It was an ignominious end of a small -- but glorious -- dream. Kuhles Demolition Company tore down the Old Roadhouse restaurant last Thursday, to make way for a new fire station. The restaurant, which went through a number of hands, but never caught on, had burned last year.
A great pity.
The structure was basically an excuse, maybe, or bad business plan or desperate attempt to rationalize the purchase of the old Santa Fe railroad bridge over Granite Creek.
As I recall the tale, a couple who were railroad buffs realized a dream when they were able to buy the bridge -- the Santa Fe was closing out its Prescott operations.
But then the question did come up: what does one do with one's railroad bridge. It isn't very portable. In a world of lifestyles and cool concepts, the obvious answer is a restaurant or saloon. At some point, the rolling stock was acquired and the front building tacked on. It didn't work.
Now that the city owns the property, what happens to the bridge -- and passenger car atop it? The gossip says that the bridge stays, but the fate of the grafitti-ed car is up in the air.
I certainly hope that we keep the bridge. As readers know, I've got a soft spot in my heart for those old, four-square steel constructions, if for no other reason than that they beg to be photographed from many angles.
I think the main reason that place didn't work was because the parking situation was abysmal.
ReplyDeleteThat was exactly what my late husband said. I have to admit that though we ate out often, we never made it to that place.
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