
- 3 days ago
- 3 min
Oval But Not Forgotten: Manzanita Speedway
Douglas Towne Before the Valley hosted major league teams in luxurious stadiums, local sports fans reveled in homegrown competitions...

- Jun 17
- 2 min
Old School Equipment: The Buffalo-Springfield Roller Company
Douglas Towne Construction machinery not only moves mountains, it can become a part of pop culture. One equipment line, the...

- May 6
- 1 min
May/June Issue Released
In the 96-page May/June issue of Arizona Contractor & Community magazine, we focus on two “Papago” places vital to Phoenix. We trace how...

- Apr 13
- 2 min
Editor’s Column – Creatives Ignite a Copper Town Rebirth
by Douglas Towne “Go West, young man,” was the prudent advice journalist Horace Greeley gave Americans looking for economic opportunities...

- Apr 1
- 2 min
Phoenix’s “Cunning” Shopping Center: The Magical Mall Called Chris-Town
John Bueker When Eugene “Jim” Cunning passed on in 2020 at the age of 86, the sad event did not garner much local attention. But it...

- Mar 16
- 2 min
Around the Globe in 18 Holes: Phoenix’s Classic Miniature Golf Courses
John Bueker Who got the ball rolling by creating the Valley's first miniature golf course is open to debate, but we know that Phoenix...

- Mar 4
- 1 min
ACC Magazine Releases 50th Issue Spotlighting Medical Facilities and Their Builders/Designers
Like another Valley publication, Arizona Contractor & Community Magazine decided to spotlight the medical field for our March/April...

- Mar 1
- 2 min
Editor’s Column – Eating Away at the Term, “Buffet”
Douglas Towne The theme for this issue is “Leisure,” so it seemed only appropriate to write a column that wouldn't require too much work....

- Feb 17
- 1 min
Phoenix "Slides" Into the Future
Douglas Towne A mystical magic carpet experience, a la Prince Husain of "One Thousand and One Nights" fame, was available for 15 cents...

- Feb 1
- 2 min
Pitfalls to Avoid When Offering Hiring Incentives
Cory Jorbin It's no secret that the labor market is very tight in specific industries and regions of the country. Currently, the...

- Jan 31
- 2 min
Digging Through the Archives: Mark Habgood
William Horner Mark Habgood recalls a steep learning curve when he transitioned from working at Neptune’s Table, a seafood restaurant at...

- Jan 24
- 2 min
Architect's Perspective: Celebrating the McDowell Sonoran Preserve's Trailheads
Doug Sydnor, FAIA Scottsdale residents realized their quality of life was under threat in 1991. The pristine McDowell Mountains, a...

- Jan 18
- 2 min
Del Webb “Constructs” A Good Life: His Baseball and Sun City Adventures
Douglas Towne Few in the construction industry have such a rags-to-riches story as Delbert “Del” Eugene Webb. A few years before the...

- Jan 6
- 1 min
Jan/Feb 2022 "Leisure" Issue Released
To kick off 2022, we decided to kick back with an issue devoted to leisure featuring Del Webb giving Joltin Joe DiMaggio some batting...

- Dec 28, 2021
- 3 min
The Wild Ride That Created Castles n’ Coasters Amusement Park
Tom Pickrell You see it coming while driving along I-17 in Phoenix near the Dunlap Avenue exit. A bright green and white superstructure...

- Nov 5, 2021
- 1 min
AZ Contractor & Community Magazine Digs Into State's Mining Heritage for Nov/Dec 2021 Issue
What's crazier: using atomic bombs to mine copper, a ginormous salt mine under a city, extracting iron from a giant *sandbox* or...

- Nov 1, 2021
- 3 min
The Heart of Phoenix: Three Iterations of the Hotel Adams
By Douglas Towne Great hotel nicknames are usually the result of innovative marketing campaigns or are obvious, such as San Diego's Hotel...

- Oct 26, 2021
- 2 min
Taking Phoenix to the Next Level: Porter’s Western Wear Store
By Douglas Towne Downtown Phoenix was the city’s commercial district until the 1960s, and one unique store stood out. The business, which...

- Oct 20, 2021
- 2 min
Paul Brock: Digging Deep Into Gunnison Contractors and the Man Who Built It
Jeff Kronenfeld Paul Brock was one of the biggest names in underground contracting in the Valley during the 1960s and 1970s. His company,...

- Oct 18, 2021
- 2 min
Serious Accomplishment: The Life and Legacy of Architect Kemper Goodwin, FAIA
James Logan Abell, FAIA Jumping on rail cars to travel from Los Angeles to New Orleans in search of work, this man was no ordinary 1930’s...

- Oct 14, 2021
- 2 min
Architect’s Perspective: Melverne Coats Ensign – An Inventive Architecture
Doug Sydnor, FAIA Growing up in Phoenix, I noticed some innovative architecture created by an unknown individual. Many years later, I...

- Oct 6, 2021
- 2 min
Level and Plumb: The Masonry of Marion J. Evertsen
Tom Pickrell Marion John Evertsen was a prominent masonry contractor in Phoenix for more than 30 years, starting in the 1950s. Largely...

- Oct 5, 2021
- 2 min
Air Entrainment in Concrete
Luke M. Snell, P.E. An inspector recently contacted me regarding some concrete loads that exceeded air-content specifications. The...

- Oct 1, 2021
- 2 min
Generating Power & Growth: Gen-Tech's Latest Expansion
Carly Hanson Husband and wife Bob and Peggy Piske started a power-generation company in 1990. Thirty-one years later, it’s an industry...

