Summer 2013

Volume. 2 Issue. 2

• “Mad Man” Chuck Runbeck • Korrick’s Sunlit Basement • Legend City Celebration Summer 2013 Serving Contracting Firms and the Arizona Community …Then & Now

• Paolo Soleri Timeline • Arizona’s Most Important Point • Rolling with the Bingham Brothers

Branco provides the highest quality and most advanced products available in the positioning industry today. Branco has the in-house expertise to assist you in the selection of the right technology and the right products to get the job done right the first time.

Topcon Machine Control Motor Graders

Construction Rotating Lasers

Dozers

Pipe Lasers

Excavators

Automatic 3D GPS+ Technology

Scrapers

Sales, Rental, Service

Pavers

Installation &Training

3DMC² Graders & Dozers

Rental Equipment

Ground Engaging Tools

Motor Graders

3D GPS Products

Grade Tractors

2D Machine Control

Skid Steers

Lasers & Receivers

Tungsten Carbide Custom Application for: Blades, Teeth, Wear Plates, Segments, & Routers Patterns to fit your needs.

Cutting Edges For: Dozers, Loaders, Scrapers, Motor Graders sAll O.E.M. Edges sCustom Blades (Made to order)

Shanks & Teeth sAll O.E.M. Replacement Teeth sRipper Box Assemblies sReplacement Tooth Adapters

Fabrication / Repair Backhoe and Excavator Buckets

Replacement Parts for Elevating Scrapers Flights, Chains, Sprockets, Rollers, & Grouser Bar. Dozer Undercarriage

www.brancomachinery.com For More Information Call: 480-892-5657 1205 N. McQueen Rd. Gilbert, Arizona 85233

Arizona Contractor & Community Magazine Working with the following Associations Publisher William Horner Billy@arizcc.com

Alliance of Construction Trades Jim Kuliesh - Executive Director (520) 624-3002 www.actaz.net 465 W. St Marys Rd Tucson, AZ 85701

Arizona Chapter Associated General Contractors David M. Martin - President (602) 252-3926 www.azagc.org 1825 W. Adams, Phoenix, AZ

Editor Douglas Towne Douglas@arizcc.com Marketing & Sales Consultant Chuck Runbeck Chuck@arizcc.com 602-881-0907 Advertising Manager Shane Addington Shane@arizcc.com 623-826-8598

American Rental Association of Arizona Bob Nally - Executive Director (602) 272-7368 www.ararental.org 249 S. 59�� Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85043

American Subcontractors Association of Arizona Carol Floco - Executive Director (602) 274-8979 www.asaaz.com 4105 N. 20th St. Ste. 230, Phoenix, AZ 85016

Production Manager Laura Harley Laura@arizcc.com Columnist Paul Beaulieu John Bueker

Arizona Builders’ Alliance

Arizona Rock Products Association

Mark Minter - Executive Director (602) 274-8222 www.azbuilders.org 1825 W. Adams, Phoenix, AZ 85007

Steve Trussell - Executive Director (602)271-0346 www.azrockproducts.org 916 W. Adams St. Phoenix, AZ 85007

Contributing Writers Connor Descheemaker Roberta Graham Taz Loomans

View our online magazine at: www.arizcc.com Printed at Lithotech National Utility Contractors Association of Arizona Connie Corder - Executive Director (480) 775-3943 www.nucaaz.org PO Box 66935. Phoenix, AZ 85082

Tucson Utility Contractors Association Ramon A. Gaanderse - Executive Director (520) 623-0444 www.tuca-az.org 1842 W. Grant Rd, Ste. 103, Tucson, AZ 85745

Published in the interest of the entire construction industry and those allied with it.

Arizona Contractor & Community (ACC) magazine is published quarterly (spring, summer, fall, & winter). ACC is a professional publication designed for the contracting industry, engineers, architects, and others interested in Arizona and its history.

Content including text, photographs or illustrations may not be reproduced without the written permission from the publisher.

The publisher does not assume responsibility for unsolicited submissions.

ACC reserves the right to reject any editorial and advertising material and assumes no responsibility for unsolicited material.

Arizona Contractor & Community Copyright © 2013 All rights reserved.

Volume. 2 Issue. 2 Summer 2013

CONTENTS

8.

Editor’s Column: Arizona’s Most Important Point - Douglas Towne

10.

22.

24.

30.

32.

34.

36.

40.

42.

44.

Construction Around Arizona - William Horner Taking the Basement to a New Level: Korrick’s Sidewalk Sunshine - Roberta L. Graham Legend City: Crandall’s Dream at 50 - John Bueker ‘70s Slowdown: Fuel for Freeways Ebbs - Douglas Towne Construction Column: Fair and Honest - Paul Beaulieu Vanishing Phoenix: Beyond Beef: Uptown Gathering Place Reborn - Connor Descheemaker Arizona’s Original Mad Man: Chuck Runbeck - Douglas Towne In Memoriam: A Timeline of the Amazing Life and Work of Paolo Soleri - Taz Loomans Digging Through the Archives: The Bingham Brothers - William Horner Construction Marketplace and Bid Results - Bidjudge

Front Cover - Legend City Legend City was an 87-acre amusement park which opened in 1963 on East Washington Street in Phoenix near Tempe. The photo shows construction of the park’s amphitheater with Tanner Metro Rock cement mixer. See the article on page 24.

Public Auction held the 2nd Saturday of every month.

Preview Every Monday – Friday 8am – 4pm.

Consignments Welcome.

Western Sales Management, Inc

623-936-3300

1616 S 67th Ave.

Wsmauctioneers.com

Phoenix, AZ 85043

Wsmauctionbiz@yahoo.com

Arizona’s Most Important Point Douglas Towne

I

Despite its importance, Monument Hill doesn’t attract much attention. A few curious geographically inclined souls do the easy hike to the summit; in 2002 it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Bird watchers are lured by the avian life, due to the nearby Salt River flows that are mostly the result of releases from the City of Phoenix’s wastewater treatment plant. Monument Hill, also known as “Rattlesnake Hill,” is often climbed not for an historic reason but rather for the free view of the roaring action immediately to the west at Phoenix International Raceway.

This nondescript hill has been making news since as far back as 1848, 64 years before Arizona became a state, when it became the focal point of an international accord. When the Mexican War ended in 1848 with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, the northern boundary of Mexico was designated at the northernmost point of the Gila River, which is at Monument Hill. To mark the international boundary, a cairn was built there in 1851 by the U.S. and Mexico

Boundary Commission surveyors. Monument Hill’s status as an international boundary, however, was short lived; the Gadsden Purchase by the U.S. in 1853 moved the border south to its present location.

This early geographic prominence was likely the reason John A. Clark, Surveyor General selected the hill in 1865 to be the initial point for all the land ownership in Arizona. The state had separated from New Mexico during the Civil War to become its own U.S. territory. That year, the original marker to grant land deeds was placed atop Monument Hill.

Survey work began on what we now call the Gila and Salt River Meridian and Baseline, in 1867. William Pierce led a seven-man crew who surveyed two perpendicular lines beginning at the Monument Hill marker. Using tools that today would be considered primitive, the surveyors determined direction using a Burt's solar compass. The men used a rod and chain (a 33-feet-long chain made up of 50 links, each 7.92 inches long) for distance.

Image courtesy of author

t’s the most unique knoll in Arizona. Despite its scenic location at the confluence of the Salt and Gila rivers in a verdant riparian corridor teeming with wildlife, nature enthusiasts are surprisingly often outnumbered by motor sports spectators. The hill’s Native American petroglyphs are almost an afterthought for history buffs who are fixated on what is located at the top. The views aren’t especially impressive, but no other Valley vista comes with this assertion: as far as the eye can see - and even much, much further – no land is untouched by what transpires here.

The site is Monument Hill, which bears a survey marker designating the zero point from which almost every legal property description in Arizona is tied. Each house, business, park, monument, and street in the state is identified by its position relative to this physically unremarkable granite outcrop south of Avondale. For the construction industry, this “brass marker” atop Monument Hill is a vital reference point for every project.

Eight

“The views aren’t especially impressive, but no other Valley vista comes with this assertion: as far as the eye can see - and even much, much further – no land is untouched by what transpires here.”

Images courtesy of author

Opposite page: Maddock & Associates engineers working at the Surrey Heights Phase 2 subdivision in Phoenix in 1962.

Top Right: City of Phoenix brass cap, 1985.

Right: Monument Hill and Phoenix International Raceway (PIR) in the late 1970s.

Bottom right: Mario Andretti next to rebuilt Brawner Hawk Dean Van Lines car (#12) at PIR in 1982.

Bottom: U.S. Geological Survey topographic map of Monument Hill and Phoenix International Raceway.

