May 61 minMay/June Issue ReleasedIn the 96-page May/June issue of Arizona Contractor & Community magazine, we focus on two “Papago” places vital to Phoenix. We trace how...
Apr 132 minEditor’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 12 minPhoenix’s “Cunning” Shopping Center: The Magical Mall Called Chris-TownJohn 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 162 minAround the Globe in 18 Holes: Phoenix’s Classic Miniature Golf CoursesJohn 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 41 minACC Magazine Releases 50th Issue Spotlighting Medical Facilities and Their Builders/DesignersLike another Valley publication, Arizona Contractor & Community Magazine decided to spotlight the medical field for our March/April...
Mar 12 minEditor’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 171 minPhoenix "Slides" Into the FutureDouglas Towne A mystical magic carpet experience, a la Prince Husain of "One Thousand and One Nights" fame, was available for 15 cents...
Jan 242 minArchitect's Perspective: Celebrating the McDowell Sonoran Preserve's TrailheadsDoug Sydnor, FAIA Scottsdale residents realized their quality of life was under threat in 1991. The pristine McDowell Mountains, a...
Jan 182 minDel 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 61 minJan/Feb 2022 "Leisure" Issue ReleasedTo 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, 20213 minThe Wild Ride That Created Castles n’ Coasters Amusement ParkTom 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, 20211 minAZ Contractor & Community Magazine Digs Into State's Mining Heritage for Nov/Dec 2021 IssueWhat's crazier: using atomic bombs to mine copper, a ginormous salt mine under a city, extracting iron from a giant *sandbox* or...
Nov 1, 20213 minThe 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, 20212 minTaking 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, 20212 minPaul 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, 20212 minSerious 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, 20212 minArchitect’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, 20212 minLevel and Plumb: The Masonry of Marion J. EvertsenTom Pickrell Marion John Evertsen was a prominent masonry contractor in Phoenix for more than 30 years, starting in the 1950s. Largely...
Oct 5, 20212 minAir Entrainment in ConcreteLuke M. Snell, P.E. An inspector recently contacted me regarding some concrete loads that exceeded air-content specifications. The...
Sep 29, 20212 minBuilding 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...