Back country Prescott

Happy and unhappy mailboxes -- a clue to the current state of ranching/farming in a part of the city that's destined to become just one more huge real estate development. The buildings on some spreads have been left to the elements; others are kept in repair and in use. All are on the dirt road between new 89A and old 89A, about which I posted recently.

A forgotten house in the cottonwoods (above) and a shed that's shedding (below).


It would appear that one barn is disintegrating, while others are kept in good repair on this farm (above).

Looking at the barn (above), I wasn't sure of its condition until I zoomed in (below).

And here (above, below) is a corral (or two) evidently no longer in use.

On the other hand, this spread (above, below) has an interesting history. It was, until the early 19aught30s, known as the northern Arizona dry farm, an ag experiment property run by the University of Arizona for 15 or more years to determine the best agricultural uses and practices for the dry, cool Prescott climate. The property has been in private hands since the U of A closed its operation and still looks to be quite busy.

There must be a story here

Up Coronado just before it runs into Country Club Drive, there sits a lonely building on the hillside. Perhaps a garage at one time. A choice piece of property in a good neighborhood with almost no vacant lots . Nothing has changed in all the years I've lived here in Prescott, even during the height of the real estate boom. I'm sure there's a story here. My first guess would be a fire, but that does not explain the neglect.

Today as we passed the scene, Patty brought this cross to my attention. Or are we looking at something more mundane -- a crosspiece that once served as the foundation for a for sale sign, maybe? Just as likely, it may have said no trespassing.

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!

Look, Ma, no hands!

The building at the NE corner of Gurley and Cortez Streets was originally built as the Prescott National Bank back in the 19-aughts. It remained in the banking biz until 1957, when the Valley National moved down the pike to the premises at Granite Street now called JP Morgan Chase. Most recently, this corner building housed a real estate office promoting the American Ranch development. Of course, RE operators are pulling in their horns these days and the 1st floor offices/showrooms have been vacated. However, one matter has me quite puzzled: why did the RE folk take the time to remove the hands on that corner clock? To me, it looks embarrassingly naked.

Were the hands perhaps removed by the building's owners who didn't want to be responsible for keeping the time correct? Or might it have been the high price of electricity to keep the clock running.

Further question: will that rather elegant sign (above) painted on the Gurley Street side of the building remain, to weather through time, thus joining the ghost on the north side of the structure (below). Rather hope so -- it's a great reminder of our current follies.

Blogger Get Together: Unless we're hit by a half-foot of snow tomorrow, the local contingent of bloggers is scheduled for another get together. In honor of the occasion, I've updated the links to our local posters in the right hand column. Some of the blogs new to the list include Bindle Stick, Dove and Snake, Inner Eye, Prescott Past, Romance Magic, Simplewise and Victorian Vices.

About that building...

This was Catalyst's adventure. I had often wondered about an unidentified single-story building just south of the Hassayampa on Gurley Street. No ID, no activity, nothing to suggest what might go on behind that door. I chanced to mention this in a post and thereby piqued the curiosity of our prime PV blogger.

Next thing you know, he just happened to be in the vicinity and...

I walked down to the building and, lo and behold, saw a man come out the (unmarked) door with a big box which he was struggling to load into his truck. I stood behind him watching until he got it all where he wanted it and turned around. I said I was going to offer to help him but it looked like he had been to that rodeo before.

Then I asked him if he knew what this building was. He responded that it was a "family office." I said something like "so that means it's an office for one family?" He said that it was and in fact was HIS family. My reporter skills apparently convinced him to tell me that it used to be the parking garage for the Hassayampa (and indeed there is a large garage door on the east end of the building in the alley). He said one of the many times the hotel had gone broke, his father managed to buy the building from them and made it his "family office." He didn't seem to be more inclined to tell me what the "family business" was and I wasn't inclined to ask him.

Thank you, Catalyst. A final wrap-up: I checked the county information site and found out that the building belongs to one of the major local ranching families.

The two-lion castle

Periodically, friend Patty takes me for a drive into corners of Prescott I'll never walk, because I didn't know they existed before the ride -- and often, figuring out just where we were is a challenge I don't have time for. That's the case with the two-lion castle among the granites to the west of town. Somewhere. I know it's up this windy road. But I don't know just where this windy road is located.

Regardless, the site features mini-ramparts, a gate and a tower, though a moat would never survive, given our city's water situation. Somehow, the modern house behind that imposing tower is hair anachronistic.

The establishment is guarded by this lion, who really doesn't look quite big enough for his responsibilities. Lion number two (below), who guards the mail box, looks to be far more dangerous to trespassers or marauders.