Image courtesy of Steve Stroud

In five days, the Pierce party surveyed the Gila and Salt River Baseline 36 miles east, into what is today Mesa. This latitudinal line, measuring east-west longitudinal distance, would later become known as Baseline Road.

The Gila and Salt River Meridian, a longitudinal line which ran to the north measuring northsouth latitudinal distance, was supposed to be delineated for 96 miles. Pierce’s crew only made it 24 miles, however, before they had to stop.

The U.S. Army troops assigned to protect them from possible hostile Indians was sent elsewhere. This meridian later became known as Avondale Boulevard.

The survey work Pierce began atop Monument Hill eventually created the Valley’s grid layout and delineated all the land boundaries across the state’s 60 million acres except for a small portion in northeastern Arizona that uses the Navajo Baseline and Meridian. So whether you fancy a flowing river in the desert or want to cheer on your favorite NASCAR driver, a hike up this hill will also provide newfound appreciation for the exact location where the cornerstone on your next building is laid.

Arizona Contractor & Community

Image courtesy of George Raymond Photography

Construction Around Arizona

Construction Around Arizona Freeways • Roadways Commercial • Residential William Horner Above: New bridge approach on the Interstate 10-Loop 303 interchange built by Pulice Construction.

Right: Kyle Hunter and Tyler Smitcson of Bryco Asphalt Milling and Robert B. Smith of Visus, Inc., working on the Town of Guadalupe street improvement project. Scope of work includes milling of existing streets, and new curbs, sidewalks, and pavement.

Ten

Images courtesy of Ames Construction

Construction Around Arizona

Bridge Removal Aids “Semi-Tall” Truckers T

he $17.2 million Interstate 10 Marsh Station Area Improvement Project will realign two miles of interstate to improve safety, reconstruct two new bridges over Cienega Creek to allow for higher stream flows, and remove an unused Union Pacific Railroad bridge which required today’s taller commercial trucks to use a 67-mile detour. The removal of the railway bridge located approximately 15 miles west of Benson, Arizona allows trucks to continue unimpeded along I-10 without having

Twelve

to make a two-hour detour along state highways.

The westbound travel lanes, including the westbound bridge over Cienega Creek and the retaining walls and gabions underneath it, will be completed by July. Traffic will then be switched over to the new alignment while Ames Construction crews construct the eastbound portion. The project is scheduled for completion early 2014.

Cienega Creek is a Pima County Natural

Resources Natural Preserve and a section of the creek is designated as an Impaired Water of Arizona. While hikers are allowed in the area, it is by permit only to restrict the number of visitors.

To protect the creek during construction, the project site is subject to weekly environmental inspections and specialized monitoring during precipitation events greater than ½ an inch. To finish the project, crews will add bank protection along the creek and replant disturbed areas.

Service for all makes and models "Your Fleet Maintenance Solution" ROC 233308

We Rent Fences!! * Construction Sites * Special Events * Crowd Control * Secure Property & Parcels from Vandals & Dumpers ** And Much More!

Vehicle pickup and delivery available Automotive Repair Free safety and preventative maintenance inspections Fleet Labor rates Nationwide Warranty ASE Certified Brad M.Jamison ● FleetCoordinator Office: 480 507 9800 Cell: 480 639 9180 brad.jamison@serious-installs.com

CALL TODAY FOR YOUR FREE QUOTE

www.allstatefenceaz.com "Our Customer Service Today Is Our Reputation Tomorrow..."

Images courtesy of Visions in Photography

Construction Around Arizona

● traffic (maintenance of traffic and sequencing for four stages of construction), ● roadside development (column/wall aesthetics and future landscape), and ● utilities (sewer and waterline design).

West Valley Freeways Go High Rise A multi-level traffic structure is forming a new skyline in a West Valley area previously best known as the location for the long abandoned Phoenix Trotting Park. The Interstate 10 – Loop 303 traffic junction consists of a five-level traffic interchange with ramp connections, service, frontage, and connector roads. Pulice Construction, Inc. (Pulice) is the prime contractor for this $145.4 million dollar phased project.

The traffic interchange will connect Interstate 10 and State Route Loop 303 to the north, finishing a vital segment of freeway upgrades and providing local access to Citrus Road, Cotton Lane, Sarival Avenue, McDowell Road and Thomas Road. This project also

provides regional and local drainage facilities, relocates existing utilities, and provides related infrastructure for future improvements. The project is scheduled for completion in Fall 2014.

Key construction elements performed by Pulice include: ● 3.3 million cubic yards of roadway and drainage excavation, ● constructing sixteen structures (fourteen cast-in-place post-tensioned concrete box girder bridges and two precast, prestressed concrete girder bridges), ● constructing sound walls and retaining walls,

Utility work includes constructing drainage facilities including seven box culverts, lined drainage channels, two irrigation box culverts, City of Goodyear sewer grinder station; furnishing and installing signing and furnishing and installing lighting, traffic signals, and Freeway Management System (FMS) conduit and loop detectors; and water and sewer line installations and joint utility trench installations.

Also included in the project’s scope is 500,000 square yards of PCCP pavement, curb and gutter, and roadway barrier.

For Contractor’s Real Estate Needs AVAILABLE FOR SALE/LEASE 2224 NW Grand Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85009 5 4

3

1 2 3 4

1 6 2

7

5 6 7

Features

Images courtesy of George Raymond Photography

• Ideal Equipment Maintenance Facility • Fully Paved Yard • Fuel System - Two (2) 5,000 Gallon UST’s Regular and Diesel • 1/2 & 2 Ton Cranes • Oil/Water Separator

• Paint Booth • Locker rooms • Grand Avenue frontage NW of McDowell & 19th Avenue (Central Phoenix Location)

Fuel Station Sales office/showroom (1,600 SF) Overhang Canopy (4,800 SF) pictured on the back 500 SF paint booth with fire Extinguish system Warehouse & shop offices/ Locker room (1,100 SF office, 2,700 SF warehouse) Dock High Loading with Ramp Spray/Wash Canopy with oil/ water Seperator (750 SF)

Building Size: Approximately 10,000 SF Available in Multiple Buildings Land Size:

4.02 Acres (175,373 SF)

Zoning:

C-3, city of Phoenix

APN#

110-52-013-D, 110-52-024-A, 110-52-014-A

For more information contact: Jeff Woudenberg jeff@woudenbergprops.com (480) 620-8555 Fourteen

Images courtesy of Ames Construction

Construction Around Arizona

Military Jets Challenge West Valley Crews E

asy vocal communication is intermittent at best among employees of Ames Construction, Inc. who are working on the $31.5 million dollar State Route Loop 303 project between Thomas and Camelback Roads in the West Valley.

“We are directly under the air avenue of takeoff for the fight jets from Luke Air Force Base,” an Ames spokesperson says. “The jet noise can be a communication challenge and safety issue. Crews have been extra vigilant and aware of their surroundings in order to work

safely, and not totally rely on audible cues to alert them of other nearby activities.”

One of five projects along Loop 303, the Thomas to Camelback segment consists of constructing three general purpose lanes with a median and two new traffic interchanges with signalized ramps. Ames crews will also build two box culverts and a concrete channel down the length of the project to maintain drainage. The project requires building a full traffic detour and then constructing the new southbound lanes.

Traffic will then be placed on these southbound

lanes and Ames will construct the northbound section before tying the project into the existing Loop 303 lanes. Crews have completed the southbound lanes and have begun constructing the northbound portigon of the project.

As part of construction mitigation, a survey was done for burrowing owls but none were found along the freeway path. Care had to be taken to eliminate construction debris or storm water from entering a nearby organic farm. The timely use of water trucks has also avoided the company from being assessed any dust fines.

Sunland Asphalt Expands Construction Services Sunland Asphalt President/CEO Doug DeClusin has announced the addition of a new construction division to go with the company’s array of asphalt services.

Left: A 623G scraper moving soil onto the Chandler Gilbert Community College Coyote Athletic Center.

General Contractor: Sundt Construction Other Sunland Construction Projects Image courtesy of Sunland Asphalt

Earnhardt Dodge, Gilbert, AZ General Contractor: Johnson Carlier 43rd Ave Logistics Center, Phoenix, AZ General Contractor: Renaissance Construction

Sixteen

B

ell Lexus North Scottsdale is a new 102,895 square-foot, full service automotive dealership. The facility includes a state of the art, two-story service department with 59 service bays and display parking deck on upper

floor. There is also a full-service car wash, detail bays, and fueling station. The project will be LEED Certified and will maximize energy efficiency in design,construction and operations.

