Basque handball court part of Flagstaff's fading history

[Source: Betsey Bruner, Arizona Daily Sun] -- A rusted chain-link gate with a combination lock and a red "No Trespassing" sign keep the curious away from one of Flagstaff's most unique cultural artifacts -- a pelota, or handball court, on the east side of South San Francisco Street. Bits of tar paper, egg cartons and yellow dandelions move in the breeze that gently whispers over the vacant lot behind the gate. Many windows are smashed in the adjacent building, Tourist Home, the Basque boarding house built in about 1926, just before the construction of the ball court. No longer heard are the voices of robust Basque men playing pelota, a palm-ball game with origins in ancient Rome. There are no more "thud" sounds as they smash hard-rubber balls into the Moenkopi sandstone walls of the court, called Pilotaleku in the Basque language. They were the Basque workers who immigrated to America in the 1800s, bringing their sport with them. They came from the Basque region of Europe along the western Pyrenees that spans the border between Spain and France.

Tourist Home is Flagstaff's best example of a Basque boarding house. Located near the train tracks, the boarding houses provided a place for sheepherders to stay as they moved their flocks from winter to summer locations.

In the Basque region, the pelota court is still at the center of the social life of each town and city. In the New World, the court was always built near the boarding house or hotel. The courts attracted additional customers for proprietors at the hotel and provided Basque herders with a cultural focus and recreation. Mostly single men, the workers could hook up with jobs at the boarding house, learn the new language and enjoy recreation such as handball. Eventually, they might meet their future wives. Basque settlers and their families joined small ethnic enclaves that developed in the Southside area of Flagstaff. In the meantime, the men played handball. The game could be played with two players or with teams.

The handball games in Flagstaff were usually played with the naked hand or a gloved hand. The handballs were extremely hard and handmade from goatskin, and players could break their hands if not careful. In America, the athletes eventually used dime-store rubber balls. The professional version of this Basque national sport can also be played with a cesta, or wicker racket, similar to the game of jai alai played in fronton palaces in Spain, Mexico, Central and South America. Bigger and stronger courts are needed for these professional versions of handball where balls can travel up to 150 miles per hour.

The South San Francisco ball court has made it to the list of Arizona's Most Endangered Historic Places for the second year in a row. Under the auspices of the Arizona Preservation Foundation, the list identifies properties of major historical significance to the state that are in grave danger of collapse, demolition or destruction. "It's a reminder of a piece of Flagstaff history," said Jim McPherson, board president of the Arizona Preservation Foundation. "If it falls or goes, it's gone. Pictures just don't do it justice."

In celebration of National Historic Preservation Month, McPherson came to Riordan Mansion Tuesday to give a talk on the status of the historic preservation movement in Arizona today. Karl Eberhard, an urban designer and historic preservation officer with the city of Flagstaff, has been working hard to preserve the history of the court and Tourist Home. Both developing a town and preserving its history is a tall order. "It's nice because there are things like this in Flagstaff that are important," he said. "The challenge is to figure out ways to preserve these historic properties, but at the same time, not have boarded-up buildings with 'No Trespassing' signs."

Basque history has not been ignored in Flagstaff, said Susan Wilcox, curator for the Arizona Historical Society on North Fort Valley Road. The Arizona Historical Society has included it in numerous exhibits, whole days of Basque cooking at the Wool Festival, walking tours and talks at Riordan Mansion, she said. Also, The Southside historic building survey (October 1993) included a section on "Basque Vernacular" architecture. The court at 24 S. San Francisco St. was built by Isabelle Garcia, a widow, and her son Jesus Garcia (pictured above), who also built the boarding house. Jesus Garcia was a sheep herder, but he became the cook at Tourist Home. On the July 4th holiday, he would cook for the entire police and fire departments, said Olga Esparza of Carson, Calif., a relative of the Garcia family. The South San Francisco Street court was actually the second ball court in town. The first was built by another Basque, Martin Martin in 1911. Located at 116 W. Benton, it was removed in 1921. In addition to the Flagstaff court, there are still seven Basque ball courts in California, two in Idaho, two in Nevada, one in Oregon and one in Utah -- 14 in all. Measuring 50 feet long, 50 feet wide and nearly 40 feet tall, local lore says players had to stand out in the street to have enough throw to play the game.

