Donna Reiner has written many articles over the years for the Arizona Republic and others about Phoenix history and memorials.  She is a regular contributor to our newsletter. This month, Donna shares about the history of drive-ins in the Valley

In the 1950s and 60s, parents bundled up their children, put them in the back of the family station wagon or family sedan and headed to the movies. No, not the walk-in type of movie theatre, the drive-in type. This arrangement was ideal for families with small children or babies and when you might not be able to afford a baby-sitter for a night out.

When we became teens, many of us double-dated at the drive-in. This was especially important to many parents as they thought their sweet young daughters would have less of a chance of “getting into trouble.” However, as it often happened, once the lights went down and the movie began, that might have been the last thing you remembered other than what you told your parents you were going to see.

Fast forward to college days. Then you might try to sneak as many of your friends into the car and only pay for one or two people. When trying this method, you needed to be careful when getting out of the car so no employee “caught” you and made all of you leave.

Adventures could abound at the drive-in. I had the dubious experience when out with my older sister of trying to watch Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds” while it rained. When we seemed to be concentrating on the water bubbles, it was time to turn on the car and start up the wipers; repeated as necessary. I finally watched “The Birds” sans rain last year.

The marquees of drive-ins were spectacular and because of being perpendicular to the road, it was impossible to miss them. One time my precocious 4-year old asked what the letters “X” and “R” after the movies meant. So, I told her they had to do with the amount of sex and violence in the movie. She thought about that for a moment and replied, “I know all about sex, but what is violence?” Ah yes, those drive-in theatre memories. By the way, we did not see those two movies.

If you grew up near a drive-in theatre, you probably tried to watch the movie from a distance and without the sound. That could be a futile effort or at least one where you would have to guess what was coming. Still, it was a creative method.

Today, drive-ins are a thing of the past. The way of the 8-track tapes, beta videos, and home milk delivery. For those of us who were able to enjoy them, wasn’t it great to sit in your car under the stars and watch a movie?

Some of these notable items have come across my virtual desk over the last month and I thought I’d share them with you. These relate to issues that could affect your home health, but which hold the promise for huge economic growth (and the value of your home) in the near future.

AZ is an EV Manufacturing State. And that means jobs, economic growth and the potential for many more people moving to AZ soon. This has an effect on the long-term value of your home, folks. Plus it also has an effect on air quality (assuming we get more of those clean cars on the road here.) Not only are we adding manufacturers of cars, but also battery manufacturers. The best news is that there is increased interest in battery recycling.

You may have heard that only 5% of all lithium-ion batteries sold are recycled. That is a huge mine of precious metal right here in our trash cans. Companies will come in to find better ways to complete that circular economy and get that lithium from your trash to the recycling facilities. One thing you can do to help is participate in the new Phoenix hazardous waste home pickup program. You can recycle those batteries effortlessly.

More on Gas Stoves. My apologies for beating this one to death, but I feel like realtors (myself included) have a duty to correct this believe that gas stoves are better. They are certainly not healthy. Many groups, including the American Lung Association, report that indoor air quality is significantly worse in homes with methane gas stoves. Learn more about that at GasLeaks.org. See this article from the Daily Sun for an AZ-specific perspective.

While We Are On The Subject. Southwest Gas is proposing an 11.4% rate hike. You might guess this is normal, given conflicts overseas and tight gas supplies. But the more you look in to you it, the more you see that Southwest Gas is spending rate payer money on lobbying (that should be shareholder money), as well as free gas hookups for developers (the money for which comes out of rate payers’ pockets. This, at a time when we should be moving people away from climate change-causing methane gas –not expanding the system. There are some customers who are organizing to oppose the $90M rate increase.

Ranked Choice Voting Fall Event. It bears repeating. If we want better policy outcomes, we need better inputs. That means ranked Choice Voting. Join me for the official kick-off of our effort to bring ranked choice voting to Arizona. Join us on October 19th to learn how we are going to do this and celebrate with others who share your desire to make our political system work for everyone. Entertainment by Steve McCalister – currently on his “Get The Bunk Out” tour.