American Subcontractors Association of Arizona Annual Member Meeting and Elections Dinner 2013 New Officers and Directors: President: Janet Gilbert, Gilbert Plumbing Vice President: Brian Saker, Border Construction Specialties Secretary: Patricia Thornham, Advance Terrazzo Company Treasurer: Michael Gatson, Pittman & Murdough Legal Counsel: Matt Meaker, Sacks Tierney, PA Directors: Jeff Byers, National Bank of Arizona Emmett Jones, Jones Concrete Construction Donn Kaebisch, Onsite Temp Housing Joe LaRovere, Urban Energy Solutions Rita Lawrence, L&L Asphalt, Inc. Randy Ship, United Construction Group Dennis Tsonis, Lovitt & Touche Christine Ulibarry, CBIZ/Morrison & Associates CPAs

Carol Floco ASA of Arizona Executive Director, Senator Al Melvin, and Donn Kaebisch President of OnSite Temp Housing.

Eighteen

Images courtesy of author and Johnson Carlier

Construction Around Arizona

Johnson Carlier builds Bell Lexus

LATE M O EQUIPM DEL NOW FO ENT - CALL R RENT TODAY

Light Towers Generators Earthmoving Equipment Aerial Equipment Track-Out Shakers Water Trucks Water Towers & Backflows Operators available upon request, small jobs such as jobsite prep, grading & cleanup.

7909 W. Glendale Ave. Glendale, AZ. 85303

www.newwesternrentals.com

Phone: 623-847-3594 Fax: 623-931-3693

Taking the Basement to a New Level: Korrick’s Sidewalk Sunshine Roberta Graham

M

The original four-story Korrick’s opened in November 1914. The building’s design, by Lescher & Kibbey for Charles Korrick, incorporated many of the period’s trendiest features in retail architecture. The design included large plate glass display windows along the street frontages, “Chicago-style” windows on the upper floors, horizontal banding, glazed terra cotta embellishments, a two-story atrium with an open main floor sales area, and a bargain basement illuminated by sidewalk lights.

The landmark Carson, Pirie and Scott store in Chicago, originally designed by Louis Sullivan for Schlesinger and Mayer, had become the model of the modern urban department store soon after its opening in October 1903. The building’s steel structure allowed for large openings for plate glass display windows at street level, designed to entice passing potential shoppers. Its “Chicago-style” windows, glazed terra cotta and metalwork ornamentation, fullyintegrated with the design, became department store clichés as retailers throughout the country sought to imitate the very successful Carson, Pirie and Scott flagship.

Image courtesy of Marketplace One

arketplace One, the current owners in custom fabricated steel tube frames affixed of the former Korrick’s “New York” to the concrete openings. The laminated glass Department Store, at the northeast can be manufactured with a non-slip surface corner of 1st Street and Washington in and a somewhat obscure interlayer. Waterdowntown Phoenix, intend to rehabilitate the tightness of the walkways is also an issue, so at building's basement for use by an office or the same time the sidewalk lights are installed, restaurant tenant. Originally Korrick’s “bargain the concrete topping will be removed to allow basement”, the space is now used for storage for waterproofing and resurfacing of the vaults. and extends beyond the footprint of the floors The entire assembly will be field tested in a above into the public right-of-way under the mockup so that the materials and processes can sidewalks along the south and west sides of the be fine-tuned.

As a preliminary demonstration project, building. The basement once featured at least 30 prismatic vault light panels, also called the owners intend to restore just two of the sidewalk or areaway lights, which provided infilled vault light openings, those nearest the corner. The restored section will be used to natural light to bargain hunters below.

Unfortunately the original vault light show potential tenants what the basement will panels were removed decades ago and replaced look like with the sidewalk lights restored. The with reinforced concrete slabs. Various overall project will be completed once a tenant restoration options for the vault light openings is secured.

The new glass panels will not refract light were evaluated for cost and feasibility in the public right-of-way, including the use of modern back into the recesses of the basement in the fire-rated glass blocks and reproduction manner of historic prismatic vault lights, but they will bring direct sunlight into the space, concrete panels.

The most cost effective solution was found and visually connect the basement to the to be laminated structural flat glass supported streetscape above.

Twenty two

“Bargain basement” retail was a new and exciting concept in itself. Filene’s Department Store, in Boston, had been in business for decades before it unofficially opened its “Tunnel Bargain Basement” in 1908, just in time for Christmas shopping. Filene’s Tunnel Bargain Basement was directly accessible from the Boston subway, as well as the store’s main floor.

The enduring success of this early retail experiment, with its “Automatic Mark Down System” led many others to imitate it.

The Korricks, and their successors, continued to cater to public taste with successive building upgrades and expansions over the next fifty years. Today, very little of the original architectural character of the building remains amidst a radically transformed downtown Phoenix.

The building’s current owners, Marketplace One, hope the restoration of a few vault light openings will give pedestrians rounding

Images courtesy of author

the corner of Washington and 1st Street more than a glimpse into the basement. They’ll also get a glimpse into the past.

Opposite page: Original exterior of Korrick’s Department Store Right: Korrick’s children’s department interior in 1948.

Below: American Luxfer Prism Co., 1915.

Roberta Graham

P

rismatic vault lights have a long history having been used to provide natural daylight to areas below deck on ships in the early 19th century. Lighting that did not depend upon burning oil, kerosene or wax was attractive to owners of valuable wooden vessels, especially those carrying flammable cargo.

Patents for vault light systems, using prismatic glass, proliferated in the late 1800s.

Canny inventors and manufacturers soon offered prefab panelized systems, with prismatic lens inserts, first in cast iron and later in reinforced concrete, in standard and custom sizes, to commercial builders

throughout North American and Europe. Vault lights became commonplace in commercial buildings, public transportation, park and restroom facilities. Previously underused spaces could be converted into workrooms and even retail space with the addition of sunlight, redirected back into the formerly unlit space by prismatic glass.

Copious natural sunlight made underground spaces more acceptable to the public. The New York City subway system relied heavily on vault lighting, in addition to white “subway tile.” The bright natural light, reflected throughout the platform areas, reassured skittish riders of the wholesomeness of the otherwise dark and dank tunnels.

Owners of commercial properties were quick to take advantage of the new, prefab prismatic lighting systems. Areaways under adjacent sidewalks could now be used as additional basement floor space, and the costs

and hazards of kerosene or oil lighting could be eliminated.

Few of the vault lights installed in the U.S. before 1930 remain in use. The panels required maintenance, and tended to allow water leaks into the finished spaces below within a few years. Even worse, structural failure of the panels, in the public-right-ofway, became a liability issue for building owners. Maintenance became even more difficult by the mid-1930s as replacement parts became unavailable. The manufacture of prismatic glass vault light panels had ceased due to competition from structural glass block and electric lighting.

Images courtesy of Ian Macky

Vault Lights

Arizona Contractor & Community

Crandall’s Dream at 50 John Bueker

L

ouis Crandall was a man with a mission.

A Mesa native, ASU graduate, artist and dreamer, Crandall was running his own advertising agency in the early 1960s when he became consumed with the idea of building a Disneyland-style amusement park for the Phoenix area. A visit to the Magic Kingdom years earlier had made such an overwhelming impression on the young man that he passionately embraced the notion of bringing a similar entertainment venue home to Arizona. And amazingly enough, he actually pulled it off…only to lose it.

The story of Legend City is not in fact a happy one, when viewed in terms of its persistent financial turmoil, squandered potential and ultimate fate. But the passage of time has a way of softening perceptions, and hindsight has been rather kind to the misbegotten Phoenix amusement park.

Legend City was fun, and it was imaginative. The park was possessed of a uniquely charming character that was never quite extinguished in the swirl of ownership changes, bankruptcies, chronic mismanagement and conceptual meanderings that characterized its eventful 20-year run.

Legions of current and former Phoenix residents continue to nurture remarkably fond memories of their long-lost theme park. In this regard, at least, Legend City may be regarded as a grand success.

In 1961, Crandall assembled a group of prominent businessmen as officers and directors, forming Legend City Inc. A million shares of stock were sold at two dollars apiece, and a down payment was soon made on an 87-acre parcel of land on East Washington Street near Tempe. The project rapidly generated immense excitement and clearly held great promise. What could go wrong?

Crandall was adamant that Legend City be a genuine theme park in the mold of Disneyland rather than a mere amusement park. His concept was to create a “family fun park” extolling famous legends in Arizona history, in essence a Disneyesque “Frontierland” expanded to full park size. This concept was eventually modified to embrace a more popular entertainment model that included non-frontier attractions like sky rides and modern car rides.

Perhaps Crandall’s original idea was the better one in the long run. We’ll never know.