Court walls were thick and able to handle the high-speed balls. Peering through the fence on East Cottage, a visitor can still see the three stone buttresses that were built outside the rear wall for added strength. Still standing are parts of a wire cage that extended above the walls to keep stray balls inside the court. The ball court and boarding house exemplified the evolution of South San Francisco Street as a neighborhood of Spanish-American and Basque residents

The last Basque owner of the ball court property was Thomas Martinez, one of four surviving children of the property's last owner, Evaristo Martinez. He put the real estate on the market in August 2003, in as-is condition and at an asking-price of $1.2 million. There are two parcels in the irregular property site, with three structures: The ball court, Tourist Home and rundown garage, and a vacated retail building. The back part of the court is on another parcel owned by the Wong family of Southside. "It's a funny lot configuration," said Eberhard, who is working with new owners, Kent and Patty Luttrell of Tallpines Environmental Consulting, to develop a plan for the site that preserves history and makes sense financially. "I developed a scheme for them that they're excited about," Eberhard said. "They're interested in preserving the properties."

The owners may opt to convert the two lots to "commercial condominium," to be listed as one common property owned in common. One innovative but expensive design Eberhard has developed would stabilize the handball court walls and encase them in glass, with a restaurant inside the arms of the court. “The seating would be upstairs in an open loft, so you're looking down on this incredible history," said Patty Luttrell. "That's what's exciting to me. It would be illuminated and it would enliven the Southside." [Note: Photo courtesy of the Arizona Historical Society. Pictured is Jesus Garcia in a studio portrait.]

See mound of history from Mesa hospital's deck

[Source: Jim Walsh, Arizona Republic] -- Visitors to Banner Mesa Medical Center soon will get a bird's-eye look into Mesa's roots from an eighth-floor observation center overlooking the Mesa Grande Platform Mound Ruins. This month, a waiting room will be turned into a museum with exhibits explaining the history and significance of the ruins and a second site about a mile northwest at Mesa Riverview. It will feature a mural by artist Craig Chepley. "It's almost like having an aerial view," said Tom Wilson, executive director of the Mesa Southwest Museum, which is developing the exhibit with assistance from the hospital, the Salt River Project, and Southwest Ambulance. "This is an extremely important site and one of the major distribution centers for water."

The Mesa Grande ruins, just west of the nine-story hospital, date to about A.D. 1300. They are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, but are also on the Arizona Preservation Foundation's list of most endangered historical places. Wilson said Mesa Grande is one of three major Hohokam ruins. The others are Pueblo Grande in Phoenix and the Casa Grande Ruins National Monument in Coolidge. "I think it was a natural partnership for us to develop with the museum," said Susan Gordon, a Banner Mesa spokeswoman. "We have a great view of the ruins." It's unclear how long the observation center will remain open. Banner Health announced more than a year ago the facility would be phased out as the new Banner Gateway opens in Gilbert. [Photo source: Banner Health.]

This old Yuma house...is in trouble

[Source: Paige Lauren Deiner, Yuma Sun] -- Gang tags cover the inside of the house. What's left of the front porch sags. The windows are boarded up and graffitied. "I am amazed at how crappy the house has become," said Stephanie Hernandez, who lives on the block. But the home at 837 S. 2nd Ave. in Yuma still has some of the features which once made it a beautiful place to live — a central gable which projects out of the front roof plane, fish scale shingles, turquoise interior walls, fireplaces.

These features, though, are crumbling for lack of care, which is why the Arizona Preservation Foundation put the 1905 brick home on its list of the 12 most endangered historic places in Arizona last month. "All of the properties we have named are important historic sites in Arizona, but unfortunately are in grave danger of collapse, demolition or destruction," said Vince Murray, vice president of the Foundation's board and chair of its Most Endangered Historic Places review committee.

Adan Flores, the owner of the house, said that the fear that the house will be demolished or left to rot, can be laid to rest. "I'm planning to restore it as soon as I save some money," he said. Flores says he may have the house refurbished by the end of the year. When he bought it, five or six years ago, he said the house was already in poor shape. "The house was already tagged when I go it," he said. "The house was exactly this way when I go it."

[Note: To read the full article, click here. Photo source: Yuma Sun.]

Mountain View Black Officers Club makes historic list

[Source: Bill Hess, Sierra Vista Herald/Review] -- The World War II-era black officers’ club on Fort Huachuca has been listed as one of 12 Arizona’s Most Endangered Historic Places by the Arizona State Preservation Foundation. The listing on Jan. 24 is seen as an additional positive step by the president of the Southwest Association of Buffalo Soldiers in the organization’s attempt to save Building 66050. “It (the listing) brings us more publicity and will help in fund-raising,” Tom Stoney Sr. said Monday. SWABS has also applied to the National Trust for placing the black officers’ club on its annual list of historic places in danger, he said, adding, the national list is expected to be out in May.