Just in case the lion pair fall down on the job, there's always the mini-canon up on the ramparts. Prescott! Sometimes it's hard to believe.

A Family Note: As long as I am talking lions, moats and castles, I'll play the doting grandmother as well and send you over to OmegaMom for the tale of the Printsuss Hoo Slad the Dragin. It is a book by my granddotter, just turned seven.

On a Gloomy Note

Wow -- a new and interesting shop to explore. That was my reaction when I walked from the library down to Whiskey Row the other day. Located in that beatiful Courtyard Building on Cortez. Then I caught a look at the building directory.

Three empties.

Which brings up Mr. Cat-A's Oddball Observations for the day. Gloom-y. All about closed and/or up-for-sale restaurants. For me, the saddest news of all is the shuttering of the old Pine Cone Inn out the White Spar. You see, I'm old enough to recall family trips up from Phoenix in the summer when I was a kidlet way back in the aught-30s. At that time, there was a wayside inn midway through the mountains at Glen Oaks, but the sight of the Pine Cone Inn meant that we had finally arrived in Prescott. We never stopped for food at the Pine Cone -- it was the Depression 30s, after all . In fact, I had never dined there until we moved back to Arizona in the 80s; not the most exciting fare, but worth it for the nostalgia.

I was also reminded that there's another historic restaurant up on the block: the Kirkland Bar & Steakhouse. I hate the thought that one of the last countryside cowboy bars might not make it through the current economic mess. And on that sad note, let me bring you:

4 Local Real Estate Blogs: There are several more, but most noteworthy is the fact that three are focused on foreclosures. Prescott Area Foreclosures and Expert Foreclosure Helper discuss the current state of the market. A third blog, from the REO Services Group, lists individual properties. All Foreclosures. Prescott Fine Homes, summarizes 2008 area real estate statistics.

Landscraping Prescott

At this point, of course, the hills scraped bare for the Lowe's project are a done deal. Spilt milk. Very yesterday. But they remain visible sores on the land as seen from up the hill behind my house. Not only can I catch a glimpse of the Lowe's debacle, but also the hillside beyond, cut to make room for the super Wal-Mart, plus earlier work to flatten the earth for our first major mall, to the right. But when I moved my camera angle just a tad, the trees now framed a view that includes the new bare ground created to run trucks and supplies for the revamped SR89/SR69 over/underpasses (left, below). I find myself wondering if the folk who are enjoying "forever views" from the ridge tops occasionally see what's happening below. The barrenness will probably last close to forever!

But I think that saddest of all are the sites scraped bare just before the building boom crashed. I'm wondering, for example, about the proposed small shopping center at Willow Creek Road and Gail Gardner Way. At one point, the sign said that a major chain restaurant was to be erected there. No more. I walked through the land the other day, not realizing that there was a no trespassing sign. So arrest me.

Of course, with the economy in the tank, how long do you think it will be until ground is actually broken for a shop or two? Most likely, we'll be stuck for some months (or years?) with the raw earth and plenty of dust blowing about. At this point, I'd prefer seeing buildings, as much as I don't think we need any more retail in our small city.

There were more than a few wild plants on this parcel a couple of years ago. The apache plum at left is just across the property line. But this is dry country. It takes many, many years for such a beautiful bush to develop.

Yet for some strange reason, the developers left this lone pine tree standing in the middle of desolation.

Linkage: If you're like me, you wonder about the safety of cyclists on those recumbent contraptions; carry that concern one notch higher -- The Artful RV blogger found a couple pedaling along in a tandem recumbent with an attached baby carriage. Friend k, down in Florida, has photographs of her amazing hearts of flame now in bloom. Talk about R.E.D.!

Projects on hold?

That sale is now a done deal -- well past the pending stage. The other house on my street that's been for sale for well over a year? The owner's taken the sign down; doesn't really have to sell.

On the other hand, you wouldn't know that there was a real estate problem to judge by these trucks, busy moving soil from this hillside near Rosser Street up higher, to make a flat top, suitable for new houses in Cliff Rose (below).

The Sson suggested that inertia is what keeps some projects moving along; Newton's first law in action. Do we really have enough pent-up demand here in Prescott to support a batch of new Shops at the Boulders? Funny -- when I was visiting my MD up thataway in mid-aught-seven, there wasn't much happening on this Willow Creek Road project.

It may be a gamble -- perhaps the developer is getting a price deal from excavation contractors anxious to keep busy.

In contrast, this West Gurley Street condo development seems to be awaiting better times.

Ditto at the two corners of Montezuma and Goodwin. No doubt those condos will happen one day, but probably not right away. Bet there are a few developers breathing a sigh of relief that ground hadn't been broken when the bottom fell out.