A local company called Skylim was enlisted as general contractor to oversee construction of the new park, but soon Disney itself became Arizona Contractor & Community

Legend City stockholders meeting in 1966.

involved, offering advice and direct assistance via the Imagineering arm of the company, which played a key role in the architectural development of Legend City. Disney artist Chic Albertson designed the final version of the park map, which clearly reflects Disney’s extensive impact on the final park configuration.

While Crandall was developing his plans for Legend City, he also visited the new Frontier Village amusement park in San Jose, CA, which impressed him enormously. Crandall borrowed some key ideas from Frontier Village, most notably the train station design and mine ride concept. The tale of the Lost Dutchman Mine was already foremost in Louis’s mind as a key Arizona legend to feature at his new theme park, and this is where the legend of Legend City really begins.

The Lost Dutchman Mine ride was destined to become the best-loved and bestremembered ride at the park which opened in 1963. The entire concept and development of this particular ride captured the essence of what Legend City was about, and what it might have been, had things turned out differently.

The mine ride was a masterpiece of imaginatively improvised and unorthodox ride design. There was nothing else remotely like it.

Anywhere. Ever.

The initial stages of the ride were relatively unremarkable. Following a startling encounter Twenty six

with a giant spider, mine car passengers briskly “descended” into the depths of a bustling 1880’s Arizona mine, complete with a series of convincing mining scenes manned by animated skeleton workers. The illusion of entering an actual underground mine environment was cleverly engineered, but this is where the ride abruptly departed from all convention.

For the balance of this “mine” ride, the cars actually moved above ground through a series

of wonderfully weird buildings and then out into an open air graveyard. Passengers were witness to animated ghost miners cavorting in a saloon, enjoying a leisurely bath, and receiving a shave at the local barber shop. The Lost Dutchman Mine was more a surreal dream sequence than a coherent attempt at a mine ride. And the carefree absurdity of it all mattered not.

Everyone loved it. The mine ride was the only major attraction at Legend City that endured for the full 20-year life of the park.

The park’s “Arizona legends” theme was rounded out by the River of Legends river ride, later renamed Cochise’s Stronghold, and the Legend City railroad. Crandall acquired a 36inch gauge steam locomotive from a Pennsylvania company to power his railroad, which navigated a one-mile journey around the periphery of the park. Oddly enough, the train was robbed by desperadoes on virtually every trip it made, much to the delight of the captivated passengers.

Live entertainment at Legend City was presented primarily in two venues, the Golden Palace Saloon and Lagoon Amphitheater.

Crandall hired friend and West High School music teacher Serge Huff to manage the musical productions, and Huff brought in superb talent, including future Miss America Vonda Kay Van Dyke.

Vonda performed at the Golden Palace Saloon as both a singer and ventriloquist, talents she would soon display to great effect in her beauty pageant successes. Sandy Gibbons, a local radio personality, signed on as emcee, bringing a raucous charm to the Golden Palace proceedings. Huff even recruited some of his West High students to form a barbershop quartet called the Copper Tones. The Golden Palace shows soon emerged as the most popular attraction at the park.

After some less than stellar theatrical productions at the amphitheater, Crandall decided to ask local TV kids-show heroes

Opposite page top: A group of young adventurers experiences the Dutchman’s Shack tilt house in April 1969.

Left: Opening day ceremony with Printy Crandall at far left, Scottsdale Mayor Bill Shrader third from the left, Tempe Mayor Bernard Caine at the podium, and to his left are Louis Crandall and Phoenix Mayor Sam Mardian.

Top: Two mimes pose by Legend City billboard during park construction.

Right: People enjoy a spin on the Krazy Kups in 1969.

Images courtesy of author

Wallace and Ladmo to perform there, a decision Huff vigorously opposed. “I thought they were completely wrong for the venue,” he remembers with a smile. “Turns out I was completely wrong.” Wallace and the gang quickly drew large, enthusiastic crowds to the amphitheater, and they tirelessly promoted Legend City on their daily KPHO-TV show. Thus ben a long-lasting relationship between the amusement park and the Channel 5 kids show.

In overall conception and design then, the new park was well thought out and skillfully executed. But there were financial issues from the onset that crippled the project before it could emerge as a viable, self-sustaining entity.

The park was originally projected to open free and clear, with a $200,000 kitty available for operations. Things didn’t quite work out that way.

Unanticipated expenses quickly piled up.

Sweetheart deals given to friends and relatives depleted the park’s general revenue stream, and gate receipts fell below initial projections.

Rides like the antique and modern cars that were attached to and driven around a prescribed track, while quite popular, broke down frequently and were expensive to repair.

The park quickly sank into mounting debt.

Leadership changes were finally made, and Crandall departed in August 1964 for Provo, Utah. He’s been there ever since.

“It was the blow of my life when Legend City went under,” Crandall remarked years later. “I lost everything I had.”

Meanwhile, more stock was sold and further bank loans secured in an attempt to stabilize the business. The park limped through a second season, but it wasn’t enough. Legend City was closed down, and in September 1966, the park entered formal bankruptcy.

The once promising theme park sat dark and dormant for two long years before U-Haul

entrepreneur Sam Schoen rode to the rescue in 1969. Schoen sank millions into Legend City, including the purchase of various amusement rides from Pacific Ocean Park in Santa Monica.

By the time the park finally re-opened in May 1969, few of the original Legend City amusements were still in place. However, the park was finally on relatively firm financial footing.

Legend City was saved, but one consequence of these changes was the dilution of Crandall’s original vision. The theme park was rapidly morphing into a mere amusement-ride park, the very thing Crandall wished to avoid, and this process would only escalate through the 1970s with two more ownership changes. A Japanese ride manufacturer acquired the park from Schoen and then sold it to the Capell family in 1976, beginning Legend City’s final chapter.

The failure of Legend City is traditionally attributed to the unforgiving heat of the Phoenix summers, but the importance of this factor is somewhat overrated. Far more crucial was the relatively small population base of Phoenix when the park was built, combined with the persistent financial mismanagement that plagued the enterprise from the very beginning. The truth is that Phoenix in the 1960s wasn’t quite ready to host a world-class theme park; and that is precisely what Legend City aspired to be.

Legend City did eventually go on to generate substantial revenue, with the Capells grossing over a million dollars a year during their tenure. But by the early 1980s, while the park was becoming increasingly dilapidated, the real estate beneath it was becoming increasingly valuable. This reality would prove to be the death knell for Arizona’s family fun park.

The Salt River Project had long coveted the park property as a potential site for its new corporate headquarters, and in 1983, SRP made the Capells an offer that was simply too good to refuse – a cool $21.5 million. Legend City closed for the last time on Sunday night, September 4, 1983. A three-day auction was held the following spring to sell off everything from rides and fixtures to fire trucks and even entire buildings. The demolition of the park followed shortly thereafter.

Perhaps the ultimate legacy of Legend City has been the long-standing reluctance to build its replacement. Periodic calls have arisen down through the years to “Bring back Legend City,” commencing almost immediately upon the park’s disappearance. While various proposals have surfaced from time to time, investors always shy away in the end from pursuing such a project. The failure of Legend City continues to cast its long shadow -- Phoenix remains by far the largest metropolitan area in the U.S. devoid of a major amusement park.

Images courtesy of author

So let’s bring back Legend City. But would it even work now? The nostalgia value of a new Legend City for aging Phoenix-area baby boomers would naturally be immeasurable, but would this be a realistic business model for an amusement park in the 21st Century?

There exist good reasons to doubt this.

The world has changed quite a bit since 1963. Interest in the Old West has waned noticeably, particularly amongst the youngsters.

Recall the cultural environment into which Legend City was born. Westerns were virtually ubiquitous in both the television and cinematic media.

Western-themed paperbacks flew off the shelves, and the most popular playtime activity for children was “Cowboys and Indians.” All things Western were phenomenally popular during this era.

The cultural landscape has shifted significantly since that time, however. How many western TV shows are there now?

Movies? How many children play “Cowboys and Indians” in 2013? As always, kids would be the ultimate target population for any new theme park.

Legend City was of a particular time and place that has gradually receded into our past.

It probably should and probably will remain but a fading memory from a peculiarly rich era

of Phoenix history. Yet three decades after its demise, the fascination and love for this longgone theme park manages to endure. There is yet some lingering magic there.

Fans of the park continue to gather online to reminisce and pay homage to the park’s heyday. TV retrospectives are aired, magazine articles published, and a book is in the works.

Park memorabilia routinely fetches eyebrowraising sums on eBay. A 50th anniversary celebration of Legend City’s grand opening is scheduled for June 2013 in Tempe, and the event is expected to be well attended. For a failed amusement park that vanished into the desert dust 30 long years ago, Legend City remains a curiously popular place.

It seems Louis Crandall’s mission did, in a very real sense, succeed quite well.

Top: Blakely Sports Car ride in 1969.

