ARTICLES

Mar 22
1 min

Old School Equipment: The LeTourneau Rooter

Billy Horner Long before contractors had the luxury of hydraulic ripping options to loosen soil, humans opted for animal-driven plows for...

Mar 21
2 min

Digging Through the Archive: Joe Guinn

Billy Horner You know that someone was born into a profession when you see baby pictures of them on the job with their father. Joe Guinn,...

Mar 3
2 min

Arizona Captured his Heart: The Arizona Capitol Murals of Jay Datus

Donna Reiner Few visitors to the Arizona State Capitol Museum venture to the former home of the State Library on the third floor of the...

Mar 2
1 min

Supper is Served with the Release of the Mar/Apr 2023 ACC Issue Spotlighting Vintage Restaurants

Arizona Contractor & Community magazine spotlights Phoenix's iconic restaurants in its just-released Mar-Apr issue. These eateries range...

Feb 21
2 min

The Arizona State Capitol: Its Hidden History from the Ground Up

Michael Cady It is doubtful that when the second mayor of Phoenix, Francis Shaw, purchased a section of land on the outskirts of west...

Feb 1
2 min

Maintaining a Certain Character and Dignity: Architect Frederick Weaver, Jr.

James Logan Abell, FAIA Fred Weaver established an architectural firm in Phoenix in 1949 that grew into one of the most prolific and...

Jan 26
2 min

Krumtum Contracting: Paving Post-War Arizona

Billy Horner Contractors have a knack for understanding and operating all sorts of equipment, whether it’s a vintage cable-operated blade...

Dec 29, 2022
2 min

PAIR-A-DICE PARADOX: BEAUTIFUL WARREN VS FUNKY BISBEE

by Don W. Ryden AIA BISBEE – THE QUEEN OF THE MINING CAMPS Mining is a gamble, as is everything akin to it. Success teeters on the...

Dec 22, 2022
2 min

Old School Equipment: Dart Truck Company

Significant changes occurred when Bagdad Copper Mines converted from underground mining to an open pit in 1945. President and Chairman of...

Dec 16, 2022
3 min

Digging Through the Past: The Williamson Diamond Mine

by William Horner Diamonds might be a girl’s best friend, but these precious stones are not part of Arizona’s mining heritage. However, I...

Dec 14, 2022
2 min

How to Handle a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment

by Michael Bernstein A Phase I Environmental Site Assessment can be a stressful experience for all parties involved. But there are...

Nov 30, 2022
2 min

Fly Ash in Concrete

Luke M. Snell, P.E These days, adding fly ash to concrete is standard practice. Research has shown that fly ash is a supplementary...

Nov 1, 2022
1 min

ACC Magazine Releases Shopping Mall Issue Before the Holiday Season

Just in time for the holiday season, Arizona Contractor & Community Magazine spotlights the development of shopping centers in Arizona ...

Oct 6, 2022
1 min

ACC Magazine Wins Coveted History Honor

In some big news, Arizona Contractor & Community Magazine received the 2022 Al Merito Award, the highest honor given by the Arizona...

Sep 8, 2022
1 min

SE Arizona Spotlighted in Sep/Oct Issue of Arizona Contractor & Community Magazine

We spotlight southeastern Arizona in the Sep/Oct issue of Arizona Contractor & Community Magazine. The region has some crazy backstories,...

Aug 15, 2022
2 min

Phoenix’s Fab Place: Reuter Equipment Co.

Tom Pickrell In the summer heat of Phoenix, work begins at 3:00 a.m. for Brent Reuter and his fabrication crew at Reuter Equipment Co. on...

Aug 12, 2022
2 min

Architect’s Perspective: Globe: Where Copper Was King

by Doug Sydnor, FAIA The mining town of Globe, Arizona, has a notorious early history of saloons, gambling halls, brothels, murders,...

Jul 22, 2022
1 min

Back When: Phoenix's Favorite Portal

Douglas Towne While the Phoenix population figure has skyrocketed since the photo was taken in 1974, the unique window to view the former...

Jul 8, 2022
4 min

How an Old Bridge and an Artificial Geyser Created Two Arizona Towns: The Genius of Lorne Pratt

By Douglas Towne There were no textbooks on land development in Arizona when Lorne Pratt was tasked with marketing two new communities in...

Jul 7, 2022
4 min

Lorne Pratt: Arizona’s Hollywood-Connected Developer

By Douglas Towne Most fathers in the 1950s taught their sons how to throw a curveball or catch fish. Lorne Pratt, who helped create...

Jul 6, 2022
1 min

AZ Master-Planned Communities Issue Released

In the 96-page Jul/Aug issue of Arizona Contractor & Community magazine, we focus on planned communities, starting with the state’s first...

Jun 29, 2022
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, 2022
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, 2022
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, 2022
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, 2022
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, 2022
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, 2022
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, 2022
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, 2022
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, 2022
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, 2022
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, 2022
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, 2022
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, 2022
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...

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