SEP 27, 2017 - FOX10 PHOENIX - Abandoned Phoenix Horse Trotting Park demolished in Goodyear Arizona had become a state just 48 years prior, and the capitol city of Phoenix was quite small with a population of just 439,170 people. Ivone was a While it is possible that more than one person worked on the design, this has not yet been verified. ", "Historic West Valley eyesore on the market for $16.5M in Goodyear", "The old Phoenix Trotter Park set for demolition", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Phoenix_Trotting_Park&oldid=1114157246, Sports venues in Maricopa County, Arizona, Defunct horse racing venues in the United States, Demolished buildings and structures in Arizona, Infobox mapframe without OSM relation ID on Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. 9 Phoenix Trotting Park Suspends Racing Indefinitely. January 12, 2016 - The Trotting Park was the subject of a major story today in the Arizona Republic. Thank you, Tausha! So you only use the Sony RX100M3 camera for all your photos? Thanks for sending it in. Visit the videos page to watch the clip. 6 Waldron, Howard T. 23rd Consecutive Victory Is Goal Of Irish In Pitt Contest Saturday. So glad you captured this. Temp: 33. Night Vision: The Art of Urban Exploration by Troy Paiva. Find Phoenix Trotting Park stock photos and editorial news pictures from Getty Images. The inner walls were stripped down to skeletons, but in some places you could get a sense of where the walls and windows had been. And with the exception of a brief use for a movie, the property had sat abandoned since its closure. Dunnigan was a well-respected horseracing financier from New York who was in charge of the building of The Buffalo Raceway in Hamburg, New York. Because of the high summer temperatures, special precautions were taken in the preparation and curing of the concrete. Local Sports Things To Do Business eNewspaper Politics USA TODAY Obituaries Travel Colorado River and the debate over water rights begins . All of the concrete structural members (except the floor and roof slabs) were post-tensioned using a system called Prescon. Sale of W.V. My grandmother worked there when it first opened it was such a progressive and beautiful concept. I don't know what happened, but my best guess is that something happened with the financing or with securing all of the necessary rights to the land. It's a shame it was only operational for such a short time. The Trotting Park's wall panels, roof slabs, columns, beams, and girders were all constructed of precast concrete, which was poured on-site. Phoenix Mixed-Use Project Takes a Giant Step. (15 Nov 1991). Chris Randall/Flickr. Growth in the "Valley of the Sun" is rebounding from the economic downturn which started in 2008. Victor Gruen and Associates of Los Angeles, CA were the coordinating architects on the project. West Valley View. Thats the biggest thing everybody says, youre almost home. The track was listed for sale in January of 2016 for $16.5 million dollars for a 194-acre parcel. (29 Apr 1940). I didn't have a chance to stop and explore hardly any places in Texas, but I'm hoping I get to sometime soon. In October 2012, a 17-year old man was injured when he fell 20 feet while exploring at the abandoned Trotting Park with friends. It was such a thrill and an amazing high. GOODYEAR, Ariz It was built 50 years too soon. 18 Kiko, Sally. Well meet with the family after everything has been taken down and cleaned up, then determine where were going to go with it from there, Smith said. [2] Associate architect was Victor Gruen Associates of Los Angeles. October 20, 2017 - It's hard to believe that after more than half a century, this amazing structure has been reduced to a pile of debris in just a week's time. It closed in 1966 and was eventually demolished in 2017. -Zack b. Roof Level - No Public Access. View our extensive collection of historical and modern-day images, including rare construction photos. Named the Goodyear Innovation Centre, plans have been approved by Goodyear City Council as of December 2020.[33]. Such a waste of a unique structure. Thanks :). Unfortunately, however, all good things must come to an end, and the facility closed in 1966 despite its initial success. GOODYEAR, Ariz. (KSAZ) - Dozens of people gathered early this morning to surround the . He did get permission before flying there. Are there any other abandoned places in Arizona that stick out like a sore thumb? June 17, 2018 - With the Phoenix Trotting Park now demolished, the land has been listed again with Colliers, this time for $24 million. The memory of this place lives on in our pictures, videos, and news stories. Trucks which transport the mix to the site were equipped with water spray devices to cool the drums containing the concrete while they were being hauled to the point of use. Thank you, Valerie! The Trotting Park opened on January 12, 1965 to a crowd of 12,223 attendees. April 14, 2017 - A third person has now sent me a drone flyover video of the trotting track, and it's one of the best I've seen yet! Harness Horse Magazine. What are some other creepy abandoned places in Arizona? 3 John J. Dunnigan Is Dead at 82. Between the unbearable desert heat, issues with flash flooding, and remote location, it was only 20 minutes outside of Phoenix - there were no major roads connecting the city to its suburbs at the time, which was an eventually death knell for the racetrack. I have compiled what I believe to be the most in-depth and complete history of the Phoenix Trotting Park and all of the people involved with it. The story behind the abandoned structures. So sad they have scheduled it for demolition; that makes this blog entry particularly valuable. Thanks for the tip! Such a neat place. Built in 1964, the Phoenix Trotting Park was actually located in Goodyear, Arizona. With a prime location at the I-10 and Loop 303 interchange, it is only a matter of time before someone decides to acquire the site. In June of 1942, James helped found the Buffalo Raceway in Hamburg, New York[8]. (12 Dec 1965). Phoenix Trotting Park was built twenty miles from Downtown Phoenix and only accessible by way of dirt roads, making it a chore to get to. At the time of this writing, there are approximately 300 known and recorded ghost towns in Arizona. Uh oh.. Mechanical Mezzanine Level - Stairwell Access and Elevator Machine Rooms A 1966 article in Harness Horse Magazine stated that Phoenix Trotting Park had indefinitely suspended racing on December 7, 1966 - after just 2.5 seasons.