Left: Kurley-Q with his friend, Vonda Kay Van Dyke, on the Golden Palace Saloon stage.

I

t seemed roads - and their construction would go on forever in Arizona.

Since World War II, the state had been in a whirlwind of highway construction trying to keep up with traffic demands caused by increasing numbers of vacationing motorists and its own burgeoning population.

Construction was fueled by federal highway funds that provided as much as three-fourths of Arizona’s road budget. By 1973, there were over a thousand miles of interstate in the state. Few realized it at the time but the boom years of highway construction were ending. Limited federal highway funds, an energy crisis, and expensive urban freeways would soon reduce road construction and reallocate where new highways were built in Arizona.

The early 1970s were a challenging time for highway funding in Arizona. In 1972, Congress failed to renew the annual federal aid legislation which temporarily cut off highway funding to states. In an effort to contain inflation, the Nixon administration also impounded $123 million dollars of already-appropriated highways funds. The Arizona Highway Department eventually received the money but was forced to reduce spending on everything Thirty

except new Interstate construction according to the study, Arizona Transportation History.

To prop up highway construction, three major bills were passed by the Arizona Legislature in the early 1970s. One allowed the state to finance road construction with revenue bonds which could be repaid with future tax receipts. Another formed the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) by combining the Arizona Highway Department and the Arizona Aeronautics Department. The last created the Highway Users Revenue Fund (HURF) to collect highway funds and distribute them to local governments based on both population and gas tax collections which resulted in more funding for the Phoenix and Tucson metropolitan areas.

These transportation funding changes came about when the 1973 Arab oil embargo created America’s first major energy crisis. New driving laws were enacted to conserve energy which slowed freeway speeds and inspired songs such as Sammy Hagar’s “I Can’t Drive 55.”

State highway construction funding increased over the decade because of these changes and the additional revenue from so many new

Arizona residents buying gas and registering vehicles.

Another energy crisis occurred with the Iranian revolution of 1979 and the subsequent Iran-Iraq war. Increased gas prices saw Arizonans again cutting back on driving and gas tax revenue dropped. The legislature raised gas taxes but it did little to help ease traffic congestion, especially in the state’s metropolitan areas which had absorbed most of the population growth.

This issue resulted in the legislature creating a funding source dedicated to urban road construction in 1985. Funds from a county sales tax would be placed in a Regional Area Road Fund (RARF) and allocated to construction projects guided by a five-year county transportation plan. Maricopa, Pinal, Gila, and Pima counties enacted a sales tax to fund their RARFs. When Arizona celebrated its state centennial, the highway map of 2012 was very different from the maps from the early 1970s.

Interstate 17 between Phoenix and Flagstaff and Interstate 8 between Yuma and Casa Grande were completed in 1978. Interstate 19 between Tucson and Nogales was also finished

Images courtesy of Arizona DOT Image courtesy of Mike Scott

the following year. In 1984, the last bypass in Williams was completed on Interstate 40. In 1990, the Papago Freeway was finished which also finished Interstate 10 across Arizona. The completed Interstate system through Arizona eventually led to iconic highways like U.S. Route 66 and U.S. Highway 80 being decommissioned in 1980s. Others, such as U.S. Highway 89, have been replaced in stretches by freeways.

Travel in Arizona has evolved from pioneer wagon trails to primitive auto trails to two-lane federal highways and finally to limited access interstate freeways. Roadways through the state are constantly changing in a quest to best serve Arizona’s motorists. Although planners are increasingly looking toward mass transit, bike lanes, and pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods as the most efficient way of transporting people, Arizonans long-lasting love affair with the auto will undoubtedly continue into the future.

Opposite page and Top right: Construction crews working on the Superstition Freeway in Mesa in 1979.

Right: Mike Scott takes a photograph from inside his Cat blade during construction of the Papago freeway.

Arizona Contractor & Community

Fair and Honest Paul Beaulieu

T

he agent pushed Paul Staman with a generous offer, "My client will give you $30,000 for the property." It was 1970 as the country was entering an economic recession coupled with record inflation. Paul was a developer trying to survive in a waning real estate market. This new offer was $10,000 more than the one he had already verbally accepted.

It felt like only moments ago that Mary Ellen McGinn was presenting her client's fair offer and Paul was glad to accept it. Now, faced with the opportunity of a 50 percent increase, there was only one thing that Paul could do. Turn it down.

As Paul and I conversed in the atrium of the Sagewood Retirement Community in Scottsdale, I asked why he walked away from the second offer. His answer was as genuine and direct as the gaze from his steel blue eyes, "Because I gave my word." Paul went on to explain how his commitment to integrity led him away not only from the better offer but eventually from a business partnership, leaving him with the daunting task of starting over at age 56 in 1975. But it also led to his most enjoyable project.

Born in the west Pennsylvania town of Aliquippa in 1919, Paul graduated

from the University of Pennsylvania in 1941 and enlisted in the army. His sister also signed up for the navy during World War II; commitment and responsibility were strong character traits in the Staman family. After the war, Paul and his sister were advised by their family doctor to move their father to Arizona because of his declining health. They journeyed to Phoenix in 1946, bought a house, and returned for their dad who soon died. Paul, along with his mother and sister, still decided to relocate to Phoenix, which then had a population of 80,000. Paul soon married a young lady from Tucson.

For four years, Paul did construction projects with his neighbor. In 1950 he obtained his own builder's license and started building homes and small commercial sites. His first solo project was a photo studio for Bob and Barbara Markow. Paul "learned by doing" and, as he matured as a developer, sought out investors in order to build small subdivisions.

Financial investors became the key to Paul’s success. He made it a personal policy to always repay their investment along with interest and a share of the profits. Because of this, Paul gained a sterling reputation in the industry over the next two decades and became president of the Home Builders Association of Arizona in 1975. The national theme that year was “How to Stay Alive in ’75.” Despite Paul’s

resolve, it wasn’t enough to save his business.

Paul had to rebuild his career solely on the assets of a sharp mind and untarnished reputation. Mary Ellen McGinn learned of Paul's business relaunch and offered him free office space. Paul was grateful and made the most of the opportunity by working with an architect friend. They collaborated on the project that Paul declared to be the most enjoyable of his life: the 21-unit Taliverde Patio Home development at the Biltmore in Phoenix. These homes so captivated him with their design, location, and views that he would later live there for 19 years.

Paul is a rare entrepreneur whose family was not sacrificed for the success of the business. He has maintained a rich marriage and raised three successful children by keeping his family involved in the business. Strong, healthy relationships are a constant theme in Paul’s life.

With all that Paul

has accomplished, I asked him what wisdom he would pass on to others. The sage of Sagewood said without hesitation, "Be honest and fair." He was and he is. His friends who became his clients, and his clients who became his friends, still honor the man who valued them. At a recent gathering of the residents of Taliverde Patio Homes, Paul was presented an award with inscription that drew tears from his eyes:

Opposite page top: Paul Staman in 2013.

Opposite page bottom: The Pierre Apartments on Whitton and 5th Ave, Phoenix, built by Staman & Fields in 1961.

Top right: Markow Studio, Staman’s first commercial project in 1956.

Right: Apartments at 110 W. Maryland built by Staman in 1957.

Images courtesy of Markow Photography

TALIVERDE PATIO HOMES TO PAUL STAMAN BUILDER AND LONG-TIME RESIDENT FROM ALL YOUR FRIENDS AND GRATEFUL PATIO HOME NEIGHBORS

Beyond Beef: Uptown Gathering Place Reborn

Connor Descheemaker

I

n every major city, there exist certain classic haunts. Locations where all the movers and shakers go to commiserate, discuss business, or celebrate special occasions. In the 20th century, these were most often large, dark, vaguely mysterious steakhouses. In Phoenix, few locales met those criteria better than Beefeaters. The 16,000 square-foot space sprawls across the corner of Third Avenue and Camelback Road in uptown Phoenix, and for nearly 50 years it served as a hub of proms, client meetings, birthday parties, engagements, and more through its numerous dining spaces and private banquet room. Opened in 1961, the restaurant closed in 2006 following the death of its founder, Jay Newton.

Now, thanks to the combined efforts of a developer, architect, bookseller and restauranteur, the property is ready for resurgence as a multi-headed hydra of transitoriented development, prime for the continued re-activation of Phoenix’s central core. The leaders on the project are veteran developers Jon Kitchell (son of the late contractor, Sam Kitchell of Kitchell Contracting) and Lorenzo Perez of the firm Venue Projects.

The adaptive-reuse project will see the massive former restaurant transformed into a three-tenant property, now known as The Newton, in homage to Beefeaters’ founder, Jay Newton. Owner-tenants Changing Hands Bookstore and a new concept from Justin Beckett of Beckett’s Table will occupy the building’s frontage, while startup co-working and meeting space The Lively Hood will lease most of the rear.

