May/June 2021

VOLUME 10 ISSUE 3

$5.99 May-June 2021 Serving Contracting Firms and the Arizona Community. . . Then & Now

Paving the Way for Four Generations: The Chesley Family Old School Equipment: Elevating Bucket Loaders Fisher’s Tools: A Third-Generation Family Treasure Sinagua Paving: 27 Years of Blacktop Success Slingin’ Hash About the past at Helsing’s Coffee Shops

Arizona’s Timeless Magazine

As Subtle as Neon: Arizona’s Unforgettable Motel Signs A Stucco Strip Tease: Phoenix’s Hidden Signage

A LOOK AT ARIZONA’S

Roadside

Ramada Inn:

Arizona’s Homegrown Motel Chain Expert Tips on Construction Bids

McCarthy Completes Mirabella Project at ASU

Sunland’s First Bridge Spans I-10 in avondale

Wilson Electric hosts CAC Students on Tour

Sunstate’s new training center

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May June 2021

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Kingman

Lost Dutchman Gold Mine

Editor Douglas Towne douglas@arizcc.com

I’ve visited all my dream spots in Arizona

Contributors Alison Bailin Jim Bolek Peter Corbett Carly Hanson Drew Simmons Luke M. Snell Doug Sydnor

Canyon de Chelly

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In Memoriam Charles “Chuck” Runbeck 1928 - 2020 Advertising 602-931-0069 arizcc.com/advertise Subscriptions: Online at arizcc.com 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, 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.

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May June 2021

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rizona Materials

Locally Owned and Operated arizonamaterials.net Arizona Contractor & Community

12

Contributors - Jim Bolek & Peter Corbett

14

From The Editor - My Twilight Life - Douglas Towne

17 “TELL US WHAT YOU NEED AND WE WILL WORK WITH YOU TO MAKE IT HAPPEN”

37

YEARS IN BUSINESS SINCE 1984

480-641-3500

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40

46

50

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Back When - Slingin’ Hash About the Past Douglas Towne Paving the Way for Four Generations: The Chesley Family - Douglas Towne As Subtle As Neon: Arizona’s Unforgettable Motel Signs - Douglas Towne A Stucco Strip Tease: Phoenix’s Hidden Signage Jim Bolek Ramada Inn: Marion Isbell’s Homegrown Arizona Motel Chain - Peter Corbett

62

Old School Equipment: Elevating Bucket Loaders

64

Building on the Past - 1955: Helsing’s Coffee Shop

SIDE DUMP-EXCAVATOR-LOADER-GRADER

Construction Around Arizona: Projects • People • Practices

68 BELLY DUMP-SUPER 16-END DUMP-LOW BOY

Contents

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Architect’s Perspective - Preserving Architectural Hand Drawings - Doug Sydnor, FAIA

Digging Through the Archives - Sinagua Paving William Horner

76

Bid Results

78

Advertising Index

Ramada Inn Hotel groundbreaking ceremony in Scottsdale, with Michael Robinson at left, 1959.

Article on page 54 Ten

Image courtesy of ACC

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®

im Bolek is a graphic designer who, for the past 30 years, has specialized in sign and environmental design.

He has created interpretive pieces and sign systems for the National Park Service, Arizona State University, the Arizona State Capital, Valley Metro, the Arizona Centennial, and many other clients in Arizona and throughout the country.

While working at JRC Design, he and co-author Jamie Cowgill developed a series of guide symbols for Hablamos Juntos’ healthcare facilities, a program of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

He has taught seminars on three-dimensional graphic design at the University of Arizona and dropped out of both ASU and Northern Arizona University; he has no preference in any inter-school rivalries.

He is currently researching old signs and sign shops in Arizona, interviewing as many old-timers as possible. If you know any old sign folks, let him know; he would love to talk to them.

He owes a lot to his wife, Sheila, for indulging and participating in his whims and interests. In his spare time, Jim loves to discover and photograph vintage signs and airplanes, build models, perform with his banjo and steel guitar, and play with his grandson, whom he insists is the “World’s Cutest Toddler in The World.

Article on page 54 fter graduating from Northern Arizona University, Peter Corbett worked for 35 years as an Arizona journalist.

He was employed at weekly newspapers in Flagstaff and Verde Valley before joining the Scottsdale Progress as a reporter and then city editor.

In 1992, he joined the Phoenix Gazette and then The Arizona Republic for a combined 23 years before taking a buyout in 2015. Corbett covered real estate and tourism for the Republic, which included reporting on Phoenix-based Aztar, a spinoff company from Ramada that held on to the hotel chain’s casino properties in Las Vegas and Atlantic City.

A native of Omaha, he grew up in Columbus, Ohio, before moving to Flagstaff in 1974 to attend NAU. He studied English with a minor in American Studies. Corbett lived for 5 years on Route 66 in Flagstaff, roughly a mile from the original Ramada Inn. During his 47 years here, he developed a keen interest in Arizona history while traveling widely across the state.

Corbett worked for more than 2 years at the Arizona Department of Transportation, where he contributed blogs on the history of the state highway system. In 2015, he launched On the Road Arizona, a travel and history blog that was honored as Arizona’s Best Travel Blog by Phoenix New Times.

Corbett and his wife have two adult children and reside in Scottsdale.

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Arizona Contractor & Community

From the editor: My Twilight life Douglas Towne

W

e all want to make our mark on the world, but figuring out what to do with our talents and passions can be challenging. As a kid growing up in Denver, I was instinctively attracted to old buildings. Historic preservation was just coming into vogue, and a growing chorus was advocating for the protection of Victorian mansions, Gothic cathedrals, and civic buildings like the Denver Mint.

As a contrarian, I needed my own cause. Like a religious epiphany, I discovered it glowing in the night: neon signs of Mom-and-Pop motels. These homespun advertisements from an era when eccentricity dominated motel signs, names, and architecture, stood out in the darkness as if drawn by a magical luminous pen. Entrepreneurs, seeking a slice of the American Dream, inadvertently created a “commercial folk art” with their choice of names and signage that often reflected and enhanced the region’s history, culture, and natural beauty.

Starting in the mid-1980s, it became my mission to photograph these signs in their nighttime splendor. Bypassed highways winding through dying towns and blighted urban neighborhoods became my habitat. I spent many evenings in motel rooms lit with neon glow oozing through

row,” with its boomerang-like midcentury lines. A decade later during an overnight visit, I admired its stylish furniture and tile bathrooms, which were a decadent delight compared to my modest digs at home. Located on an interstate offramp, I thought the motel was destined for a bright future.

The second was the Desert Moon Motel on Boulder Highway near Downtown Las Vegas. It was well past midnight when I

Images courtesy of Author

Top right: Motels of the Southwest poster.

Below: Cameron Motel, Denver, Colorado.

curtains that didn’t quite close, whose fixtures shuddered from freight trains rumbling along nearby tracks.

I captured a potpourri of nighttime optical surprises not easily forgotten.

Wranglers turned massive kinetic lassos in bursts of golden yellow, while buxom blonde aqua maids sprung from a high dive, straightening out their bodies while plummeting 30 feet in a series of neon flashes.

Two motels built in the 1950s, with contrasting arcs, inspired my mission. The first was the Cameron Motel, located in my childhood neighborhood. To my young eyes, it really did seem like the “Motel of Tomor-

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May June 2021

Have an idea for a construction or history article? contact us: Billy Horner, Publisher: Billy@arizcc.com Douglas Towne, Editor: Douglas@arizcc.com

Visit us online at: www.arizcc.com Above: Desert Moon Motel, Las Vegas, Nevada.

caught my first glimpse of its otherworldly sign rising towards the heavens. It evoked a sense of awe more than any casino on the strip or the wall-to-wall neon in Glitter Gulch. I didn’t spend the night there, however, as that seemed a likely way to get an early peek at the next day’s police blotter.

The motel was almost certainly on its last legs.

There have been some surprising changes in the intervening 35 years. The Cameron Motel is boarded-up, and its final days were a horror show, judging by internet reviews. On the flip side, the Desert Moon Motel looks fantastic after its transition to “hipster” lodgings.

In my personal quest, I created the poster, Motels of the Southwest, in 1997.

The collage of 52 neon signs located in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, and Wyoming found moderate success, with overseas orders from Germany, Indonesia, and Switzerland.

Domestically, fans were concentrated in Austin, Texas and New York City, or resided in small communities like Bear, Delaware and Clarksville, Indiana. I still have a few copies left for $15; just send me an email at douglas@arizcc.com to make the connection that will undoubtedly help light up your evenings. arizcc.com

Arizona Contractor & Community

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May June 2021

Image courtesy of Sunland

Projects . PEOPLE . PRACTICES

CONSTRUCTION AROUND ARIZONA Projects

CONSTRUCTION AROUND ARIZONA

Sunland’s First Bridge Spans I-10 in Avondale

“D

on’t limit your challenges. Challenge your limits,” is a popular motivational quote. Sunland Asphalt & Construction, LLC (Sunland) recently took this saying to heart, completing the company’s first bridge project in the West Valley.

The Fairway Drive Traffic Interchange was a $21 million project that bridged I-10 in Avondale. Work started in February 2019, and the historic project led by Kevin Fisher, Senior Project Manager, was completed in July 2020. With the Fairway Drive TI project, Sunland is now able to self-perform new facets of construction, such as retaining walls and concrete barriers. arizcc.com

“Many of our younger employees were able to learn from industry veterans on this project,” Fisher says. “It’s rewarding to see skills and knowledge passed down. Overall, the project elevated Sunland to a new level in the construction industry and opened the door to new projects previously inaccessible.”

The scope of work consisted of a traffic interchange, bridge across I-10 for the traffic interchange, and 0.2 miles of an arterial street along I-10 at Fairway Drive.

Sunland crews self-performed 41,000 square feet of retaining wall, over 12,500 linear-feet of concrete barrier, 97,700 cubic yards of over-excavation, 5,000 CY of roadway excavation, 20,800 CY of drainage excavation, 40,500 CY of wall foundation

backfill with an additional 20,600 CY of special backfill material for the walls, 274,000 CY of borrow (in-place) and 9,500 CY of Class II aggregate base. There were also several thousand feet of storm drain pipe and reinforced concrete pipe that Sunland installed.

The bridge itself is a one-span bridge, and construction was relatively straightforward, according to Fisher. “As this was the first bridge Sunland built, we were closely monitored by the public and ADOT,” he says.

The project, however, was not without a few challenges. “Getting people, equipment, and materials in and out of the median proved difficult,” Fisher says. “It was only through consistent and effective Arizona Contractor & Community

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CONSTRUCTION AROUND ARIZONA Projects

Images courtesy of Sunland

communication that the team successfully maneuvered in and out safely and quickly.”

The Fairway Drive TI is located near Legacy Traditional School, and the project team worked closely with the school. “We were careful to coordinate traffic control around heavy school traffic in conjunction

Employee Spotlight: Patricia Martinez Carpenter Experience: 2 years with Sunland Asphalt

with construction,” Vince Smith, Project Superintendent says.

Another traffic challenge was working next to a busy freeway. The project team consisting of Sunland, ADOT, and Consulting Engineering, Inc (CEI) strove to keep the public informed of any changes to traffic patterns or closures and ensure every detail was planned so that there would be no delays to the public.

The project team formed good relationships with nearby farmers and other key stakeholders. “Communication was a top priority: An informed public is a viable

resource,” Smith says. “We worked closely with residents to ensure access was maintained and addressed any concerns as quickly as possible.”

