Jan/Feb 2019

Volume 8 Issue 1

$5.99 Jan - Feb 2019 Serving Contracting Firms and the Arizona Community. . . Then & Now

The Wild Hayride of Phoenix’s Rodeo Drive-In Ned Sawyer: Site-Specific Architecture Tom Hogarty retires from ACC John Baehr: Contracting from Vietnam to AZ

Jack Stewart’s Phoenix Legacy • Stewart Construction Co. • Stewart Motor Co. • The Stewart Apartments

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Contributors Alison Bailin Batz Michael Bernstein James Busch Sean B. Ray Dzevida Sadikovic Octavio Serrano Billie Snell Luke Snell Doug Sydnor Isaac Wildes Rayan Vatti Tom Yount Anne Zell Production Manager Laura Horner Laura@arizcc.com

Competing for a national badminton title.

What are you most looking forward to in 2019?

Summer Vacation!

Magazine Advisor Chuck Runbeck Chuck@arizcc.com Publisher’s Representatives Tom Hogarty Tom@arizcc.com

Spending time with family, especially my lovely wife , Ann.

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Serving Contracting Firms and the Arizona Community… Then & Now Arizona Contractor & Community (ACC) magazine is published bi-monthly (Jan/Feb, Mar/Apr, May/ June, July/Aug, Sept/Oct, and 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 © 2019 All rights reserved.

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TOM YOUNT

ANNE STEWART ZELL

Article on page 54

Articles on page 32 + 38

Although Tom Yount has been a resident of the Valley for 40 years, he had never really thought much about Phoenix history until he passed by the Williams Family Cemetery on Van Buren Street. Now he is hooked.

Tom was born in the Midwest, but his family moved to Scottsdale when he was one.

He spent his youth and teenage years skateboarding and playing drums in punk bands, unaware of the area’s history.

Tom has maintained his passion for drumming and played in several local bands across various genres including Autumn’s End, Jedi Five, Redfield, and Kingdom Of Dis. He currently plays in the local band, We Were Stereo. For the past 15 years, his “day job” has been facilities manager at a Scottsdale technology company.

His main interests over the years have been expanding his music, baseball and military aviation collections, but now local history is his passion. He has explored from the top of the Luhrs Tower in downtown Phoenix down to the remains of the Joint Head Dam in the Salt River bed. He enjoys conducting independent research and connecting with other local history enthusiasts.

Tom and his wife of 10 years, Rhonda, reside in Paradise Valley Village with their two spoiled Boston Terriers.

Born and raised in Phoenix, Anne Stewart Zell graduated from North Phoenix High School. She attended Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville New York and was awarded Master’s degrees in Anthropology and Counseling from ASU. Her professional life has encompassed a variety of pursuits. She was a professor of Anthropology at Mesa Community College and had a private practice as a mental health counselor. Her business experience includes working as a stockbroker, realtor, and chief operating officer of an oil company. Anne travels extensively visiting historical and archeological sites and has been a docent at Pueblo Grande Museum in Phoenix.

Anne is currently researching and writing about Arizona and her family’s history.

She recently published Jack P. Stewart, Phoenix’s Mid-Twentieth Century Visionary, which she dedicated to her mother, Rose Stewart. The short book explores her father’s business activities in the automotive and construction industries in Phoenix, focusing on the post-World War II period.

Her historical research includes compiling an account of the lives of her grandparents, W.R. and Mae B. Stewart who settled in Mesa in 1913. Their lives reflect the excitement experienced by residents as Arizona became the 48th state in 1912.

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From The Editor: Rodeo Drive-In Was One Wild Hayride - Douglas Towne Construction Around Arizona: Projects • People • Practices Mid-Century Home Construction Innovator: Jack P. Stewart - Anne Stewart Zell A New Spin on Phoenix Auto Showrooms: The Stewart Motor Co. - Anne Stewart Zell Back When: Blue Ribbon Entertainment Douglas Towne The Stewart: The High Rise that Changed City Policy Isaac Windes From Vietnam to Arizona: John Baehr’s Contracting Career - William Horner Building On The Past: 1957: Phoenix’s Foremost “Checker” Swilling’s Monument: A Modern-Day History Mystery - Tom Yount Architect’s Perspective: Edward B. ‘Ned’ Sawyer, Jr, AIA: Site-Specific Architecture - Doug Sydnor

Digging Through the Archives: Roland Hamberg William Horner

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Front Cover Stewart Motor Co., 1947.

Story on page 38.

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Left: Red Garters poster.

Right: Red Garters movie premier at the Rodeo Drive- In, 1955.

Editor’s column Rodeo Drive-In Was One Wild Hayride Douglas Towne

T

he Rodeo Drive-In opened in 1953 in an industrial area of Phoenix near 12th Street and Buckeye Road, which was then called Henshaw Road. The theater owners paved the entire site with asphalt for comfort—and to dissuade excavations on land that was once the Jacob Waltz ranch.

“Every inch of that property had been dug up by treasure hunters, hoping to find the fabled gold of the Lost Dutchman mine reported buried on his ranch,” J. B. McCorTen

mick, theater co-owner, told the Arizona Republic.

The Rodeo was the Valley’s seventh drive-in at the time. The 10.5-acre site included room for 550 cars, a 64-foot screen, and a snack bar. “Popcorn is the sweetheart of theater owners,” added McCormick. “We’d all go back to cow pastures without it. As long as we charge only $1 per car for admission with as many as eight persons per car and show three features on weekends, it’s the popcorn that

keeps us in business.”

Opening night featured the movies, Branded, Flying Leathernecks, and The Sniper, all just “24 Short Blocks from the Heart of Phoenix.” The drive-in, which included “Always Two Cartoons,” was built by John C. Kelton & Son Contractors, signage by Myers-Leiber Company, and enclosed by American Fence Company.

Patrons could walk-in for 40 cents, children for just 10 cents.

The Rodeo expanded its entertainment offering the following year by hosting a circus with elephants and acrobats under the big top for three days. In the spring of 1955, the theater featured Red Garters, a musical spoof of Westerns starring Rosemary Clooney. Female employees of the Rodeo got into the film’s spirit, dressing in costume for the opening night.

That same year, moviegoers were treated to a wedding performed in front of the snack bar between films, uniting two Jan-Feb 2019

Left: Rodeo Drive-In newspaper advertisements.

Right: Rodeo Drive-In, 1965.

employees who met at the theater. The bride was a snack bar cashier, whose family lived nearby, and the groom was a parttime usher from Luke Air Force Base.

Republic columnist Don Dedera interviewed Rodeo co-owner Wade E. Allen for insights into the theater business in 1957.

Allen complained about the hundreds of stolen speakers along with “thrill-happy girls” who occasionally climbed the ladder behind the back wall to dangle their legs over the top of the screen. Allen also commented on the strange items people lost at the drive-in. “I have had six sets of false teeth in my lost-and-found department at one time.”

Allen noted that, as an act of goodwill,

he had run speakers to two houses situated behind the drive-in so that the residents could have sound to go with the movie. “If this business weren’t mostly fun, I’d have been out of it long ago,” he concluded.

But the drive-in was already experiencing challenging times. An employee who was changing the theater marque had a bullet hit the letter next to him in 1955. The drive-in was robbed several times during the next two decades. Crime escalated, as a 16-year-old theater patron died after being shot, perhaps in a case of mistaken gang affiliation in 1978, according to the Republic.

Problems peaked when the film, Shanghai Joe, was halted because of a

“Every inch of that property had been dug up by treasure hunters, hoping to find the fabled gold of the Lost Dutchman mine reported buried on his ranch,”

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fire at the snack bar in 1976. A customer became so angry that she bit two police officers who responded to the disturbance.

“She really took a good chunk of those officers,” a lieutenant told the Republic. The policemen needed treatment at St. Luke’s Hospital, where medical officials said that “human bites are often more infectious than dog bites.” All that conflict occurred over a film that garnered sub-par ratings.

By then, the price was $5 per carload.

Besides the typical drive-in slasher horror films, the Rodeo featured Kung-Fu fests, R-rated flesh shows such as Sins of Adam and Eve, and movies oriented towards the African-American community such as Muhammad Ali in The Greatest, Gladys Knight in Pipe Dreams, and Billy Dee Williams in Blast.

The drive-in closed in 1981. The Central City Campus of Gateway Community College now occupies the site.

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Projects . PEOPLE . PRACTICES

Construction 101: Sundt Partners with Central Arizona College Sean B. Ray and James Busch

I

n an industry that faces a shortage of two million workers nationally over the next three years, creating a pipeline of qualified labor is an ongoing challenge. The construction industry has grappled with a

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growing skills gap for a decade, particularly as technology changes the way companies operate.

To help alleviate the labor shortage, Tempe-based Sundt Construction and Central Arizona College (CAC), located in nearby Coolidge, are working on unique ways to recruit and train skilled workers.

In the spring of 2016, Sundt – one of the nation’s largest builders of everything from hospitals and light rails to highways and water treatment plants – approached CAC to explore an apprenticeship partnership in Heavy Equipment Operations. During these discussions, a more significant gap in available skilled workers emerged, leading Sundt and CAC to conclude that expanding the collaboration beyond the apprenticeship was necessary and warranted.

Based in Pinal County, CAC already had a robust Career Technical Education (CTE) and skilled trades department, along

CONSTRUCTION AROUND ARIZONA Projects

CONSTRUCTION AROUND ARIZONA

Above: A heavy equipment instructor operates a 938G Caterpillar loader owned by CAC. Left: A welding professor inspects a SUNDT/ CAC student’s weld.

with acres of open space for utilizing heavy equipment. The Coolidge campus is home to dormitory space that allows students to come from across the state. Most of the construction courses and curriculum at CAC were outdated and focused primarily on residential building. To meet the growing needs of commercial construction, CAC administrators worked with Sundt leadership to develop trade pathways in five key areas: 1. Structural welding 2. Industrial construction 3. Pipefitting 4. Concrete construction technology 5. Heavy equipment operation With a focus on putting trained graduates directly into jobs where they’re needed, the five one-year programs were Arizona Contractor & Community

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CONSTRUCTION AROUND ARIZONA Projects developed to align with core competencies related to OSHA 30 and NCCER Core Certification and American Welding Society requirements, while also addressing the soft skills needed for long-term success.

