The corner is naked

Do you recall the NW corner of Willis and Montezuma, back in, maybe, December 2006? There was a big yellow frame apartment building on the corner, then, heading north, an old brown house, next to Hugo's. How fast things can change. They are no more. In January, 2007, the apartment house burned; this April -- maybe a week ago -- the brown house was dozed to the ground.

I had no file picture of the original corner building -- but did capture images of it right after the fire. As for the brown house, again my photo library yielded only this sad little shot framed by a car window.

Sunday I was on my way to the chalk art scene, walking down Willis, when I noticed changes at the corner lot. And then became aware that I was seeing straight through to Hugo's outdoor dining sheds (below).

Turning the corner, there was this big dozer smack dab in the place of the brown house, surrounded by rubble. Thus far, only the one-sided trees remain standing.

The question, of course, is what is in store for this choice property? We already have two prime vacant corner lots in the middle of town, across from the Square; will this corner also remain empty as long as the market is down or are plans already afoot? Has anybody heard anything?

Blogger Meet-Up Link: Thanks to Tombo for an upbeat write-up about our very small get together Sunday. You'll have to scroll down because I wanted you to also see his report on a strange little art exhibit in the city drainage ways. Tom has a knack for locating totally unexpected sights in what everyone thinks of as a fairly staid little town. Way to go, Tom!

South Montezuma, as advertised

Yesterday I promised you a night on the town -- or at least a night on South Montezuma Street. Not Whiskey Row, by the way. We started several blocks south of the main drag. It all came about because I saw a notice in the Courier about a jazz concert at the new location of the Prescott Music Center. All of which suggested that bro and I try out Maya, the small Mexican restaurant up thataway.

Especially seeing as how rumor had it that Maya serves mole! As in yum. As in why don't other Mexican restaurants in Arizona serve mole? Don't know the answer to that question. However, Maya does serve a special mole, Michoacan style. As in yum!

The decor even included this Mexican restaurant meme -- the Aztec warrior saving the maiden. I've seen some version of this scene since the early 50s in Chicago!

Turned out that the Music Center was next door to Maya, so we popped in & the bro admired all the brass, happy that the store wasn't dominated by guitars. However, no concert.

One more door down the street.

Plenty of music making machinery evident in a studio setting with folding chairs in one corner.

And an excellent pick-up combo, as two of the originally scheduled musicians didn't show.

Organizer of the event, Rich Oxley, owner of the Music Center, who doubled in brass -- a mean trumpet and flugelhorn.

Dave Russell is a member of the Rich's combo that plays once a week at the Prescott Pines. His playing belies the professorial appearance!

On guitar, Cal McCarthy. Another bloody good jazz musician.
Ed Carter was called in at the last minute to play the electronic bass borrowed from the store next door. (Sorry, Ed -- you were hidden behind the other musicians!) Need I say that bro and I stayed until the last note. BTW, Rich is planning jam sessions every Wednesday PM.

After the music -- time to meander downhill for a brew or two & a phone to call a taxi, we being walkers. In passing, there was this smashing catalpa tree.

Out front of a pizzeria, a sign that obviously has a back story...
...a football player with chutzpah...

...yet another important member of the local music community -- The Fiddle Doctor...

...guns in a pawn shop and, finally,

...the first saloon we came to on a chilly night. Shelter! Coyote Joe's. Good Oregon brew, loo, reasonably cool music, and curious decor that is based upon bicycle parts.

Here's the night's music maker. Not often that Granny has a night on the town. The bro made a fine gentleman companion. It was fun.

Empty!

Empty store fronts are 1) surprising in our boom town atmosphere and 2) usually don't last long. Of course, the prime corner of Montezuma and Gurley couldn't have stayed empty after the Christian Corner moved and, in truth, it hasn't. A real estate firm is busy remodeling the premise for its street-side office. As far as I am concerned, it might as well be empty; RE offices don't add anything to the street ambiance. Too bad the plans for a bookstore/social center/coffee house fell through!

More perplexing, we have a strip along West Gurley that is fast emptying out, with no announcements of what happens next. By me, Breunner's (above) looks to be far more suitable as a big restaurant or night spot than as the furniture store it's been all these years. I was always surprised by a retail operation with such a cave-like entrance and lack of show windows. Plenty of parking, however.

The natural foods store down the street now sits empty. Rumor has a restaurant as the likely tenant, which certainly would pick up business along the McCormick Street "art district." Too bad the old commercial, wooden refrigerators got sold along with other fixtures. The building, which I believe has been a food store for much of its history, has a splendid tin ceiling.

And, smack dab between the buildings above is the McIlvain dealership, no doubt still in probate. Another local rumor says that the building was offered to the Sharlot Hall Museum across the street at one point, but turned down. Too bad, if so. Again, plenty of parking.

But here's the granddaddy of all empty Prescott retail space -- the old Fry's shopping center. It's been vacant since Fry's bought out Smith's & moved to its present location on Fair Street how many years ago? There was a big flurry of remodelling activity last winter, yet all but one of the stores (and a theater) remain E-M-P-T-Y. Strange. We all know who belongs in that supermarket space, don't we!

Note: If you want to get a taste of the Bluegrass Festival at the Square this weekend, click on over to Oddball Observations who took pictures at two outdoor events this weekend. Catalyst, who operates the site, even offers music to match.

A Sad Finish to an Historic Building

The Coronado Apartment building at Montezuma and Willis was built shortly after the turn of the century as a boarding house for railroad workers, according to the Courier. (The old depot and railroad yard were just around the corner, back when trains actually came into Prescott.) The historic building is no more, following a fire that gutted it last Wednesday.

Fortunately, only one tenant of the structure was injured. But it's sad to see history disappear right in front of our eyes. If I engaged in magical thinking, I'd say that this block of Montezuma is jinxed. Remember the former restaurant/bar up the street? On the other hand, there is another old apartment building (this one without an historic sign in front) which did survive a fire nearly a year ago.

What's the future of this corner? It's well underway across the street from the burned out hulk; the Compass Bank will occupy much of this new edifice; don't worry -- the yellow is slowly disappearing beneath a brick skin. I would guess that the apartment fire has created a choice piece of downtown real estate.

Note: Despite today's pictures, I'm not attempting to do on-line news -- for that, you might consider an on-line subscription to the Courier. Not only is the newspaper now posting its entire content, but it even features blogs written by staff members and its new web editor. Also the paper links to locally oriented blogs (including Walking Prescott--thanks, guys!) Free to present subscribers, but cheaper on-line only.