NUCA IS TO BE A RESOURCE FOR THE UTILITY CONSTRUCTION AND EXCAVATION INDUSTRY IN ARIZONA; AND TO HELP IMPROVE THE OPERATIONAL PROFICIENCY AND FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE OF MEMBER COMPANIES THROUGH TRAINING, SAFETY, EDUCATION, INFORMATION, ADVOCACY, NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES AND SUPPORT. TEN
MARIA KHOKHLOVA ARTICLE ON PAGE 35
M
d Dobbins shares his enthusiaria Khokhlova is a visionasm for the area he has lived ary entrepreneur and in for over 50 years by present- the co-founder of TraceAir, a ing stories on Phoenix history groundbreaking company revthrough videos, articles, and olutionizing the construction talks. His favorite topics are usu- industry with advanced drone ally found within a few blocks and data visualization technolto miles of the north-central ogy. Maria hails from a family Phoenix neighborhood he calls deeply rooted in academia, with home. both parents and grandparents One prolific Arizona jour- serving as physicists. From an nalist described Dobbins’ early age, this academic enviresearch as beginning “in his ronment instilled in her a pasown front yard.” The reference sion for scientific inquiry and was to the grapefruit tree on innovation. the lawn, a link to when his Maria earned her PhD in home was part of the citrus laser physics from Moscow belt at the foot of the Phoenix State University, where she Mountains, whose fruit were conducted pioneering research processed at a soda pop factory and honed her critical thinkin Glendale. ing and problem-solving skills. Dobbins also enjoys Despite her academic success, researching the very different Maria realized her strengths lie world of 19th-century Phoe- in bridging the gap between scinix. His volunteer experience entific innovation and practical with the Pioneer Memorial & application. This realization led Military Park on West Jefferson her to transition into product Street has led him to consider management in the IT sector, the origins of long-standing fea- where she successfully ran a tures and services in the city. custom software development Dobbins’ exploration of how company. Phoenix planned, created, and In 2015, Maria co-founded maintained its first cemeteries TraceAir Technologies to transresulted in his booklet on the form the construction industry. Histories of Pioneer Cemeteries Under her leadership as chief in Phoenix, Arizona, now avail- executive officer, the company able on the Pioneer Cemetery has developed a comprehenAssociation website. sive visual management platOn his YouTube channel, Ed form that integrates sensor Dobbins has several short vid- data, drone imagery, and projeos on topics such as the his- ect plans to enhance efficiency tory of early highways in Phoe- and accuracy in construction nix, the beginnings of Paradise projects. Maria’s strategic vision Valley, and why there is a curve and commitment to innovation in Seventh Avenue. have propelled TraceAir to work with major builders across the globe. SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2024
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ARIZONA CONTRACTOR & COMMUNITY
EDITOR’S COLUMN:
WHEN JO JO AND I LIVED IN TUCSON, ARIZONA DOUGLAS TOWNE
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s the fall season approaches, whether it heralds returning to school or just a welcome shift to cooler temperatures on the construction site, after-work destinations hold a special place for unwinding with friends. In this issue, amidst our usual contracting focus, the magazine delves into the timeless allure of Arizona’s happy-hour destinations. Personally, tavern-talk transports me 40 years back to Tucson, a place brimming with memories. My two abodes in the Old Pueblo were each along Speedway Boulevard, a road that Life magazine controversially labeled “the ugliest street in America” in 1970. To support this declaration, the article “Look Down, Look Down, that Loathsome Road” featured a two-page photo overflowing with signage along Speedway near Country Club Drive. The story’s aftershocks influenced an update of the city’s sign ordinance, which banned the construction of oversized and animated advertisements and any near the curb. Depending on your taste, this was either overdue or misguided. Personally, I think that the commercial cacophony along Speedway was just part of the city’s charm. My initial residence was the former College Inn, a three-story motel-like complex that included a swimming pool. Constructed in 1967, the University of Arizona purchased and converted it into a dorm and office facility called Babcock Inn in 1976. The unique multi-use building was located across Speedway from a popular nightspot called Dirtbags: A Part of Growing Up. Despite its convenience, the crowd I ran with seldom patronized the place. The name was TWELVE
too cloying, and its student clientele wasn’t quite our speed. Instead, we’d congregate at other college hangouts, such as the original iteration of Gentle Ben’s, and two long-gone places: the Green Dolphin on Park Avenue and Granfalloon Saloon on Broadway. Often, though, we’d explore the Old Pueblo for places that
offered a more diverse clientele and a touch of history. A bar that provided, at times, too much ambiance was the infamous Bashful Bandit, located at Speedway and Dodge Street. During my second year in Tucson, my girlfriend, Cathy Weiler, and I lived at the La Playa Apartments, a midcentury dwelling a stone’s throw from the biker bar. Originally called Rio Rita, the place had a rough reputation, aided by motorcycle parts dangling over the roof along the façade. Fortunately, the craziest thing I witnessed at the Bashful Bandit was a patron lighting a string of Black Cat firecrackers…inside. It was recently reinvented as a BBQ joint, retaining the infamous name.