Local historic preservation advocate Jim McPherson brought to my attention that there have been some increases in the Arizona State budget related to preservation. You can learn more about applying for these grants here.

Heritage Fund

In fiscal year 2023, $2.5 million was appropriated to fund the Arizona State Parks Heritage Fund. The Heritage Fund provides grant opportunities for trail projects, outdoor environmental education programs, local, regional, and state parks, as well as historic preservation projects through legislatively appropriated funds.

• Available Funds: $2.5 million
• Eligible Applicants: Include non-profits, governmental entities: cities, towns, counties, tribal governments, and state and federal agencies. Organizations and clubs may enter into a cooperative agreement with an eligible applicant, (e.g. forest land manager).
• Eligible Projects: The Heritage Fund provides grant opportunities for trail projects, outdoor environmental education programs, local, regional, and state parks, as well as historic preservation projects through legislatively appropriated funds.

Local, Regional, and State Parks (LRSP)
Funds Available : $10,000 to $250,000 per project
Eligible Applicants: State, County, Local, Tribal
Eligible Projects: LRSP projects address construction, maintenance and development of public outdoor recreation facilities.

Historic Preservation

Funds Available : $5,000 to $150,000 per project

Eligible Applicants: State, Local, County, Tribal, Schools, Non-Profits

Eligible Projects: Projects must directly involve the resources listed in the Arizona or National Register of Historic Places or determined eligible for listing by the State Historic Preservation Office.

Trails

Funds Available : Up to $50,000 per project

Eligible Applicants: State, County, Local, Tribal, Non-Profit

Eligible Projects: The Trails Program provides funds to develop and maintain trails and trail related facilities for non-motorized trail uses.

Outdoor Environmental Education

Funds Available : $5,000 to $50,000 per project

Eligible Applicants: State, Local, Schools, County, Tribal, Non-Profits

Eligible Projects: Promote outdoor and environmental protection programs related to outdoor recreation.

So, we are about to be officially in a buyer’s market. Look at this chart from the Cromford Report showing where the Cromford Index sits. It’s right on the crucial 100 mark.

Remember, when the index drops below 100 it is a buyers market. We’ve not seen this since 2010!

That buyer’s market is why you are seeing so many price drops and opportunities to negotiate.

Prices have definitely dropped. Not nearly as far as they did 15 years ago (30%, and that is not remotely likely).

More along the lines of 1% to 3%, and that varies depending on the market sector.

We know why this happened. Interest rates doubled over the last year. People are holding off, hoping that prices continue to drop.

But the problem with that approach is that, if they wait too long and the Federal Reserve increases interest rates again, they will erase any savings that they might have seen from price drops with higher interest rates. I detailed that in this blog post last month.

We are seeing some efforts by lenders to adapt, finally. They are recommending a thing called a 2-1 Buydown, in which you get a lower interest rate for the first two years, before the rate goes up to the higher level permanently.

Our friend Jeff Ohm is doing weekly educational webinars on those starting the first week of October. ….

One market analyst told me that she felt that lenders were in denial over the last few months that interest rates were going to go up again, and so they did not educate buyers about these options when they could. I can’t speak to whether that is true, but I can tell you that buyers are now in an odd position.

We know that the long-term demand is not going to go away. We’ve addressed previously about how Arizona can expect to need to build about 270,000 living units (apartments or homes) over the next decade. Even if we can address the scourge of short term rentals and investment buyers shrinking inventory so home prices are unattainable for many, we will still need more homes.

In other words, if you buy now, your long-term prospects for selling higher are still good. Believe it or not.

If you are listing, don’t kid yourself. It’s a buyer’s market. You won’t get multiple offers, you need to spruce up your property and you will have to price aggressively. This has basically been true since about March, but many sellers were in denial and have paid the price.

Donna Reiner has written many articles over the years for the Arizona Republic and others about Phoenix history and memorials.  She is a regular contributor to our newsletter. This month, Donna revisits the many ways that our skyline has changed over the last 100 years.