Jim McPherson, president of the nonprofit Arizona Preservation Foundation, agrees that being listed in the state will help organizations raise money to save facilities with significant historic ties to the state. The foundation has existed since 1979. Every year 11 or 12 historic places are listed, he said.

Vince Murray, the foundation’s vice president and chairman of the organization’s Most Endangered Historic Places review committee, said, “All the properties we have named are important historic sites in Arizona, but unfortunately are in grave danger of collapse, demolition or destruction.” [Note: To read the full article, click here.]

New city and county plan to protect Tucson's Tumamoc Hill rezones it

[Source: Erica Meltzer, Arizona Daily Star] -- City and county officials have a new plan to ensure 320 acres of state trust land on Tumamoc Hill never becomes a housing development. The move comes just days after the Arizona Preservation Foundation named the Desert Laboratory one of the most endangered historic sites in the state. The plan will require the cooperation of state land officials. Tucson City Councilman Jose Ibarra and Pima County Supervisor Richard Elias, whose ward and district include Tumamoc Hill, have asked the state to reduce the zoning on the site to prevent it from being developed and to reduce its market value. In exchange, the city and the county would allow more intensive land use on other state trust land.

The hill west of Downtown is part of the University of Arizona's century-old desert plant research center, but the land could be sold for development to raise money for public schools. "If you put a high-intensity housing development next door, it would endanger the long-term integrity of the Desert Laboratory," said Julio Betancourt, the laboratory's director. "If they could down-zone it to make it less palatable to developers, that would be a good thing."

Its current zoning would allow one house per acre to be built on the flatter lands on the west side of the hill. The zoning could be changed to either institutional reserve or open space, Ibarra said. "By taking this action, it gets us extremely close to protecting a vital research park and open space," he said. [Note: To read the full article, click here.]

City budget crunch threatens Mesa Grande mound

[Source: Art Thomason, Arizona Republic] -- While eliminating jobs and services to deal with a fiscal crisis, Mesa also faces the prospect of losing one of its most historic sites. The Mesa Grande Platform Mound Ruins, one of three such remaining sites built by the Hohokams around AD 1000-1400, is on the Arizona Preservation Foundation's 2006 list of the state's most endangered historic places. The ruins, which are on the National Register of Historic Places, are "in grave danger of collapse, demolition, or destruction," said Vince Murray of Tempe, vice president of the foundation's board of directors. "The city of Mesa has basically ignored it." The foundation consists of preservation professionals and historians.

The ruins, which belong to the city and are cared for by the Mesa Southwest Museum, "are tremendously significant to the history of the Southwest and to North America," the museum's director, Tom Wilson, said. "They're one of three major, remaining ruins," he said. The others are the Pueblo Grande Museum and Archeological Park in Phoenix and the Casa Grande Ruins National Monument near Casa Grande.

[Note: To read the full article, click here. Photo source: Banner Health.]

Phoenix heats up over last Chinatown building

[Source: Allison Firestone, Preservation Online] -- In Phoenix, tension is escalating this month over the last remaining structure from the city's early 20th-century Chinatown neighborhood. Thirteen community and preservation organizations filed an appeal with Maricopa County Superior Court on Jan. 13, challenging the city council's approval of a downtown development project that would remove the roof of the 1929 Sun Mercantile building. The groups say plans for the city-owned, National Register-listed structure violate the city's historic preservation code.

The Southwest Value Partners, led by Phoenix Suns majority owner Robert Sarver, wants to build a $200 million luxury apartment and condominium complex that includes an 11-story addition atop the existing "Sun Merc" building and an adjacent 39-story complex. Local organizations sought 4,500 square feet of museum space dedicated to the building's cultural history, but at a meeting on Dec. 14, the council would only authorize 1,000 square feet, an amount to which developers would not commit.

Since the appeal's filing, the city has decided to reopen negotiations with the Save SunMerc Coalition. Arizona Preservation Foundation President Jim McPherson, one of the representatives planning to meet with the city this week, says the coalition wants "to see that the [11-story addition] does not happen and that the full-size Asian American museum is there." It is not opposed to the construction north of the Sun Mercantile building.

[Note: To read the full article, click here. Photo source: Steve Weiss.]