- Sep 29, 2021
- 2 min
Building on the Past 1969: Chrome-Plated Expansion
Aircraft Plating Co. was flying high in 1969. The firm, founded in 1963 at 1313 South 26th Street, was having a new 20,000 square-foot...

- Sep 28, 2021
- 2 min
Old School Equipment: Caterpillar’s J621 Paddle Wheel Scraper
Buddy Escapule In 2017, I took my father and sons to Casa Grande to examine a 1971 Caterpillar J621 paddle wheel scraper for sale. The...

- Sep 24, 2021
- 2 min
Stepping Up Security: How to Protect Construction Equipment from Theft
Sean Clements With convenient access to the border, Arizona has a high rate of construction equipment theft. And with the state’s...

- Sep 22, 2021
- 2 min
Digging Through the Archives: Vance Grubb III
William Horner According to Vance Grubb III, nothing tops a great job in construction except going into business for yourself. A...

- Sep 8, 2021
- 2 min
Digging Through the Archives: Sinagua Paving
William Horner Philip Chesley has encountered some unforgettable people while working in the paving field, including a man wearing gold...

- Sep 7, 2021
- 2 min
Expert Tips on Building a Strong Construction Bid
Drew Simmons The construction industry has always been a competitive landscape for small and large contractors alike. Now, with the...

- Sep 2, 2021
- 1 min
Sep/Oct Issue Available Now!
Is the just-released 80-page Sep/Oct issue of Arizona Contractor & Community Magazine a history publication masquerading as a...

- Sep 1, 2021
- 0 min

- Aug 30, 2021
- 2 min
Concrete: King of the Valley’s Roads
Michelle Dodds Concrete denotes something solid, with great strength, and permanence. Perhaps that’s why there was such a clamor way-back...

- Aug 24, 2021
- 2 min
Old School Equipment: The Mixermobile and Scoopmobile
After two years in the concrete industry, Ed Wagner of Portland, Oregon, realized the need for a more efficient way to handle the heavy...

- Aug 20, 2021
- 1 min
Building on the Past: 1958: A “Heavy” Order of Superlite Blocks
“Do it big, do it right, and do it with style,” said actor Fred Astaire. Apparently, famed Valley developer John F. Long was listening....

- Aug 18, 2021
- 2 min
Concrete Fountain Renews Tucson’s Historic Plaza
Jennifer M. Levstik Even the most innocuous objects have stories to tell. Tucson’s El Presidio Fountain is one of them. Constructed at...

- Aug 11, 2021
- 3 min
Less is More: Structural Lightweight Concrete
Luke M. Snell, P.E. When I was a young engineer, one of my first jobs was to provide quality control for a lightweight concrete project....

- Aug 10, 2021
- 2 min
Architect’s Perspective: Concrete Innovations in Arizona
Doug Sydnor, FAIA Concrete is not only a long-lasting material; humans have also used it for a long time. Its origins are a concrete-like...

- Aug 5, 2021
- 2 min
Mid-Century Modern Blockheads: An Ode to the Humble Concrete Block
Heather M. David I am a blockhead. A mid-century modern (MCM) blockhead. I have been one for as long as I can remember. I started...

- Jul 22, 2021
- 2 min
How Hoover Dam Provided Drinking Water on Construction Sites
Luke M. Snell, P.E. The Boulder Canyon Project, now called the Hoover Dam, was awarded to The Six Companies in the spring of 1931. For...

- Jul 19, 2021
- 3 min
Paving the Way for Four Generations: The Chesley Family
Douglas Towne “I loved spending time with my dad hunting, camping, or any other activity,” Phil Chesley says about his father, Elmo...

- Jul 12, 2021
- 2 min
Digging Through the Archives: Cook, West & West: A Truck Driving Family
William Horner I recently connected with a family with an impressive legacy of truck driving in the Valley. This linkage occurred when I...

- Jul 1, 2021
- 1 min
Jul/Aug 2021 "Cementitious" Issue Released by AZ Contractor & Community Magazine
In this 96-page “cementitious” July/Aug issue of Arizona Contractor & Community Magazine, we’ve focused on a building material that is...

- Jun 29, 2021
- 3 min
Digital payment transformation in the construction industry due to COVID-19
Q&A with Brent Meyers, Vice President of Sales for Comdata What are the key shifts commercial construction companies have made in the way...

- Jun 28, 2021
- 1 min
"Slingin' Hash About the Past" At Helsing's Coffee Shops
There’s nothing as appetizing as nostalgia, at least where Helsing's Coffee Shops are concerned. The four Phoenix-based restaurants were...

- Jun 21, 2021
- 2 min
Bentson Contracting: Building Everything from Driveways to Highways
By Douglas Towne Some Valley residents probably know Bentson Contracting Co. only from its sidewalk stamps around the city. That’s a...

- Jun 14, 2021
- 2 min
The Five Best Tech Opportunities for Construction Companies
By Jason Krankota Construction has been one of the slowest industries to adopt technology. That’s partly cultural: folks in the industry...

- Jun 1, 2021
- 2 min
How to Get a Competitive Advantage for Your New Construction Business
By Ross Kimbarovsky Construction is a popular industry, but it has a high failure rate as more than 60 percent of businesses close within...

- May 24, 2021
- 2 min
Aluminum in Concrete: A Simple Solution to a Complex Problem
By Luke M. Snell, P.E. A concrete precaster recently contacted me with problems from bubbles forming during casting and white streaking...

- May 17, 2021
- 2 min
Business Perils of Environmental Negligence
By Michael Bernstein This is the story of an Environmental Health & Safety manager who was so preoccupied with current operations at his...