This week on Arizona Illustrated…we take a look into our archives to appreciate people and places that are no longer with us, from a feisty corner store owner to the Chicago Music Store’s old location on Congress, to the beloved bar Flycatcher before it was demolished and Katie Lee, a singing and cussing activist in Jerome, Arizona.
The Corner Store (2014)
You can walk into any business in Tucson and you never know what stories you might find. Take a trip inside a seemingly nondescript liquor store on South 6th Ave in Tucson and hear the story of the Laos family. They have been running a truly local business in that location since 1956 and there are items from every decade since still be discovered in the shop. When we visited the 85 year old Annie Laos was still holding down the shop with the help of her son Roy and she was as feisty as ever.
The Last Time (2018)
The last Piano Lovers Lounge at the Flycatcher, five nights before the 4th Avenue bar closes its doors for the last time. The monthly night was started Sara Louise Mohr who had been working as a bartender at Flycatcher/Plush for 18 years. Paul Jenkins, who had been working the door at Plush/Flycatcher for 8 years closes out the night.
Favorite Places - The Chicago Music Store (2015)
A look at the Chicago Music Store in its longstanding Congress location from 2015, before it moved to a more ‘manageable’ location. From the ‘Favorite Places’ series where thirteen architects speak thoughtfully and personally about a favorite building, place, or space in Southern Arizona. Throughout 2014, members of AIA Southern Arizona contributed to a series of essays called My Favorite Place in which they shared a building, space or other spot they love in Southern Arizona. The original series was the brainchild of Gillian Drummond of 3 Story Media and was published in the Arizona Daily Star.
The River Woman (2015)
When we visited her in 2015, Katie Lee who was 95 at the time was still mourning the loss of her beloved Glen Canyon-and still writing, singing, cussing and fighting to bring it back.