🤓Marigold Village - Site History
☀️For ALL of Your East Valley AZ Real Estate Needs
📞Call or 🙋♂Text Brian at 480-773-2370
I always enjoy participating in the challenges hosted by ActiveRain. I am grateful that Eileen Burns 954.483.3912 & Debe Maxwell, CRS are hosting this month's challenge. Thank you both very much for doing so. I look forward to reading about the history of the communities where all of my favorite Rainer's call home!
For my post, I am choosing to write about the history in the area where I am trying to build Marigold Village, rather than where I currently live. Of course, I grew up in Globe, AZ, where Marigold Village will be built, so I lived some of the history that I will write about, haha. The land where Marigold Village is planned was a Drive-In Theater that was opened in 1974 but closed in 2013. Being that I was born in 1973 and moved to Globe in 1977, I have lots of memories from spending time at the Drive-In with family and friends. I did a bit of research on the history before this time period, which I will share, and then I will share what I am hoping the future will be for the land.
Pre-Colonial and Early European Contact (Pre-1800s), the land was part of the traditional territory of the Western Apache (Ndé) people, specifically the San Carlos and Tonto Apache bands. This arid, mountainous region in the Tonto Basin and Pinal Mountains was used for seasonal hunting, gathering, and trade routes, with evidence of petroglyphs and villages dating back thousands of years. The area was rich in agave, game, and water sources from nearby Pinto Creek. Spanish and Mexican explorers passed through in the 1700s–early 1800s, but settlement was minimal due to Apache resistance.
Globe itself was founded in 1875 as a silver mining camp after prospector "Silver King" John Globe discovered ore. The name "Globe" derives from a globe-shaped silver nugget found nearby. The land was part of the federal public domain opened for homesteading and mining under the U.S. General Land Office. Surveys in the 1880s–1890s mapped it for mining claims, as the area was on the edge of the Globe-Miami mining district, one of Arizona's richest copper producers (e.g., Old Dominion Mine nearby). Land use was sparse: Primarily unimproved rangeland or dry farming for cattle ranching, supporting the mining economy. No major structures or ownership records tie directly to this parcel pre-1900, but it was likely grazed by local ranchers or used as access to mining roads. Apache conflicts persisted until the late 1880s, when many were relocated to the San Carlos Reservation (bordering Globe to the north).
In the early 20th Century, the US-60 was designated in 1926 as one of America's original transcontinental highways, running from Virginia to California. In Arizona, it followed an old wagon road through Globe, upgraded with federal funding under the 1916 Federal Aid Road Act. The stretch near where Marigold Village is planned to be located became a key link between Phoenix and mining towns like Globe and Miami, facilitating copper transport. Land use remained agricultural/ranching or vacant highway frontage. Aerial photos from the 1930s–1940s (via USGS historical maps) show the area as open scrubland with minimal development—no buildings, just dirt roads branching off the highway. It was outside Globe's urban core but within the "heart of the Apache Indian reservation" influence, as early promotions noted Native motifs for the drive-in due to cultural proximity (though the site itself is off-reservation).
The Apache Drive-In on this land opened in 1974 as a 150-car venue. The site included a single screen, projection booth, and concession stand, operating weekends only. The Hollis family acquired ownership in 1965 (overseeing both sites) and ran it as a community staple, screening classics like Star Wars and double features. The drive-in thrived during the 1970s–1980s as one of Arizona's last outdoor theaters, boosted by the highway's traffic. It symbolized Globe's fading mining era, drawing families amid economic shifts (copper busts in the 1980s). Challenges like VHS home video, multiplexes, and digital projection costs led to a decline. It closed on September 8, 2013, with a final "gala" screening on September 28. The Hollis family cited low attendance and maintenance issues. The site remains intact but abandoned.
Plans have been put in place and approved for Marigold Village to be on this site. Marigold Village is a transformative real estate development in Globe, Arizona, pioneering a purpose-driven community that integrates self-sufficiency, sustainable design, holistic wellness, and mindful living. Our model enhances social determinants of health by fostering connections to nature, community, and purposeful living, creating a vibrant rural innovative ecosystem where residents thrive and experience sustainable housing, education, and holistic wellness. Marigold will consist of 120 residential homes, 600 condo units, a 300-room hotel and event center, along with commercial/retail space, and ultimately free housing for retired clergy. We are ALWAYS looking for investors or philanthropists who would appreciate what we are trying to build and would want to support it. If you know of anyone, please connect us!!!
I specialize in the East Valley of the Phoenix Metro area - Gilbert, Mesa, Chandler, Tempe, Scottsdale, Apache Junction, and Gold Canyon
☀️For ALL of Your East Valley AZ Real Estate Needs
📞Call or 🙋♂Text Brian at 480-773-2370
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