And for those students who would like to work toward management positions eventually, the 30 college credit hours count toward future studies.

The most unique attribute of this partnership is that every aspect of the courses and programs was designed jointly by Sundt and CAC. This has led to a true partnership where Sundt provides instructors for two of the pathways and equipment for pipefitting and welding, and CAC furnishes on-site lab space and instruction. CAC and Sundt built these pathways in less than three months, which enabled students to begin coursework in August 2017.

Students in the program are benefitting from real-world learning. Thanks to instructors who work in the field, students learn current practices, making their transition into the workplace seamless.

The new approach is working. CAC’s construction technology program had been dwindling, with fewer than 10 students enrolled annually. At the beginning of the 2017 fall semester, more than 100 students

were enrolled in the CAC-Sundt Pre-employment Training Opportunities, and the team is estimating an enrollment of 180 for the December 2018 semester. Growth has been so strong that the partnership is exploring expanding the program to CAC’s other four campuses.

An impressive 95 percent of the students leave with a nationally recognized certification, and 100 percent of graduates have a job immediately after graduation, many with multiple offers. Those who are hired by Sundt receive a $1,000 tuition

reimbursement to help defray the cost of the program.

To learn how schools, nonprofits, and businesses are working together to prepare today’s students for tomorrow’s jobs, visit ExpectMoreArizona.org/tour.

Sean B. Ray is the Director of Craft Workforce Development for Sundt Construction.

James Busch is the Division Chair and Professor of Heavy Equipment & Diesel Technology at Central Arizona College.

Sundt employees and CAC students pouring a concrete pad for training.

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Arizona Contractor & Community

Crescent Highland

Alison Bailin Batz

C

hasse Building Team (CHASSE) has earned a reputation for its award-winning work in retail, office, education, community and multi-family construction since 2007. Due to the recession, however, CHASSE capitalized on the multi-family niche in earnest in 2011, helping to build Urban Living 2 with Native American Connections and the Sojourner Center.

“There is no such thing as a cookie-cutter client in the construction business, especially when it comes to working on multi-family projects, and that’s the way we like it,” says Barry Chasse, founder of CHASSE. Since then, their work has focused on three main areas: market-rate apartments, active senior living/senior care facilities, and cause-related multi-family builds, each with their own intricacies and nuances.

Here’s a look at some projects of note in each category: Market Rate Apartments – Crescent Highland CHASSE partnered with Crescent Communities on this new Highland development in downtown Phoenix, which offers residential, commercial, and multi-family spaces that cultivate communities with lasting legacies. Completed in May 2017,

CONSTRUCTION AROUND ARIZONA Projects

Chasse Adept at Meeting Multi-Family Clients’ Diverse Needs

the 349-unit, mixed-use luxury apartment development with integrated retail is on a 4.4-acre site and was constructed over five phases. Between amenities and prime location, this luxury apartment complex is a staple in the downtown scene. The architect on the project was Todd & Associates, Inc. and the cost was estimated at more than $45 million.

Senior Living – Overture Kierland Working in partnership again with architect Todd & Associates, CHASSE is currently building Overture Kierland, a 170-unit apartment project located in the

region commonly known as Kierland Commons. The $40 million development is targeted as an Active Adult, age-restricted community designed to serve the needs of active seniors. Because of this, the over-

Overture Kierland

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all design concepts and amenities differ from traditional market-rate apartments.

The building is designed as a Type V wood frame structure over an on-grade parking podium with a small area of underground parking as well. It is expected to be completed by mid-2019 but is leasing now.

Cause-Related Housing – Cedar Crossing and Patina Wellness Center These need-based projects range from veteran housing to homeless shelters. For many years, CHASSE has worked hand-inhand with Native American Connections, whose focus is to improve the lives of Native American individuals and families through culturally appropriate behavioral health, affordable housing, and community development services.

A particular point of pride throughout this partnership has been Cedar Crossing, which is located – by design – directly next to the Patina Wellness Center. The $11.5 million Cedar Crossing multi-housing development was designed by Pearlman Architects and earned a LEED Platinum certification. The complex, which opened in 2015, includes 74 affordable apartment units with studio, one-, two- and threebedroom layouts. Incorporated into its design are many sustainable initiatives that provide a positive impact on both the environment and community. Encouraging tenants to use public and green transporarizcc.com

tation methods, Cedar Crossing provides secure bicycle storage and is located next to the Encanto Light Rail Station. Additionally, the landscape surrounding the building was designed with water conservation in mind. The project was honored with the 2016 Housing Hero Award by the Arizona Department of Housing.

Located next door is the Patina Wellness Center, which opened in 2016. This $5.2 million project was also designed by Pearlman Architects and built by CHASSE. It consists of two structures connected by a central, culturally amenitized courtyard. A 30,000-square-foot, three-story structure

CONSTRUCTION AROUND ARIZONA Projects

Cedar Crossing

provides behavioral health services and counseling to an underserved, distressed population.

The numerous amenities include a full commercial kitchen, fitness center, talking circle for group therapy, 18 ADA-accessible sleeping pods, sweat lodges, basketball court, child play and family visitation areas, craft room and several program areas designed to foster healing and personal growth. The second building is a 92,000-square-foot, single-story structure that houses administrative staff and three ADA-accessible transitional housing units.

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CONSTRUCTION AROUND ARIZONA Projects

Former Mormon Church Now UEB Builders Office Octavio Serrano

U

part of its history. “It is important to know that when you are working on that kind of project, you pay tribute to the existing,” he said.

Sterner said a challenge of the project was restoring the damage a fire caused to the building. “We had the opportunity to use the burnt wood as a design feature to pay tribute to the history of the building,” Sterner said. “It is about allowing the building to tell its own story.”

UEB Builders is occupying 40 percent of the 22,000 square-foot building and expects to lease the rest, Sande said. The UEB office is in Suite 100.

Octavio Serrano is a student journalist at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Photos Courtesy of Author

EB Builders has rehabbed a vacant church in Scottsdale into its own office space and celebrated the opening at 3080 N. Civic Center Plaza on Nov. 9, 2018. Alvaro Sande, UEB development principal, said the building was purchased in 2014 by Structure Real Estate, a sister company of UEB builders.

“We thought it would be a good idea to purchase it and bring it back to life,” Sande said.

The partially burned building, built in 1958, was sold by the church when a new Mormon church was constructed on 74th Street in Scottsdale in the 1980s. The build-

ing was then repurposed for offices but had been vacant for decades. It was the first Mormon Church built in Scottsdale and was designed featuring a prominent clock tower by architect Martin Ray Young, Jr. This is not the first repurposed church in the Valley. Taco Guild Gastropub, a Mexican restaurant, opened in 2013 in the former Bethel Methodist Church, built in 1893 near Seventh Street and Osborn Road in Phoenix.

The new UEB office shows a contrast between old and new; brick walls and burnt wood are juxtaposed with modern art hanging on the walls and glass rails. An open-concept plan with high ceiling and long beams has been used.

Eric Sterner, the project’s architect from Architekton, said they focused on restoring the building while preserving

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Photos Courtesy of McCarthy Building Companies

P

hoenix-based McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. is tapping the talent in universities throughout the U.S. in its 3-yearold Intern Advantage Program. McCarthy managers said the program improves the image of construction work as a good career move and also lets the company get a look at possible future employees.

“We are trying to change a viewpoint on construction,” said Mike Gonzalez, McCarthy director of preconstruction. “It is a profession, like doctors.”

During fall semester McCarthy interns Jordan 2018, three Northern Arizo- Loos, Nicole Roznos and Rena University students are gis Rumfola (L-R) at the NAU on site at the NAU Science Science Annex project. from Seal Beach in SouthAnnex renovation project ern California has been interning with working on replacing mechanical systems McCarthy since her freshman year. She is and installing a new fire sprinkler system. due to graduate in May. “It’s kind of funThe 34,000-square-foot space on the third ny,” Roznos said. “I didn’t want to interview and fourth floor is undergoing a complete with McCarthy; my boyfriend convinced remodel to open up the chemistry laborame, and after three months with McCarthy tory to promote collaboration.

I fell in love. And after graduation, I will be Besides NAU, McCarthy works with Ariworking full-time with McCarthy.” zona State University and the University of “Being in construction gives you a tanArizona, reaching out to students majoring gible experience,” Roznos said. “McCarthy in engineering, construction management, is one of the best if not the best company civil engineering, mechanical engineering, for self-perform.” Self-perform is an indusand mining engineering. McCarthy currenttry term that means the general contractor ly has six ASU Interns but no UofA interns. does the work instead of hiring subcontracThis past summer there were 144 tors. interns from 64 universities in 14 degree Roznos said she wants to inspire womprograms working on 93 projects in 15 en. “Follow your heart, and if you have a states. Of those who participated in McCapassion for what are you are doing and folrthy’s Intern Advantage program, 76 perlow your dream, this is the industry for you, cent return to school with a full-time job and it is totally worth it,” she said. offer after graduation, Gonzales said.

Out of 144 interns in 2018, 30 percent Twenty-one-year-old Nicole Roznos were females, and in 2017 the total number of interns was 171, and 25 percent were females, Gonzalez said.

From Flagstaff, fellow NAU intern Regis Rumfola, 23, said he worked for his dad’s trucking company. He was pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering when he decided to go for the McCarthy internship.

Rumfola graduated in May with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering with a math minor. “The construction management was a little off the path, but ever since I started with McCarthy I haven’t look back,” he said.

Rumfola said he likes that McCarthy is such a large-scale construction company and works on big projects. Projects range from infrastructure, airports, commercial buildings, government facilities, and hospitals to marine, parking, and renewable arizcc.com

CONSTRUCTION AROUND ARIZONA Projects

NAU Internships Influence Post-Grad Construction Careers

energy structures.