Developer Perez said of the division of space, “We knew immediately that we would have to carve the building. The community told us that they wanted to keep the building, so we looked at the structure from a builder’s perspective” in order to compartmentalize the building’s footprint.

“We thought the building had good bones—it was a no-brainer for us,” he continued.

Following a lecture in early 2012, Kitchell and Perez became connected with Cindy Dach and Gayle Shanks, co-owners of Changing Hands who had been looking to expand into central Phoenix. Dach said of their plans for expansion, “Bookstores are unique and we wanted a unique building as well. For a future bookstore we wanted to be more representative of the community. [Bookstores] are in such a

precarious position…even before this project, our dream was to own our building. We’ve been through enough. [In the past stores like us], make a neighborhood better and get kicked out,” said Dach.

This time around, the goal is to establish a sense of permanence.

To design the new space, Venue Projects approached John Douglas, veteran of such acclaimed adaptive-reuse projects as the Washington Street headquarters of the Phoenix New Times alternative-weekly newspaper. “Jon Kitchell is someone I’ve worked with for a long time, over 20 years. When I heard about the project, I thought ‘There’s no way I’m not doing this,’” said Douglas of his involvement. Douglas will also serve as the fourth owner, solidifying the group’s support in the long-term success of the project.

The Newton is aiming to open its doors to the public in November, putting the entire project on the fast-track. With four tried-andtrue owners, and a promising startup, the project is looking to continue its namesake’s vision for a true community gathering space.

Below: Beefeaters in 1966.

Inset: Couple smoking inside Beefeaters in 1962.

Images courtesy of author

“…special occasions were often celebrated in large, dark, vaguely mysterious steakhouses.”

Thirty four

Arizona Contractor & Community

Phoenix’s Original “Mad Man” Chuck Runbeck

Images courtesy of Runbeck family

Douglas Towne

thatcombination,” Runbeck “This was a dangerous says shaking his head. “The bunnies couldn’t drink at their place so they scooted downstairs to our club which we nicknamed the ‘bunny basement.’ We had some legendary poker games in the ABC’s secret room.”

Runbeck’s best exploits however, involve the great lengths he would go to produce outstanding construction publications though some seem a bit

extreme in our current safety-oriented, litigious world. Even Runbeck admits, “There’s a chance I may have used up all nine of my lives already.”

One legendary quest occurred at the Franciscan Hotel in Albuquerque in the 1960s. “I couldn’t get a good photo of the city’s new federal building from any angle,” Runbeck recollects. “So I went up to the roof of the hotel which was off-limits to guests. It still wasn’t ideal so I climbed a tower

Image courtesy of author

D

espite never operating a D-9 dozer or designing an iconic midcentury building, few have left a bigger mark on Arizona’s construction industry then Charles “Chuck” Runbeck. His long and storied career includes being the publisher and advertising dynamo behind Arizona Builder & Contractor, Arizona-New Mexico Contractor & Engineer, and Southwest Contractor publications as well as serving for 34 years as Executive Director of the Associated Equipment Distributors of Arizona (AEDA). Even last year at age 84, Runbeck played a pivotal role in the launch of Arizona Contractor & Community magazine. Not bad for someone who started in the publishing business as a kid by folding 300 copies of his family’s paper every Thursday during the Great Depression. “It took four hours and I was paid 25 cents,” Runbeck laments.

In his career, Runbeck has amassed numerous awards and accolades from the construction community and also had some wild adventures that remind one of the hit television show, Man Men. For many years, Runbeck networked at the Arizona Builders and Contractors (ABC) Club formerly located on the 7th floor at 3033 North Central Avenue. Above them in the penthouse suite was the Phoenix Playboy Club.

Chuck Runbeck with Mrs. Arizona Homeowner in the 1960s.

Chuck Runbeck in his office in 1961.

Playboy Club bunnies ride the Bunny Stage, 1963.

Arizona Contractor & Community

back cutoff that held a washtub. “So that the water wouldn’t slosh out of the tub, we had to drive so slow over the rough roads that you could have practically walked faster,” Runbeck chortles. The family built a house in Coolidge but soon returned to South Dakota.

During World War II, Runbeck enlisted in the Marines in 1945 but didn’t see any action. He’s officially a veteran because of he had 90 days of active duty before Japan surrendered. Runbeck made the most of his time while based in southern California. “My buddy and I often went to the USO clubs in Hollywood,” Runbeck says. “One night we hopped a fence to crash a posh party. They soon figured out we weren’t invited but we were asked to stay by the hostess, actress and swimmer Esther Williams. We borrowed some trunks and jumped into the pool with the ‘Million Dollar Mermaid.’”

After being discharged in 1948, Runbeck planned to attend Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. “It was a unique five-year program where you went to school for six months and worked for six months, but I never made it there,” Runbeck recollects. “My parents had bought the Blue Palms Trailer Park on Van Buren near 27th Avenue in Phoenix and wanted me to manage it for a few months. I ended up enrolling at Arizona State College in Tempe and majored in business administration. I never made enough money to get out of town ever since,” Runbeck laughs.

With a college fraternity buddy, Mickey McGuire, and his future wife, Kay Liem, Runbeck started the McGuire, Liem & Runbeck Advertising Agency. The firm only lasted eight months as McGuire left for a better job and took the big accounts with him. Afterwards, Runbeck found he could make more money by going back to his

college job as a truck driver delivering 7-Up in Pinal County than he could earn working at a bank. Liem wasn’t fond of his vocation however, and she set him up to interview for an advertising position with Akers Publishing Company. John and Martha Akers produced Arizona Builder & Contractor after being approached by the Associated General Contractors (AGC) in 1938 to publish a magazine about local construction.”

“When I arrived Johnny Akers wasn’t there, so his wife, Martha and I went across the street for coffee,” Runbeck says. “When he arrived back, I

Images courtesy of Runbeck family

that had a ladder attached to it. The rungs however, were really close to the building so it was tough to get solid footing. At the top I finally had the perfect shot and leaned on a horizontal flagpole to stabilize my camera but it started swaying.

By the time it had steadied enough to snap a photo, there was a crowd on the roof yelling at me to come down. It turns out I had been spotted by people on the street who thought I was suicidal. Neither the cops or hotel management were very happy with me,” Runbeck chuckles.

A native of Aberdeen, South Dakota, Runbeck began his Arizona adventures when his family moved to help his grandfather produce the Coolidge Examiner in 1937. “It was a tough way to make a living,” Runbeck recalls. “The weekly paper could barely support one family let alone three families. Pinal County alternated between putting legal notices in our paper and the Casa Grande Dispatch. The years we got the legal notices we could have Christmas.”

The Runbeck family lived in a homestead just south of Hunt Highway. They had to haul water 13 miles from Coolidge using a 1928 Chevy with the

Runbeck reentered the publishing field in 1983 by purchasing the existing contracting magazine.

He renamed it Southwest Contractor and operated it with Martha Akers and a small staff. After a successful eight-year run, Runbeck sold Southwest Contractor to McGraw-Hill in July 1990 and remained with the publication for three years as a consultant. The corporation had been attempting to enter the contracting magazine market for several years but had been rebuffed by Runbeck’s loyal advertisers, forcing them to buy him out. McGrawHill even made Runbeck sign a “no compete” clause. In 1997, Runbeck retired as Executive Director of the AEDA and was presented with the prestigious Founders Award for Local Association Accomplishment at the national convention. The Arizona chapter had previously honored with the award in 1984.

Runbeck remains active selling ads for several publications using only his pad of paper and

word. “The most important thing to remember is to take care of your advertisers,” Runbeck says.

“Always be straight with them and deal with them in person. This year, 2013, will be a three-point milestone for me: 85 years old, 60 years of publishing and printing,, and 60 years of marriage to Kay. I think I’ll probably retire again next year.”

A man of many talents, the leisure time will allow Runbeck to enjoy another of his passions, cribbage. Rumors indicate he may even more talented at the card game than selling ads. The Arizona construction industry wishes Charles and Kay Runbeck the very best in his fourth retirement if and when it happens!

A teenage Chuck Runbeck.

Chuck Runbeck as a Marine.

Chuck Runbeck making a sale.

Chuck Runbeck receiving humorous award.

Images courtesy of Runbeck family

went up to him and said, ‘Mr. Akers, I understand you’re looking for a salesman. ’ I really didn’t want the job.”

“Johnny asked if I had any sales experience and I said no. He responded, ‘What makes you think you’re good at selling?’”

“I said, ‘If the product’s any good I can sell the damn thing!’ I was being a smart ass, and thought he would throw me out.”

