Just curious (Phx. hist.)

Has anyone ever seen anything made by jim gebhart?

 

I did, I did! hahahahaa

 

Sorry, I need to read the old stuff again.

 

Did you know the Circles Records & tapes store used to be a high end automobile dealership? It was Stewart Motors Inc. They sold brands like Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Jaguar, Borgword, Daimler, N.S.U. Prinz, BMW, Panhard, DeSoto and Plymouth.

Stewart Motors, 800 N Central, Phoenix
Now Circles Records & Tapes

 

I also want to add that the Circles and Discs building still has some sort of "liquid" left over in the tanks underground.

My woman was friends with one of the managers there, he took us to the back and dropped a broom into a hole in the ground (the hole was a bit bigger than the broom handles diameter), it just sort of bobbed there.

 

The Sheep farm next to ed smits belonged to John F. Long the home home Builder. He had Donkeys too.
I came here in 1955, not much of a town. All the auto dealers were down town on Van Buren from 7th street to 7 ave. In 59 a DJ named Long John Silver sit in a 59 Ford, on a flag pole and did his show from up there. Read Mullen Ford. KRIZ and KRUX were the radio stations and a country one KHAT. Ray Odem rode a black horse at all the parades and Owned KHAT.
Clint Brawner had is shop and the building is still there on 7th sterrt and Glendale, N/W cornor behind the bank. I hung out at AL's speed shop on 7th street and Van Buren in 1970.
And there was a movie lot at what is now 101 and cave creek rd. Was an old western town and sound stage. My father in law raced midgets at the thomas track. and in 58 there was a restruant on grand and indain school that had a 1/4 midget track next to it. you could eat and watch the kids race. And of course there was Cloud 9 on sunnyslope MT in way north phoenix. When you saw it driving south down the 2 lane blackcanyon hyw, you knew that phoenix was close.

 

Is this the Thomas track?

62 St. & Thomas, 1949

 

Yup that be it. I think there is a water treatment plant there now.

 

Did NOT know that, it's been Circles "forever"....

Creepy!

 

I believe that Circles was first a Studebaker dealership in the late thirties. I've been told that, but never confirmed. The building that is on the East side of central South of Roosevelt was a Packard dealership, that I've seen pictures of on acmeron.com. That by the way , is the building I'm most concerned about in our historic building stash. I've heard some rumblings about "letting it deteriorate so it can't be saved", then tear down. We've lost alot of downtown to that in the last ten years alone.

 

Lanny Haas - Can you ellaborate on "Cloud 9", I've never heard of it before. Where was it. You mentioned Clint Brawners shop on 7th and Glendale, his son still had that shop until about four years ago.

 

The water treatment plant is just south of it. If you look at the larger map, you can use the tanks for reference.

 

My information is from 1960 and from what I can tell they were at least there in the 50's and 60's. The building also might not have been there before then.

Is this the picture you were talking about? The two are very similar, but they might not be one in the same, since the Westward Ho looks to be a lot further away in the second picture.

 

Chip, that might be it after all. I just checked and KOY was across the street at that time, so it looks like you found a name to go with another building, or at least the building behind it. Looks like Curtis Bros. Motors?

 

Yep that track at 62nd & Thomas was a horse track mainly. Went out there with a neighbor from the trailer park I lived in,in '51 and saw the ponies run. Was 7 years old and wondered all through the barns etc by my lonesome. Can you see that happening nowdays. If I remember right that autodealer buinding on the east side of Central was Gus Stalling's Mercedes dealership mid 50s and later. He had a Gull Wing 300 he used to run at the drags.And streaching my memory it was called "Phoenix Motors".

 

Chip: Cloud 9 was a rest. on the furtherest west of the Sunnyslope mts. As I recall the access road started at the north end of 15th AVE. After it burned down in '64 some of us used to go up there to get close and personal with a female!! LOL The road was a bit of a cow trail but I had both my 54 Chevy and TRP up it several times. There are some comunication towers there now. You could see ot real well from the old "Northern Drive In" where a K-Mart is now.

 

Stallings Imported Cars, 915 N Central & used car lot, 1020 N Central.

 

Was this track ever used for auto racing?

Sportsman's Park 1950? 7 Ave. and Osborn

 

Is that a V4 before Scat?

 

Any idea on a date for that LSA ? Which way is N-S in that view? Been here since '50 and sure don't remember that track. Phoenix Country Club has been on the NE corrner of 7Th St & Thomas since late 30s about. Also don't see North High 12th and Thomas opened in '39. Can't figgure which way is which in that view.

 

Looks like 340 but could be 540 on the glass above the door. Wouldn't that be 3rd or 5th St or Ave assuming Phoenix? Probably does not narrow it down much.

 

I see the picture is named Central and Thomas. Not sure which intersection that is in the pic.

 

The only thing I have is what was posted with the picture, as far as the date goes. It is oriented the same as the map. Just look for the jog in 3rd Ave. It's between Indian School and Osborn and 7th and 3rd Ave.

 

I was born in '65, so AFTER Cloud 9 burned down. When I was a kid, me and the folks would hike up the road to Cloud 9. Just a foundation and a pit of some sort. I've looked for pictures on line as to what that restaurant looked like. How freakin' cool would that have been!!

 

OK that track would be at 7th AVE not street. The buildings at lower left center would be St Joesph Hospital,built as I remember 51-53 era. Central Ave would be the street running verticaly on the right . Lower center to the left of Central vacant field is the dairy farm that became Park Central about 54-5. Towards the top next main road l to r NW corner was Bekins moving building and the Carnation dairy plant and ice cream store in front of it. Remember going there for ice cream while still living in the trailer park ,moved from there in '52. On SW corner just south of Indian School Rd was the old McDonalds . NE corner Phoenix Indian Sch. now Steel Park.

 

I've always wondered what that was up there.

Cloud Nine

http://www.phoenixmag.com/lifestyle/history/200907/cloud-of-suspicion/

http://images.google.com/imgres?img...channel=s&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&um=1

Lets try to get back to car stuff though.

 

Sorry, I went back and fixed it.

 

Hell the first time I went into that McDonald's the sign said MILLONS sold in the low single digits !!! LOL Again 52 -53 era . I would date the map pic about 53 .but sure don't remember that track and I rode with my Dad on appliance repair service calls alot back in the 50s. Cheap help ya know !

 

Hey Mat, that's the building I'm talking about on the leftof the modern photo with the bus. It supposedly dates from the mid twenties, and I'm sure that there is a shot of it as aPackard dealership in acmeron.com stuff. It's a little less recognizeable lately due to the collapse of the small "tower" that was on the south end of the building. Another car that you guys should be aware of that came out of AMT here in Phoenix is Bud Bryans '29 on '32 rails that helped kick off the traditional car thing. Most of the body work was done here at AMT acording to one of the early articles in ROD & CUSTOM. AS long as we're thowing out names from Phoenix's past, does anyone here remember a guy named Lee Lebhart? He was one of my mentors as a kid, and had lots of good stories about Phoenix in the forties and fifties.