Nearly 20 years ago I wrote an article that the publication’s editor titled “Building ‘Boom’ Blew Up Beauties.” Rediscovering that article several days ago, I realized that I have been writing variations on this theme ever since.

The early commercial buildings within the original townsite maintained an air of continuity, even if their occupants were in competition with each other. As time passed, the changes in those buildings not only reflected new construction techniques and available money, but also the spirit of their architects. But, has “progress” really improved what we see in Phoenix?

Since Phoenix is young in comparison to most other major U.S. cities, its eclecticness, leaning heavily toward the modern, should not surprise us. In fact, this mixture reflects the natural disparity in our tastes – the ho-hum versus the WOW! being a matter of personal opinion or preference. Yet, whatever happened to constructing edifices that will stand the test of time, buildings that many of us admire year after year because we continually notice some new detail about them and know that the architect was keen on expressing himself in the design? Where are those architectural statements, the classics that will be appreciated and whose designers will be remembered for 100 years or more?

Residents and visitors are confronted with a plethora of modern structures in the downtown area that seem to lack any particular personal architectural signature. When it comes to the architecture of the commercial buildings including those high-rise residential structures, one has to wonder what has happened in the last 40 years or so. Where’s the imagination and creativity in design or functionality in our harsh environment? What we now have are boring rectangles: towers with ribbons of cement or masonry of various colors, but generally “desert” tones and glass. Smoked glass, coats of copper, symmetrical design.

On the one hand there is a sameness, a ticky-tacky box syndrome on a monstrous scale. On the other hand, the Sandra Day O’Connor Federal Building, for example, evokes so many critical comments on its design and impracticality in our desert region that one wonders why it wins such accolades from architectural circles.

Some of these modern buildings have replaced large two-story homes, schools, theaters, and churches. Instead of lamenting what has disappeared though, make the ongoing effort to keep aware what remains. Be sure to notice the intricate details and other elements of the Professional Building (now the Hilton Garden Inn), the Luhrs block, the City/County Building, the Walker Building, the Westward Ho Hotel, and the Orpheum Theater. If you take your time in studying these and other buildings from different angles and at different times of day, you will see new things. Then compare these grand old structures with their newer counterparts. From a historian’s perspective, retaining “concrete” examples of our past allows our children and future generations to appreciate what it means to lose a historic building in the name of progress.

We have five great listings on the market right now, with another one coming on in the middle of the month. All sellers are realistic about the market and they’ve dropped their prices in the last week. There are so many options. See our listings page directly for more information.

Price Drop. Stunning Historic Building. 387 N. 2nd Ave, #2G, NOW $615,000

You can enjoy a roomy condominium in a cozy HOA in this beautiful historic building, which was renovated from its original state about 20 years ago. In that renovation, the developer added many modern conveniences, including gated, covered and garage parking for all owners.

While everybody else drives around looking for a space to park, you can pull right in to your own secure garage downtown. You are steps away from live music, the weekly farmer’s market, shows, restaurants and all the things anyone is looking for in downtown living.

Plus, you get a beautiful full kitchen, 2.5 bathrooms and the kind of open living space you’ve been looking for.

Price Drop. Rare find! 1107 W. Osborn Rd., #101. 1br/1ba, 849sf, NOW $229,000

This is a rare condo in Central Phoenix for under $230,000 from a motivated seller.

Since it was last purchased, the owner has completely remodeled the bathroom and has updated the kitchen to complement the historic features.

Walk around the grounds and you will see why people love living here. The trees are big and offer plenty of shade.

This particular condo is in the center of a beautiful breezeway, which feels like a green jungle, even in summer.

The pool is sparkling and just around the corner from your front door. See it before it’s gone!

Price Drop. Lush Trees. 1107 W. Osborn Rd., #219. 2br/1.75ba, 1,108sf, NOW $294,000.

This affordable gem has a balcony that over-looks the beautiful acreage at Nonpareil Condos, with a massive tree shading from the west.