Most projects will experience pivotal challenges that can significantly hinder a project’s success. The impact of such moments can be minimized and controlled if the team partners work together to address and resolve such issues. “ADOT, Sunland, and CEI worked through many challenging issues and together formed a partnership that proved to be very effective on the project,” Fisher says.

Favorite job task: The family-like atmosphere inspires me to get up at 3 a.m. to go to work alongside a great crew. Our comradery allows the job to go smoothly.

Toughest job task: Waking up early!

Every day there is a new challenge and a new task to learn. It keeps my work exciting.

Most memorable day at work: Shutting down the freeway and then standing at the top when we set the girders across I-10 was truly an unforgettable moment.

After spending months preparing for this activity, it was remarkable to watch the team come together as one and seamlessly install the girders.

Favorite off-job task: I love my family and having new adventures with them. We love to camp, fish, and hike – anything outdoors! arizcc.com

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May June 2021

CONSTRUCTION AROUND ARIZONA Projects

Images courtesy of Tucson Asphalt

Tucson Asphalt Rehabilitates Los Reales Road for Pascua Yaqui Tribe

O

bservers watching Tucson Asphalt add improvements to Los Reales Road likely thought the project was all about putting down blacktop. Ramon Gaanderse, Vice President of Operations for Tucson Asphalt, says the work was just as much about bonding as a team.

“This project really continued to teach us how great it is working with a terrific

crew,” Gaanderse says. “Our communication in the field strengthens the more we work together. We are striving to become more organized as it relates to scheduling our traffic control, water trucks, and more.”

When completed in March 2021, the Los Reales Road Rehabilitation Project will enhance vehicular, bicycle, and pedestrian traffic from Mark Road to Camino de Oeste on Pascua Yaqui Tribal land a few miles southeast of Casino del Sol in Tucson. Work started in November 2020.

The most difficult part of the construction, surprisingly, involved not the road but an adjacent path designed for cyclists.

“We had to install a bike path in a confined space, which made it challenging to operate our small paver and maneuver trucks in and out,” Gaanderse says.

Good communication extended beyond the Tucson Asphalt crew. “The most interesting aspect of the job was checking in with the Pascua Yaqui Tribe daily and we learned their rules and regulations,” Gaanderse adds.

Employee Spotlight: Sergio Velasco Paving Superintendent Favorite job task: Creating a hardworking team that produces the best product in the market.

Toughest job task: Finding new ways to challenge and motivate the crew.

Favorite off-job task: Family, Family, Family.

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CONSTRUCTION AROUND ARIZONA Projects

McCarthy Completes Mirabella on the ASU Tempe Campus

A

group of non-traditional Sun Devils is going to shake things up in downtown Tempe this spring. There won’t be any football players or cheerleaders among the group, but that doesn’t mean they won’t significantly impact the campus. These older adults are founding members of the school’s first-of-its-kind intergenerational community, Mirabella at ASU, recently completed by McCarthy Building Companies.

“Mirabella at ASU represents a dynamic new chapter in senior living,” said Eric Sholty of Pacific Retirement Services.

“We’re thrilled to welcome our Founding Members to their new homes and can’t wait to see all the ways they take advantage of life at this exciting new member of the Pacific Retirement Services family of communities.”

The 20-story residence is the culmination of an innovative partnership between Pacific Retirement Services, ASU, and University Realty LLC. Representing a paradigm shift in senior living, this groundbreaking community provides residents with resortstyle services and amenities along with personalized access to lifelong-learning

opportunities, mentorships, and integration with the ASU community.

Designed by Ankrom Moisan Architects and built by McCarthy Building Companies, Mirabella at ASU is a $252 million, 613,000-square-foot community, including approximately 250 independent-living residences, four restaurants, healthcare facilities, and shared spaces. Major trade partners in the construction project included Buesing Corp., Castle Contracting LLC, Delta Diversified Enterprises Inc., ISEC Inc., KT Fabrication Inc., Berg, E&K, and Schuff Steel.

According to Luis Varela, project manager for McCarthy, constructing a building in the heart of Tempe was a complex project. He recalls being in awe with the concurrent activities on his first day at the site.

“Senior Project Manager Don Mac took me for a walk to show me the first-floor deck progress,” Varela says. “I was also

Employee Spotlight: Luis Varela Project Manager Experience: 5+ years with McCarthy Building Companies Favorite job task: Resolving the daily challenges of working through the complexity of building a 20-story building in downtown Tempe. Each day on-site was as rewarding as it was challenging.

Toughest job task: Keeping more than 500 workers working multiple shifts safe on the job site during COVID while minimizing impacts on the project.

Favorite off-job task: Spending time with my wife, Brittney, and our 4-monthold daughter, Ayla Nichole, as well as Boston Red Sox games, working on my old Ford truck and home renovation projects. arizcc.com

Images courtesy of McCarthy

Most memorable day at work: My most memorable day on site was my first day with the project team and seeing the complexity of the project. I was in awe of how much the team had going on, all at the same time.

shown how the exterior team was already coordinating the entire building from basement waterproofing to the complicated curtainwall and exterior envelope systems.

Then, I was introduced to how the interior build-out team was creating a macro-filled MS Excel file system to coordinate the 240+ unit selections, which ranged from simple paint selections to intricate MEP rough-in, casework customizations, and framing changes.”

At the heart of the Mirabella at ASU experience is access to ASU academics and campus amenities. Living on campus means residents have a finger on the pulse of university life while sharing knowledge, energy, and experiences with students. Opportunities to elevate the continued-learning experience abound, from the more than 5 million books in the ASU library system to shows at ASU Gammage theater.

“It was a privilege to be involved with the Mirabella partners to build this landmark that will have a significant impact on the Greater Phoenix community and offer lifelong learning opportunities for older generations on ASU’s Tempe campus,” said Chris Nickle, executive vice president of McCarthy Building Companies’ Southwest region. “Welcome to your new home!”

Arizona Contractor & Community

ANYONE ANYONE CAN BECAN ANBE AN

ELECTRICIAN ELECTRICIAN Arizona has no electrician licensing requirements.

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Wilson Electric hosts CAC Students on ISTB7 ASU Building Tour

with water to run through the tree-shaded lobby/courtyard area,” he says.

This behind-the-scenes exploration is just one of many unique opportunities that CAC Commercial Electrician Installer students get to experience en route to becoming Commercial Electricians. The program meets four days a week, for sixteen weeks, at CAC’s Superstition Mountain Campus.

Coursework is based on the nationally recognized curriculum from the National Center for Construction Education Research (NCCER). Experienced electricians provide hands-on instruction with a real-life application.

After their studies, students will earn a Commercial Electrician Installer Certificate from CAC and certificate credentials from the NCCER and OSHA. The 18 college credits they complete are transferable for continued education if desired.

The CAC and Wilson Electric partnership provides a career path for graduates.

Wilson Electric offers one and a half years of completed apprenticeship experience to students they hire who have completed the program.

Students enrolled in the program typically receive a higher wage based on their newly acquired skills in safety, tools, wire pulling, conduit bending, terminating receptacles, switches, breakers, and installing and wiring service entrance panels. The job-like atmosphere in the classroom and lab emphasizes safety, with 75 percent of the learning being hands-on.

More than 90 percent of students who have completed the Commercial Electrician Installer program are engaged in the electrical workforce, establishing their career pathway as an electrician and enhancing their opportunities for success.

Above: ASU’s ISTB7 Building.

Bottom left: CAC students in the classroom.

Below: CAC students tour ASU’s ISTB7 Building.

Images courtesy of CAC

tudents enrolled in the Commercial Electrician Installer program at Central Arizona College recently had the opportunity to explore one of the Valley’s most innovative buildings under construction: the $192 million Interdisciplinary Science and Technology Building 7 (ISTB7) project at Arizona State University.

“My class was allowed to go floor-byfloor, through this interestingly designed triangle-shaped building that will house research facilities, including ‘innovative endeavors focusing on the sustainability of food, water, and energy,’” Ross Rector, CAC carpentry/electrician programs professor, says. “Seeing the electrical layout and wiring methods of this progressive design proved to be fascinating for the students.”

Rector tells about how the students gained insight into the procedures utilized

by Wilson Electric, CAC’s industry partner, when presented with innovative ideas for new construction requiring high electrical demands. “The students learned firsthand the differences between conventional, bottom- floor-to-top-floor electrical layout, and the diverse, top-to-bottom-floor electrical layout, how costly it could be, and the difficulties associated with this type of electrical design,” he says.

According to Rector, the class wants to revisit after construction is complete in December 2021 to see the building and the Kirkland-McKinney ditch that was initially on the project site. “ASU is incorporating it into its design which will allow the ditch

Image courtesy of McCarthy

S

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CONSTRUCTION AROUND ARIZONA Projects

School’s in Session at Sunstate’s New Training Center

S

Images courtesy of Sunstate

ome people get into the construction industry because they didn’t enjoy school. But those who work for Sunstate Equipment will still find themselves in the classroom. This time, though, they’ll likely thrive in the new state-of-the-art training facility because they’ll be learning cutting-edge construction knowledge, directly relevant to their jobs.

Sunstate Equipment recently opened the Timothy J. Meenk Training Center as part of their expanded “Service Center” campus in Phoenix. The custom-designed two-story facility features 28,000 square feet of office space, high-tech meeting space, and training classrooms, plus a fully functional teaching shop bay.

Designed by Mendil + Meyer Design Studio, the Timothy J. Meenk Training Center is now the primary workspace for nearly half of Sunstate’s 200 Service Center support and administrative team members, with the added capacity to host up to 150 visitors for Sunstate’s in-depth

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employee training programs. Sunstate currently employs more than 2,000 people nationwide.

“When we broke ground in November 2019, we had no idea of the challenges that were coming in 2020,” Chris Watts, Sunstate’s president and CEO, says. “Thanks to Sundt Construction, our general contractor on the project, and our many team members who worked tirelessly to bring this building to completion as planned, we were able to complete construction and move in ahead of schedule.”

The building opened on December 14, 2020, but due to enhanced social distancing protocols, Sunstate postponed the grand opening celebration. Training classes are virtual until in-person gatherings can safely resume.

Sunstate is renowned for its award-winning training programs that bring newly hired or newly promoted sales, dispatch, and management team members to Phoenix for a series of week-long group training modules. The comprehensive education ensures consistency of service by empowering attendees to carry Sunstate’s

standards for excellence to the markets they serve.

“Our training programs are a mainstay of our people-first culture,” Watts adds.

“Not only do they provide our employees greater opportunities to pursue successful career growth with us individually, but they also reinforce our unique and collaborative total team approach that makes it possible for Sunstate to provide a consistently bestin-class rental experience.”

This state-of-the-art training facility features hands-on technician training, including specialized cutaway engines, hydraulic system training boards, and Tier 4 diagnostic training tools. Groups of 8-10 Sunstate technicians, ranging from Apprentice to Top Line, will be invited to visit stay abreast of new technologies from top equipment manufacturers.

Named in honor of former Parts and Service Director Tim Meenk, the training facility brings his vision for a genuinely unique mentor-based training program to fruition. Meenk was a long-time team member who joined Sunstate in 1989 as an Apprentice Small Engine Mechanic. He was a fundamental part of developing Sunstate’s service department, processes, and one-of-a-kind Apprentice Mechanic Training Program. Meenk lost his battle with cancer in 2020, shortly after seeing the first mockups of the building with his name on the front.

“We could see no better fitting tribute than to honor his memory in this way. Tim embodied mentorship and leading through teaching-which is at the very center of what this facility represents,” Watts said.

