The beautiful circle trail around Prescott, AZ in high-def photos. I’ve hiked the entire trail and can vouch for its beauty and serenity.
Prescott Arizona, Voted Best Place to Raise a Family!
April 6, 2017 By
That’s right! And voted by whom, may I ask?
Me.
Prescott is continually being lauded by magazines and statistical polls as one of the top retirement destinations in the U.S. Although easy to understand with its 4-season climate and exercise potential, Prescott is also a wonderful town to raise your kids. How do I know? Because along with my siblings, I was raised here.
Prescott was and is a town of adventure. Sitting on the edge of the wild western frontier, Prescott has deep routes carrying back to the days of Wyatt Earp, Doc Holiday and more. Prescott has seen many changes over the years from a tiny mall (Ponderosa Plaza) to the newer Gateway Mall and shopping district where Bullwhacker hill once stood. Once a seriously dangerous road, Bullwhacker hill was revered by locals for its steep and curvy grade into town. During heavy snow, Bullwhacker hill was a death-trap. When the city decided finally to allow the “Bull’s Whip” to be straightened out, it was to some relief. The remnants of the old road are still visible to north side of Highway 69 as a ghostly reminder…a reminder to long-time residents of where Prescott truly began when entering town. Nowadays, there’s just a mall and a huge hotel blocking the view.
©2017 Matt White The above photo was imaged during two different times a day, This was some years before bracketing capabilities on digital cameras.
I personally remember when Prescott decided finally to build a “mall”. Back in the 70’s & 80’s, Prescott was bustling on the west side of town. Prescott High School was in full swing and industries were popping up. As a kid, Prescott was both a super-boring place to live, but also had the formula for adventure. We more-than-welcomed the “mall”, which wasn’t much of a mall at all. Anchored by Sears and J.C. Penny’s (previously located in downtown Prescott where the Bashford Courts are now) the Ponderosa Plaza was a tiny strip mall which included T.G.&Y, AJ Bayless Grocery, an Ice Cream shop, B-Dalton Book Store, Footlocker, a jewelry store, several local clothing and antique shops, and of course the arcade. The mall became a wonderful hangout destination and sort of odyssey in the trek to get there. We personally liked the path behind the newly built K-Mart plaza, through the graveyard, into the mall parking lot. Back then, there was no Gail Gardner Road to cross, just a ditch and a parking lot.
©2017 Matt White – A view of Prescott during the late 70’s from what appears to be the top of Washington St where the water tanks were located. To the left, Senator Highway is visible and the dirt road that turns into Virginia St. You can see the end of the pavement as the street heads up to the graveyard. This is also where Prescott’s Drive-In Theater was located. The little “S” curve from Mt. Vernon St/Senator Highway was frequented by us on bikes. We would start our descent from the top of the hill (now known as Palmer Hill), shoot across Mt. Vernon, and hit this very steep dirt trail. The drop to Virginia St was about 10′ from the clearing. It was quite the thrill-ride. The “Y” shaped road to the left of the photo toward the bottom was to accommodate the entrance to the graveyard (left) and the drive-in (right)
©2017 Matt White – This view from the same location takes in Virginia St. Washington School is on the far right with the large roof.
©2017 Matt White – An even better view of Washington School. Goodwin Street can be seen slightly. Hard to believe it was dirt once.
©2017 Matt White – This appears to be taken from DQ-hill, or also known as Bradshaw St. The dirt road in the center is Goodwin as it descends into Rush Street.
©2017 Matt White – Interesting shot of Yavapai College in the distance. A little to the right is where the Prescott Resort would be built years later. The little hill above the college is still present and serves as a barrier between the college and the VA Hospital behind.
Back in the day, downtown Prescott was also very different, although not so much as to not recognize it. One of these days, I’ll get ambitious and dig through my parent’s old photo books with a scanner in hand.
