Gibert,AZ Past, Present and Future

Real Estate Agent with eXp Realty Equal Housing Opportunity

October 13, 2008 03:25 AM

Liberty Market

The reopening of Liberty Market in downtown Gilbert's Historical District caused me to reminisce about the changes Gilbert has seen through the years and about the excitement the future holds for it's residents and visitors. First opened in 1935, Liberty Market served for many years as Gilbert's only grocery store. Now it will be a neighborhood market serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. While getting a facelift, the owners are intent on preserving much of its history.

If you drive on Gilbert Road in downtown Gilbert, you may have noticed the construction work in progress south of the canal. This is for a park on the Western Powerline Trail that will serve visitors to downtown as well as bikers. walkers and joggers on the trail with relaxing water features and sitting areas. It will open early in 2009. Just east of Gilbert Road on Paige the Water Tank Park is scheduled to open in November.

All of these exciting new additions to downtown Gilbert join the many amenities that make downtown a place to enjoy often. If you haven't seen a live theater production at the Hale Centre Theater you have been missing an extraordinary experience.

That is a brief look at the present and future of Gilbert. About the past, I want to challenge all of you who cherish memories of Gilbert through the years to share them in this blog. Pictures of the past would be wonderful, too. (A Saturday morning at the Gilbert Historical Museum is a treat but your personal stories will mean so much to us old timers as well as those new to Gilbert.)

Let me start our walk down memory lane by asking:

Who remembers when Foxworth Building Supplies was downtown. You could drive in off of Gilbert Road?
Who remembers the Dairy Bar on the east side of Gilbert Road south of the canal? You could get a strong cup of coffee and all the Gilbert news there.
There was a store that sold fresh eggs and milk on Gilbert Road between Guadalupe and Baseline Roads.
A brick house stood on the southwest corner of Gilbert and Guadalupe Roads.
Remember when sheep had the right of way on many of the roads that now are full of cars?

These are my memories of the 70's and 80's because that is as far back as I go in Gilbert. I would like to hear from some of you who were here before that. I'd also like to hear from those of you who are new to Gilbert. What do you love about this great city that knows how to blend the past and the future to make the present a very nice place to be.

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Anonymous

fred rhodes

in 1975 my brother home was surrounded by cows--now there is costco

Oct 13, 2008 04:59 AM

Arizona Real Estate Associate Broker

MR Realty - Mesa, AZ

Deanne - I remember as a young girl traveling downtown Gilbert to get to Schnepf Farms to pick corn and peaches, it seemed like forever to get there! My parents at the time lived in Mesa off of Gilbert Rd (Mesa High School district) and now it just seems like a hop, skip and a jump. So much has changed! Wasn't it the Liberty Market that was used for a hollywood movie a decade ago?? I love the Gilbert downtown feel and hope the landscape doesn't change much!

Oct 13, 2008 09:10 AM

Deanne Olivas

eXp Realty - Gilbert, AZ

Your Home Matters

Fred, Guess we need both-cows and Costcos

Candace, Thanks for commenting on my first blog. I too love the look and feel of downtown Gilbert and am so happy they are preserving it. I didn't know about the Hollywood movie. Schnepf Farms and Hunt Highway were so far out years ago. You are right, now is so convenient with better roads (and no sheep crossing the road to stop for).

Oct 13, 2008 02:15 PM

Anonymous

Dawn

I, too, am a product of Gilbert but only really from the 80's. I do remember........

-- how our school bus driver had to wait until all the sheep that were crossing the roads before we could get to school

--Gilbert on the north side ended at the "second Circle K" outside of Gilbert. The first Circle K was just south of the railroad tracks and the second Circle K was on Juniper and Gilbert. Everything from that point on was fields until almost Main Street where we would go to Taco Bell for lunch.

--Pete's Fish and Chips where Riva's (new name now) use to be. We use to be able to get a huge basket of fries and a huge sode for 50 cents each.

--Best memory though---------Gilbert Days actually being held in downtown Gilbert by the water tower! You could go to the Parade; food booths and carnival in one area instead of driving all the place like you have to now.

Oct 14, 2008 04:24 AM

Deanne Olivas

eXp Realty - Gilbert, AZ

Your Home Matters

Dawn,

Thanks so much for responding. I remember the fields where buildings are now on Gilbert Road and the fish driveup restaurant. I agree with you that Gilbert Days was nice when everything was downtown. I raised 2 children on 2.5 acres on Elliott and Lindsey and we rode horses in the Gilbert Days Parade.