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March - Closing out the first quarter, CHASSE wrapped up the steel and started framing throughout the building with mechanical, plumbing, and electrical following closely behind. In late March, the McCain family joined the district in a socially distanced beam signing.

April/May - CHASSE wrapped up the steel package at the sky bridge and roofed the northwest quadrant of the building.

They also moved into mechanical, electrical, and plumbing engineering rough-ins of the east buildings and are framing up walls getting ready transitions into rough-ins on the east side.

To follow the progress live, visit jmes. chasse.us.

Image courtesy of Author

S

February - This month marked the team in full swing lifting, positioning the concrete tilt panels, which will form the building's exterior wall. The majority of the slab-in has been completed along with the pour backs at the panels. CHASSE then finished the electrical room and the sewer and water installations. The steel arrived on site, and the month-long installation process began. “In February, we also completed another big milestone: completing the dry in and seeing the sky bridge in its final form, which is wrapped in polycarbonate in opal coloring,” says Chasse.

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CONSTRUCTION AROUND ARIZONA

Learning Centers – in addition to a gymnasium, a kitchen and food court, flex spaces, and a band/music room. These spaces will Alison Bailin be anchored by learning and reading commons, outdoor play, and administrative ince its groundbreaking in November areas.

2020, many eyes have been on John S. Here is an at-a-glance look at construcMcCain III Elementary School's construction progress: tion, which is located near Miller and December - CHASSE and their partLower Buckeye roads in the Buckeye School District. The project is set to be complete ners received the permit and started on in summer 2021 in time for the new school the footings for the building and the waste year. Given the project's excitement and slabs for forming the tilt panels that will anticipation, a community website has make up the walls of the buildings. After been launched for the public and is now mobilizing in November, the field was graded and pre-soaked to keep dust at a live at jmes.chasse.us.

“The site offers regular updates and minimum. Work began on concrete tilt imagery as well as virtual tours, spotlights panels and the underground utilities for on the construction team, important com- plumbing and electrical. As progress conmunity announcements, and more,” says tinued on the project, CHASSE utilized Barry Chasse, founder of McCain Elemen- technology, including a 3D model, drone, tary School’s general contractor CHASSE and 360-degree cameras, to help construction flow smoothly.

Building Team.

This state-of-the-art school has been January - During the early part of the designed by the Orcutt Winslow Architec- New Year, CHASSE geared up to pour the ture Firm and is located on land donated by tilt panels on the site. These tile panels are the Walton Group. John S. McCain III Ele- used to construct the building’s exterior mentary will feature a cutting-edge C-STEM walls. The tile panels have rebar, and the (Coding, Science, Technology, Engineering, embeds are rough-in installed. The month and Math) based curriculum that will also also marked the team topping out elevator uniquely balance critical thinking, human- shafts and moving forward with pouring the ities through history, and social skills. panels. After adequate time was allowed When complete, the school will fea- for the panels to cure, CHASSE used cranes ture more than 20 classrooms – called to begin setting them into place.

Chasse Progresses on John S. McCain III Elementary School

CONSTRUCTION AROUND ARIZONA People Images courtesy of Fisher’s Tools

A Third-Generation Family Treasure: Fisher’s Tools Carly Hanson

S

ince he was in diapers, Stephen Fisher has been part of his family’s tool business in one way or another. However, he has a bit more responsibility these days as vice president. “I was most definitely born into the business,” Stephen said. “I even joke that I was ‘created’ for the business. My mom has a picture of me as an infant playing around in the showroom from many years ago.” While some people think carefully before working with family, Stephen always knew he belonged at the company and wanted to take over for his father one day.

Fisher’s Tools & Handles, aka Fisher’s Tools, started three generations ago in 1964 when Stephen’s grandfather, Howard Fisher, sold hammer handles at the Phoenix Park ‘n Swap, using his garage as a warehouse for several years. “The reason he started the business was that he suffered a back injury while working as a heavy-equiparizcc.com

ment operator,” Stephen said. “He needed to provide for his family, and he was an avid woodworker, so he decided to use his woodworking skills to pay the bills.”

Howard and his wife, Georgia Fisher, saved up and bought a brick-and-mortar location in Tempe on North Scottsdale Road and East Gilbert Drive. After that property was sold by eminent domain, the business moved to its current location in 1989, just a couple of miles away at East 3rd Street and South Smith Road.

“We started with an 8,000 squarefoot building that was half-showroom and half-warehouse. Every 10 years since then, we’ve doubled our property size,” Stephen said. Today, Fisher has 64,000 square feet of warehouse and showroom space and sells over 20,000 unique items from over 400 manufacturers and vendors. Their most popular items include power and electrician tools, as well as gas equipment.

“We’re known for having DeWalt, Milwaukee, and Makita power tools, Klein for our electrician’s tools, and Stihl for our chainsaws and cut-off machines,” Stephen said.

“These tools are very high quality, and a

Top left: Howard Fisher at Fisher’s Tools booth at the Phoenix Park ‘n Swap meet, 1968.

Top right: Stephen Fisher holding the clipboard his grandfather made after retirement in 2002, from wood from his family farm, 2021.

Above: Greg and Robert Fisher at Fisher’s Tools booth at the Phoenix Park ‘n Swap meet, 1969.

lot of them are made in America, which is something we and our customers enjoy very much.”

While Stephen always knew he’d work for Fisher and eventually take on a leadership role, it didn’t pan out exactly how he imagined. “I was working my way through the business since about the age of 12, starting in warehouse and then moving through to sales, and was starting to get into our website and administration positions when everything changed,” he said.

“Unfortunately, four years ago, my father, Greg Fisher, passed away unexpectedly. It nearly plunged the business into darkness, but my mom and I decided we would take on the responsibility of the business and have continued to run it since then.”

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May June 2021

Images courtesy of Fisher’s Tools

Above: Diane Fisher-Brunson.

Top right: D&K, a general contractor, lifts a steel beam into place at Fisher’s Tools new building in Tempe, 1989.

Below: A Caterpillar trackhoe lifts an underground storage tank into place as part of Fisher’s Tools new expansion in Tempe, 2009.

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CONSTRUCTION AROUND ARIZONA People

ogy to ensure Fisher runs as efficiently as possible. Stephen’s mother, Diane Fisher-Brunson, is president, secretary, and treasurer, and his sister, Jessica Fisher, helps assemble materials and takes care of odds and ends around the shop. His entire family has worked for or is currently working for Fisher, from Howard and Georgia to their three sons and even some of Stephen’s cousins. “But we aren’t alone, and we could never do this alone,” he said. “We have a great team of 35 employees who help us with this company as well. This company truly would not be here without the help of the people who have dedicated their time to helping and working for the business.”

And even though some Fisher employees aren’t blood family, they might as well be. Stephen describes the motto for their company culture as “united under one common problem.” “Everyone at this business is here to help each other and to unite together to get through the problems that we face every day,” he said. “2020, the year of COVID-19, was where I really saw this company come together as people were getting sick. We would all step up and work harder to ensure the business was taken care of. I truly feel that nearly every employee here has the best interest of the company in mind

for everything they do.”

Stephen is proud of the Mom-and-Pop atmosphere that sets Fisher apart from some other tool sellers. He says it’s not a corporate entity that requires its employees to speak or act a certain way. Stephen encourages them - especially younger ones - to simply be themselves because it brings joy to the customers and creates lasting relationships. “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen one of my guys talking with a customer and asking about the family and how their health is,” he said.

Another point of pride is the company’s expansion over the years, which continued in 2019 when Fisher added a 32,000 square-foot warehouse to its operation.

While it was good news for business, it also

meant Fisher could serve its customers that much more. “By being a larger company with more space to store inventory, we have the opportunity to buy products in large batches and lower prices that can then be relayed to our customers,” Stephen said. “Our inventory is our best asset, and most of our competitors have small warehouses, so we can take care of the larger companies, especially when they ask us for something like 50 of a single type of grinding tool.”

The future of Fisher’s Tools is undoubtedly apparent in Stephen’s eyes. He and his family will continue to grow the business, just as they have for the last 50 years.

They’ll keep building lasting relationships with their customers, trying out new tools, and growing their selection. It’s also crucial to Stephen to continue the family legacy, which is the most special part of all to him.

“I work for Fisher’s Tools because it’s what my dad did, and it’s what his dad did.

It’s what our entire family has been doing for three generations,” he said. “When I have a tough day, I think about my grandfather and my father looking down on me smiling because I’m continuing with the family’s dream, and that always helps me get over the hurdle I have.”

He also looks forward to potentially providing more jobs for hardworking families as Fisher grows. “My mother and I have so much pride in this company. I mean, how could we not? Our name is on the building! I wake up extremely lucky and blessed every day to be able to continue what my grandfather and my father created.”

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Drew Simmons

T

he construction industry has always been a competitive landscape for small and large contractors alike. Now, with the pandemic and the new normal significantly impacting construction by temporarily halting and even permanently shutting down projects in its tracks, it’s more crucial than ever before for construction leaders to win valuable bid opportunities to continue bringing in new revenue for their business.

However, the competition is intense, and standing out against the crowd can be a daunting task.

Construction leaders know that offering the lowest bid doesn’t guarantee that you’ll land the job, and, even if it does, you still have to be profitable as a business. However, you can also waste valuable time, money, and effort when going after countless construction bids and turning up empty-handed. So, how can you create construction bids that receive the greatest return on investment?

Choose the Right Projects for Your Team Construction leaders know their company better than anyone else, which is why it is crucial they do their due diligence when searching for new bid opportunities. You have to identify your specialties, niches, and what you can bring to the table.

You don’t want to waste time bidding on options that aren’t a good fit for your team and your goals. On top of this, you don’t want to oversell your capabilities, which ruins trust and hurts your reputation and relationships.

Perform a Competitive Analysis After you identify a bid opportunity that you would like to pursue, dive into

research about the possible competition that might be going after the same project. Understanding your competition’s strengths, weaknesses, and specialties can help you better understand your own company and team’s aspects that you should be highlighting in your bid to stand out better.

Doing this will help you build a robust and persuasive proposal that will catch your potential client’s attention and give you a better chance of winning the bid.

Integrate Innovative Technology into Your Company The construction industry tends to be slow to adopt new technologies. However, efficiently and effectively integrating new, innovative tech into your company will help propel you forward as a leader within the industry. It will further differentiate you from your competitors. This tech can include drones, Robotic Total Stations (RTS), and Building Information Modeling (BIM).

For Arizona-based Canyon State Electric, our team utilizes BIM, a 3-D model-based process that enables them to foresee any potential issues before construction even begins. For potential clients, this technology is appealing because it will save them time and money. Being able to highlight your company’s construction tech and its return on investment for potential clients will further boost your chances of outselling the competition and landing the job.

However, it is equally important that your team is adequately trained on efficiently utilizing the technology you are promoting in your construction bids. The last thing you want to do is overpromise and underdeliver on the job.

CONSTRUCTION AROUND ARIZONA Practices

Expert Tips on Building a Strong Construction Bid

When highlighting your various successful projects in your portfolio, be sure to tie in relevant and valuable client reviews to show your value. Real reviews from real people are often seen as more authentic, transparent, and reliable.

When utilizing client reviews, be sure to highlight the past clients with which you still maintain a solid relationship. Your potential clients might reach out to your previous projects to confirm or ask any questions they may have -- for this reason, it’s crucial only to highlight the best relationships that you know you can rely on to speak highly of you and your company.