©2017 Matt White Downtown Montezuma St across from the Salvation Army. Today, Radio Shack is still next door. The sign next to Rocco’s Liquor Store reads “Natural Foods”. Back then, the parade started at Prescott Junior High (now Mile High School.)
©2017 Matt White Radio Shack is still on the same site today. Tandy Leather, however, is gone.
©2017 Matt White A local Cantina and Tuneup Masters on the corner of Goodwin and Montezuma St in Prescott, AZ
©2017 Matt White – These days during the fourth of July parade, onlookers are lucky to get a visibility at all. Those were the days!
©2017 Matt White Rocco’s Liquors eventually became Rocco’s Pizza. Phil’s Collectables was also housed in this building where John Denny came back to town to sign autographs after winning the Cy Young award while pitching for the Phillies.
Prescott was certainly a fun town to grow up in! If you’re looking for quaint towns to move and raise a family, consider Prescott, AZ.
Real Estate and Drones – FAA puts a halt on Realtors marketing efforts
June 6, 2015 By
In a recent letter from the National Association of Realtors, it appears the FAA has temporarily banned the use of drones for real estate marketing.
I’ll address some concerns in this article from both home-owners, and as techie nerd myself who is a drone owner.
The main issue is over privacy. The secondary issue is safety. Not only can drones cause serious issues with airplanes, they can do tremendous amounts of damage to property and persons. If you’ve never seen a drone in person, in flight, it’s hard to understand how powerful these little machines are. Some drones weigh in at 7lbs while other average 3-4lbs and can fly at 50mph or more. Imagine standing on the side of a road and having someone lob a 7lb dumb-bell at your head out of car driving 55mph… that’s about 1/2 as dangerous as a drone is while in flight.
Is drone technology really useful for marketing real estate? In my opinion, not really. At least not the way most realtors are using them. I’m not THE authority on any of it, but believe that location and topography play an important role. I’ve personally photographed over 5,000 houses in the region I live in Prescott, AZ. For many years I was the single most sought after professional photographer for real estate in the area. Hundreds of agents came to me for not only photos, but marketing assistance as well. I was also the VP of Marketing for the last company I worked for…so, I have some idea of what I’m talking about.
There were many instances over the years where I really wanted/needed to get a better angle of a home; mostly due to its topography. Homes that sit high up on lots are troublesome to photograph due to the camera being mostly at ground level. Although not impossible if you’re creative, the drones could certainly come into use in these situations. Most of the time, the drones are used to photograph the roof, which in my opinion is a practice producing less than desirable results.
Because some/most Realtors are not photographers, and they likely are not videographers, they may lack experience and simply fly up and around. For them, the drone is a gimmick they use to lure a potential seller into listing with them. The claim is, “More people will see your house!” This claim is largely unfounded. Videos of homes have been around for years and for the money, I find the “lifestyle” tour a much better investment. A lifestyle tour is one where the Realtor hires actors and actually scripts live-action scenes around the property. This not only shows the home more accurately, but allows interaction in the home by people; lending to a much better representation of the property. Don’t get me wrong… I don’t dislike drones by any means. In fact, I’m a huge fan and owner myself. However, the public needs to get its perception correct on exactly what the benefit is? If you live in a huge estate, the drone can certainly add advantage. If you live in a 2,000 sq.ft house in a subdivision, the technology is virtually useless. The very reason you likely hired your agent will be the reason no one wants to buy the house. Everyone will have an accurate visual of just how crowded your neighborhood really is. In the end, your agent could be driving potential buyers away from your property. Those same buyers viewing a lifestyle tour would be 75% more likely to go see the house in person than viewing a drone tour.
The Verdict
For the next two years NAR will be disseminating the ins and outs of drone use with the FAA. Until then, all Realtors are supposed to put the practice on hold. If your agent is currently using a drone to market your house, you may want to find a new agent. Currently, there is no one in Yavapai County with COE clearance from the FAA to operate in UAS.
© Matt White - REALTOR® |