Chandler historian gains statewide honor

[Source: Edythe Jensen, Arizona Republic] -- Noel Stowe, a Chandler resident and Arizona State University professor who has been preserving the region's history for more than four decades, has received statewide recognition. Stowe, 66, recently received the 2008 Governor's Heritage Preservation Honor Award for his years of service as founder of ASU's Public History Program. Although he is involved in numerous state preservation efforts, Stowe gives plenty of time and advice to his home city. A member and former chairman of the Chandler Museum Advisory Board, he helped initiate the city's history kiosk program and is working on design and programs for the new museum.

[Note: To read the full article, click here. Photo source: Tom Story.]

National Register workshop in Chandler April 24th

There will be a National Register workshop before the Arizona History Conference on April 24, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the San Marcos Resort & Conference Center. One San Marcos Place, Chandler, AZ 85225. Sponsored by Arizona Historical Research and Ryden Architects, this workshop will focus on how to nominate a property to the National Register of Historic Places. Using a case study, professionals from the public and private sectors will disseminate information on: researching a historic property and creating a context; describing architectural styles and features; selecting criteria for eligibility, identifying significance, and evaluating integrity; the local, regional, and national designation process, working with consultants, and preservation resources.

The workshop leaders are: Vince Murray, historian, Arizona Historical Research; Don Ryden, architect, Ryden Architects; and Kathryn Leonard, National Register coordinator, Arizona State Historic Preservation Office. Registration fee: $50.00 (meal not included). Registration deadline: April 14. Make checks payable and mail to: Arizona Historical Research, 5025 N. Central Ave., Suite 575, Phoenix, AZ 85012. For more information, contact Vince Murray at 480-829-0267 or vince@azhistory.net.

Efforts started to save Chandler's old water tower

[Source: Edythe Jensen, Arizona Republic] -- The Chandler Historical Society has launched a "save the water tower" campaign to preserve an 88-year-old structure scheduled for demolition. The Bogle water tower at Snedigar Sportsplex is one of the last remnants of what was the town of Goodyear in south Chandler northeast of Alma School and Chandler Heights roads but neighbors have been complaining about its peeling paint.

Jim Patterson, former mayor and historical society president, is asking residents to e-mail the mayor and city council and ask them to stall the demolition. Members of the Bogle family had offered to donate the tower to the city. Spokeswoman Jane Poston said Chandler is interested in the site for a future municipal well but the water tower would need to come down first. For information on the preservation campaign, call 480-782-2717.

Downtown Chandler business grants questioned

[Source: Luci Scott, Arizona Republic] -- Taxpayer-funded business grants have been a key factor in the redevelopment of downtown Chandler's historic buildings, but now the city is considering changes following complaints about how the grants are distributed. Grant amounts have varied. For example, the SanTan Brewing Co., a popular brew pub and restaurant that opened last year, received $100,000 in taxpayer money through the Downtown Improvement Fund. Sushi Eye in Motion, Art on Boston, Urban Tea Loft, and the yet-to-open sushi restaurant KiZake each received $50,000.

Dick Mulligan, director of economic development, confirmed that his department is working on changes to the DIF program, but he isn't making the proposals public yet. "It's premature to lay it out," Mulligan said. "We haven't put together a draft."

The proposals need to be presented to the City Council's economic development subcommittee before they go to the council, he said. "And we've got to interface with a lot of stakeholders," Mulligan said.

Councilman Jeff Weninger has complained that taxpayers and tenants contribute to building improvements that benefit the owners, but owners are not required to contribute. However, some landlords voluntarily do. "Without this kind of financial help, the tenants, the mom-and-pop businesses most likely would not open a business downtown," said Niels Kreipke, a developer and a downtown landlord who has contributed to tenant improvements. From fiscal year 2002-03 through 2007-08, the city distributed $601,859 from the DIF. Private investment during that time totaled more than $2.4 million.

Chandler's farmworkers cemetery being neglected, some say

[Source: Edythe Jensen, Arizona Republic] -- A 90-year-old cemetery for Hispanic farmworkers, surrounded by the Fulton Ranch development, is being neglected in what preservationists worry is an attempt to justify moving the graves off valuable land. Two years ago, Fulton Homes fenced the cemetery and installed benches and trees at the entrance as it prepared to develop the surrounding land. The home builder doesn't own the cemetery, but investors who bought it following a tax auction have told volunteer caretakers to stay out. That has angered a Chandler police group that has vowed to intervene -- with weed-removal equipment to cut down the overgrown tumbleweeds.

"It's an ethical thing," said Chandler Police Sgt. John Shearer, who is organizing the cleanup as an officer in the Chandler Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 14. "The cemetery used to be back in a field. Now it's in the middle of Fulton Ranch behind a beautiful wall. The gate is unlocked; you walk in . . . and there's a mess." The cemetery is one of the few remaining links to Chandler's once-thriving Goodyear farming community. Shearer said he has been unable to contact current owners of the Goodyear-Ocotillo Cemetery, northwest of Chandler Heights Road and Arizona Avenue. Pat Florence, a member of the Pioneers' Cemetery Association, said a representative of the previous owner ordered her group to halt regular cleanups because the land was private property. Florence said she feared she would be sued if she defied the order.

[Note: To read the full article, click here. To view Channel 12 video on the cemetery, click here. Photo source: Arizona Republic.]

Chandler's Bogle water tower will be demolished

[Source: Edythe Jensen, Arizona Republic] -- Gilbert gave its 1920s-era water tower a $250,000 facelift and puts its image on town documents. Owners of a nearly identical tower in Chandler are giving theirs the heave-ho. The Bogle water tower northeast of Alma School and Chandler Heights roads was erected before 1920 and is slated for demolition by next month, said Chandler Public History Coordinator Jean Reynolds. "This is one of the last remnants of the old town of Goodyear. Sadly, it will soon be gone," she said.

Neighbors, however, have been complaining about the structure's peeling paint and the city has no ownership rights, she said. "Though old and rusty, it represents our history," Reynolds said. Chandler Museum Coordinator Jan Dell said Chandler's tower is as much a symbol of city history as Gilbert's, and she is hoping someone launches a preservation effort to stop the demolition. Messages left for members of the Bogle family seeking comment were not returned. The family has farmed in Chandler for more than 75 years, and nearby Bogle Junior High is named for them. [Photo source: Arizona Republic.]