Sit out on the balcony and enjoy your morning coffee or read the paper, er, kindle, er, smart phone.

Aw, you get the picture!

You’ll love the original 1950’s kitchen. Still functional and cut.

Shopping at Sprouts and Safeway is just around the corner, with easy access to all of the fun of Central Phoenix.

You will be hard-pressed to find a value like this so close to everything, including Phoenix College, which is directly to the south of this property.

Price Drop. 18427 N 36th Ln, Glendale 85308. 2br/2ba, 1,283sf. NOW $367,500

Our sellers on this property updated the flooring and paint.

It boasts a large master suite with sliding doors leading to the large covered patio. The patio will make a shady space for relaxing or gardening.

The yard is landscaped, irrigated, and includes a sliding RV gate for your fun toys. The two-car attached garage includes a plethora of additional storage cabinets, and a workbench to fix the aforementioned toys.

The home includes a newer roof and security shutters. It is close enough to the I-17 and the loop 101 to be convenient, but far enough away so that you can enjoy a quiet neighborhood.

Price Drop. 10018 E Indigo St., Mesa. 4br/3ba, 3,000sf. NOW $940,000

If you want space for all your toys, your garden and all your things, this roomy home and huge lot will be great for you.

The owners updated the flooring, the kitchen, the back yard and added a huge, four-bay garage. This is perfect for the auto enthusiast, or for all the toys.

That’s in addition to the three-car garage that is attached to the home! The additional garage bays are 30 feet deep and the entire garage is 50 feet wide with 8 foot tall doors.

You will be able to sit out on the back patio with amazing views of the mountains, with Usery Mountain Regional park almost out your back door. Whether you are all about indoor or outdoors, you will love this one!

Did you see how the buyers dried up in a matter of months once the Fed started raising interest rates?

Buyers held off. Sellers found themselves sitting on high-priced properties. Many refused to see the light and drop their prices. Buyers saw increased inventory and said, “Heck. I’ll just wait for prices to come down.”

Well, the fed is going to raise interest rates again in September by 3/4 percent.

Crucially, that increase in interest rates could erase any price drops we’ve seen over the last couple months. Interest rates could also put more buyers on hold.

So, this is why you need to make a deal now.

If you are a buyer, the increased interest rates will increase your cost of owning a home. A $400,000 home with 5% down at 4.5% interest costs about $1,925 per month (principle and interest only). Increase interest rates to 5.25% and that home now costs $2,100.

That is not nothing when you pay that every month for 30 years –$63,000 on a 30-year mortgage, to be precise.

In other words, even if prices continue to drop, they are not dropping fast enough to erase the extra interest cost.

On the seller side, if you’ve been holding out thinking that the buyers will come back, or if you are still seeing those December 2021 dollar signs in your eyes, you need to make a deal now.

When buyers come to you, they are going to offer less so that they can offset those increased interest rates.

As we’ve been telling our clients recently, you don’t want to be chasing the market downward because you were not realistic about prices when they started to drop. Imagine yourself standing on a hill with a ball. The ball begins to roll down. If you watch it roll, you will have to run further to get a head of it and catch it. If you get ahead of it right away, you can catch the ball before it rolls too far.

Buyer, get out there and make a deal before interest rates erase your savings. Don’t assume that prices will drop dramatically enough to off-set interest increases.

Sellers, get a deal now before buyers have to deal with higher interest rates in late September.

The August Events is all about being inside. Unless you can get out of the state or can survive the I-17 parking lot on a Friday, you are probably stuck inside. Let’s make the most of it.

Australia’s Great Wild North at the Arizona Science Center. Far Northern Australia is a land of extremes. Huge bushfires ravage the ancient landscape in the dry season and the world’s biggest thunderstorms bring torrential rain and flooding in the wet season. These almost Jurassic conditions have created some of the richest wetlands on Earth as a result. The coast, rivers and waterholes are haunted by sharks. The plains are guarded by territorial buffalo and venomous snakes, but the apex predator here is a living dinosaur: the Saltwater Crocodile. They have been on the planet in almost identical form for 200 million years—even surviving the meteor strike that wiped out the rest of the dinosaurs. Daily 12:00 PM & 2:00 PM. Weekends also 1:00 PM.