“I just wanted to be part of something so big,” he said.

Rumfola said a lot of engineers think construction is too easy and they are too smart for the industry. “If they knew what went on behind the scenes in construction management they would be very helpful if they chose that field in engineering,” he said.

After 22-year-old Jordan Loos of Phoenix graduates in December with a degree in mechanical engineering, he will start a full-time job with McCarthy’s self-perform team.

When he first started with McCarthy after his sophomore year in college, Loos said he didn’t know much about the construction industry. Loos was a laborer for one summer and after completing two summer internships, “I knew McCarthy is where I wanted to be,” he said.

While in the internship program, Loos worked on submittals, the RFI process (Request For Information), material and procurement tracking and ordering, productivity tracking and reporting, coordination of mechanical, electrical and plumbing, and subcontractor and vendor verifications.

“Anything I wanted to learn or do, I have been given the opportunity to do so,” Loos said. He said he’s aiming to be a project manager. “Getting to be a part of many different projects in different parts of the country would be an amazing, eye-opening experience,” he added.

Dzevida Sadikovic is a student journalist at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

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hen I recently called Billy Horner to let him know I was planning to retire as publisher’s representative, aka his advertising salesperson, for Arizona Contractor & Community magazine, I first asked him how old he thought I was.

“About 65,” Billy responded. When I told him I was 80, there was a pause at the other end of the line, before Billy exclaimed, “Jesus Christ!”

My path to working for the magazine came after 25 years in San Diego, where I launched a successful bi-monthly full-color magazine for the San Diego Engineering & General Contractors Association.

I wisely, as it turned out, followed my wife’s suggestion that we pull up stakes and move to the desert. In our years in California, where we met, fell in love and married, she had already enjoyed a suc-

Donna Hogarty, Honey Bear, and Tom Hogarty.

cessful career as founder and president of Pensions Ltd, a retirement-plan consulting firm. And so she, a Pennsylvania native, and me, a native New Yorker, heeded the call in 2014 to “Go East.”

Upon our arrival in Arizona, I approached Owen Cowing of Red Mountain Rentals, looking for some contacts.

Owen was highly enthusiastic about the magazine. I wondered how a construction industry publication could build and sustain a readership in writing stories, illustrated with vintage photos, about the good old days. Could “nostalgia” be that popular?

It’s a good thing I kept those thoughts to myself!

Early on, following a basic training course in ad sales from industry guru Chuck Runbeck, one of my first solo face-to-face visits was with Jeff Johnson, founder and president of Trafficade. Jeff, an ‘old’ youngster of about 40 at the time, spoke highly about the magazine and signed up for an advertising plan that continues to this day.

Time after time, I found myself calling on prospects, some of whom had not yet heard of the magazine. I enjoyed watching their reaction as they flipped through the pages of our most recent issue. Here and there they paused, recalling that their father or their uncle had worked for “that company” or that they “knew some guy” on a specific job being featured.

Selling ads became much less of a challenge as I discovered for myself that, indeed, “nostalgia” is what it’s cracked up to be.

Now entering its eighth year, the magazine has recently made a successful transition from a quarterly to bi-monthly, gaining new advertising support along the way.

I enjoyed being a member of the ACC magazine team, especially the camaraderie of working with Billy and Laura Horner, a fun-loving, down-to-earth couple who always made me feel like part of the team.

CONSTRUCTION AROUND ARIZONA People

Tom’s Swan Song: Hogarty Retires from ACC

I hope they keep me on their mailing list so I can continue to enjoy the easy-to-read, smooth articles by Editor Douglas Towne and his talented staff.

To observe my 80th birthday, I resurrected my father’s late-1920s ukulele and have been taking lessons. Who knows?

Perhaps I will put my singing talents together with Sinatra tunes from long ago and far away and take this show on the road. I feel many years younger, thanks, I am sure (and have been told) to having a much younger wife!

Arizona Contractor and Community – the little magazine that could – will always have a special place in my heart. Thanks for the memories.

Editor’s Note: Tom, the pleasure has been ours; bon voyage in your next adventure!

Our door is always open, whether as a publisher’s rep or as a captive audience for your burgeoning ukulele skills.

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development. It was also highly desirable due to the lower cost of living, land prices and simpler government policies.

Which real estate projects are you most proud of, and why?

I’m very proud of our first solo project, The Beach Colony in Del Mar, an 86-unit apartment complex. A passion project of mine was Club Torrey Pines, a 400-unit apartment community in North San Diego.

Another one of my favorite projects was the San Diego Tennis and Racquet Club, a 10-acre recreational complex. We still own and operate all three of these properties today.

What is your advice for people interested in the real estate business?

Study and learn the basic skills from companies established in the business, save up some money, and then just go for it!

Rayan Vatti is a student journalist at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

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CONSTRUCTION AROUND ARIZONA

had different backgrounds and aspirations.

Many were much older than me with more life experience. Some were extremely good Rayan Vatti players, some were exceptionally good partiers, and some are still close friends to this he Douglas Allred Company may be day. based in San Diego, but Douglas Allred is leaving his mark in Arizona having devel- What from your Navy experience do you oped more than 2.8 million square feet in still use today? commercial property and more than 600 You never know what the day will residential units, including the Arpeggio bring. I learned the essential techniques to Rental Condominiums in Tempe and the understand and respond to opportunities Allred Cotton Center in Phoenix. as well as obstacles. I learned the imporPerhaps it’s not surprising, as Allred is tance of good teamwork, which is vital in a former Arizona football player. After grad- the military as well as business life. uating from the University of Arizona with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in business in What spurred you to go into real estate?

1957, Allred served in the U.S Navy for 3.5 As I evaluated my various opportuniyears, working in underwater demolition. ties, I gravitated toward real estate develHe got his start in the real estate world opment because of the tremendous potenas a salesman for Coldwell Banker. He left tial for success. in 1970, co-founding and becoming CEO/ president of Lion Property Corporation for What inspired you to take the leap to form 11 years. the Douglas Allred Company?

After dissolving that company, Allred I learned a great deal during my career founded the Douglas Allred Company in at Coldwell Banker, and I am grateful for 1981. It specializes in residential and com- my time there. As I built relationships with mercial land development, construction, developers, architects, brokers, and othmarketing, and property management ser- er players in the real estate development vices. The company, which is based in north community, I realized I had a great foundaSan Diego County, has developed more tion to form my own company. than 7.6 million square feet of commercial real estate space and over 6,600 residen- What are important milestones with your tial units in California, Arizona, Texas, North company?

Carolina, and Florida.

One was capitalizing on the condo So, what makes this CEO tick? Arizo- conversion frenzy with several of our resina Contractor and Community magazine dential development projects. Another was wanted to know. entering the Arizona market that had so much potential for growth and expansion.

What are a few memories from your UA football career?

Why did you expand to Arizona?

I distinctly remember coming from the California became challenging to develweather in Santa Barbara to my first prac- op due to the slow and extensive approval tice in Tucson. It was over 110 degrees in processes. Over time it also became more the shade, and there was no shade. It was a difficult to find suitable land available for significant learning experience interacting development. Arizona had fantastic land with players from all over the country, who available and a receptive attitude toward

Interview with Douglas Allred, CEO of the Douglas Allred Company

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his article is the first installment of a three-part series that discusses ways that engineers and contractors can reach out to the next generation of construction workers. These activities can inspire youth groups and grade-school classes.

Hydration is the process of cement combining with water; it’s a chemical reaction that forms the “glue” that binds the aggregates and cement together to make concrete. A useful set of pictures that illustrates the hydration process is:

A

B

C

Picture A is the cement before water is added.

Picture B shows the wetting process as water is added to the cement, and the lag time before the two react. The water first coats the surface of the cement and then reacts with the inner part of the cement particle.

Picture C shows the result of the cement and water interaction or hydration. The cement particle will “grow fingers” similar to those on a porcupine rubber ball. These attach to or bind with the aggregates, creating the concrete structure. The “fingers” will eventually fill the concrete voids if the hydration process is allowed to continue, which makes it critical to keep the moisture in the concrete.

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What happens when water is added to the concrete mixture?

Water is needed to hydrate the cement and allow it to develop its “fingers.” Our industry uses two methods to identify how much water is to be used in a concrete mixture: • the “Water/Cement (W/C) ratio (weight of water divided by the weight of cement), and • the water/ cementitious materials (w/cm) ratio (weight of water divided by the weight of all the cementitious materials).

Maximum concrete strength is achieved with a w/cm ratio of about 0.3.

However, concrete of this strength has a near zero slump and is difficult to get out of a concrete truck. To make the concrete more manageable to handle and place, the batch plant or the contractor will add more water.

If more water is added to a concrete mixture, the slump will increase, making the concrete easier to place. However, it will reduce the strength. The more water added to the mix, the cement particles and aggregates are pushed farther apart. Thus the bond between the cement and aggregates will be weak, resulting in low strength and a high w/cm ratio.

at least seven days.

There are two common ways of curing concrete. One is to water cure, sometimes using burlap atop the concrete to help keep it continuously moist. Another method is the application of a curing compound that will help keep water in the concrete.

CONSTRUCTION AROUND ARIZONA Practices

Inspiring the Next Generation: Understanding Strength Development and Durability in Concrete

Using porcupine rubber balls to model cement hydration Using “porcupine rubber balls” as a visual method helps illustrate to contractors and technicians the importance of creating the proper environment so concrete can gain its required strength and durability. The model demonstrates what happens when concrete has too much water, how long-term strength is influenced by concrete temperatures, and the time needed to cure concrete. Quality concrete takes careful planning and an understanding that what happens in the field is vital.

Luke Snell holding porcupine rubber balls.

What happens if the concrete is not properly cured?

When concrete is allowed to dry without any attention to curing, it will develop only about 55 percent of its strength.

If allowed to dry after three days of curing, it will acquire about 70 percent of its strength. These outcomes are especially problematic in Arizona, with its arid climate. The contractor must keep the concrete moist so that the cement continues to hydrate, increasing the strength of the concrete. For this reason, it’s often required that the contractor keep concrete wet for

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CONSTRUCTION AROUND ARIZONA Practices

PCBs: Uncommon, But Still Out There Michael Bernstein

P

that opened but now won’t close? These tasks require the assistance of a qualified electrician or transformer contractor.