The construction industry has always been a competitive landscape to navigate, and now, thanks to the impact of COVID19, it has become even more important to stand out to secure construction bids.

Industry leaders must keep an ear to the ground for new opportunities through netShowing Off Your Expertise In this competitive construction indus- working, previous projects, and constructry, your reputation is truly everything. tion bidding marketplaces. Additionally, leaders should seek projects that can result in repeat business and ultimately bring in more revenue for their company.

Construction industry leaders that can weed through potential bidding opportunities to find the best for their team, perform a competitive analysis, integrate and highlight the company’s innovative tech, as well as properly show off their expertise are going to excel during these turbulent times and beyond.

Images courtesy of CSE

Drew Simmons has been in the industry for 13 years, and the last five have been with Canyon State Electric. He’s held many positions, including purchasing manager, estimator, project manager, and now director of preconstruction. arizcc.com

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How Hoover Dam Provided Drinking Water on Construction Sites Luke M. Snell, P.E.

T

he Boulder Canyon Project, now called the Hoover Dam, was awarded to The Six Companies in the spring of 1931. For many people, work could not commence soon enough. Unemployment exceeded 25 percent, and the hope of landing a job caused individuals to flock to this desolate area on the Arizona-Nevada border. The company planned to begin work in the fall, but U.S. President Herbert Hoover insisted they start immediately, just as the mercury was climbing.

The working conditions on the project were brutal. There was no shade, and summertime temperatures exceeded 100 degrees. Some employees could not handle the heat and quit; others tried their best to cope. But it would not be easy, as the summers of 1931 and 1932 were fierce, temperature-wise.

Many deaths occurred from heat prostration. Workers who collapsed had cold water tossed on them. If that did not revive them, they were transported to a hospital in Las Vegas. Many would not survive the one-hour journey.

There were several theories about what caused heat-related medical issues and why some people were more susceptible to the heat. These may seem irrational today, highlighting how little was known about the cause of heat prostration. #1 - Workers were weakened by their poor diets: Meals consisted of doughnuts and coffee in the morning and soup in the evening. This diet regime was thought to impair their systems and lead to heat-induced problems. #2 - Workers were eating too much food: Hoover Dam construction workers could eat as much as they wanted at the mess tent. Overeating was thought to make it difficult to perform manual labor in the heat.

Images courtesy of Author

#3 - Drinking water on the job. Many workers thought that consuming water would lead to heat prostration.

The number of injuries and deaths from heat prostration alarmed the company. Management sought help from Harvard University’s Fatigue Laboratory in 1932. After visiting the job site, the Harvard investigators quickly identified the problem: the workers were dehydrated and not drinking enough water. The Six Companies immediately provided more water stations and encouraged consumption by workers.

Construction companies are now mandated by OSHA requirements to provide water to their workers. The concept is simple; however, implementing it on the job site is not easy. You can lead workers to water, but you can’t make them stay hydrated.

A recent article about construction in Mongolia is a reminder of the problem of workers not drinking enough water. Mongolia is building a copper mine in the Gobi Desert with low humidity, extreme heat in summer, and extreme cold in the winter.

Workers are instructed each day to examine their urine color to determine if they are hydrated.

The critical concept for workers to understand is that they must continually monitor themselves for dehydration.

Each person is different and needs to take responsibility for their health. Despite the scientific evidence, some myths are still believed, such as the only reason to visit the water cooler is to chat about sports and waste time. These jokes may be relatively innocent, but they overlook the water coolTop right: Construction workers carrying water at Hoover Dam, 1930s.

Left: Urine color row of test tubes.

Right: Water cooler.

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er’s vital role in preventing dehydration.

Another fallacy is that real men don’t take water breaks, which I first heard as a freshman in high school from my football coach. This advice could have been deadly.

Sadly, the concept is still prevalent. Some workers and managers think water breaks are for sissies and discourage what they consider non-productive rest periods. As was evident on the Hoover Dam construction site, water breaks keep the workforce productive and healthy. As marathoners have proven, water is necessary to keep up strength and finish the race. The same is valid on the construction site.

Another myth is that your body will recognize the need for water. When I was in Saudi Arabia, I was responsible for inspecting several building sites during the summer when temperatures routinely exceeded 110. I would stop for a break and did not feel thirsty until I drank my first cup of water. Then I would need to drink several more cups of water. This scenario led to the realization that I could not trust my body to recognize dehydration, so I developed a habit of regularly drinking water.

The common-sense solution to dehydration was first articulated by Harvard researchers and the Hoover Dam construction managers.

Their discovery is the reason that water coolers are on all of our job sites and that workers are expected to, and should take, water breaks.

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Slingin’ Hash About the Past DOUGLAS TOWNE

T

here’s nothing as appetizing as nostalgia, at least based on comments on social media about Helsing’s Coffee Shop. Customers have fond memories of the four Phoenix-based restaurants, the first of which opened in Uptown Plaza at the northeast corner of Central Avenue and Camelback Road in 1955.

Former patrons gushed about Helsing’s quintessential order of hamburger, fries, and a milkshake, as well as their ham-andcheese sandwiches, and, of course, pie and coffee. Others favored “One’s A Meal,” which was Helsing’s signature dish. This special changed daily and consisted of “a

Image courtesy of Arizona Contractor & Community arizcc.com

healthful, nutritious, and well-balanced lunch,” according to a 1956 article in The Arizona Republic.

But reading between the comments’ lines, what many individuals are likely savoring is the recollection of a Naugahyde vinyl booth or spinning stool at the walkup counter. This is the spot where they had their first date, lunch with their family after church every Sunday, met their future spouse, or took advantage of the restaurant’s 24-hour service to enjoy graveyard specials while rehashing the evening’s exploits with friends.

But Helsing’s was not immune from changing food trends, and all were closed by the 1990s. The original Uptown Plaza location reopened as the Lunt Avenue Marble Club, a high-end restaurant and

Image courtesy of Del E. Webb

Back When

nightclub. Currently the location is occupied by an Applebee’s in a new building. The latter casual dining restaurant doesn’t receive quite the same glowing reviews on social media as Helsing’s, but given time and financial failure, it probably will. That’s how nostalgia works

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& Community

Paving the Way for Four Generations:

The Chesley Family

“I

loved spending time with my dad hunting, camping, or any other activity,” Phil Chesley says about his father, Elmo Chesley. “Going to work with him at Roadrunner Paving was just another adventure and opportunity to be with him.” But Elmo didn’t cut his son any slack when it came to job performance with his promotion to asphalt roller operator in 1981. “Elmo then told me I had two weeks to figure it out, or I’d be back on the dumb end of a shovel knocking down piles of asphalt,” Phil says. “That was all the motivation I needed.”

Operating the roller gave Phil a catbird seat to the entire paving operation. He took advantage of learning how jobs were laid out and executed, which later led to him starting his own firm, Sinagua Paving. “Paving practices are subject to variables such as materials, weather, grade conditions, asphalt delivery/trucking, and quality control requirements,” Phil says. “I could not have had a better classroom, learning from two of the most respected pavers in the state, Elmo, and his partner, Leon Slade.”

The Chesley construction story, however, starts a generation earlier with Phil’s grandfather, Vernon. During the Great Depression, Vernon Chesley enrolled in a heavy equipment mechanics training program and subsequently worked for the Civilian Conservation Corps, a public work relief program. During World War II, Vernon was employed by contractors in Arizona supporting the war effort and became a foreman for W.A. Bechtel Co. in 1941.

After the war, Vernon changed occupations and farmed cotton near Wilcox in Cochise County. However, a combination of bad weather and low commodity prices led him back to construction. The family moved to Phoenix in 1951, and Vernon became a heavy equipment mechanic for Arizona Sand & Rock Co. (ASR).

Images courtesy of the Chesley family

Image courtesy of Leon Slade

Four generations of Chesleys: Grandfather Vernon, Father Elmo, Son Phil, and Grandson James.

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Douglas Towne

Top: Elmo Chesley operating a Barber-Greene Laydown machine for Arizona Sand & Rock Co., late 1950s.

Far left: Shop Foreman Vernon Chesley (lower far right) with mechanics at Arizona Sand & Rock Co., 1956.

Middle left: Phil Chesley operates a Hyster steel-wheel roller near Central Avenue, 1982.

Left: James Chesley sitting on a Volvo Paver, Mormon Lake, 2019.

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The following year, Vernon took an 8-month leave of absence to become part of Operation Blue Jay, a military project that built Thule Air Base in Greenland. He worked as a tractor mechanic with North Atlantic Constructors. The joint American-Danish facility was part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) defense network. Afterward, Vernon returned from the Arctic to become the shop foreman at ASR and oversaw several major equipment overhauls.

Vernon later worked for DC Speer Construction Co. in Lake Havasu City, where he suffered a debilitating stroke in 1964.

“Grandpa lived nearly 20 years after that but never regained his physical strength enough to enjoy outdoor activities,” Phil says. “But he had 15 grandkids and enjoyed

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Images courtesy of the Chesley family

Above: Vernon Chesley in Greenland, 1952.

Right: Construction of Thule Air Base, Greenland, 1952.

Below: Vernon Chesley’s crew overhaul a Northwest shovel at Arizona Sand & Rock Co., 1953.

Below right: Sandy’s Journal, produced by Arizona Sand & Rock Co., features employee Vernon Chesley, 1956.

being around them and telling stories zer artillery guns towed by Caterpillar tracabout his adventures.” tors. Because of his motorbike experience, Meanwhile, Elmo, Vernon’s son, grew he initially trained as a motorcycle disup in the Gila Valley near Thatcher, work- patcher at Fort Hood, Texas, before being ing on the family farm. He took machining transferred to artillery in preparation for classes in high school the invasion of Europe. and enjoyed repair“Lucky for us, he was Vernon took an 8-month ing cars, tractors, and, leave of absence to become reassigned, as motoreventually, heavy equip­ cycle riders had some ment. For his talent part of Operation Blue Jay, a of the highest mortality military project that built rates in the war,” Phil with machinery, Elmo received an award as the Thule Air Base in Greenland. says. Elmo was awarded “Youth Most Valuable to the Bronze Star and the War Effort” from the National Youth a Purple Heart during his service, which Administration in 1942. included landing at Normandy on June Elmo served in World War II as a Cor- 10th with their heavy artillery once the poral in the B Battery of the 228th Field beaches were secure for larger transports.

Artillery Battalion. The Battalion consisted After the war, Elmo farmed cotton with for four batteries, with four 155mm Howit- Vernon on his leased property they cleared near Willcox in Cochise County. The crop was not even worth harvesting, due to a late monsoon and a worldwide slump in the price of cotton. The experience led Vernon to move to Phoenix, while Elmo became a bulldozer operator in Tucson before joining his father at ASR in 1953.

“Elmo ran a dozer feeding a crusher in the Salt River bed,” Phil says. “Not long after, ASR had the unfortunate problem of their lead paver operator dying, and approached Elmo about taking that position.

He decided it was an opportunity to learn a new skill.”

Coincidentally in 1955, the indiMay June 2021

vidual who died from a heart attack was 46-year-old Jesse Slade, the father of Leon Slade, who, at the time, was in the military stationed in Berlin. “Leon returned and came back to work for ASR as well, which Below: Elmo Chesley and his friend, Gerald Echols, on Elmo’s Indian 45 motorcycle, shortly after World War II. Bottom right: Elmo Chesley, 1952.

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was the beginning of a lifelong professional relationship that Leon and Elmo shared,” Phil says.

