Jan 21 min read
Jan/Feb Issue Features Recent Bridge Construction in Arizona
To start 2025, Arizona Contractor & Community Magazine spans rivers, canyons, and freeways in the 96-page, Jan/Feb issue, exploring major...
Nov 4, 20241 min read
Nov/Dec Issue Spotlighting Paradise Valley Released
The magazine's November/December issue delves into Paradise Valley to examine how this town almost became a farming district and,...
Sep 4, 20241 min read
Sep/Oct Issue on Newsstands Now!
The Sep/Oct issue takes readers to vintage establishments from blue-collar bars to swank nightclubs where construction workers swapped...
Jul 15, 20243 min read
Construction Innovations: The future is here, but are we ready?
By Brian Kassalen As the construction industry continues to boom, builders are looking for new ways to keep up with increased demand,...
Jul 2, 20241 min read
The "Over and Under" Jul/Aug 2024 Issue Features Arizona's Bridges and Underpasses
The Jul/August issue takes readers over the Colorado River and under railroad lines, spotlighting Arizona’s bridges and underpasses....
May 1, 20241 min read
May/June Issue Hits Newsstands Today!
The May/June issue spotlights Harold Hart's extended family and the many transfer, storage, and rigging companies that started with his...
Mar 21, 20241 min read
ACC Magazine Spotlights Van Buren Street in the Mar/Apr Issue
The Mar/Apr 2024 issue spotlights the neon-lit path that once guided motorists to Phoenix, a city that once had the world at its...
Feb 14, 20242 min read
How to Backfill Fast: Flowable Concrete Fill
By Luke M. Snell, P.E. and Frank Kozeliski, P.E. Concrete is often considered a building material used to construct our buildings and...
Jan 30, 20242 min read
RECAPTURING THE SPIRIT OF PLACE: KIVA CRAFTS CENTER REHABILITATION
By Doug Sydnor Part Cherokee and Scotch-Irish, Lloyd Henri Kiva New was an artist and educator who arrived in Scottsdale in 1946. Painter...
Jan 9, 20241 min read
ACC Visits Prescott in Jan/Feb 2024 Issue
The magazine enters 2024 with a special issue about the Valley’s favorite Mile High Retreat, Prescott, which locals pronounce as...
Dec 29, 20232 min read
Saluting Arizona’s Builders: Karl Ronstadt
It’s fitting to spotlight Karl Ronstadt in this water-themed issue of Arizona Contractor & Community. “I always liked dam work,” Ronstadt...
Nov 3, 20231 min read
"Sign, Sign, Everywhere Are Signs" In Just-Released Nov/Dec 2023 Issue
Signs have the power to represent places that hold great meaning in our lives, including reminding us of where we had our first dates,...
Sep 29, 202311 min read
A Whale of a Tempe Tale: One Version of Big Surf’s Origin - Part Two
By Aaron Gilbreath When my family moved down the street from Big Surf in my fifth grade year, I became a regular, spending countless warm...
Sep 28, 20236 min read
A Whale of a Tempe Tale: One Version of Big Surf’s Origin - Part One
By Aaron Gilbreath Before my dad died at age 81 in 2020 — before age eroded his legendary memory — he told me the full version of a story...
Sep 15, 20232 min read
Old School Equipment: Holland Belt Loader
By Billy Horner “New Device Gobbles Earth,” screamed a headline in the Billings Gazette in 1975. The Holland loader, an earthmoving...
Sep 8, 20231 min read
Old School Equipment: The Balderson Bowldozer
By Billy Horner The Balderson family proved that big ideas could come from little hamlets. In the 1870s, they started a blacksmith shop...
Sep 1, 20231 min read
Sep/Oct Restaurant Issue Released!
Our recent March/April issue spotlighting vintage restaurants was such a hit that Arizona Contractor & Community magazine decided to...
Aug 2, 20232 min read
Saluting Arizona’s Builders: Herman Chanen
“Our construction firm does things differently,” the late Herman Chanen told The Arizona Republic in 1962. “Most contractors are just...
Jul 5, 20231 min read
ACC Magazine Releases the "L" Issue Covering the State's Logging & Lumber Industry
Arizona Contractor & Community magazine makes the case that a couple of “L” words, logging and lumber, could be added to the state’s...
Jun 30, 20232 min read
Architect’s Perspective: Phoenix’s Carnegie Public Library: A Legacy of Learning
Doug Sydnor, FAIA The Carnegie Public Library has been an impressive edifice on the State government mall fronting Washington Street...
Jun 21, 20232 min read
Taking the Plunge: Building with Water Has Lasting Benefits
By Heather Smith Water is a life force essential for humans to exist. However, water is both a friend and foe when it comes to...
Jun 19, 20232 min read
Castle Hot Springs: Arizona’s Favorite Wellness Retreat Wins an Emmy
By Douglas Towne Contractors and engineers can be considered magicians, as they do the near impossible by making water run uphill. This...
May 2, 20231 min read
ACC Releases May/Jun Issue Spotlighting the Colorado River
Arizona Contractor & Community magazine takes readers for an exciting ride down the Colorado River in our just-released May/Jun issue,...
Mar 22, 20231 min read
Old School Equipment: The LeTourneau Rooter
Billy Horner Long before contractors had the luxury of hydraulic ripping options to loosen soil, humans opted for animal-driven plows for...
Mar 21, 20232 min read
Digging Through the Archive: Joe Guinn
Billy Horner You know that someone was born into a profession when you see baby pictures of them on the job with their father. Joe Guinn,...