If you’re considering a financial stake in a property that has an old site-owned transformer, there’s a certain deception you should be aware of. Some unscrupulous property owners will replace the oil in an old site-owned transformer and immediately draw a sample for laboratory analysis. The lab whould report the sample as very low or even non-detect for PCBs, and the owner will gladly provide that lab report to the prospective buyer or the lender’s consultant. But the PCB concentration in the new oil will increase in the coming days and weeks as the residual PCBs gradually disseminate into the new oil. A sample collected weeks or months later will show a higher concentration of PCBs. If the owner provides a lab report that represents replacement oil, you should require documentation that shows the date on which the oil was changed. If the oil was replaced the same day the sample was collected, or the day before, you should demand resampling and analysis. Also look to see if the PCB trade names Askarel or Aroclor appear

on the manufacturer’s plate.

Reducing the PCB concentration of an old transformer to “Non-PCB” status by replacing the oil isn’t necessarily the end of the concern. PCBs are still present. So consider the transformer’s location. If the transformer is mounted on a pad outside a building, could leakage flow into a drywell?

(See the Arizona DEQ Drywell Program).

If it’s installed on the floor inside a building, could a release enter a floor drain that discharges to a septic system? A program of periodic inspection, or perhaps replacement or relocation, is advisable.

PCB-containing electrical equipment is now uncommon, but it’s still out there.

Nobody wants to become the unwitting new owner of gallons of PCB-containing oil and the equipment “carcass” that will have to be managed someday in the future. If the subject property is an industrial building that dates from the 1970s or earlier, tell your environmental consultant that you want an inventory and photos of capacitors, switches, and breakers. If they hesitate and say it’s out of scope, you can take it as a clue that they probably just don’t know.

Photos Courtesy of Author

CBs are toxic substances that were added to the insulating oil of electrical equipment. Fire retardants, PCBs enable the oil to withstand higher temperatures without igniting. While many people are familiar with PCBs as they relate to transformers, smaller pieces of oil-cooled electrical equipment can also contain PCBs. Because these smaller objects are uncommon, they can be overlooked during a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (ESA). And old transformers whose original oil has been replaced can still be problematic.

In the author’s 29 years of conducting Phase I ESAs, old capacitors have proven to be the PCB electrical equipment that’s most often overlooked—not because they pass unseen, but because they aren’t recognized for what they are. I’ve found unreported PCB capacitors in plain sight at commercial and industrial properties that were previously assessed. The problem was undoubtedly a young assessor and supervisor who failed to recognize old capacitors since they are not common.

A capacitor is a sealed object. Unlike a transformer, its oil can’t be sampled for laboratory analysis. The key is the trade name that appears on the manufacturers’ plates affixed to old capacitors, most commonly Westinghouse Electric Corporation’s Inerteen, General Electric Company’s Pyranol, and Cornell ̶ Dubilier Electric Corporation’s Dykanol.

Of course, if a transformer or any other electrical equipment is owned by a utility company, the responsibility and liability lie with the company. The problem is when the equipment is site owned. Oil-filled components that are not readily visible or accessible may be present inside cabinets for switches and breakers. The environmental assessor should never attempt to draw an oil sample from a site-owned transformer.

What will the assessor do if he or she can’t stop the flow from a damaged drain valve

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Arizona Contractor & Community

Thirty two

Jan-Feb 2019

Mid-Century Home Construction Innovator:

Jack P. Stewart

Stewart Construction Co., 28th and Jackson streets. arizcc.com

Photo Courtesy of Author

A

Anne Stewart Zell

t the end of World War II, there was an acute housing shortage in the Valley and in other Arizona communities. GI’s who had visited Arizona during the war were migrating to the state attracted by the weather and new communities.

However, there were few available houses, especially ones servicemen could afford.

During the war from 1941-1945, regulations directed many resources for military use. But at the war’s end, President Harry Truman prioritized creating homes for sale under $10,000 for servicemen.

Jack P. Stewart answered this challenge by forming Stewart Construction Company and soon making a bold claim.

“The housing snarl for veterans advanced a step nearer unraveling ….when a Phoenix businessman [Stewart] said he would place on the New Year’s sales block 300 brand new two and three bedroom homes,” according to an Arizona Republic article in 1945. The company planned to finish two homes a day.

Stewart would uphold his construction pace and build more than 3,000 homes in Phoenix, Mesa, and Yuma between 1945 and 1950. Stewart Construction accomplished this impressive goal by buying construction materials in bulk, obtaining land cost-effectively, and using speedy new construction techniques.

People in Phoenix previously knew Stewart from the automotive field. He had worked for Phoenix Motor Company selling Chevrolets before opening a used car lot and an auto repair shop at Second and Van Buren streets in 1941. But Stewart’s father, W. R. Stewart, was a realtor in Mesa and had designed and built homes there before the war. Stewart had construction experience from working for his father.

Stewart was a good businessman, had a passion for building, and made sure he had the best employees. These three factors contributed to the early success of Stewart Construction. Two World War II veterans became especially valuable to the company, including Stewart’s nephew, Dick Seeber. Stewart’s good friend, Norris C. “Bud” Livoni, who had worked in the lumber industry before the war, became the company’s vice president.

Arizona Contractor & Community

undertaken.

Another critical Stewart innovation was the offsite prefabrication of the house frames and roofs, which he advertised as the “Stewart-Built Multiple Construction Method.� Lumber for framing and trusses was measured, cut to length, and partly assembled using mostly 8-foot sections of 2 x 4s. Assembly was done by setting up a jig that fit precisely measured lumber into a position to be nailed together quickly with an air gun. This process eliminated time-consuming measuring and cutting at each site and resulted in well-constructed houses.

The premeasured, precut, and partially assembled frames of each Top left: Westmanor home were pack- Homes sales office.

Top right: Terra del Sol Tract sales office.

Left: Jack Stewart.

Below: Stewart Construction Co. office.

Photos Courtesy of Author

The company was headquartered on a large lot at 2547 W. Jackson Street. The site had a modern office building that housed the engineering, accounting, and construction departments. There was a planing mill for manufacturing sashes and doors. The largest structure was an arched-roof warehouse for storage of the finished lumber and building supplies.

The company purchased large parcels of undeveloped land and subdivided them into lots for individual homes. Construction innovations included the development of the monolithic pour method for concrete, which allowed the house footings, stem wall, and foundation to occur in one day. Previously, they would be poured on successive days, resulting in a three-day wait before further construction could be

Thirty Four

Jan-Feb 2019

aged and delivered to the site as the concrete foundation hardened. Bathroom and kitchen appliances were prefabricated in one unit, with bathroom and kitchen located back to back.

Stewart’s first subdivision was Westland Homesites, a 100-acre tract located between 27th and 31st avenues and Jefferson and Van Buren streets, which started in December 1945. The subdivision’s 369 houses were of frame and stucco construction with concrete floors and featured twotrack driveways, appliances, heating, and landscaping. The homes ranged in price from $3,200 to $4,200, with a $500 down payment. Most of the subdivision was completed within a year, and the homes were quickly sold.

The subdivision offered only two basic house plans with either a two or three bedroom home. The exterior facades and roofs were varied, however, to provide a pleasing streetscape. The model homes featured décor including dinnerware on the table, bedspreads, curtains, and even clothes in the closet to illustrate the available storage.

Westland Homesites was outside the city limits at the time and distant from established retail stores. Stewart built a small shopping center on Van Buren and 28th Ave., which housed three businesses owned by him: Russ Keeton’s Market, McNatt Pharmacy, and Thomas Hardware and Supply (see related article page 50).

KTAR radio did live broadcasts from the hardware store, including the station’s “On the Spot” program on Sunday mornings.

From this impressive start, Stewart Construction continued their homebuilding pace with five new residential construction projects. The company built 814 homes in three tracts in the Phoenix area, 135 in

Mesa, and 335 in Yuma, which represented an investment of $5.4 million. Prices ranged from $3,000 to $7,000.

Most of the Phoenix homes were just west of the city limits and included the following subdivisions: • Terra del Sol - between Fillmore and Roosevelt and 31st to 33rd avenues, • Westmanor Homes between Roosevelt and Fillmore and 37th to 39th avenues, • Palomar Homes north of McDowell between 37th and 39th avenues, • Carleton Estates at Clarendon and

19th Avenue, and • Long Estates between Clarendon and Indianola streets and 17th to 19th avenues.

In Mesa, the subdivisions were dubbed Stewart East Mesa, Stewart South Mesa, and Stewart North Mesa Additions.

These homes followed the simple architectural style of those built at Westland Homesites. Constructions techniques evolved as materials became available.

Some of the subdivisions offered both wood frame and cement block homes. Architect Charles W. Harris designed a modern house

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Photos Courtesy of Author

Top: Stewart’s shopping center on Van Buren and 28th Ave. Left: W.R. Stewart’s real estate office in Mesa, 1910s.

Bottom: Stewart Construction Co. truck.

for Stewart dubbed “The Westernaire” in 1948, which became popular in Phoenix.

Stewart continued to find ways to make homes affordable, particularly for veterans, with some down payments as low as $250.

In addition to large tract home developments, Stewart Construction built schools, churches, and commercial buildings, including the following structures (architect when known in parenthesis): • Central United Methodist Church (Lescher and Mahoney), • Temple Beth Israel (Lescher and Mahoney), • Jack Stewart Apartments (Ralph Haver), • Naval Armory by West High School, • Sexson Hall at Good Samaritan Hospital, • Phoenix Technical High School, • Santa Cruz Valley Union High School, • Eloy High School, Thirty Six

Avenue, at the corner on McKinley Street.

This mid-century modern building was designed by architect W. Z. Smith. The façade of the structure remains, incorporated into a recently built 19-story apartment building, appropriately named “The Stewart.”