Leon Slade, an Eager, Arizona native, started in construction with Tanner Construction Company, improving Route 66 five miles east of Flagstaff. He worked with his father, Jesse Slade, and the two later came to the Valley to run asphalt rollers for ASR. “In 1978, I talked Elmo Chesley into starting our own business, Arizona Custom Paving, and after six months changed the name to Roadrunner Paving,” Leon Slade told ACC magazine in 2014.

There was a lot of skepticism in the

Top left: Elmo Chesley clearing land with a Caterpillar D8 for Arizona Sand & Rock Co. Top right: Elmo Chesley, third from left, posing on a Caterpillar tractor used to pull artillery guns in France, 1944.

Above: Elmo Chesley next to the barrel of a 155mm Howitzer along the Elbe River in Germany, 1945.

industry about Slade and Chesley’s new company. But Slade was sure that Phoenix was large enough for a custom paving company to rent themselves out. “I said, this will work, and it took off like wildfire,” Slade said. Copper State Equipment Company sold them their first laydown machine, and Professional Contracting, Knochel Brothers, Kelton, Nesbitt, and Mesa Paving were their initial customers.

“Elmo, who was a bit older than Leon, retired in, 1987. I went to work there in 1981,” Phil says. “I assumed the responsibilities of paver operator along with equipment repairs and maintenance.”

But Phil sought the challenges of operating his own business and, along with his wife, Laura, launched Sinagua Paving in 1993 [See “Digging Through the Archives” column on page 74].

Sinagua Paving was successful and enjoyed the benefits of Arizona’s strong economy for nearly 27 years.

However, in 2019, with a high demand for experienced paving crews, Phil was approached by several companies looking to acquire a small paving operation. “We already had a long Arizona Contractor & Community

gravitation to the industry.

“Growing up, all I ever wanted to do was be like my father,” Phil says. “He gave a great example of duty, responsibility, and honesty. He did get a little crossways with inspectors from time to time, but he was generally a patient and forgiving individual. He had a great reputation for being a well-qualified operator and paver mechanic. Those two attributes always secured him a steady job.”

Phil also has kind words about the impact of the two men who started Arizona’s first custom paving company. “The

Top left: Leon Slade and Elmo Chesley (l-r) using a Hyster roller with a Tanner belly dump truck , 1979.

Above: Phil and Elmo Chesley (l-r), 1982.

Below: Elmo operating a laydown machine and Phil on a roller, paving a subdivision, early 1980s.

legacy of Leon and Elmo will die when the people that knew them are gone,” Phil says. “The projects they helped build will eventually crumble and wear away, but the impact of their integrity and hard work will hopefully live on with those of us that knew them and followed in their footsteps.”

Images courtesy of the Chesley family

and successful relationship with MR Tanner Construction, and it seemed natural to join their organization,” Phil says. “In 2020, they purchased Sinagua Paving, and my son, James Chesley, continues there as a paving supervisor with our old crew.”

Besides Phil’s grandfather, father, and son, the Chesley family has even more roots in Arizona construction. Most of Phil’s uncles and brothers-in-law worked in the trades. Elmo’s younger brother, Jack Chesley, operated heavy equipment, including a crane at the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station. There’s a reason for this family’s

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Images courtesy of Author

As Subtle As Neon:

intrepid auto travelers to Arizona in the 1910s. Motorists were limited to camping or hotels, which catered to railroad passengers. In the 1920s, auto or tourist camps composed of tents or shacks positioned around a shared bathroom were built to serve motorists. With improved roads death-defying heights and burros, with bringing even more traffic in the 1930s, flicking ears and swishing tails, clamoring roadside lodging evolved into motor or tourist courts, which morphed into motels. for attention.

Burning brightly in the night, these Courts tended to have cottages separated neon signs advertise Mom and Pop motels by landscaping or garages, while motels typically had units adjoining along Route 66 and other pre-interstate highways Motels and their signs one another. After World in Arizona. These inani- could be thought of as War II, the motel was the undisputed roadside king of mate barkers are windows satisfying motorists’ lodging. to a past when motoring lodging needs and While hotels, with their involved chatting with gas more formal accommodatheir requirements station attendants, and tions, frequently had names for adventure when diners were considwith business (commercial) ered fast food. Their names and imagery are quintessentially Amer- or patriotic themes (Congress) designed to ican and speak of a nation of unbounded attract the traveling salesman, motels had humor, optimism, and faith. After a period no historical ties. Theirs names and assoof being considered gaudy intrusions on ciated signs and imagery were crucial to the roadside, these neon displays are attract sleepy motorists.

Arizona motels were built mainly to enjoying a renaissance. What is the story accommodate vacationers who wanted to behind these radiant advertisements, and experience the Wild West but not the realwhy are they once-again fashionable? ity of spending the night in a ranch bunkThere were no motels for the first house or Navajo hogan. To capitalize on this appeal, motels often adopted regional Opposite page: Quail Inn, Tucson, 2016.

Top: Burro Jim Motel, Aguila, 2008. themes that would satiate customers’ fronLeft: Story Cottage Court, Phoenix, 1940s. tier yearnings.

Arizona’s Unforgettable Motel Signs Douglas Towne

F

Image courtesy of Library of Congress

or some, the allure is elicited by names designed to stir the imagination that glow in the darkness as if drawn with a magical luminous pen: La Siesta, Riviera, Tiki, Tropicana, Boots & Saddle, and Two Palms. Others employ larger-than-life iridescent figures that slowly flicker in the twilight, then spring forth with life. These include voluptuous blonde damsels swan diving fearlessly into a swimming pool from

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and imagery had to be simple, so travelers could scan it and understand its meaning.

Yet, to stand out among the multitude of roadside images, a hint of the spectacular was often necessary.

Strong symbolism and eye-catching themes provided the most common hook to draw in the motorist. Successful motel advertising was often comprised of simile and metaphor and cloaked in cultural and historical motifs to suggest an escape from mundane routines. Themes on signs were often continued in buildings, landscaping, and rooms so that motels approached a theme park status and served as precursors to the recreated “Disney-esque” environments.

The signs were products of the motel owner’s taste and consisted of heavy steel boxes laden with transformers. Their shapes included vertical signs reaching toward the sky, fascia signs stretching hor-

Clockwise, top left to right: Tucson Inn, Frontier Motel, La Siesta Motel, Riviera Motel, Tiki Motel, all Tucson, 2016.

Se-Tay Motel, Casa Grande, 2008. The latter motel’s name is from the backward spelling of the original owners, the Yates.

izontally along the motel office, or with a kidney, cactus, and other unique forms.

Decorations include hand-painted, oneof-a-kind scenes and lettering. In daylight, these monolithic signs were a black silhouette against the sky on one side and a multicolored structure in the sun on the other. During the magic hour of dusk, the signs’ crackling, multicolored, neon lighting created a mystical roadside spectacle. With the aid of timers, some signs became animated, coming to life with movement.

These neon motel signs are among the most spectacular commercial advertisements ever constructed. They could be considered commercial folk art that

Images courtesy of Author

The first camps and courts along the roadside advertised with painted signs.

Some lodgings marketed their business with buildings emulating historical residences, such as wigwams, log cabins, and forts. As motel architecture and rooms became more standardized, their signs became a vital element in attracting customers.

Similar in function to another regional structure, the false-front building, motel signs were designed to make their enterprises seem more extensive and glamorous with a minimum of added cost. These signs often dominated the landscape, with their non-assertive motel buildings snuggled below or behind them, a precursor to later sign development along the Strip in Las Vegas.

The motel sign’s function was to grab the attention of speeding motorists and coax them off the road. The sign’s message

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reached its zenith in Arizona, whether measured in terms of numbers or flamboyance. This phenomenon occurred due to the year-round tourist season and imagery stemming from the region’s scenic landscapes, exotic cultures, and colorful history.

Today, these signs exude a homespun appeal that captured the promise and excitement of the post-World War II age of auto travel, when many of them were built.

The signs were designed to be synonymous with vacations and emit an aura of excitement, they yield a treasure trove of images ranging from generic to unforgettable that the world recognizes as distinctly American in origin. Motels and their signs could be thought of as satisfying motorists’ lodging needs and their requirements for adventure.

Travelers influenced by nostalgia – or simply looking for something different – are still drawn to these vintage motel signs.

They enjoy being bathed in the glow of neon, mesmerized by the colorful advertising and the hypnotic buzzing of the glass tubing. Film producers and photographers use them as visually appealing backdrops for a slice of pure Americana.

“I think the common thread that runs through the appreciation of vintage signs is emotional,” Tod Swormstedt, founder of the American Sign Museum in Cincinnati, says. “Signs are a proverbial walk down memory lane, and they almost always conjure up fond memories.”

With their anachronistic charm, these neon signs continue to attract and enchant.

For many foreigners vacationing in America, a trip down Route 66 to catch a glimpse of these roadside beacons is the highlight of their overseas trip. As Vladimir Nabokov wrote in the 1955 novel Lolita, “Nothing is more exhilarating than philistine vulgarity.”

Some noteworthy signs have become landmarks that reflect and enhance a sense of place, like the diving lady at the Starlite Motel in Mesa. Their timelessness is a tribute to the creativity and skill of mostly anonymous people who designed and constructed them. Perhaps most importantly, these signs continue to bring in business and provide a unique atmosphere that brings a bit of stimulation that travelers leave home in search of in the first place.

Think twice next time you pass by a glowing rider atop a rearing quarter horse who, with a sweep of his ten-gallon hat, offers an Arizona welcome as big as the state’s vistas. Besides the free light show, lore has it that an evening spent slumbering by one of these resplendent signs elicits incredibly vivid dreams by stimulating brain neurons. arizcc.com

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A Stucco Strip Tease: Phoenix’s Hidden Signage

M

Jim Bolek

any years ago, a friend and I climbed what was then called Squaw Peak on a beautiful overcast day with clouds spread out below the mountain.

Reaching the summit, we watched as they passed by, acting like great curtains that would briefly unveil a panorama of Phoenix below us and then close up and hide from our view what was beyond.

Similarly, we are sometimes allowed a peek into the historical past. When buildings are renovated, they often may have layers of stucco or paint stripped away to reveal the underlying structure. Usually, it is

The Apache Leather Company - 28th & Washington streets

and a path to a new career for returning soldiers. By 1948 he had seven instructors and 139 apprentices. All were veterans.

Some of Green’s creations included hand-tooled high-heeled shoes and bags, but his most notable was a woman’s mink bow tie he created with Howard Blye, a New York furrier. The piece was designed to “fill the demand by women who want [a] fur piece for dress-up, but who can’t afford a fur coat.” Green was 61 years old when he died in 1962 and had been a Phoenix resident since 1904.

Nelson’s Flowers - Seventh Street, between Oak and Sheridan streets The florist, located here from 1947 until the early 1980s, was started by Aaron and Dessie Nelson, both born on November 19, 1898, in Thatcher, Arizona. They were married in 1919 in Thatcher and remained together for 51 years. Aaron served in both World Wars and was an officer in the National Guard until he retired in 1958 as a Lieutenant Colonel. He died in 1970, and Dessie retired from the business in 1971 and died in 1981.

Images courtesy of Author

The company was founded by Alfred M. Green and operated from at least 1945 until the late 1950s. Apache Leather specialized in selling leather goods, including purses, billfolds, briefcases, and tools and materials. They also repaired golf bags and saddles and held leather classes for the public. After World War II, Green promoted the courses as a means of therapy

then covered again with the latest en vogue finish system or another stucco layer.