Storytime In the Galleries at the Phoenix Art Museum. Share the joy of early literacy and art-inspired play with our youngest Museum visitors. Families and friends are invited for a special reading of I am Native by award-winning author Violet Duncan (Cree and Taino).

Experience a glimpse into the beautiful world of a multigenerational Native family and discover how customs are shared in traditional and modern ways. 

Poetic Soul Phoenix at Club Downtown. I’ve always loved the number of opportunities to hear live story telling in Phoenix. I’m not so much of a poetry person.

But, the more of this we see, the better off we are. Here is new collaborative arts & culture experience. Welcoming all poets, singers, emcees, comedians, storytellers, etc. $12 – $15.

Local First AZ Fall Fest is Accepting Applications. If you are thinking you’d like to be a vendor at this huge annual event, here’s where to start. We all love this event, as it signals the glorious cooler day in Phoenix. We all come crawling out of our homes after hiding from the heat, blinking at the now-tolerable sun. This is such a great opportunity to see friends again, not just after the summer, but as we all return to normal after the pandemic-which-shall-not-be-named.

Foam Zone at the Children’s Museum of Phoenix. Cool off in the Foam Zone! Pro Tip: Bring a change of clothes and a towel for your child. Playing in the Foam Zone is a fully immersive activity. Depending on their level of participation, your little one might end up dripping wet. Foam play is FREE with paid Museum admission of $16 per person. Members and children under the age of 1 are free. Daily. So, um, question from here in the back of the class. Why don’t we have one of these for adults? Sounds amazing!

Masters of the Universe Featuring All Puppet Players at the Orpheum. If you know APP, you know APP, and you will probably go to this. The All Puppet Players invite you to enjoy a movie “classic” with them as they bring their fuzzy lunacy to the most beautiful theater in Arizona. Join the R-rated puppets as they celebrate the 35-year anniversary of Masters of the Universe starring Dolph Lundgren, Frank Langella, and Monica Geller. Watch this crazy cult classic with puppets as they scream at the screen, crack jokes, and basically question why this movie sits at 19% on Rotten Tomatoes! WARNING: NO ONE under 17 years old (valid ID required) will be permitted into shows. NO EXCEPTIONS. All Puppet Players shows are for mature audiences with exceedingly immature tastes. $16.

The Three Little Pigs at the Great Arizona Puppet Theatre. So, after you’ve had your fill of the adult-oriented puppets from All Puppet Players, you can redeem yourself as a good parent by taking your young kids to see this presentation in the historic puppet theatre building. Just don’t expect to take a beer in to this show with you. I think they’d frown upon that. The big bad wolf and three little pigs are delightful to watch in this classic story told with large rod puppets and lots of fun music. $8 – $12.

Understanding the Numbers with Local First, Friday August 12th. Google Analytics is probably one of the most important components of a successful marketing strategy. Why? Because Google Analytics provides an unbiased review of the numbers. In this class, you will learn how much traffic is coming to your site, how to measure the success of your advertising efforts, how to set conversion goals, and so much more!

I’ve been trying to find a better way to offset my carbon for a few years now. You can see my recent attempt here, and my lessons learned here.

So, that attempt did not turn out so well, but not for lack of trying. I was more annoyed with how the Arbor Day Foundation did (or didn’t) use my contribution.

But, I’m ready to start again. It’s a new day.

And, if you are looking for relatively easy ways to take action on climate change, and also see where your contribution goes, then you might want to try Wren. Read this description or this blog on how it works.

To be fair, I’m just trying it now. So, I’ll report back to you if you don’t feel like being an early adopter on this one.

Parenthetically, I can report positive results from my adoption of Ecosia to direct internet ad revenues to tree planting. It was easy to set up and runs silently in the background as I do my work.