The Stewart Construction Company closed abruptly in 1950, leaving a lasting legacy of well-built homes. The company’s construction innovations were widely adopted by the industry, and have changed the way homes are built in the Southwest.

Stewart became semi-retired, putting his energy into his motor company, western Arizona manganese mines, and California oil wells. He spent much of his time on the golf course, taking up a challenge from • Maricopa County Hospital Psychiatric his friend, Bob Goldwater, who said that at age 39, he couldn’t break a score of 90 Ward, and within six months. He did and, impressive• Davis Dam building along the Coloraly, qualified for the U.S. Open Championdo River.

The most noteworthy Stewart Con- ship at least four times.

Stewart died at the age of 72 in 1983. struction project was the Stewart Motor Company building at 800 North Central

Jan-Feb 2019

ABOVE EVERYTHING, QUALITY!

Have an idea for a construction or history article for the magazine? please contact: Billy Horner, Publisher: Billy@arizcc.com

Bus: (602) 437-3040 Fax: (602) 437-3041 WWW.SHARPCREEK.COM ROC 184941-KA

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For Information Contact: Brad Cable (602) 415-0449 • Cell (602) 763-8039 Email: bradc@rec-reuter.com arizcc.com

Arizona Contractor & Community

A New Spin on Phoenix Auto Showrooms:

The Stewart Motor Co. Anne Stewart Zell

T

he first modern commercial structure built in Arizona after World War II was the Stewart Motor Company, which opened its doors on August 13, 1947.

Located on the northwest corner of Central Avenue and McKinley, it was a gleaming, lemon-yellow building with elegant curved lines and a facade almost entirely of huge windows.

In the building’s front corner was a dramatic circle, which housed a revolving 24-foot-diameter turntable installed flush to the floor built to display automobiles.

The electric turntable made a complete rotation every 100 seconds. It was, in those

days, spectacular. Flanking the turntable were two Grecian pillars which emphasized the grandeur of the display. As the dealership for Studebaker cars, the building created a dramatic showcase illustrating forward-looking styles in both architecture and automobile design.

The building’s designer was W. Z. Smith Jr., an architect who had been engaged in the early 1940s to bring his modern sensibility to the project. However, construction had barely started when war-time shortages and restrictions brought activity to a halt for several years.

When construction was completed,

the event coincided with the introduction of the 1947 Studebaker, which was the first modern car. The first modern building displayed the first modern car.

The dealership’s exterior lemon-yellow color was carried into the expansive, two-story showroom. Interior trim was terracotta and green painted in wide swaths along the staircases and front of the mezzanine. Offices were on the balcony along with a large meeting room.

The showroom on the main floor could feature up to six cars, including one or two on the turntable. The large service department made good use of the high ceiling structure, enabling cars to be hoisted up for service. The service manager could watch his mechanics from his second-story perch.

Stewart Motors prided themselves on a well-stocked parts inventory. A corner of the showroom was comfortably furnished for customers waiting for their car repairs.

The entire building was air-conditioned, which was unusual for 1947.

Phoenix Jaycees Rodeo Parade heads south on Central Avenue past the Stewart Motor Co.

Thirty Eight

Jan-Feb 2019

The Stewart Motor Company building was constructed by the Stewart Construction Company. Jack P. Stewart was president of both concerns. The 19,400 square foot structure was built of brick and stucco.

The dramatic high ceiling was supported by trusses. More than 25 tons of concrete and

Photos Courtesy of Author

Top: Stewart Motors turntable displays, and Jack Stewart with his staff.

Right: Jacque Mercer, Miss America 1949, on a Studebaker.

Bottom: Opening night at Stewart Motor Co., (L-R) including Jack Stewart, C.K. Whittaker, V.P. Studebaker Pacific Corp., Phoenix Mayor Ray Busey, KTAR announcer Carl Kent, and Jack Grant of the 7V4 Ranch Boys Band.

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steel went into the construction of the electric turntable. The building was architecturally innovative and changed how buildings were designed and built in Phoenix.

The grand opening of Stewart Motors was a major civic event. The population of Phoenix in 1947 was about 100,000 and more than 10,000 attended the opening celebration on a hot August night.

The outside of the yellow and glass building was highlighted by a neon spire of purple and green towering 40 feet above the marquee. Two searchlights crisscrossing each other in the sky gave the event the aura of a Hollywood premiere. Spectators

filled the showroom, the upstairs offices, and the service bays. They enjoyed a buffet meal and music by Jack Grand and the 7V4 Ranch Boys band. Phoenix Mayor Ray Busey spoke at the event along with officials from the Studebaker Company and Stewart Motor Company President Jack Stewart. KTAR broadcast the entire shindig.

Stewart Motors continued to be a center of activity for many years along North Central Avenue, which was then Automobile Row. Stephens Motors, the DeSoto Plymouth dealer, was across the street to the north. Madison Ford/Mustang and Coulter Oldsmobile/Cadillac dealerships were a couple of blocks to the south.

The focus of attention, however, was always Stewart Motors because of the seasonal displays in the window. The turntable would not only have a sparkling new car but interesting presentations that changed every couple of months. There would be cars wrapped up for Christmas next to a Arizona Contractor & Community

Forty

Jan-Feb 2019

Photos Courtesy of Author

Top left: Beauty queens pose with autos at Stewart Motors.

Bottom left: The Stewart family on vacation with golf clubs and badminton racquets (L-R): Jacque, Peggy, Jack, Rose, and Anne.

Right: The Stewart-owned Capital Auto Supply located at 511 W. Van Buren.

decorated tree, or a polar bear in the snow, or a 1890s Studebaker buggy carrying historical figures holding gaily wrapped packages. Convertibles were often featured on the turntable with beauty queens posing by them. Teenagers cruising Central slowed down to check out the changing scenes.

An important annual event after World War II was the Phoenix Jaycees Rodeo Parade. Schools closed on a Friday in March so that everyone could attend the event.

Marching bands from local high schools and floats created by civic and social organizations came south on Central Avenue on the way to the reviewing stand near the Westward Ho Hotel. Stewart Motor Co. was a prime viewing location, and lucky children scrambled up to the top of the service department entrance. Some even climbed nearby palm trees. Of course, the turntable display would feature a rodeo theme.

The Studebaker Corporation ceased manufacturing cars in 1966. Stewart Motor Co. bought the DeSoto Plymouth dealership from Stephens Motors and, later, sold Jaguar, Rolls Royce, and other European-built vehicles. They also became dealers for Honda motorcycles. Six years later, Jack Stewart and his brother, Spencer, who was Vice President of the company, sold the building.

In 1972, the magnificent post-war modern building designed specifically to showcase automobiles was acquired by Circles Records, which later became Circles Discs and Tapes. At the time many thought it was fitting that a business which sold records would find a natural home where there was a giant turntable. Circles was successful for many years; however, the turntable had never been used by the business when it closed in 2010. The store owners were only interested in the location and the spacious showroom.

The historical importance of the Stewart Motors building was appreciated long before Circles moved out of the building.

For 20 years, efforts were made by individuals and groups to list the building on both national and local historic registries to help preserve the architectural integrity of the structure. The City of Phoenix Historic Preservation office, neighborhood groups, and Jack Stewart’s family actively supported historic preservation status. Unfortunatearizcc.com

ly, historic preservation status was never granted.

The building was empty for six years until it was purchased by Empire Development, which is currently constructing a 19-story apartment building at the site called “The Stewart.” The battle to save W. Z. Smith Jr.’s masterpiece was lost, but the original facade has been more or less preserved. These efforts, although not living up to the hopes of historic preservationists, do represent partial “adaptive reuse” of one of Phoenix’s most significant and loved historic structures.

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Jan-Feb 2019

Back When T

Photo Courtesy of James Bowlin

he midway, farm animals, and food galore were highlights of the 1948 Arizona State Fair. Industrial exhibits were also popular, with several dealers, including James Bowlin of Casa Grande, showing potential customers the newest farm machinery that had been developed for postwar use. The 300,000 patrons that attended the 10-day fair also enjoyed many attractions that have all but disap-

Photo Courtesy of Arizona Contractor & Community

Blue Ribbon Entertainment

peared from today’s state fair.

Horse racing, vaudeville entertainment, and Native Americans creating sand paintings and weaving blankets were featured daily. Music was provided by Arizona high school marching bands from communities stretching from Kingman to Willcox, and other ensembles from the Salvation Army and the Santa Fe Indian Band from Winslow.

Douglas Towne

Housewives could win prizes by correctly identifying 24 different cuts of beef, lamb, pork, and veal on display. This may have been a popular event with the ladies as, during one busy afternoon, the Republic and Gazette information booth paged the names of 57 lost children. The newspaper noted, however, that none of the kids went unclaimed at the end of the day.

Jan-Feb 2019

Photos Courtesy of Douglas Towne

The Stewart:

The High Rise that Changed City Policy

Isaac Windes

T

he apartment complex once mired in controversy is nearing completion.

The Stewart is set to open in early 2019.

Plans for The Stewart apartment complex ground to a halt nearly two years ago after a demolition crew began to tear down the historic building that began as a car dealership and became an iconic record store amid negotiations with neighborhood groups trying to preserve the structure.

As the complex nears completion, the controversy that surrounded the project continues to rattle the downtown Phoenix community, and highlights the increasingly uphill battle faced by historic preservationists to salvage the dwindling relics of the Phoenix of yesterday.

The project, which is entering its final stage, is a 19-story, 312-unit multifamily apartment complex near Central Avenue and McKinley Street in Central Phoenix atop what was once the Stewart Motor Studebaker Company, which opened in 1947.

The building was later converted

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into Circles Records and Tapes before it became vacant over a decade ago.

Ron Ensley, the project executive who works for UEB Builders, the contractor on the project, said the project was part of a sweeping movement to revitalize the downtown area. “I’ve lived here over 20 years, and when I moved here downtown was a place you wanted to stay away from,” Ensley said. “Now it’s the place that your spouse and your kids … want to be.”