Images Courtesy of Author
Top: Tucson Small Animal Hospital sign at Ignite Sign Art Museum, 2024. Above: Dirk Arnold’s “Gateway Saguaro” on Miracle Mile, 2024. Bottom right: Tucson International Airport control tower, 2024. SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2024
Many of my other hangouts have had their last calls since the mid-1980s. Namechecking favorites include the Grant Road Tavern near Tucson Boulevard, famous for its many pool tables and backdoor entrance from the parking lot. Similarly, barflies can no longer ascend the neon-outlined Twin
Peaks Cocktail Lounge on West Grant Road near Stone Avenue, which predated and had no relation to the “breastaurant” chain. Ditto for Berky’s Bar, a destination for live music on East Speedway, and A Bad Location, which lived up to its moniker in an industrial district south of campus. Cross Roads Drive Inn in South Tucson, famous for the waitstaff placing a pitcher of beer on a car hop tray that hung on your driver’s window, had discontinued this anachronism long before it closed last year after a fire. A few holdouts, however, continue to serve cold refreshments, including our go-to dive, the Bay Horse Tavern on East Grant Road, famous as the site of Mark Lundgren’s legendary rendition of the Rolling Stones tune “Salt of the Earth.” Even then, the pub used a cheap spotlight to illuminate its sign instead of having its proud stead aglow in neon. Further east on the road, The Shelter, a mid-century classic cocktail lounge with a Left: The Shelter, 2013. Bottom left: Bay Horse Tavern, 1986. Below: With Bob Hendry at the Bashful Bandit, 1986. Bottom right: The Beatles’ Get Back album was never released, but many of its songs are found on the album Let It Be.
Left: Cross Roads Drive Inn sign, 1986. Above: Life magazine image of Speedway Boulevard, 1970.
lava rock wall façade, has made the coveted evolution to hipster hangout. Arguably, Tucson’s most legendary watering hole was located at 4980 East 22nd Street, which I visited once with Bob “Beatle” Hendry. Our pilgrimage to Jo Jo’s had bad timing, as someone had been shot in the parking lot the night before. The bartender was in a dour mood but said that Paul and Linda McCartney had occasionally stopped by years ago from their nearby 151acre ranch, thus leading to the famous lyrics in the Beatles’ song “Get Back.” Of course, whether this was true or not, promoting an alleged Fab Four connection helped business. Some have claimed Jo Jo’s, with a sign that incorporated an eyeball in each “o” ( ), was named after the song’s lyrics. The bar, however, had been around since at least 1960, nine years before “Get Back” came together during the band’s sessions for the Let it Be album. McCartney, unavailable to be interviewed, had previously said “Jo Jo” didn’t reference any particular person. Did McCartney find inspiration from the Tucson bar’s name? There’s likely a connection. But the upshot is that both Jo Jo and I, for different reasons, ended up leaving our “home in Tucson, Arizona.”
Images Courtesy of Author
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ARIZONA CONTRACTOR & COMMUNITY
14
SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2024
Projects . PEOPLE . PRACTICES
CONSTRUCTION AROUND ARIZONA Projects
CONSTRUCTION AROUND ARIZONA
Images Courtesy of Layton Construction
LAYTON DIGS DEEP TO CONSTRUCT CENTRAL STATION IN DOWNTOWN PHOENIX
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ayton Construction is utilizing every square inch of property in building the $250 million Central Station in the heart of downtown Phoenix. The three-year project is on 2.6 acres at Central Avenue and East Van Buren Street, south of Civic Space Park and ASU’s Downtown Campus. “One of the more unique aspects of the project is the subterranean parking garage,” says John Sirrine, Layton’s vice president. “The project was not only on a lot with heavy amounts of sand, but the building’s footprint is also lot line to lot line. This means all foundations had to be pushed directly up against the property line and could not be done in a traditional foundation approach you would normally see in Phoenix.” ARIZCC.COM
Sirrine adds that Layton opted to complete the foundation walls with a soil nail system because of these elements. This construction technique uses long slender poles installed into pre-drilled holes (soil nails), reinforced with mesh, tied to vertical I-beams, and covered with shotcrete. “Carving out the soil five feet down at a time in horizontal rows, each row known as a lift, the project required seven lifts, with 231 vertical pilers and over 1,000 nailers installed at varying angles based on their height and position,” Sirrine says. “With underground utilities, storm drains, and the City of Phoenix’s light rail all within less than 10 feet proximity, high levels of quality control and accuracy in calculations were paramount to project success.” Central Station is set to become a new city landmark that features two residential towers offering a mix of market-rate, student, and workforce housing, two levels of below-grade parking, a City of Phoenix
Above: John Sirrine, Layton Vice President.
transit hub, and retail/office spaces. This comprehensive development addresses the community’s need and desire for quality housing adjacent to public transit. “The integration of student housing alongside traditional residential and office spaces within a transit redevelopment is a unique aspect ARIZONA CONTRACTOR & COMMUNITY