CEDARHILL

BillWoody*AbandonedFloors

I'm always curious as to how people find their way to Globe and what they discover in the process.

And so it was, nearly two years ago, I happened to meet Bill Woody on the street outside the Java Junction. He had camera equipment draped over his neck and he was holding a tripod. As a fine art photographer, Bill has been turning his lens on the old buildings of Globe-Miami for many years after being introduced to the area by a friend in Phoenix. Based in Ohio, Bill finds time in his travels to make a regular pilgrimage to this part of the country several times a year.

(Bill photographing 2nd floor of the Pioneer: April 2005)

And, since running into him, he has been staying at Cedar Hill whenever he is in town shooting. This last trip, in April of this year, we were both fortunate to be allowed access to the upper floors of the old Pioneer to shoot photos.Had he only known it was his last opportunity!  .

Bill's lifetime focus has been to photograph abandoned places in ways which allow others to view these old buildings from a new perspective and he often works with models draped in fabric or vintage clothing to add contrast. As he explains his work: "Like many of my other photos, the images here are neither portraits of the individuals, nor portraits of the places. many of the images contain contradictions between the individuals and the place they occupy. The viewer is allowed and encouraged to add their own story or interpretation to the images. As usual, i am indebted to many people who have shared these places with me."

"Justice" taken on 3rd floor of Elks Building

Bill's images take on new meaning in light of the Hotel fire and provide the final inside glimpse of a once great building. View his images at:

Abandoned Floors.  http://cedarhill.typepad.com/photos/billwoodys_pioneer_h/

Images include photo shoots in the old Pioneer, The Elks Club, Java Junction, The Mesquite and the Tonto.......

Taking Action

Tragedy and anger have a way of creating its own kind of kinship. It is not the kind we have with friends who share our taste in movies or politics, or with associates whom we relate to in a career. Its not the kinship of family or sports teams. It has a way of cutting across all of our normal boundaries and bringing us together under the one banner. Last night I attended a gathering of people who came to talk about the loss and what could be done from here. The turn out was significant on a sweltering hot july evening. Based on only a quick e-mail  sent out at 4:30 the day before, nearly 40 people showed up at Theas to talk and exchange information and ideas about the tragedy.

The group included 2 city council, as well as a cross section of Globe residents, downtown merchants and even non-residents, all  who want to lend their support in rebuilding. The group talked about what the loss of such a landmark meant to individuals and to this town; about other historic downtown buildings which could be lost as well unless action is taken by the city and their owners to mitigate  the dangers. Loosing a significant landmark like the Pioneer makes you question just how dedicated we are as a community in protecting and preserving our historic buildings and the real and tangible market value there is in preservation of a Historic District. Looking at Downtown, we must admit there are many problems which have gone unaddressed as recently as the last ten years. Right now there is passion and unanswered questions. Both of which, if directed on a fix, and not the tragedy, could go a long ways to get us on the road to recovery.

to be continued...

Images for Sale

Images of the Pioneer Hotel Fire will be available for purchase as of Thursday. You may go to my on-line photo lab at: http://www.pictage.com   Pictage is a professional lab which works with over 3000 professional photographers. The quality of the prints is excellent, as is the service.

Type in "Pioneer Hotel Fire" under FIND EVENT and it will take you to a screen where you can view all the images and select the size,borders etc.  A portion of all proceeds from the sale of these images will go towards the Cobre Valley Center for the Arts and the canvas fund.  Thanks.  L

Balaam

In BlackJack its common knowledge that "taking insurance" is a bad bet.

The odds are with the player. But when it comes to buildings and businesses it is a different matter. The question of who is liable, how much are the claims worth? What was actually covered?..will be answered in the months ahead. The investigators are now in town, but we don't know much at this point....( It seems unlikely to have been a lightening strike. Phew! One rumour dispelled!)

What we do know is that Frank Balaam and his wife Nora who had an art gallery in the Pioneer did not have insurance. The gallery held Frank and Noras paintings. A lifetime of works; from Franks earlier paintings of Jerry Garcia and Bob Marley, to the two recently completed canvases for the Hospital.