Oct 14, 2008 08:56 AM

Anonymous

I remember the good old Gilbert Days being down town also. I remember Gilbert Road was actually shut down for the week-end or at least all day on Saturday after the parade. I also remember the Pete's fish and chips. It was the place to hang out. I can also remember Ricardo's Pizza when it was located in the strip mall by where Lulu's tacos is now....Thanks for the memories, it is always nice.

Oct 14, 2008 12:58 PM

Anonymous

Andrea Ortega

Oct 14, 2008 12:59 PM

Anonymous

Shelli Lamoreaux Bates

I remember Joe Hernandez at Foxworth and his Daughter Alice who was my friend

Jake and Evelyn that opened the Dairy Bar and Orange Freeze my favorite along with a Texas Burger and then when Jim Georgous bought it and his son David that was my friend

I remember milk and eggs but never bought them there since I grew up on the farm at Gilbert and Ray

The brick house was the Daily's and the boy scouts helped with the demo to save the bricks

My daddy let the sheepherders graze thier sheep on our land during the winter months and I raise a baby lamb when the momma had died in the night

I went to Gilbert Elementary in the "Cottages" when there was only ONE elementary ONE Jr. High and ONE High School - back in the day when EVERYONE knew who you were and if you did something wrong Mother & Daddy knew about it before you got home due to a "little bird" telling them

Oh the Gilbert Day's Parades and the floats we would create! My Mother and Geneva Clay of the Variety Store would come up with some zingers for sure!

Buying tortillas from Mae Young at the Liberty Market before Sam had bought it and now anticipating the NEW Liberty Market.

Yes Gilbert was a great place for me to grow up in! So much so that I raise my children here now.

Thanks Deanna for the walk down memory lane!

Oct 15, 2008 06:30 AM

Deanne Olivas

eXp Realty - Gilbert, AZ

Your Home Matters

Shelli,

Thank you so much for your comments. I really enjoyed them. I raised my children on 2.5 acres on Elliot and Lindsey. We had pigs, calves, goats, chickens, turkeys, horses. It was a wonderful way to riase a family. There was no public road between Elliot and Guadalupe on Lindsey so we would ride horses down the canal road. My children were in the first classes to change from Gilbert to the new Greenfield Elementary.

We road our horses in the Gilbert Days Parade one year. Other years at least one or 2 of us were in it with some organization.

Did they save the bricks from the Dailys house? There was an old house on the SE corner of Cooper and Guadalupe that someone told me had been an old schoolhouse. Do you remember it?

I remember going to the Drive- in movie in east Mesa and passing an old 2 story farmhouse with porche up stairs and down on 3 sides. (For sleeping in the summer before AC). Now I don't know what corner that was.

Mae and Ben were great, It is hard to believe for major grocery shopping we went to Chandler or Mesa.

Thanks again, Shellie

Oct 15, 2008 09:23 AM

Anonymous

Jake VandeVoorde

I don't remember much of the things you guys are talking about seeing as i am only 15, but i can only imagine what it used to be like. Now its all crowded and so many buildings. Congrats on the great blog Deanne aka "Grandma D". I am positive your other blogs will be just as good if not better. :)

Oct 26, 2008 02:21 PM

#10

Mesa, Arizona Real Estate Mesa Arizona Realtor

Homes Arizona Real Estate LLC - Mesa, AZ

AzLadyInRed

Deanne, great information. I love downtown Gilbert. It certainly is changing. I grew up in Phoenix, and cottonfields formerly graced Chandler, Gilbert and East Mesa - along with orange groves, and milk farms. Still exist - the latter.

Aug 03, 2009 04:19 PM

Anonymous

It was JR's Fish n chips not Petes .

Oct 25, 2011 07:41 AM

#12

Anonymous

Marc Lemaire

Hello Deanne,The Dairy Bar was called "Jim's Dairy Bar" my family loved that place!

May 29, 2018 09:50 PM

#13

Anonymous

Orville Garrison

I Pastored the Frist Assembly of God Church in the early 1970's and have some very fond memories of our time in Gilbert. Made lot of life long frends. I spend lots time at "Jim Dairy Bar" as his family went to our church.

Jul 26, 2020 07:38 PM

#14

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