Mar 3, 20232 min read
Arizona Captured his Heart: The Arizona Capitol Murals of Jay Datus
Donna Reiner Few visitors to the Arizona State Capitol Museum venture to the former home of the State Library on the third floor of the...
Mar 2, 20231 min read
Supper is Served with the Release of the Mar/Apr 2023 ACC Issue Spotlighting Vintage Restaurants
Arizona Contractor & Community magazine spotlights Phoenix's iconic restaurants in its just-released Mar-Apr issue. These eateries range...
Feb 21, 20232 min read
The Arizona State Capitol: Its Hidden History from the Ground Up
Michael Cady It is doubtful that when the second mayor of Phoenix, Francis Shaw, purchased a section of land on the outskirts of west...
Feb 1, 20232 min read
Maintaining a Certain Character and Dignity: Architect Frederick Weaver, Jr.
James Logan Abell, FAIA Fred Weaver established an architectural firm in Phoenix in 1949 that grew into one of the most prolific and...
Jan 26, 20232 min read
Krumtum Contracting: Paving Post-War Arizona
Billy Horner Contractors have a knack for understanding and operating all sorts of equipment, whether it’s a vintage cable-operated blade...
Dec 29, 20222 min read
PAIR-A-DICE PARADOX: BEAUTIFUL WARREN VS FUNKY BISBEE
by Don W. Ryden AIA BISBEE – THE QUEEN OF THE MINING CAMPS Mining is a gamble, as is everything akin to it. Success teeters on the...
Dec 22, 20222 min read
Old School Equipment: Dart Truck Company
Significant changes occurred when Bagdad Copper Mines converted from underground mining to an open pit in 1945. President and Chairman of...
Dec 16, 20223 min read
Digging Through the Past: The Williamson Diamond Mine
by William Horner Diamonds might be a girl’s best friend, but these precious stones are not part of Arizona’s mining heritage. However, I...
Dec 14, 20222 min read
How to Handle a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment
by Michael Bernstein A Phase I Environmental Site Assessment can be a stressful experience for all parties involved. But there are...
Nov 30, 20222 min read
Fly Ash in Concrete
Luke M. Snell, P.E These days, adding fly ash to concrete is standard practice. Research has shown that fly ash is a supplementary...
Nov 1, 20221 min read
ACC Magazine Releases Shopping Mall Issue Before the Holiday Season
Just in time for the holiday season, Arizona Contractor & Community Magazine spotlights the development of shopping centers in Arizona ...
Oct 6, 20221 min read
ACC Magazine Wins Coveted History Honor
In some big news, Arizona Contractor & Community Magazine received the 2022 Al Merito Award, the highest honor given by the Arizona...
Sep 8, 20221 min read
SE Arizona Spotlighted in Sep/Oct Issue of Arizona Contractor & Community Magazine
We spotlight southeastern Arizona in the Sep/Oct issue of Arizona Contractor & Community Magazine. The region has some crazy backstories,...
Aug 15, 20222 min read
Phoenix’s Fab Place: Reuter Equipment Co.
Tom Pickrell In the summer heat of Phoenix, work begins at 3:00 a.m. for Brent Reuter and his fabrication crew at Reuter Equipment Co. on...
Aug 12, 20222 min read
Architect’s Perspective: Globe: Where Copper Was King
by Doug Sydnor, FAIA The mining town of Globe, Arizona, has a notorious early history of saloons, gambling halls, brothels, murders,...
Jul 22, 20221 min read
Back When: Phoenix's Favorite Portal
Douglas Towne While the Phoenix population figure has skyrocketed since the photo was taken in 1974, the unique window to view the former...
Jul 8, 20224 min read
How an Old Bridge and an Artificial Geyser Created Two Arizona Towns: The Genius of Lorne Pratt
By Douglas Towne There were no textbooks on land development in Arizona when Lorne Pratt was tasked with marketing two new communities in...
Jul 7, 20224 min read
Lorne Pratt: Arizona’s Hollywood-Connected Developer
By Douglas Towne Most fathers in the 1950s taught their sons how to throw a curveball or catch fish. Lorne Pratt, who helped create...
Jul 6, 20221 min read
AZ Master-Planned Communities Issue Released
In the 96-page Jul/Aug issue of Arizona Contractor & Community magazine, we focus on planned communities, starting with the state’s first...
Jun 29, 20223 min read
Oval But Not Forgotten: Manzanita Speedway
Douglas Towne Before the Valley hosted major league teams in luxurious stadiums, local sports fans reveled in homegrown competitions...
Jun 17, 20222 min read
Old School Equipment: The Buffalo-Springfield Roller Company
Douglas Towne Construction machinery not only moves mountains, it can become a part of pop culture. One equipment line, the...
May 6, 20221 min read
May/June Issue Released
In the 96-page May/June issue of Arizona Contractor & Community magazine, we focus on two “Papago” places vital to Phoenix. We trace how...
Apr 13, 20222 min read
Editor’s Column – Creatives Ignite a Copper Town Rebirth
by Douglas Towne “Go West, young man,” was the prudent advice journalist Horace Greeley gave Americans looking for economic opportunities...
Apr 1, 20222 min read
Phoenix’s “Cunning” Shopping Center: The Magical Mall Called Chris-Town
John Bueker When Eugene “Jim” Cunning passed on in 2020 at the age of 86, the sad event did not garner much local attention. But it...
Mar 16, 20222 min read
Around the Globe in 18 Holes: Phoenix’s Classic Miniature Golf Courses
John Bueker Who got the ball rolling by creating the Valley's first miniature golf course is open to debate, but we know that Phoenix...