Ensley said the developer and other parties were leaving the controversy in the past. “Obviously we let sleeping dogs lie on the issues that were originally raised almost two years ago,” Ensley said. “People are past that, and people are looking forward and to the progress and the continued revitalization of downtown.”

Those issues arose from the demolition of a large portion of the historic building that occurred amid negotiations.

Michelle Dodds, historic preservation officer for the city of Phoenix, was among

the members of the process caught off guard by the abrupt action. “While they were working with them they had already pulled the demolition permit, so what happened that sparked the controversy is while they were talking to the group they went ahead and started the demolition work, which really got a lot of people upset.”

Although it was eligible for historic designation, the building was not listed on the historic register.

The backlash was swift, harsh and sweeping — with city officials, including then-Mayor Greg Stanton coming out to condemn the hasty move by the developer.

“After my office participated in discussions between the developer and neighborhood leaders, I was confident that a resolution would be found,” Stanton said in a state-

Arizona Contractor & Community

Photo Courtesy of Douglas Towne

ment. “However, sadly, it appears that the developer was acting in bad faith.”

The mayor’s backlash was echoed throughout the community, leading to swift action by the City Council to create a policy that would ensure such an incident wouldn’t occur again.

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The resulting policy, which has been in place ever since requires a 30-day hold on any demolition permits for commercial buildings 50 years or older. This allows the city to properly vet the historical and cultural relevance of the structure.

“This was a real upset that we can’t

allow to continue to happen,” Dodds said.

“We at least need to have an opportunity to know about these demolition requests and have the opportunity to intervene if we need to.”

But Sherry Rampy, who was the president of the Roosevelt Action Association Jan-Feb 2019

at the time, said the problem was bigger than just the developer, extending to city officials in the process. “Unfortunately, moving forward, I don’t think much of anything will be different. I’d like to see more collaboration, but we aren’t in a culture of collaboration. We need to get back to that,” Rampy said.

At the time, representatives for the developer, Scottsdale-based Aspirant Development, made public apologies, but Ensley said that at the end of the day the outcome was amiable.

One of the most striking and unique features of the building is the circular showroom that once displayed the newest models of cars. The showroom and a small amount of surrounding wall are the only corners of the original building left in the new complex, which was designed by CCBG Architects.

Dodds and other preservationists scoffed at the idea that the small corner left as part of the building was a serious effort to bridge the divide, or preserve the building. “It depends on who you are … if you’re a staunch preservationist, you don’t like what they did at all because it creates a false sense of history,” she said. “But if you just like people incorporating cool elements of old buildings into their projects then you might think it’s cool, so it just depends on how you feel about that.”

Jennifer Boucek, the director of Preserve Phoenix, said when buildings like The Stewart are lost, much more than just the buildings are lost. “It represents a certain kind of boundless optimism that you associate with post-World War II America, and that’s what I don’t want to see lost,” Boucek said. “That is part of the reason The Stewart building, as much as some people might look at it and might not see how it is architecturally historic, it really is because it both exemplified the car culture and mid-century modern architecture.”

Both sides of the controversy see a mixed future.

“With any city you’re always going to have pockets that maintain that identity, but there are some areas that are more of a blight that need to be improved and they need to be redeveloped,” Ensley said.

“It doesn’t necessarily have to be the old architecture that maintains that personality that used to be there.”

Dodds sees the changes as a loss of what she said is the physical manifestation of Phoenix’s identity. “In the future, we still have a lot of really iconic historic buildings out there, and we’ve been able to protect a lot of them because they are designated, arizcc.com

or we’ve given them grant funds — but we have lost a lot, and my fear is that we will continue to lose them,” she said. “If you don’t maintain some of these historic buildings and these historic resources that are part of our city’s history that help tell that story, you’ll become like anywhere else.”

But the future is not all bleak in terms of historic buildings. Alison King, founder of the Postwar Architecture Taskforce of Greater Phoenix said the identity and spirit of Phoenix is at less of a crossroads and more in a gradual curve of history that

includes the loss of some of the older buildings and the endurance of others.

“Phoenix’s story is always going to be continuously written,” King said. “And sometimes it is going to be really boring things like stick-and-stucco four-story condos, but then there’s a lot of innovation happening here, too; the architecture community here is awesome.”

Isaac Windes is a student journalist at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

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From Vietnam to Arizona: John Baehr’s Contracting Career William Horner

A

s far as brewery tours go, it’s tough to top the one John Baehr received as a kid in the early 1950s at the G. Heileman Brewing Company in La Crosse, Wisconsin. His father, Harry Baehr, drove a truck for an Elgin, Illinois beer distributor, hauling empty bottles of Old Style Lager to the brewery and returning with full ones.

“I remember riding with my dad in the truck as a kid, hauling empties to Wisconsin,” Baehr says. “I was small enough that Dad and a few Top: Harry Baehr moving workers put me a house and forest prodin an empty beer ucts for Parkway Transfer case that traveled in Elgin, IL, 1947. throughout the

Photos Courtesy of John Baehr

Below: Harry Baehr’s Old Style Lager semi in Elgin, IL, 1947.

Inset: John Baehr’s letter from Vietnam, 1966.

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plant via a conveyor belt. At first, I was scared to death. But when I got used to the thrill, I loved the ride and didn’t want to get off.”

This early industrial amusement ride may have imprinted Baehr with an interest in working with machinery, leading to a career that took him from the jungles of Vietnam to driving trucks for several Arizona contractors, until finishing his career as a long-distance trucker.

Baehr grew up in Elgin, where his father, Harry, held several jobs after he left the local beer distributor. He moved houses and structures with Parkway Transfer, and later operated a crane for Belding

Construction & Engineering Co., in the nearby village of Dundee.

While working for Belding in 1969, his father took part in creating the “Blue Monster,” an enormous heavy-duty gantry crane. The machine’s first task was placing generator components for the Westinghouse Company at the Point Beach Nuclear Plant in Two Creeks, Wisconsin.

Harry Baehr later operated a crane on several Midwest power plants, installing nuclear components. “Before the top dome cap was installed on the reactors, my Dad would use a crane to lift nuclear components into the containment buildings,” John, his son, says. “They were initially ferried down the rivers. Dad would lift them off the barge onto trucks headed to the various power plants.”

After his parent’s separated, John Baehr moved to Arizona at age seven with his mom in 1954. His father came to Arizona in the late 1950s and worked on the Glen Canyon Dam near Page. Harry ran a crane that assisted the cable-crane system where men rode the bucket-line hauling concrete from one bank to the other. The workers held on to the side of the full concrete buckets and assisted with the pours.

He was at the job for less than a year. “It Jan-Feb 2019

Photo Courtesy of Arizona Contractor & Community

“men rode the bucket-line hauling concrete from one bank to the other�

Glen Canyon Dam construction, 1960.

arizcc.com

Arizona Contractor & Community

Photos Courtesy of John Baehr

was too dangerous and had long hours,” his son says. His father eventually moved back to Illinois.

Meanwhile John Baehr was attending Arcadia High School in Phoenix. “I was not a fan of school and wanted out,” he says. “I quit school the day Kennedy was shot, at age 16, and never returned. I wanted to join the Navy but they said I was too young, so I worked. Once I turned 17, I had my mother sign for me, and off to the Navy I went.”

Baehr hoped to work in a Seabee construction battalion, but the Navy needed boiler tenders. “A boiler is a steam generator burning what we called black oil,” he says. “Our 1,200 psi high-pressure boilers created steam that ran generators and powered ships.”

When Baehr arrived in Vietnam, however, his unit fulfilled whatever duty was needed. While stationed at Camp Tien Sha near Da Nang, Baehr’s group was tasked to replace old water lines that the French had installed with larger 6-inch lines. “There were no roads in and around Monkey Mountain, so everything we built or repaired was by hand, including all the concrete we batched,” he says.

Baehr summed up his wartime experience: “The easiest way to describe Vietnam was you were scared shitless when you got there, as you would constantly hear small arms and shelling close to your location,” he says. “After a while, you became immune and didn’t care. Then, when you figured you were close to leaving, you became scared again because anything could happen at any time. It was a big relief to get away from there. “ While in Vietnam, Baehr suffered an injury to his hand that necessitated a visit to the local hospital. There Top: Bill Hardin at the W.R. Skou- were many dead soldiers sen yard, 1965. there and, rather than Above: W.R. Skousen’s belly revisit the place to remove dumps at the Casa Grande interhis cast, he took it off himstate project, 1965.

Left: John Baehr on the USS Rich- self.

The bright spot during mond K. Turner near Vietnam, his deployment was being 1968. entertained by Bob Hope Bottom: USS Richmond K. Turner and Anne Margaret in Chu in the Gulf of Tonkin, 1968.

Lai in 1967. He left Vietnam but was called back to serve as a boiler tender on the guided missile destroyer, the USS Richmond K. Turner.

Baehr contracted mesothelioma aboard the ship. “Being in the country [Vietnam] was a better deal than being on those old ships ingesting asbestos,” he declares.

In 1968 Baehr returned to Arizona.

He took a job with Mesa-based W.R. SkouFifty

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Top: John Baehr’s message from his

sen, where his stepfather, family while in Vietnam, 1966.

Bill Hardin, drove a truck Middle: Skousen employees (L to R) hauling batched asphalt to John Baehr, Jerry Stucker, and their construction sites in old, foreman, Butch Allred, 1976. double-gated belly dump Bottom: John Baehr with his kids, Alitrucks. Baehr started as a cia and Lealand, and their dog, Rusty, in an excavator bucket at the Tanner crusher operator, and his Companies plant. training as a boiler tender allowed him to work as an electrician on some projects. Baehr and Hardin worked on several Skousen projects together until 1978, when Hardin retired and, later passed away, because of injuries suffered during a construction accident.

“I loved working for Skousen,” Baehr says. “My stepfather, ‘Big Bill,’ was a class act: a friendly guy who was ‘Mr. Party Animal.’ While working in Holbrook, we hung out in a bar called the Tumble-In. The bartender would ask, ‘What can we do you for Bill?’ He would throw his belly up on the bar and say, ‘Fill it up, it’s been a long hot, dusty day.’”