[9]. There wasn't much down there, just a lot of open space and a few random fixtures. Following the demolition of the grandstand in 2018, the seller has increased the asking price of the land by $7.5 million from the previous listing two years ago. 20 Goodyear's Horse Track Becomes 'White Elephant'. The trotter track was certainly an iconic landmark for many years, but we are grateful for the investment by Citrus Commerce Centre LLC, and are eager to see how that land will be developed in the near future, Lord said. Phoenix Trotting Park is on the market for $16.5 million. Slowly but surely, it succumbed to the elements, blending in with the desert surroundings a little bit more each day. Just wondering what street you parked your car on, and also how you entered from the north without being seen by the U-Haul and adjacent neighborhood that is across the street from the Park. I returned to the ground level and did a little more exploring. 16 Slater, Chuck. Russian held trotting race and black market traders . I'd love to check that place out. For a hiking trail that leads to an abandoned village, check out this Arizona abandoned village trail thats sure to intrigue you. Demolition of massive Phoenix Trotting Park in Goodyear begins, 1965 article sheds light on what the Phoenix Trotting Park used to be, Demolition Under Way on Iconic Phoenix Trotting Park, The Colossal Ruins of Phoenix Trotting Park. There are several unique features about the grandstand's construction that make it unique. Demolition of the grandstand was announced in May 2017 [29], and commenced in September 2017. there, there is a bridge type thing that leads right to it. I was extremely amused by this piece of graffiti. I've traveled through several of these places since I was a child and I've wondered about them myself! The Trotting Park has been listed for sale! I'd never seen something so gigantic yet totally abandoned. So you only use the Sony RX100M3 camera for all your photos? Trotting Park in escrow. Buffalo Alumni Club News (PDF). Please keep posting! Though closed in 1966, the 194-acre property had been continuously owned by either individuals or corporations/businesses. Goodyear residents and leaders hoped for an entertainment destination where the iconic Phoenix Trotting Park once stood, but are more likely to see light industrial at the site off Interstate. What are some other creepy abandoned places in Arizona? Read the latest details in this excellent article from the West Valley View: "Demolition Zone Ahead" from the West Valley View. Phoenix Trotting Park was built on a grand scale, employing a European Architect who built a state of the art facility in 1966. This legitimized the sport, which was once dominated by bookmakers ("bookies") at the turn of the century. The 1960s were an era of unbridled optimism in harness racing. And glad to hear you got a chance to see Phoenix Trotting Park. Impressa Eugenio Grassetto, Ivone Grassetto. He enjoyed politics and remained a member of the Senate and the Democratic party until his retirement in 1944. Phoenix Trotting Park in Goodyear before it was demolished. August 10, 2016 - Sale pending! Attendees filled the beautiful grandstand to watch trotting-style racing, but not for very long. Read the article here: Huge Trotting Park in Goodyear Marks 50 Years Standing Empty. 19 Hoffman, Dean A. I have added the latest batch of letters to the Letters page. Therefore, the published date is the earliest known capture that could be located using the Wayback Machine. Thanks to Annie for sending in photos from 'The Harness Horse' magazine and to Mike at PaperJet for their contributions. Description. (21 Aug 1996). 2. [22], Around August 1993, Delaware North company gifted the Trotting Park to local Baptist college Grand Canyon University. The massive structure consists of more than 27,000 cubic yards of reinforced concrete. One example of this shifting interest can arguably be seen in the abandoned horse race track known . The Iconic Phoenix Trotting Park was demolished on October 14, 2017 after more than 50 years! The park is also located about 20 miles outside of Phoenix and was built long before any major roads made the area easily accessible to those in the city or its suburbs. While people were no longer permitted to enter the dilapidated building before its destruction, some photographers still managed . One pundit described the hulking shell of the track as "a giant tan Jetsonian mausoleum built in the middle of a desert to host harness racing, without any apparent regard for how flagrantly dumb and doomed it would be to do something like that.". Soon the thrill was gone and the 50-acre parking lot was mostly empty. Jimmy Dunnigan knew racing and racetracks and his expertise attracted investors who wanted to see harness racing gain a foothold in Phoenix. If anyone knows any information about it, please use the Contact Form to send me some details! The park was used in 2000 for the filming of the movie ". According to the 1983 book "A Guide to the Architecture of Metro Phoenix" by the Arizona Institute of Architects, Phoenix Trotting Park was designed by Impressa Eugenio Grassetto of Padua, Italy. The elder James J. Dunnigan was the one who built the Phoenix Trotting Park, and he passed away in 1983. It was here that he purchased a 640-acre parcel near Cotton Lane Road and McDowell Road for his new harness racing track, the Phoenix Trotting Park. This article originally appeared in the March 28, 2014 issue of Harness Racing Update Newsletter (PDF). Do you remember seeing the large, unusual structure along Interstate 10 in Goodyear, Arizona and wondering: "What is that thing?" 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