That brief, in-between moment, with the building, laid bare, may show signs of its history painted on the walls. Often the signs are old ghosts burrowed into the brick, barely noticeable, let alone legible. But some buildings were refinished when their signs were still fresh, so the new outer layer has preserved them. And maybe sometime, far in the future, another remodeling might reveal them again.

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May June 2021

S & S Meat Market - Third Street & Dunlap Avenue The S & S Meat Market was presumably named for the original owners, Lela and Arthur Sivadon. Arthur died in 1963, after which Lela moved to California. New owners took over in 1964 and, in 1969, the market’s equipment was liquidated in an auction. The colors’ vibrancy shows that the signs were covered and the walls refinished not too long after they had been painted. When the building was renovated in 2012, they had just a short time showing off the former meat market before it was covered again.

Duck Inn Tavern - 16th Street & Clarendon Avenue for Ducker. A burglar ducked into Duck Inn, In 1929, the property owner placed an 3708 North 16th Street, police reported advertisement on trading this property for yesterday, and ducked out with $158.”

In the 1960s, the Duck Inn was owned an “Eastern Nebraska Farm.” It is unknown by Edna La Londe, who died in 1970. The if such a deal ever occurred. The Duck Inn existed from at least 1955 when it was writ- Inn then changed names many times. It ten up in The Arizona Republic: “Just Ducky became known as the Flaming Rooster Bar

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in 1980 when a man tried to enter the bar after hours by crawling down the chimney.

Unfortunately for him, the vent had been blocked just above the fireplace. He got trapped; his buddy called the cops, and firefighters had to knock out some blocks to get him out.

Arizona Contractor & Community

least three different retailers have occupied the space initially used by the Ken Flowers Store. These include an optical store that left a shadow of its pan-channel illuminated letters, and Central Eyeware, identifying its business with a temporary vinyl banner, at least until the remodel was completed.

For birdwatchers, a “Rare Bird Alert” is sent out when a unique avian creature is spotted. It’s a notice to drop everything and head to where the bird was seen.

When Uptown Plaza was remodeled in 2015, local sign watchers received a similar call. The old facades had been removed, revealing signage dating back to when the shopping center opened. Shown under the stucco finishes were remnants of three original, long-defunct stores: Towne Fashions, Ken Flowers Store For Men, and Lou Ann’s Dress Shop. These signs, painted directly on the brick and original plaster finish, give an idea of what Uptown Plaza initially looked like when it opened for business on August 25, 1955.

The development, designed by local architect H.H. Green, and built by the Del E. Webb Construction Company, was a “brand new idea in urbanized shopping centers” that was “not a suburban shopping center, but a downtown business district moved uptown.” There were 21 stores planned for the grand opening, including four restaurants, a supermarket (Piggly Wiggly), many shoe and clothing retailers, and stores selling books, drugs, flowers, and records.

The store signs that were revealed alternated between painted brick and plaster, with a top band painted dark green and a bottom bar painted creamy white, separated by a black stripe. The store names were painted directly on the facades, on top of which neon tubing was added. At Fifty two

Wing Ong’s Grocery - 13th & Jefferson streets

A fascinating slice of the Eastlake McAlister Sign Service - 32nd & Van Buren neighborhood’s past was exposed during streets this historic grocery store’s renovation. The McAlister Sign Service, owned by Har- work preserved a painted sign on the south vard Yale McAlister, existed maybe three facade announcing “WING F. ONG.” The years before its assets were sold at public second set of letters overlay it that appears auction “for the nonpayment of assessed to say “LEE’S.” The east elevation shows taxed due” in August of 1947, according to multiple signs harmonizing with each other The Arizona Republic. The auction included like a symphony of letters. “DAN HI LOY two pickup trucks and a commercial sedan, GROCERY” can be barely seen in a dark ladders, tools, and supplies. The vehicles box. “WING F. ONG GROCERY,” and parts were described as “especially designed for of “MARKET,” “HAY & GRAIN,” and “MORE” the painting or electrical business.” This are also visible. sign attests to their capabilities.

Wing Foon Ong was born in Canton, Before it was a sign shop, the building China, in 1903. He came to San Francisco at housed George’s Salvage Sales. Afterward, age 14 and then moved to Phoenix in 1918.

Images courtesy of Author

Uptown Plaza - Central Avenue & Camelback Road

it was home to the Ace Sign Service, and later the Children’s Federation, which provided clothing for needy folks. The accompanying partially exposed café sign is a mystery.

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Speaking and reading little English, Ong completed grammar and high school in five years while working part-time. By 1925 he was a “widely known member of the local Chinese colony,” according to a contemporary article in The Arizona Republic.

As a guest at a Phoenix Lions meeting, he was introduced to the audience as “having made a splendid success in both his educational and business endeavors in the Salt River Valley.” Those endeavors were mostly in the grocery business, including obtaining the store formerly owned by Loy in the early 1930s.

The date Loy started his grocery store is unknown, though the business appears to have been a modest success. In 1919 the store was robbed by two youths wearing masks and brandishing guns, but Loy was not injured. However, in 1929, he was again robbed by two men and received a severe head wound. Soon afterward, Ong and his wife, Rose, purchased the store where they lived for many years.

Ong added a large addition to the building in 1936, which may have been when the International Social Club opened in the store’s rear. Police raided the club in 1941 and found 75 men, nine slot machines, lottery equipment, and tickets. Wing Ong was arrested and later forfeited his $75 bond after failing to appear in court.

Two years later, Wing Ong graduated third in his class at the University of Arizona Law College. He scored one of the highest grades ever on the State Bar examination and was one of eight Chinese-American lawyers practicing in the U.S. at the time. In 1946 Ong was the first Chinese-American to be elected to a state legislature in the nation, achieving that office as a Democrat in the Arizona House of Representatives.

He served two terms from 1947 to 1951. In 1966 he successfully ran for the State Senate and served one term.

After a long and illustrious career in Arizona, from food to politics, Ong died in 1977. arizcc.com

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Ramada Inn:

Marion Isbell’s Homegrown Arizona Motel Chain

Image courtesy of Author

M

Peter Corbett

arion Isbell was never a household name, but millions of travelers worldwide stayed in his motels.

Isbell was a pioneer in America’s hospitality industry and a daring entrepreneur. He transformed himself from a cotton-picking orphan in Tennessee to a top Chicago restaurateur and ultimately a founder and chief executive of Phoenix-based Ramada Inns Inc., one of America’s largest motel chains by the 1970s.

“I was 8 years old when I first started working in the cotton fields after school,” Isbell told the New York Times. “The going rate was 50 cents for picking 100 pounds. I couldn’t pick more than 10 pounds before dark, so I only earned a nickel a day.”

Isbell, who died in Scottsdale in 1988, joined a group of investors in the 1950s that developed roadside motels in the Southwest. That included the Bagdad Inn in Las Vegas along with Sahara, Flamingo, and Hiway House motels. A three-story downtown Phoenix Sahara was one of the group’s early motel projects.

Image courtesy of Arizona Contractor & Community

In just under 20 years, Isbell went from earning 85 cents an hour washing dishes to a millionaire owner of multiple restaurants

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It was the Ramada Inn brand Isbell took public in 1963 that was the winning formula for his hospitality industry success.

The mid-priced Ramadas promised “Luxury for Less” with a colonial lamplighter as its mascot. Isbell grew Ramada’s holdings from its first hotel in Flagstaff in 1954 to the second-largest U.S. motel chain with more than 500 Ramada Inns in 45 states when he retired as CEO in 1972. Only Holiday Inn was larger.

Isbell’s path from orphan to chief executive is a remarkable story of hard work, risk-taking, savvy partners, and good timing. His venture into the motel business coincided with Interstate highways and middle-class prosperity that fueled staLeft: Ramada Inn, Scottsdale, 1960.

Arizona Contractor & Community

Images courtesy of Author

tion-wagon trips across the nation. The number of U.S. motels surged from 43,000 to 58,000 in the 1950s. That’s when Isbell got involved in motel development after three decades in the restaurant business.

He was born in 1905 in Whitehaven, Tennessee, south of Memphis. Both his parents died before his sixth birthday. Marion lived with his two brothers for 3 years in an orphanage and then with a strict aunt.

Isbell dropped out of school in eighth grade and went to work as a shipping clerk in Memphis. At age 16, he ran away from his aunt’s home and moved to Chicago with his older brother James. They both found restaurant jobs. Isbell washed

Image courtesy of Arizona Contractor & Community

Right: Flamingo Motor Hotel, Flagstaff.

Below: Flamingo Hotel, Phoenix, 1959.

Below right: Flamingo Motor Hotel, Yuma.

Inset: Flamingo Motor Hotel match cover, Phoenix.

fifty six

dishes - a pearl diver in restaurant slang and his brother bussed tables. They worked 12-hour shifts, seven days a week, for $10 each.

Isbell went on to work as a soda jerk, fry cook, and sandwich man before, starting in 1928, opening his own soda fountains and luncheonettes in drug stores across Chicago. Within six years, he had 15 soda fountains with partner-managers and then opened his first restaurant in 1935 on Chicago’s vibrant Rush Street.

He expanded his operation to run nine restaurant and cocktail lounges in Chicagoland and bought a chicken farm in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, to supply his businesses. One of his restaurants had a threestory, vertical neon sign, spelling out ISBELL’S, which was touted as the largest outdoor sign in Chicago.

In just under 20 years, Isbell went May June 2021

Image courtesy of Douglas C. Towne

from earning 85 cents an hour washing dishes to a millionaire owner of multiple restaurants, according to Raymond Leo Starr, better known as Jimmy Starr, a former Hollywood screenwriter. He served as Ramada’s director of advertising and public relations and wrote Isbell’s 1987 biography, Marion.

Isbell later admitted that he succeeded by outworking his competitors with his limited education. Isbell also prospered in part by not being risk-averse, as he explained to Starr. “I’ve learned not to pay very much attention to any advice that I received from pinheaded accountants, lawyers, or bankers. Some of those people advised me not Above: Sahara Motor Hotel match cover, Phoenix.

Top right: Architect Matthew E. Trudelle’s rendering of Sahara Motor Hotel in Phoenix, 1955.

Below: Sahara Motor Hotel promotion with actor George Goebel in Phoenix, 1955.

to go into the majority of businesses that turned out to be the most profitable for me. If I had listened to their expert advice, I’d still be jerking sodas for $50 bucks a week.”

He also kept a sharp eye on spending.

A 1967 memo warned Ramada employees that any expense-report tips of more than 12 percent would not be reimbursed.

Isbell’s interest in a chain of motels surfaced during a road trip with his wife in 1929 but didn’t go anywhere for two

decades. In the early 1950s, Isbell joined with a group of investors that included: •

• • •

Del Webb, the owner of the New York Yankees, and a major government construction contractor during World War II who later developed Sun City, Max Sherman, a produce supplier, known as the “Tomato King,” Bill Helsing, his brother-in-law, and a former Chicago restaurant partner, and Michael Robinson, an experienced hotelier who served as managing partner.

Images courtesy of Arizona Contractor & Community

Before Isbell joined, the investors opened a Flamingo Motel Hotel in 1951 at 2501 East Van Buren Street in Phoenix, a burgeoning motel row with neon signs lighting up what was then U.S. highways 60, 70, 80, and 89.

In 1954, the group opened a 60-room motel in Flagstaff that became Ramada Inn. That building is still there on Route 66 but was rebranded years ago as a Super 8 motel. It has been owned by Wyndham, Ramada’s parent company, for the past two years. There are now more than 800 hotels under the Ramada brand, with nearly 115,000 rooms in 63 countries.

