Sunday Ocotober 26, 2008, we just came back from a busy theatre day with our granddaughters Katelynn and Brianne.

We started the day with lunch at MacAlpines on 7th St in the Coronado Historic District.

Rexall Drugstore that was launched on the site in 1928. To the left of the entrance is the long, curved soda fountain; tall wooden booths and a handful of ice cream-style tables and chairs make up the rest of the seating. Fixtures are original, from the cherry-red Formica tabletops, spiffy black and white tiled floors and circular glass display case for the cashier in the middle of the floor and a circa-1950s jukebox

 

Katelyne and Brianne

   

  

Katelyn at counter and the restaurant

  

 

MacAlpines owner

 

 

Lewis, Brianne, Katelyne and the Soda Jerk (Jessica) 

 

 Then we were off to Valley Youth Theatre, ( www.vyt.com  and their production of Treasure island. Established in 1989, Valley Youth Theatre (VYT) is dedicated to helping young people learn and grow as performers and creators; and to instill in all young people an appreciation for the performing arts that can be carried with them into adulthood. Valley Youth Theatre has created a most unique opportunity with our own children’s orchestra, technicians and actors.

Lewis, and the girls in front of Valley Youth Theatre

 

 

  

 Mario & Lewis in Lobby of Valley Youth Theatre

 

Lovely Sara Meyers with Valley Youth Theatre

 

 

Treasure Island

 

 Brianne & Katelyne getting autographs from the actors

 

 

 

With the show over we are on our way home and came across the following building across the street on Central Ave

The Westward HO

 When the Westward Ho Hotel opened in downtown Phoenix, it was the tallest structure in the area. Phoenix was a small town — progressive, but small owing to the killer summer heat. Water was relatively plentiful thanks to the completion (in 1912) of the Roosevelt Dam; and farming was a large part of life.

Throughout the years, the Westward Ho saw its share of fame: radio star Jack Benny stayed there while doing radio shows during World War Two, Elizabeth Taylor had a suite, Paul Newman filmed the 1972 film “Pocket Money” there. It was visited by presidents, statesmen, and just plain folk. (You can see it in the opening sequence of the 1998 version of “Psycho.”)

During the general exodus of homes and jobs to the suburbs in the 1970s, the hotel began its inevitable decline, closing in 1979. Luckily, bucking the trend that once crowned Phoenix as the “tear it down and build a fast food restaurant” champion, the Westward Ho escaped demolition and was converted to senior housing in 1981. The new millennium brought with it an $8,000,000 remodel completed in late 2004

Contributed by Mario Romero, CRS, CDPE, CLHMS
602-252-4191 office, 602-254-9810 fax
The Romero Team - Melcher Agency
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