“Surprisingly he asked, ‘What do you expect to get out of this job?’” “’A little bit of experience and a hell of a lot of money,’ I replied.”

“While I was doing my best to mess up the interview, Johnny viewed me as a younger version of himself: confident and cocky. He inquired ‘How much money will it take for you to eat while you’re deciding whether my product’s any good?’”

“Why don’t you just pay me your highest commission?’ I responded. He agreed to pay me $35 a week, which would cover gas and expenses for two months, and also a 20 percent commission rate on new advertising I sold. I made over $750 the first two months in commissions.”

Runbeck’s tenaciousness as an ad man who bypassed any barriers to make a sale was renowned. “In the late 1950s, I flew to Albuquerque and rented an Avis car; coincidentally it was also one of the few times I took out complete insurance coverage,” Runbeck chortles. “The main road to Santa Fe was closed and I didn’t want to take the long way around so I just moved the barricade and headed southeast. When I encountered some construction activity, I put the car in park and got out to take a photo. The road crew spotted me and started waving and shouting. Then there was a huge explosion! I dove back into my car, hit the floorboard, and inadvertently put the car into reverse. A huge rock came down and caved in the roof of the car which began creeping backwards. It eventually stopped with one rear wheel hovering off a cliff,” Runbeck continues. “The guys ran over and, after a momentary sense of relief that I was alive, were madder than hell at me. A road grader pulled my car out. I drove it very slowly back to Albuquerque that night with the cold wind blowing in through the thin slit where the windshield had been. I walked into the rental car office and told them I had a little accident but the car was covered. The agent said that obviously it wasn’t too bad since you drove it in – famous last words!”

Runbeck confides that his marketing strategy was to go to the salesman; they are the easiest people in the world to sell to. “They understand the value of an ad; other people look at a salesperson as a pest,” Runbeck says. “I was a very good salesman and worked there from 1953 to 1968. In 1959, I became a partner in the Akers-Runbeck Publishing Company.”

In 1962, Runbeck was asked to manage the Associated Equipment Distributors of Arizona (AEDA) organization because of his knowledge of the industry. The following year, the Ayers-Runbeck Publishing Company was sold but Runbeck stayed on as ad sales manager until 1968 when he left to start Runbeck & Associates, an advertising agency that was also the first print broker in Arizona.

Arizona Contractor & Community

In Memoriam: A Timeline of the Amazing Life and Work of Paolo Soleri Taz Loomans

T

he legendary visionary, architect, urban planner, author, lecturer, and craftsman, Paolo Soleri died on April 9, 2013 at his home in Paradise Valley. In chronological order are some highlights of his inspiring and influential life: 1919 – Paolo Soleri is born in Turin, Italy.

1946 – Soleri moves to the U.S. after receiving a doctorate with honors from the Polytechnic University of Turin.

1947 - Soleri enters into apprenticeship with Frank Lloyd Wright at Taliesin West in Arizona 1948 – Disenchanted with Wright’s vision of a utopian suburbia reliant on the auto, Soleri leaves Taliesin West with fellow architect Mark Mills. They camp in the Arizona desert under a crude, cantilevered column constructed with concrete blocks.

1949 – Soleri and Mills build the Dome House in Cave Creek for Nora Woods. Soleri marries her daughter, Colly the same year.

1950-53 – Soleri designs and constructs a ceramics factory with bulging, thin-shelled concrete walls in Vietri on the Amalfi Coast of southwest Italy.

1955 – Soleri moves to Paradise Valley with his family and establishes the Cosanti Foundation focused on the creation of compact cities that preserve the natural landscape and deemphasize the need for autos.

1956-58 – Soleri builds his own earthen house, exploring natural forms and building techniques

using an apprentice system similar to Wright’s.

The partially subterranean complex, later named Cosanti, incorporates residences, ceramics studios, and apprentice quarters.

1959 – Soleri begins drawing concepts for compact cities that expand vertically, not horizontally.

1963 – Soleri wins the American Institute of Architects Gold Medal for Craftsmanship.

1966 – Soleri works on designing the Paolo Soleri Amphitheater in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

1969 – Soleri publishes his seminal book Arcology: A City in the Image of Man. 1970 – Soleri begins construction on Arcosanti, a community planned for 5,000 people near Cordes Junction, Arizona. The community is a prototype for his utopian design which combines architecture and ecology. Although over 6,000 people have worked on its construction, Arcosanti remains unfinished.

1970 – A landmark exhibition “The Architectural Visions of Paolo Soleri” organized by the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. travels throughout North America attracting record attendance.

1976 – Soleri is a key participant at the United Nations (UN) Habitat I, the first UN forum on human settlements.

1976 – Arcosanti is proclaimed by Newsweek magazine in 1976 as “probably the most important experiment undertaken in our time.”

1981 – Soleri wins the Gold Medal from the World Biennale of Architecture in Sofia, Bulgaria.

1984 – Soleri wins the Silver Medal of the Academie d’Architecture in Paris and also participates in the world-renown Architecture Symposium on Man and Space at the Vienna University of Technology.

2000 – Soleri wins a lifetime achievement award at the Venice Biennale of Architecture.

2006 – Soleri wins the Cooper Hewitt National Design Award for lifetime achievement.

2007 – Soleri is interviewed for the environmental documentary “The 11th Hour Film.”

2010 – The Soleri Bridge and Plaza commissioned by Scottsdale Public Art is completed.

2012 – The feature length documentary film, “The Vision of Paolo Soleri: Prophet in the Desert” is completed.

2013 – Paolo Soleri dies of natural causes at the age of 93 in his home in Paradise Valley.

RIP Paolo Soleri: 1919–2013

A Paolo Soleri-designed home at 6433 East Doubletree Ranch Road, Scottsdale in 1966.

Image courtesy of author

The Vehicles To Build Your Business The Quality To Maintain Your Reputation!

2013 GMC Savana 1500 Van

2013 GMC Sierra 2500HD Crew Cab

Commercial & Fleet Vehicles 8660 W. Bell Road, Peoria, AZ 85382

866-212-3229

Mike Ryan Commercial & Fleet Specialist

Pushing rock near 51st Avenue and Elliot Road, 1957.

Zeke operating scrapers for Peter Kiewit & Sons in Tacna, Arizona, 1952.

Ofus and I at his home, 2010.

ain is nature’s way of giving

only a topnotch blade operator but

returned to the Golden State and

blade operators the day off,

also a mentor who would take time

became a blade operator. In 1951,

but

to pass along his skills to those

Ofus

construction magazine it’s tough to

willing to listen like myself.

I

farmland for Jack Kleck in Maricopa

wander

still

days

County where he operated the Le

mixing

Tourneau-Westinghouse C-Speedpull

if

you

too

profession.

also

far

publish

from

Inclement

a

your weather

vividly

spent

chasing

remember stakes

my

and

was

offered

several years ago provided me with

subgrade with a water truck and his

or

an

advice that mixing dirt between the

cable scrapers.

opportunity

to

see

longtime

family friend, Ofus Bingham, whose

curbs is like mixing a cake.

Laveen home was where my family

thankful

often celebrated New Year’s Eve.

knowledge

Our family ties started around

for

his

C-Pull

and

Caterpillar

In 1953 Ofus joined the Operators

my

years, he would travel with his wife, Myrna and their children, in a 40-

A

and Ofus met on a Fisher Contracting

Arkansas,

road job in northern Arizona.

The

during the Great Depression. He had

construction work.

two

and

an

employed

lifelong

friends

older

of

Hot

was

born

brother,

Dw-10

Engineers Local 428. For the next 20

1955, when my grandfather, Bill Ray,

became

leveling

and

during

Ofus

job

I am

patience

apprenticeship years. native

a

Nate,

Springs, in

1932

and

a

foot

trailer

around

Arizona

wherever there was available road him

Some firms that

include

Wallace

&

worked many jobs together. Ofus in

younger brother, Zeke. When Ofus

Wallace,

later

my

was just 16, he traveled with his

Fisher

G&P

brothers to California to pick fruit

The Tanner Bros., B.L. Gustafson, and

Contracting, during busy times by

and

the

Copperstate Construction Company.

doing finish grade work. He was not

navy.

he

“We traveled around the state like a

years

granddad’s

would

help

company,

soon

afterwards

After

Ofus with sister, Floyce, and brothers, Zeke and Nate.

being

joined

discharged,

Phoenix Contracting,

Tempe

Stone,

Peter

Kiewit,

Zeke in his Cat 140G blade.

Images courtesy of the Bingham family

R

Euclid scraper on Fisher project, 1955.

Ofus, in the drivers seat, (with

Cat dozers pushing Euclid scraper for

his foreman) on a Cat 8T blade, 1955.