The investment group built the downtown Phoenix Sahara at First and Polk streets in 1956. A lavish grand opening attracted hundreds of locals gathered around the pool courtyard and on the balconies. The Sahara was later rebranded as a Ramada and then torn down to make room for the Arizona State University law school, completed in 2016. arizcc.com

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Images courtesy of Arizona Contractor & Community

Towne C. Image courtesy of Douglas

Del Webb broke away from the other investors in 1956 when he bought out his partners for seven existing Hiway House motels, with plans to develop a national chain. fifty eight

The investors opened the flagship Ramada Inn on 12 acres at 3838 East Van Buren Street in 1959. The $2.5 million property included 300 rooms, an Olympic-sized swimming pool, and a San Francisco cable car replica. The Arizona Republic reported comedian George Gobel headlined the grand opening. Ramada built its headquarters across the street five years later.

Managing partner Michael Robinson came up with the Ramada name, which means “a shady resting place” in Spanish.

By the end of 1960, Robinson wanted to leave the partnership, and Isbell bought him out for $2 million. Robinson went on to develop the Rodeway Inn chain in 1962.

Ramada’s growth included company-owned motels and franchise operations.

The company added to its Phoenix-area holdings by acquiring Scottsdale’s Safari Inn

Clockwise from upper left: Ramada Inn on Van Buren in Phoenix in 1959: the sign, swimming pool, and Ray Andrade Orchestra.

Above: Ramada Inn, 1971.

in 1969 and two years later bought the Valley Ho, Casa Blanca Inn, and the Scottsdale Inn and Country Club.

Isbell gave up his position as Ramada CEO and president in 1972, with his son, William, taking over those roles. He remained board chairman until 1978.

Isbell died in Scottsdale at age 83 in 1988, the same day Ramada announced a significant deal. Ramada sold its hotels and restaurants for $540 million and restructured the company, creating Aztar Corp., which held onto lucrative gaming entities.

That included Tropicana casino hotels in Las Vegas and Atlantic City, and Ramada Express in Laughlin, Nevada.

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Elevating Bucket Loaders

A

fter World War II, one of Arizona contractors’ favorite machines had its genesis in the vast Great Plains’ agricultural fields near Lubbock, Texas.

John Hancock devised a machine pulled by a tractor to level his farmland for irrigation by trimming the highpoints and filing in the depressions. His invention proved popular, and other farmers sought this equipment. He started Hancock Manufacturing Company in 1949, and four years later, the firm offered the first elevating commercial scraper.

These 5-cubic-yard and later 8-cubicyard machines were also utilized by the construction industry, which had previously relied on other equipment types to Top right: Barber Greene 545-A bucket loader ad for State Tractor & Equipment Co. in Phoenix, 1948.

Below: Barber Greene bucket loader making road mix at Goodyear auxiliary runway, 1951.

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pick up and shift material. One of the most popular was the elevating bucket loader, often called bucket loaders or loaders by contractors, which were eventually phased out with the scrapers’ introduction. Here are some examples of bucket loaders sold by manufacturers that Arizona contractors used during the 1950s.

The Eagle Manufacturing Company, a Wisconsin firm based in Appleton, specialized in producing farm equipment. Along with the truck-mounted elevator loader, the Eagle line included feed grinders, silage cutters, silo fillers, power jacks, and power saws. The truck would drive backward, conveying material upwards with buckets on tracks. The buckets of material went over the cab and into the dump truck that followed, also moving in reverse. The late Phoenix contractor, Emery Harper, utilized an Eagle elevating loader.

Barber-Greene was also a big player

in the elevating bucket loader market.

The Aurora, Illinois company specialized in machines that contractors mainly used for asphalt production. As a grader mixed a windrow of aggregate base course (ABC) and hot oil, this road mix material was then absorbed by buckets and taken up

May June 2021

Image courtesy of Emory Harper

zona contractors that worked constructing concrete sidewalks, curbs, and gutters for subdivisions and tearing up surface roads for expansion and repaving.

Among the Arizona contractors to use Athey equipment was J. H. Welsh & Son Company, an underground contractor that did pipeline work for the City of Phoenix.

Welsh first used their Athey loader as part of a $6 million water improvement program on a 30-inch sewer pipe project on Polk Street from 15th to 17th Avenue in 1950, according to Arizona Builder & Contractor magazine. The machine proved invaluable on the project in the alley between Adams and Monroe streets near 17th Avenue, which was too narrow to pile dirt beside the trench, which contractors usually did.

Instead, the Athey loader received the soil as it was excavated from the trenches and transferred the material into trucks, which then circled the block, using the dirt to backfill the trenches at the other end of the alley.

Other local contractors that operated the Athey loader were Arizona Sand & Rock Co., Bentson Contracting, Daley Corp., Phoenix Tempe Stone Co., and Tiffany Con-

Left: Oscar and Fitz Robing, employees of Emery Harper, with an Eagle bucket loader, 1954.

Above: Bentson Contracting using their Athey machine in the Alzona development in southwest Phoenix, 1950.

Below left: Keystone crank loader toy machine.

Below: Keystone Loaders and Trucks toy ad.

struction. Tiffany used theirs while rebuilding a 2-mile stretch of Arizona Highway 87 north of the Gila River near the San Tan Mountains in 1951, according to Arizona Builder & Contractor magazine. “The Athey averaged 19 feet of 3 ½ cubic feet windrow a minute, handling about 120 tons per hour,” Frank Powell, Tiffany foreman, and Ed Coffell, operator of the Athey loader and breaker, said. “They completed crushing the two-mile stretch in 36 hours.”

Although the 1960s saw bucket loaders phased-out, the machine proved invaluable to Arizona contractors during the boom years in the 1950s.

Images courtesy of Arizona Contractor & Community

to a chute. Contractors could then shoot the resulting material into a dump truck or hopper for paving applications. The BrownBevis Equipment Co. was the local distributor for the Barber-Greene product. These bucket loaders proved so popular that the Keystone Toy Company replicated them for kids’ toys.

Athey Products Corp., located in Chicago, was another mobile feed loader manufacturer. In 1949, the company expanded its sales program to the Southwest with Caterpillar as a local distributor. The Athey self-loading machine was popular with Ari-

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Building on the Past 1955: Helsing’s Coffee Shop

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restaurant entrepreneur arrived in Phoenix in 1953 and decided to take residents into the future, architecturally speaking, at least.

O. A. Helsing had been in the food service business in Chicago and Miami before relocating to the Southwest. Helsing’s involvement in the local dining scene began when he purchased the Bacon Grill at Central Avenue and Monroe Street. It reopened as Newt’s Restaurant, operated

by Jay Newton, who would later open Beef Eaters steakhouse on Camelback Road in 1961.

Helsing then launched his eponymous piece de resistance in Uptown Plaza at one of the city’s busiest intersections, Central and Camelback Road, in 1955. Phoenix architect Matthew E. Trudelle designed the futuristic coffee shop with its bold geometric design, upswept roof, and huge plate glass windows. Del E. Webb Construction Co. built the rectangular 4,200 squarefoot restaurant, with a 112-person capacity, including 20 swiveling stools along a

PAGE

curved counter. Myers-Leiber Sign Co. constructed the coffee shop’s inverted triangle neon sign, which did not rotate, contrary to local legend.

Helsing’s became a beacon in the night, and patrons flocked to enjoy its midcentury charm and comfort food. Some devotees cherished the coffee shop without ever stepping into the place. Teenagers cruising Central used its parking lot as the northern turnaround point; the Phoenix Public Library served a similar function to the south.

The Uptown Plaza location was the first of four Helsing’s Coffee Shops in Phoenix. Helsing’s also opened in a remodeled building at the southeast corner of Central and Van Buren Street. The company built new restaurants at Van Buren and Seventh Avenue’s southeast corner and the northwest corner of Central and Osborn Street. Local Chi-

nese-American architect John Sing Tang designed the latter building.

Coffee shops dominated Phoenix dining during this era. Besides Helsing’s, others included Bob’s Big Boy, Brookshires, Shaefer’s, Guggy’s, and Hobo Joe’s. None of these restaurants survive today, and only a few of their buildings are still extant.

Helsing’s midcentury gems were bulldozed to make way for a McDonald’s, Applebee’s, Walgreens, and Chase Tower, Arizona’s tallest building. All these changes are enough to make longtime Phoenicians’ heads spin, sort of like they used to do as kids, twirling around on stools at a coffee shop counter.

May June 2021

Images courtesy of Arizona Contractor & Community Images courtesy of Del E. Webb Corp. Collection

Right: Street sign near Uptown Plaza with Helsing’s sign in the background, 1960s.

Middle right: Architect’s rendering for Helsing’s at Uptown Plaza, 1955.

Bottom right: Construction of Helsing’s at Uptown Plaza, 1955.

Background: The Pioneer Crane & Manufacturing Co. crane lifting steel column beams into place for the Helsing’s at Uptown Plaza, 1955.

Left: Helsing’s at Uptown Plaza, 1955. arizcc.com

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F

or centuries, architects used hand sketches and drawings to communicate their intentions for designing and constructing buildings throughout the world. These include Leonardo da Vinci’s incredible drawings that were preliminary studies for his paintings and inventions.

The drawing medium changed over the years from ink over linen in the earlier 20th Century, followed by pencil over vellum and ink over mylar. Conceptual design sketches, more recently, can be found on rolls of translucent white or yellow sketch paper. But eager hands may use any available materials such as napkins, cardboard, lined notepaper, gridded or plain vellum, and craft paper.

Hand sketching is a means to express oneself, think conceptually, and have the creative brain connect with the hand to express such ideas physically. Drawing encourages an evolving and ever-changing design process but requires immense concentration and focus to be productive.

Sketches can be translated into technical and engineered drawings that record the required built result for architecture and infrastructure improvements as roadways, bridges, and utilities.

These hand-drawn sketches and technical drawings desperately need to be preserved. The professional design and engineering communities have

Architect’s Perspective: Preserving Architectural Hand Drawings Doug Sydnor, FAIA Doug_sydnor@outlook.com been moving away from them and relying on computer-aided design and drafting (CADD) and REVIT since the mid-1980s.

Hand-drawing skills are quickly being compromised with recent generations. Fortunately, there are positive signs that some architectural schools are reintroducing hand drawings for their benefits of improving a way of thinking and providing a better understanding of what is being drawn.

Since 2014 the Rio Salado Architectural Foundation and the American Institute of Architects-Arizona, through their Architectural Archives Committee (AAC), have been concentrating on the salvage of pre-1985 hand-drawn architectural documents by identifying threatened architectural collections, determining the significance, taking an inventory, and facilitating donations to Arizona public archives.

AAC has been conducting state-wide surveys with architects and architectural firms active before 1985 when architectural documents were hand-drawn. The committee is aware that some of these original architectural drawings were disposed of by retired architects or their families that inherited this material. Their

Images courtesy of Author

Left: Drawings Workshop at the Arizona Biltmore Hotel’s Aztec Room, 2020.

Bottom left: Architectural Archives Committee annual event at the Arizona Biltmore Hotel’s Aztec Room, 2020.

Below: Archivists Summit, 2020.

firms, especially after being acquired by another firm, often had policies to dispose of project drawings and files after a specific period, such as ten years.

The AAC has been fortunate in saving architectural collections, including Julian Clark, AIA; Michael Shelor, AIA; Gordon Rogers, AIA; Robert Hershberger, FAIA; Earl Florence, AIA; Robert Fairburn, AIA; and The Phoenix Towers. There have also been opportunities to enhance collections that were already placed in public or private archives, including Edward L. Varney, FAIA; Bennie M. Gonzales, FAIA; and Arthur and Henry Schreiber.