Their many friends have established  an account at Sunstate Bank for Frank and Nora. As one person said, " The canvas alone (for the Hospital project) cost $500 each...and then there are all the paints and supplies."  One can never replace a lifetime of work. But it helps to have the canvas to start again.

So - I'm calling it the the Canvas Fund . If anyone deserves new canvas, its Frank & Nora.

You can send your contribution to the canvas fund to:  Balaam  @   Sunstate Bank   161 W Oak Street  Globe, Az 85501    (*see Ev's comments under "Recent Comments")

The Pioneer Hotel weblog

You can now find information and images which specifically relate to the Pioneer Hotel at: The Pioneer Hotel http://cedarhill.typepad.com/pioneerhotel/ . The Pioneer Hotel story will be an ongoing one and one which has already taken on a life of its own. So, i decided to give it the space it deserves! I hope you enjoy it. And that you will take the time to comment on the Posts. It is the beginning of finding a collective voice.

Collecting images....

I've set up several photo albums for the Pioneer Fire, so please take a look under Photo Albums. I am asking anyone who has additional digital images which you would like to contribute to a collective album, to please email them to me along with your name.I will be putting together a CD of  the best images for Kip At Cobre Valley Center for the Arts as part of the historical record of Downtown Globe.

    

Fire Destroys Historic Hotel

This is the scene at 6:30 this morning, as the last vestiges of the Pioneer Hotel were consumed by a fire which broke out somewhere around 3am.  Awakened in the early morning hours by a cracking, popping sound, followed by a loud crash, Mother and I made our way through the dark to our front porch, only to find the Pioneer Hotel billowing smoke and flames. The scene was surreal. Flames shooting 30 ft into the air, suffocating heat and the occasional crash as another piece of wall came down.

Flickering reflections of firemen moving about in the street as they positioned their hoses to protect property around the Pioneer and contain the blaze to one building.

Buildings directly threatened by the flames included: Qwest -directly behind the Pioneer, the Globe Theater and United Jewelry, both directly south of the Pioneer. Around 6:30 we saw a huge column of smoke and flames coming from the Theater and it was apparent Globe would loose more than one landmark.  Both of these buildings were built at the turn of the century and not only held much of Globe's disappearing history, but businesses which have helped define our community life downtown for the last decade:Java Junction, Balaam's Gallery,and the Theater. 

Globe and TriCity firefighters attacking the fire as it bursts through the roof of the Globe Theater. (Cobre Valley Center for the Arts in the background).

United Jewelry, directly to the south of the Theater was threatened ,but I understand at this point, that fire did not reach the building. There is both water and smoke damage. A primary concern with United, I heard was the  firearms and ammunition which are part of the store's inventory, and which were located along the wall closest to the Theater and the fire line. 

At this time, (9am) United Fire is standing and secure. Globe Theater is a loss, as is the Pioneer. We don't know how much damage Back to Basics (the Health Food store across the street) sustained from the furnace of heat which blew strong and hot just 15' away.

The Salvation Army & Cedar Hill B&B, located just up the street from the Health Food store are both unharmed, but without power,gas, and cable. (I'm writing this in the lobby of the Days Inn where they have WIFI for my web post, electricity for my exhausted camera batteries)and hot coffee.

There is no information at this time as to what started the fire, although it could have been several things; the upper reaches of the building were in serious disrepair, electrical problems had been noted by the tenants in the past, the building had water leakages and damages, and just a month ago a piece of the roof cornice had fallen off and hit the street. Luckily avoiding doing any damage except to the concrete sidewalk. The building was struggling long before this fire. I'm sure there will be alot of information which comes out of the investigation and the effort to rebuild lives, businesses and our downtown district..........but one question which surely needs to be addressed in this tragedy is to what extent do owners, who buy up these old buildings and operate them as rental properties and put a minimum investment in the repair or maintenance of the property, bear any responsibility for ensuring their buildings meet a minimum of safety standards?

To be continued..

 

Fighting the roof fire     Blaze at 4am              Ruins at 7am                  Looking across the Street at downtown BroadStreet