Baehr eventually became frustrated with Skousen’s upper management and applied to Tanner Companies at their 19th Avenue and Salt River location in 1978.

While waiting for his interview, he heard an explosion. The plant used underground tunnels to shift aggregates via conveyor to various above-ground bins. Methane gas had traveled from a nearby landfill and exploded when a laborer was cleaning the tunnel tail-pulleys of loose debris to maintain the conveyors. “Officially, it was said that he had lit a cigarette, but it was actually a joint, which ignited the gas,” Baehr says. “The employee suffered third-degree burns on both hands, and his nylon coat melted to him.”

Baehr helped the injured employee; he knew what to do because of his military training. “At first, a few employees were wondering who this strange guy was giving them orders,” he says. “The fire department later told the plant manager that if not for my quick actions, he could have died.” Baehr got the job and worked at Tanner for 16 years.

He left Tanner in 1996 and purchased a semi-truck. He hauled goods for six years, eventually landing a dedicated run through Swift, hauling goods for Target from Pueblo, Colorado to Phoenix. When Target built a local distribution center in 2002, Baehr’s regular trip ended.

Baehr’s last construction job was working for Stronghold Engineering, CA for the Rio Salado Beautification project in Phoenix. He retired in 2007 and lives in Phoenix with his wife, Martha, and enjoys spending time with his animals. arizcc.com

Arizona Contractor & Community

Building on the Past

Photos Courtesy of Arizona Contractor & Community

1957: Phoenix’s Foremost “Checker”

Jan-Feb 2019

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ho did something the “best” in history is often rife with controversy—except in the Phoenix grocery industry. It’s pretty much a given that Charles L. Atkerson, who managed Russ Keeton’s Save-Way Market at 2821 W. Van Buren Street, was the state’s top checker. For in 1962, he was crowned the State Champion Checker Player.

Atkerson had worked many years for Keeton, who began his career in the grocery business with Safeway in Dallas. He and two partners formed the General Sales Company in 1941, a wholesale grocery distributor that developed into a million-dollar firm. Keeton also operated a grocery store in Cactus, just north of Sunnyslope.

His brother, Neb Keeton, owned Nebs’ Market at 44th Street and Thomas Road.

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Keeton’s Save-Way Market building on Van Buren was owned by Jack Stewart and built by his Stewart Construction Co. in 1950. The market was a success for six years until a fire destroyed the building in 1956.

The blaze, which started in a cooler, spread rapidly through the store, necessitating 50 customers and a dozen employees to “run for their lives,” Atkerson told the Arizona Republic. Black smoke and flames that shot 150 feet into the air attracted many spectators to the scene, which hampered firefighting operations. Only the reinforced concrete walls remained after the fire.

Keeton’s Save-Way Market was rebuilt and reopened at 2909 W. Van Buren in 1957. The new 20,400 square-foot building was 2.5 times bigger than the former location. The grocery store occupied 12,400 sf, and there was 4,500 sf of warehouse space.

The building also included a 3,500 sf store at the rear of the building, which sold bargain merchandise obtained from fire and bankruptcy sales. John V. Belote was the architect for the new building, which was built by Keltner Construction Co. The business became Neb’s Market #2 in 1971 and closed in 1990. The building subsequently became home to several businesses catering to the local Hispanic community. The structure is currently available for lease.

Swilling’s Monument: A Modern-Day History Mystery Tom Yount

I

t’s almost inevitable that an Arizona pioneer has a few mysteries surrounding his life and legacy. That’s certainly the case with John W. “Jack” Swilling, who was the leader of a group that founded what was to become Phoenix in 1867. What’s unique about one of Swilling’s mysteries is not what happened 150 years ago to the man,

but what happened 15 years ago to the historical marker honoring his achievement.

The story began when a small group consisting of the Swilling Irrigating and Canal Company rode into the Salt River Valley from Wickenburg in December 1867.

They had a plan that Swilling had visualized during previous trips through the area.

Photos Courtesy of Author

Swilling had been an express mail rider, traveling between Prescott and the Pima villages near Tucson. On his journeys through the Salt River Valley, he noted the ruins of miles of canals created by the ancient Hohokam people. The canals diverted water from the Salt River to irrigate crops and provide water to the Hohokam communities.

Also on his journeys, Swilling had visited a hay field on the banks of the Salt River, which John Y. T. Smith harvested for sale to the U.S. Army garrison stationed at Fort McDowell to the northeast. Swilling was inspired by Smith’s operation and wanted to use canal irrigation to grow crops, which he would sell to the soldiers at Fort McDowell and miners in Wickenburg.

Swilling recruited investors and formed his canal company on November 16, 1867 in Wickenburg. Soon after, the first project began. On March 12, 1968, after months of labor, water flowed into a renovated canal to irrigate fields on the north side of the Salt River, just north of present-day Sky Harbor International Airport.

Swilling’s Ditch was a success, and additional speculators arrived in what was then known as Pumpkinville, and later Mill City. The settlement consisted of crude adobe structures, including Murphy’s Store, McKinnie’s Saloon, Helling’s Mill, and Swilling’s Dos Casas homestead.

As more pioneers arrived to claim land and water rights, there was a movement to establish an official townsite. Arguments ensued over its location, and a vote moved Fifty Four

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623-936-6161 Heavy Haul & Rigging Specialist

BIG OR SMALL WE HAUL IT ALL the townsite four miles to the west in what was to become Downtown Phoenix.

More than 90 years later, the Arizona Development Board, along with other sponsors, promoted the installation of 100 concrete and brass historical markers throughout Arizona. In 1964, a marker was erected at the northwest corner of 28th Street and Van Buren to honor Swilling’s group.

This marker stood for 39 years, until shortly before midnight on December 14, 2003, when it was run over by an errant driver. A City of Phoenix crew arrived to remove the debris, which was to be taken to a maintenance yard for repair. Local TV news covered the accident the following morning, but sadly, that’s where the story ends.

The marker was never returned to the corner, and no one with the city knows its fate. The Arizona Republic ran a follow-up story titled, “The Case of the Missing Monument” in 2009, which yielded no new information. Were the marker’s remains landfilled? Was the brass marker sold to a scrap dealer? No one seems to know.

Today, there’s nothing at the monument’s site. Vanished are the marker’s foundation, the brick walkway that led up to it, and the nearby small stone bench.

There have been plans to revitalize the Van Buren corridor, which has only partially occurred. An appropriate first step by the city would be to place a new marker commemorating Swilling’s group at 28th Street and Van Buren. The location’s significance is too essential in the development of our city to be left without a memorial. arizcc.com

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Arizona Contractor & Community

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rchitect Ned Sawyer’s design philosophy is succinct: “Doing a building that is site-specific, not just about function but has to delight and excite. I establish an aesthetic using washes, rocks, and hillsides. With residential clients…have them discover such aspects during and after construction.”

I’ve toured numerous Sawyer designs and believe he delivers this mission on every project. His 45-year body of work has received 16 American Institute of Architects (AIA) Design Awards and encompasses more than 150 buildings, including commercial, industrial, educational, medical, multi-family residential, custom single-family homes, and master planning.

Beyond architectural design, Sawyer often guides the interiors with custom-designed furniture, accessories, company logo graphics, and the art selection. Creating with this approach is more holistic and provides a visual continuity.

Sawyer received a Bachelor of Architecture degree from ASU in 1967. From 1961-1971, Sawyer worked as a designer/ draftsman for Alfred Newman Beadle, AIA, where he learned about the proportions and crafted detailing of the International style. I asked for unknown insight about the very talented Mr. Beadle. “He had a great sense of humor and received a bad rap as a grump,” Sawyer said. “He had a natural designer ability and a strong work ethic from being in construction. I also learned from him that architecture should be dynamic and respond to the harshness of the sun and it can travel indoors/outdoors.”

Architect’s Perspective:

Edward B. ‘Ned’ Sawyer, Jr, AIA: Site-Specific Architecture Doug Sydnor, FAIA

Doug_sydnor@outlook.com Sawyer had his own practice from 1972-1988 and was later employed by Architecture One 1988-1989, and Anderson DeBartolo & Pan Architects’ 1989-1993. He established his current firm Edward B. Sawyer, Jr. Architect in 1993. Sawyer’s buildings are found in Arizona, California, Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, Texas, and even Hungary. Publications that have featured his architecture include Architecture, Sunset, House Beautiful, CityAZ and Phoenix Home and Garden magazines; and the books, The Kitchen Book and A Guide to the Architecture of Metro Phoenix by AIA Central Arizona Chapter.

His civic involvement includes AIA Central Arizona Chapter President, ASU Design Review Board, Scottsdale Development Review and Planning Commission, Phoenix Camelback Rotary International Board, and ASU Alumni Association Board. Sawyer has also served on design awards juries in Arizona, Colorado, and California; as an ASU Design Instructor; and Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation Apprentice Mentor. Accolades have included the 1981 AIA Arizona Architects Medal and 1982 ASU Distinguished Achievement Award.

Three of Sawyer’s projects are discussed: The Corbus Residence was designed in 1975 for a young couple that had acquired a 5-acre desert parcel that featured granite boulders in Scottsdale’s Pinnacle Peak area. The project was for a small home that could grow over time with their family. The couple loved the desert, its character and seasonal changes, so they felt the need to be “available to the environment,” but required sun protection.

The design was to float the home above the desert ravine, thereby using the “boulders to form and define varied living experiences,” Sawyer says. “In order to expand these experiences, decks were located off of each area. With the exceptions of the bath and a portion of the kitchen, all other areas remain open with the glass walls acting only as a weather seal.”

Adjustable shade screens control the sun from overhead while vertical louvers shield the sun, deflect breezes, and provide privacy. Such strategies have yielded a comfortable, energy-efficient space that has not required artificial cooling. Space heating and hot water are supplied by tracking-type solar collectors. The structure is composed of steel columns and glue-laminated wood beams, and infill panels of wood frame and cement plaster finish.

This residence is a beautiful, sustainable example of respecting and celebrating the site, delivering an exquisite and intimate scale.