Arizona archives working collaboratively with the AAC are the Arizona State Library, Public Records and Archives; Arizona Heritage Center; Scottsdale Heritage Connection; Arizona State University; Northern Arizona University; University of Arizona; and Tempe History Museum.

Committee members have worked with potential donors on the required steps, provided preliminary inventories, performed the materials’ initial screening, and helped train the archivists on what is architecturally significant. Funds raised at an annual AAC event the past five years have contributed resources to purchase additional storage shelving, shelving brackets to expand the flat-file capacity, and out-of-house conservators to help with the final cataloging to meet archival pro-

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May June 2021

fessional standards. AAC has also served as an intermediator to have large flat files donated from architects and firms to the various archives.

AAC is currently working on collections in the Tucson area, including Earl Kai Chann, FAIA; Irv Finical, AIA; Sakellar Architects; and William Cook, FAIA. We hope that a Tucson-based archive will accept these architectural collection donations in the coming months. In the Valley, we’re working on the collections of Ernie Nickels, Vic Shill, Fred Guirey, FAIA, and LEA Architects.

AAC also hosts an Annual Archivists Summit and invites representatives from the most critical archives in Arizona to participate. It is an opportunity to have them update us on their architectural collections, any changes in their collecting policies, and discover how the AAC can help to stage significant architectural collections being accepted as donations.

Most archives are struggling with shortages of storage space, staff, and financial resources, which has only worsened with COVID-19. AAC is attempting to help them expand their vision to include special collections such as hand drawings from all of the engineering and unique consulting disciplines. Our mission is to preserve, celebrate, and make accessible to the public these amazing drawings created by many skilled and creative hands over the decades in Arizona. arizcc.com

Anyone aware of pre-1985 significant architectural collections in Arizona that are being threatened should contact me at the email address provided, and the AAC will investigate the materials. Let us all work together to save our architectural heritage’s best hand drawings.

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

Top left: Field Inventory of Robert Fairburn, AIA, collection by Doug Sydnor, FAIA, and Ron Peters, AIA. Top right: Processing of Bennie Gonzales, FAIA, collection at State of Arizona Public Records, Library and Archives with Kelly Horton, conservator consultant; Director Dennis Preisler; and Ron Peters, AIA, AAC. Above: Drawings Exhibit at the Arizona Biltmore Hotel’s Aztec Room, 2020.

Below: Lescher and Mahoney’s original drawing of the Gila Bend Elementary School, 1924.

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Sinagua Paving William Horner

P

hil Chesley has encountered some plate on the job. After a two-year mission unforgettable people while working in in Chile for the Church of Jesus Christ of the paving field, including a man wear- Latter-day Saints, Phil returned to paving ing gold chains and rings who watched him but with a newfound world view. pave the auxiliary entrance “The experience gave road into Firebird Lake in me a foundation in the “the best part about 1991. “He was carrying a litSpanish language, which I paving is that most rely on a lot, tle dog with a large diamond even today, and tennis necklace for a collar,” projects are relatively an opportunity to learn how short, only lasting a people in less-fortunate cirPhil recalls. “I remember few days or more.” cumstances live,” he says. In thinking, ‘This dog’s collar is worth more than my house.’

1981 Phil returned to RoadI later found out it was local contractor J.W. runner Paving and soon became an asphalt Nicks, who was Stevie Nicks’ father.” roller operator and later added equipment This encounter is just one of Chesley’s repair and maintenance to his duties. fun memories from a career that includes running Sinagua Paving, with his wife, Laura, for almost 27 years in the Valley. In 2020, MR Tanner Construction purchased the paving company, after having a long business relationship with the firm. Phil’s son, James Chesley, continues at MR Tanner as a paving supervisor with their old crew, and Phil is still in a support role for the team. Despite such an impressive track record, it took a lot of work and help from friends to turn Sinagua Paving into a successful business.

Phil started in the field fresh out of high school in 1978 as a laborer for Roadrunner Paving, which was operated by his father, Elmo Chesley, and his business partner, Leon Slade [see article on page 40].

He mostly shoveled asphalt or ran a vibraSeventy four

The position proved to be a fantastic opportunity to learn about the industry.

After a few years, Phil felt ready to stretch his abilities, and broaden his horizons, and he launched Sinagua Paving in 1993. Sinagua, which means “without water” in Spanish, seemed like an appropriate name for the region, according to Phil. “I will not lie; the first six months were full of challenges,” he says. “Lack of capital, hiring and training a reliable workforce, and learning all the aspects of business administration are probably common challenges to most new businesses, and we were no exception.”

Top left: Phil Chesley with his son, James, on a Hyster steel-wheel roller, 1986.

Top right: Roadrunner Paving at Arizona Snowbowl for ATA Contracting, 1988.

Below: Phil Chesley operating a roller, and Elmo Chesley running the laydown machine for Roadrunner Paving in Downtown Phoenix, 1982.

Images courtesy of Phil Chesley

Digging Through the Archives:

May June 2021

Phil credits P.J. Smith, the owner of TSR Contracting and an associate of Elmo and Leon’s, with helping Sinagua get on track by providing access to his paving equipment at an hourly rate. “Smith’s help, along with other associates of Elmo, allowed Sinagua to become established with some capital and credit history, both necessary in purchasing equipment and growing a small business,” he says. “I learned that even though construction is a competitive field, the paving community is a close-knit family of individuals willing to help others.”

While operating Sinagua Paving, Phil and his crew visited many places in Arizona.

“For me, the best part about paving is that most projects are relatively short, only lasting a few days or more,” Phil reflects. “We were always moving on to a new project at a new location with fresh scenery and challenges.”

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The company worked in such diverse locations as Monument Valley, the Mexican border, Snow Bowl and Sunrise Ski resorts, and the unforgivable Sonoran Desert near Yuma and Quartzsite. The Phoenix Zoo, Palo Verde Generating Station’s reactors, and the National Laboratories at Los Alamos, New Mexico, have all been backdrops to the projects completed by Sinagua Paving.

Phil says his most memorable job was working on State Route 273 to Sunrise Ski Resort as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) project with the U.S. Forest Service and the Arizona Department of Transportation in 2009.

Sinagua Paving was a subcontractor to Grey Mountain Construction.

“Working with Mike Davenport and Sam Grasmick was an awesome experience,” Phil recalls. “The project started in

Top left: Phil Chesley’s daughter, Elizabeth, receiving an education in hard work, 2005.

Above: James Chesley at the paver controls in Ajo, 2014.

Above left: Coolidge street improvements for DBA Construction, 2017.

Bottom left: James and Phil Chesley on a paving project, 2020.

August and traversed some of the prettiest real estate in Arizona. With an elevation of 9,000 feet, it was a welcome change from working in Phoenix. We saw turkey, bear, deer, elk, and aspen leaves changing. We completed the job in November with snow, sleet, and temperatures so cold that we could pave for only 5 or 6 hours per shift.”

Phil has witnessed some changes in paving methods during his career, but not as many as one might think. “There’s much more automation in the equipment control, but the overall process and the actual craft hasn’t changed much from the 1960s or ‘70s,” he says. “The increase in regulation of the industry has probably added most of the challenges that small paving operators face today versus earlier times.”

Attracting young people to the paving industry is vital to Phil, and he has some ideas on how to market the vocation.

Phil believes that wages and benefits are much more comprehensive than when he started, but what’s really important is that paving is an industry here to stay.

“When most experts say many in the workforce may have to change careers multiple times during their life, those working in the paving industry are always in demand,” he says. “The working conditions are tough, but the satisfaction when a project is completed is always high.”

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march-April 1946 Edmonds Const. Co., Phoenix $60,000 New Softball Park 17th Ave & Roosevelt St. J.H. Welsh Co., Phoenix $9,803 Pipe/Drainage Work City of Phoenix Fisher Contracting, Phoenix $9,857 Street Improvements City of Phoenix H.L. Royden, Phoenix $2,785 Sewer Installation City of Phoenix Allis Chalmers MFG Co. $356,359 Transformer Fabrication Parker Dam Power Project Westinghouse Co. $93,539 Three Oil Circuits Parker Dam Power Project L.M. White, Tucson $574,447 Grading/Drainage/Surfacing Nogales-Tombstone HWY Del E. Webb, Phoenix $20,000 A.J. Bayless Moreland St. Additions

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JS Cole 602-633-0990 jscole.com

Preach Building Supply 602-944-4594 preachbuildingsupply.com

P. 7

Westrax Machinery 800-411-4717 westraxmachinery.net

Cemex 602-416-2652 cemexusa.com

P. 38

KE&G 520-748-0188 kegtus.com

P. 6

Reuter Fabrication 602-415-0449 reuterequipment.com

P. 8

WillScot 800-782-1500 willscot.com

P. 38

Christy Signs 602-242-4488 christysigns.com

P. 8

Keystone Concrete 480-835-1579 keystoneconcretellc.com

P. 22

RT Underground 602-622-6789

P. 34

Woudenberg Properties 480-620-8555 woudenbergprops.com

P. 3

Cliffco 602-442-6913 cliffcorepair.com

P. 3

Landco Power 480-788-1333 landcorental.com

P. 18

S&S Paving 602-437-0818 sspaving.com

P. 61

DCS 480-732-9238 dcscontracting.com

P. 32

Lang & Klain 480-534-4900 lang-klain.com

P. 15

Shanes Grading & Paving 602-992-2201 shanespaving.com

P. 18

P. 68, 69

Diamondback Materials P. 77 623-925-8966 diamonondbackmaterials.com

Law Enforcement Specialists P. 64 623-825-6700 offdutypoliceofficers.com

Shanes Hauling 602-992-2201 shanespaving.com

P. 20

DitchWitch 602-437-0351 ditchwitchaz.com

P. 26

Lithotech 602-254-2427 lithotechaz.com

P. 13

Sharp Creek Contracting 602-437-3040 sharpcreek.com

P. 12

Dynamic Diesel 602-376-1448 dynamicdieselrepair.com

P. 32

Marrs Construction 602-282-4007 marrsconstruction.com

P. 4

Sitech Southwest 602-691-7501 sitechsw.com

P. 65

seventy eight

P. 18, 20, 22 & 24

P. 72,73

For Advertising Inquires contact: William Horner 602-931-0069 Billy@arizcc.com

May June 2021

VXP VXT500 VACUUM EXCAVATOR The truck's engine, through an OMSI soft-start transmission, powers a 4,800 cfm @ 27 hg vacuum blower and 13 gpm @ 3,000 psi water system. The 58,000 GVWR-rated axle connguration allows for maximum utilization of the 8-yd3 spoil tank.

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GILBERT, AZ 480.785.4800 arizcc.com

TUCSON, AZ 520.574.3400

LAS VEGAS, NV 702.365.1144

ALBUQUERQUE, NM 505.345.8787

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602-276-2040

Providing Rentals and Service in AZ, since 1998

Ken Miles SVP/COO

O: 602-456-5175 C: 602-722-7933 kenm@eccoequipment.com

Jeff Hightower Outside Sales

O: 602-276-2040 C: 602-725-1123 jeffh@eccoequipment.com

Frank Alvarez Operations Manager

O: 602-456-5179 C: 602-769-6725 franka@eccoequipment.com

Dixie Chavarria Inside Sales

O: 602-276-2040 C: 602-722-7930 dixiec@eccoequipment.com