Let’s start at the beginning. Using Wren’s simple-to-use carbon calculator, I found that I use about 18 tons of carbon each year. This was shy of the 20 tons that Arbor Day calculated for me.

In both cases, it seems high to me. I don’t drive as much as average Americans, I limit meat consumption and I have solar panels. But, that’s the point of this exercise. I don’t think many of us realize how much carbon we really contribute to the problem.

Regardless, let’s assume this is off and I only consume 15 tons. That’s still twice the UK average; a place with a standard of living I’d be happy to endure.

This exercise is reinforcing my plans later this year to replace my old A/C & heater unit with a new, high efficient A/C + heat pump, to replace my gas stove with an induction stove and to exchange my old fridge with a new Energy Star refrigerator.

But, in addition to that (and voting for climate-friendly candidates), I can also contribute to carbon offset directly.

The problem I had with Arbor Day was that (1) I did not trust that they spent the money I sent them; (2) I sent them a big check all at once, which hurt; and (2) they sent me tons of paper junk mail made from, you know, trees.

What I like about Wren is that they give me regular updates on the projects they fund with my monthly contribution.

One draw-back: Wren is not a 501c3. It is a Public Benefits Corporation (PBC), if that matters to you. Frankly, as long as I see results, and don’t find that they over-pay their executives, I’m cool with it.

I choose the $38/mo. option, since that seems doable.

So, anyway, if you’d like to try, go through my referral link here. Wren plants 10 native trees for each referral I make.

Donna Reiner has written many articles over the years for the Arizona Republic and others about Phoenix history and memorials.  She is a regular contributor to our newsletter. This month, Donna tells us why fire hydrants –something you’d think is about as mundane as buttered white bread– really tell a story about urban growth and how people’s thinking about fire prevention and water use has changed since Phoenix was founded.

Infrastructure is NOT a ho-hum topic. Certainly, it is not a common topic for mealtime discussions, nor probably the old water cooler chats. But imagine, what life would be like if we did not have the infrastructure that we have today?

I recently bumped up against an older form of infrastructure when a septic tank was discovered in my backyard. My subdivision had been platted in 1921 and is located less than a mile north of McDowell Road and Seventh Street, but I couldn’t picture that this area was without sewer hookup at that time (although there was no mention of that in the original ads). And I have no idea if it was ever used. Now it is filled with concrete.

So why is infrastructure so interesting to this historian and other people like me? I’m sure that you can guess that we find the stories associated with it so intriguing. And certainly there are some aha moments.

But now for the story of a dog’s best friend: the ubiquitous fire hydrant! In Phoenix, they are painted a bright yellow and usually found near an intersection. And if you remember the state’s driving codes, you are not supposed to park closer than 15 feet from one. But what is the background on these hydrants?

A laborious search through old newspapers revealed what we might consider to be silly mentions. In 1896, one article cited an order of a fire hydrant for the corner of Fourth and Taylor streets and another indicated a special city council meeting regarding the placement of a hydrant at Van Buren and Third Streets (it was considered urgent business!) And believe it or not, there is still a hydrant on that southeast corner!

The Arizona Republican even posted the expenditures for hydrant rental and repairs. This was important information, but renting hydrants? What was that all about? Further research answered those questions. It seems that the water works system at the time was privately owned and therefore had a contract to furnish a set number of hydrants for a fee, of course. After careful analysis when the contract came up for renewal, the city eventually took over the water system and ended that obligation. Whew….all those behind the scenes discussions which changed the course of our city’s operations.

But imagine, in 1910, every summer night the street department would hose down the dirt streets in the business district using those hydrants in order to keep down the dust! Actually, the department used city jail prisoners to do the hosing all night to complete the task.

But never fear, by 1912, the city was adding hydrants on diagonal corners in the business sector for added protection and also placing hydrants in “remote” residential districts. As the municipal water system expanded and upgraded because Phoenix was growing, more hydrants were added to the system. Interestingly, their placement has for the most part remained constant even with the addition of new hydrants.

If you have a dog, you know how much they love those hydrants. We humans generally take them for granted.