Photos Courtesy of Edward B Sawyer, Jr., AIA

The Pavilion office development at 2525 E. Arizona Biltmore Circle in Phoenix was completed in 1980. The two-story, 58,224 sf garden-oriented office environment was designed for multi-tenant use.

“With the site adjacent to the Arizona Biltmore Hotel the developer sought the creation of a building which would reflect its context in a sympathetic manner, so the exterior and interior utilized exposed grey concrete masonry units,” Sawyer says.

“Black steelwork was used for its stairs, bridges, handrails, and shade devices in keeping with the hotel Left: Corbus residence detailing. The use of - Scottsdale, 1975.

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vision of a transparent medical practice by using open planning and glass walls interior and exterior where possible,” Sawyer says. “Glasswalled exit stairs and elevator shaft are lit during the evening hours.”

The building utilizes confident masses and planar elements with recessed niches and glazing. Walls are constructed of 4-inch courses of exposed concrete masonry units and occasionally provided playful portholes to view the space beyond.

Glazing is articulated with black framing and smaller aluminum inset frames and has horizontal metal canopies to provide solar protection.

In regards to the future of Arizona architecture, Sawyer notes, ”Appreciate the increased interest in midcentury architecture… an appreciation for simplicity, a desert architecture, and instead of the fads.” He finds

shallow pitched metal roofing was included as well, providing a silhouette to its neighbor and the mountain backdrop.”

“The building massing was layered to form semi-private courts and a central atrium shielded from the severe sun and enhanced by fountains and Clockwise from top left: landscaping,” Sawyer continues. The Pavilion - Phoenix, 1980; Leite resi­dence - Prescott, 2017; “This area serves as an oasis Goodman residence - Flagstaff, 2000; and common identity feature Redirect Health - Glendale, 2018. for each tenant while providing access to all parts of its complex.

The atrium culminates into a grand central stair which extends upward to an observation platform allowing tenants and visitors full view…”

“The occupants are intended to serve as kinetic sculpture as they move through each level change and framed vista, providing life and special activity to the architectural experience,” he adds.

this to be a “positive thing, more information exposes more people to it. Architecture is in a hidden place – and may be unique.”

Douglas B. Sydnor, FAIA, is Principal at Douglas Sydnor Architect and Associates, Inc. and author of three architectural books.

Redirect Health at 16390 N. 59th Avenue in Glendale was completed this year to bring modern health services to the area.

The project includes a two-story, 12,400 sf medical building with a Class C Outpatient Surgery Center on the ground floor and Family Practice and Physical Therapy services on the second floor.

“The building reflects the owner’s arizcc.com

Arizona Contractor & Community

Photos Courtesy of Arizona Contractor & Community

born in 1936 and began his career in the City of Virginia, Minnesota located in the famous Mesabi Iron Range. He worked various jobs before affiliating with the Union, Local 49, or as he stated, “the 49ers.”

When he was 21, Roland heard that Arizona was hiring construction workers, had been purchased for $2,500 by Dynam- so he relocated to Phoenix along with his ic Diesel Repair when I went to interview new wife, Mary. He worked in Phoenix for one of their old-school mechanics, Roland six months with several companies doing Hamberg. various labor jobs.

I met with Roland and his son, Lonnie He then relocated in 1957 to the Hamberg, in the breakroom of Dynamic new community of Page, Arizona, taking Diesel Repair. Roland works for the compa- a job with Merritt Chapman & Scott Corp. ny as a parts runner and mechanic liaison of New York to work on building the U.S. and had just finished his last call Bureau of Reclamation’s Glen Canyon Dam of the day before our on the Colorado River. The 17-square-mile interview. He looked dam site was obtained in a land exchange just like an old school with the Navajo Nation. Roland worked mechanic should, nights while Mary completed high school wearing worn, in Page. She was in the school’s first gradugrease-stained over- ating class in 1959. alls, a trucker-style Roland worked in the company’s wareball cap, and a pock- house as a shop laborer and drove the daily et containing writ- bus shuttling operators and ground personing utensils. With nel from Wahweap to Page. This massive Roland’s hearing aid project had a multiyear contract, so a trailon the fritz, Lonnie er court, streets, and amenities were conhelped me with my structed for the workers and their families questions, and his by P. W. Womack Construction Company of father began telling Phoenix. The company town, initially called some great stories Government Camp, blossomed into Page, about his construc- now a community of more than 7,000 resition career. dents. It was named after John C. Page, the Roland was Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation from 1936-43.

Roland left Page Top: Babbit Bros. Trading Co. and First National Bank of Arizona operate in tempo- in 1960 before the rary buildings in Page, 1958. completion of the

Digging Through the Archives:

Roland Hamberg William Horner

F

or many years while driving along South 51st Avenue, I’ve admired the old Caterpillar grader parked at the Royden Construction yard. The blade was occasionally used to grade the company’s lot. The last time I drove by the little grader was gone. I hoped they had merely moved the blade and not scrapped it.

Fortunately, I discovered the machine

Left: Temporary bridge across Glen Canyon used by workers during construction, 1958.

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Photo Courtesy of Arizona Contractor & Community

Photo Courtesy of Roland Hamberg

“No Driving Across the Bridge.”

Roland’s new job in Phoenix was as an oiler or “grease monkey” with W.R. Skousen in Mesa. Skousen was known for their portable hot plant setups, resurfacing, oiling, bituminous road mix, and paving. Roland’s first project with Skousen was in Laveen, paving 51st Avenue to Baseline Road.

Throughout his 22-year career at Skousen, he worked on multiple paving projects in Arizona.

When Roland wasn’t oiling and greasing equipment, he was in the shop working with master mechanic M.P. McMillan. The McMillan family manufactured firearms, especially rifles, in Arizona. When asked about M.P., Roland stated, “M.P. would temper his own rifle springs using his wife’s oven, but I’m not so

sure, as he tended to tell tall tales.”

Our meeting ended with Roland taking me out to start Royden Construction’s former Caterpillar blade. The vintage diesel machine took a little while to fire, as it uses a gas-pony motor to assist the main engine in kicking over. You can find a video of Roland firing up the machine in our online blog: www.arizcc.com.

Top left: Hamberg’s co-workers pose by Skousen’s trucks in 1965: (L-R) Roger, Curt Prestridge, Charles Fitzpatrick, and Allan Bryant.

Top right: Concrete containers cross Glen Canyon via a cable system, 1960.

Inset: Town of Page seal highlighting Wahweap on Glen Canyon, 1962.

Bottom left: Hamberg uses ether to start pony motor on his Caterpillar blade, 2018.

Bottom right: Hamberg’s co-workers on Skousen’s Florence Junction project in 1965: (L-R) Bill Hardin, Charlie Reynolds, Jack Post, Bill Sau­ghter, Curt Prestridge, Larry Lafener, Allan Bryant, and Bill Sands.

Photo Courtesy of Roland Hamberg

Photo Courtesy of Arizona Contractor & Community

dam. One vivid memory of his time in Page involves a temporary bridge, made of chain-link fence, which spanned Glen Canyon from Utah to Arizona, allowing employees access to both sides. The thin, narrow pathway was only supported by anchor cables from above, and any gust of wind made it wobbly.

“I recall holding my brother’s shoulder to help me mentally cross the thin bridge,” Roland says. Other workers simply refused to cross, as their fear of heights prevailed. One day, while standing at the bridge entrance with other workers, Roland witnessed an incredible sight: a project manager’s wife driving a Volkswagen Beetle across so she could go shopping in Kanab, Utah. A sign was soon posted at both ends of the bridge stating,

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Bid Results 11/7/2018 Rotary London Bridge TR Orr $1,611,050

11/28/2018 AZ Flap Mormon Lake Rd Intermountain West Civil $9,469,044

Valley Wide Contr., Phoenix $162,234 Road Projects Fountain Hills

11/30/2018 Meath Wash Bridge Vastco $2,997,623

Hunter Contr., Gilbert $799,197 57th Ave and Maryland Street IMPS Glendale

11/9/2018 Jct SR 95 Hope Hwy FNF $9,482,440

12/2/2018 (JOC) Water Services Felix $45,000,000

Wheeler Const., Phoenix $1.9 Million 59th Ave and Beardsley Street IMPS Glendale

11/9/2018 Jackrabbit Rd Flagstaff Holbrook Fann $9,902,997

12/2/2018 (CMAR) 24th St Grand Canal Bridge Hunter $3,500,000

Staker Paving & Const., Phoenix $1.17 Million Paving and Storm Drains 19th-27th Ave and Broadway Rd.

11/14/2018 Queen Creek Rd McQueen Rd Blucor $12,745,802

12/4/2018 Side Inlet Pipes Rehab B&F $224,293

J.W.J. Const., Phoenix $108. Million Segment Four Squaw Peak Highland Ave Bridge

11/15/2018 Park Improvements Ehrhardt Park AJP $341,590

12/4/2018 Queen Creek Sewer Main Redpoint $697,757

McAfee-Guthrie Pipeline, Mesa $1.26 Million Transmission Water Main Greenfield Rd. to 46th St.

11/15/2018 Pecos Rd Construction Hunter $2,653,617

12/5/2018 Cloud Rd Water Line Standard $2,091,252

Rowley Pipelines $62,133 Water Line Extensions East Baseline Rd.

11/8/2018 Montezuma Sheldon Sewer Relocation Capital Improvements $584,200

11/16/2018 Pima Fwy SR 101L Ames Coffman $210,435,000

12/6/2018 South Washington Ave East Goodwin Capital Improvements $3,930,000

11/20/2018 Arrowhead Meadows Park West Basin AZ Western $332,985

12/7/2018 Glendale Paradise Lane DBA $253,921

11/20/2018 Chandler Heights Rd Hunter $7,990,543

12/7/2018 Bagdad Hillside Earth Resources $2,269,602

sixty

Past Project Awards Jan-Feb 1987

Buesing Corp., Phoenix $161,849 Build, Falcon Field Parking Apron Mesa Horizon Engineering, Tempe $72,964 Fitch Park Collector Mesa

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