Fisher Contracting in northern AZ, 1957.

bunch of gypsies,” Myrna Bingham

sons, Jeff and Rocky, who went on to

chuckles. “But that was the price of

follow in their dad’s footsteps.

chasing road work in the 1950s.”

Ofus

bought

Caterpillar Machinery

his

blade in

first

from and

air force in 1957, he was hired by

Empire

Fisher Contracting at their material

the

pit in Glendale. In 1961, Zeke moved

grading for countless subdivisions

to Wellton in southwest Arizona for

and road projects.

a

fashioned

1978

After Zeke’s discharge from the 140G

did

He used the old

method

of

grading

position

with

Marshall

&

Hass.

Three years later, he again worked

“bubble in the ass” along with a

for

curb-shoe for precision along the

construction of Interstate 17 near

curbs. His son, Mark Bingham, ran his

Black Canyon City. In 1965, Zeke was

613B scraper and they both went on

hired

to do finish grade for C-70, Wheeler,

Construction where he worked for 14

Hunter, and M.R. Tanner companies.

years. In 1979, he bought a 140G blade

in

Fisher

by

Nate and Zeke later joined him

and

Arizona

Contracting.

Bingham

and

brothers

often

the

worked

three

on

the

Contracting

soon

Tanner

rented

it

Along

during

Brothers

to

with

Harper his

son,

Steve Bingham, he became a partner

same project. In 1958, they all lived

with Joe Harper.

in travel trailers in the Town of

moving dirt, Zeke and longtime pal

Maricopa building Interstate 8 for

and veteran blade operator, Billy

the Phoenix Tempe Stone Company.

Weir, would spend Saturday nights

The following year, they relocated

at

to Skull Valley for another job and

sometimes even fly to Los Angeles

again in 1963 to Holbrook.

to watch races.

While

Arizona,

Speedway

and

Both of Ofus brother's, Nate and

worked for Bailey Sanner running a

Zeke have passed away, the latter in

blade

March 2013.

would

Nate

Manzanita

When he wasn’t

often

and

in

later

have

two

Nate running a Euclid scraper, 1955.

Building a dam near Papago Park using pull scrapers and a Cat D7 cable dozer with a headache bar, 1951.

The Bingham brothers in Laveen, AZ.

Zeke and his son, Steve, in the Tanner Brothers Cat 14E blade, 1975.

Construction Marketplace

Metro Engineering & Survey, LLC.

Brandon Gallimore 623-466-6640 Brandon@metroaz.net 7777 North 70th Ave, Glendale, AZ 85303

Bid Results Pavement Preservation - FY 2013 3/21/2013 Southern Az Paving $1,797,722.00 Rubberized Bituminous Surface Treatment 3/21/2013 International Surfacing Systems $2,021,726.00 Tuba City-Window Rock Hwy 3/22/2013 Sunland Asphalt $5,081,817.00 Holbrook-Lupton Hwy 3/22/2013 Fisher Sand & Gravel $7,149,000.00

Specializing in Transporting Heavy Equipment

602-253-3520 Metro Traffic Control, LLC venture@ventureleasinginc.com

Tuba City-Four Corners Hwy 3/22/2013 Fann $6,571,999.00 Roadrunner Park 3/28/2013 Nickle $1,196,400.00

7777 North 70th Ave Sweetwater Reclamation Facility 3/29/2013 Archer Western $2,920,418.00

Glendale, AZ 85303 *ATTSA Member* 623-879-0611 Brantley Gallimore

West Terminal Expansion 4/4/2013 DL Withers $4,749,600.00

Brantley@Metrotrafficcontrol.

VANISHING PHOENIX Exploring Phoenix’s forgotten history

Reserve your spot in the martket place today!

West Chandler Santan Freeway Wastewater 4/4/2013 T&T $6,838,974.00 SR 186 SR 10B Cochise County 4/5/2013 Southern Az Paving $841,205.00 Ehrenberg-Phoenix Hwy 4/5/2013 Fisher Sand & Gravel $5,025,025.00

Connor Descheemaker (480)326-6551

www.vanishingphoenix.com Forty four

Email: Shane@arizcc.com Or call: 623-826-8598

(JOC) Intersection Improvements 4/8/2013 AJP Electric $3,000,000.00

Baseline Rd Resurfacing 4/9/2013 Nesbitt $1,042,324.00

Pavement Rehabilitation 4/11/2013 Asphalt Paving & Supply $2,096,260.00

JCT I-10 Mesa Hwy 5/3/2013 Nesbitt $2,596,957.00

Countywide Overlay West 4/9/2013 Southern Az Paving $2,504,870.00

(CMAR) Emergency Repair US 89 4/12/2013 FnF $20,000,000.00

Prescott-Ash Fork 5/17/2013 Lawrence $4,075,301.00

Surface Treatment Phase II 4/10/2013 Sunland Asphalt $685,007.00

Rio Salado Multi-use Path 4/16/2013 Valley Rain $989,095.00

Chambers-Mexican Water Hwy 5/17/2013 Meadow Valley $3,620,176.00

Neighborhood St Rehabilitation 4/11/2013 Cactus Asphalt $1,304,131.00

SR 85 Landfill Cell I Phase II 4/16/2013 Rummel $964,217.00

Springerville Municipal Airport Runway 5/21/2013 Fann $4,907,946.00

Annual Chip Seal 4/11/2013 Sunland Asphalt $873,999.00

43rd Avenue and Lower Buckeye Rd Paving 4/16/2013 Combs $6,138,549.00

Library Remodel @ Scottsdale Community 5/22/2013 Burris Horrell $3,720,000.00

Annual Overlay 4/11/2013 Combs $894,440.00

(DESIGN BUILD) Community Rec Center 4/22/2013 Haydon Building $14,000,000.00

Wilson Rd Pump Station & Irrigation Line 5/30/2013 Citywide $1,723,645.00

Homer Davis Elementary Enhancement 4/11/2013 Select Development $994,011.00

FAA Terminal 4-South Apron Rehab 4/30/2013 J Banicki $14,645,534.00

43rd Avenue and Baseline Rd Basin 4/11/2013 Carson $1,944,042.00

Tumamoc Landfill Maintenance 4/30/2013 Ashton Company $1,099,971.00

Provided by

Log in today!

Follow us on Twitter.com/azccmagazine and connect with us on Facebook.com/ArizccMag

Design Group LLC

The building rehab experts

Architecture Planning Historic Preservation

motleydesigngroup.com 1114 Grand Avenue - Phoenix, Arizona 85007 - (602) 254-5599 Arizona Contractor & Community

Index to Advertisers Allstate Rent a Fence Apache Equipment Rentals Arizona Desert Broom Arizona Hi-Lift Arizona Materials Atlas Copco Bid Judge Bidadoo Auctions Blooming Rock Branco Machinery Bryco Asphalt Milling CORE Construction CRSI Direct Sales LLC Doosan Drake ECCO Heavy Equip Rentals Forty-six

p…13 P…44 P…15 P…15 P…29 P…20 P…11 P…12 P…45 P… 2 P…41 P… 3 P…35 P…19 P…15 P…33 P…29

Empire Sales Center Heavy Equipment Machinery Inc Integrity Automotive/Diesel Liberty GMC Metro Engineering & Survey Metro Traffic Control Mobile Force Refueling Motley Group LLC New Western Rentals O'Brien Concrete Pumping Orange Planet Promotionals Pacwest Rentals Red Mountain Machinery Road Machinery Serious Fleet Division Shanes Grading and Paving Sunland Asphalt

P…13 P…35 P…35 P…41 P…44 P…44 P…21 P…45 P…20 P…11 P…17 P…48 P…47 P… 6 P…13 P…44 P…20

Sunstate Equipment Co Titan Rentals Vanishing Phoenix Venture Leasing Vermeer Sales Southwest Water Movers Equipment rentals Williams Scotsman Woudenberg Properties WSM Auctioneers

P…16 P… 5 P…44 P…44 P…19 P…19 P…46 P…14 P… 7

PRSRT STD U.S. Postage PAID Phoenix, AZ Permit No. 2659

RORI THE TRACTO R DOG IS ALWAYS HERE TO HEL P!

480.832.0855 Water Equipment

Mining Equipment

Earth Moving Equipment

Voca�onal Trucks

Specialty Equipment and A�achments

Jim Lowry

Jean Kasitch

Rental Manager/Sales

Rental and Sales Supervisor

jlowry@pacwes�rading.com

jean@pacwes�rading.com

3105 N Maple St

Office 480.832.0855

Direct 480.941.6504

Mesa, AZ 85215

Mobile 480.717.7271

Mobile 480.258.4818

www.pacwes�rading.com Office 480.832.0855