Legend from p 21 earlier that day and he wasn’t drunk. It was just this freak accident. Bourque: When the park was in its later years, everything seemed kind of cheap. When you were a kid, the Lost Dutchman Mine ride looked really good back then, but every year you’d return and another piece of it was missing or the sound loops would be off or weren’t working at all. For Those About to Rock By 1979, the Capells leased a 30-acre portion of the park off the entrance to local entrepre- neurs Jess and Gene Nicks to create the 20,000-person concert amphitheater Compton Terrace. Pratt: When I moved back to the Valley in 1979 to work at KUPD, Legend City had been struggling a lot, going through different ownership and financial diffi- culties. It certainly wasn’t the same as I remembered. Jess Nicks, Stevie’s dad, and his brother [Gene] decided to put this concert terrace inside what was Legend City. [Local concert promoter Doug Clark] helped bring the shows in. And Legend City was open to the idea because, at this time, they had to get creative to survive. Leona: As a teenager, I mostly went to [Legend City] for Compton Terrace concerts. I think you’d get into the park free with a concert ticket. We’d show up early and have a couple of rides, but we were really there to see AC/DC or Judas Priest or Elton John. They used to get amazing shows there. Wayne Rainey, local developer: I saw my first concert at Compton Terrace next door, which was Fleetwood Mac in 1980 on the Tusk tour. It was life-changing and probably my favorite memory of childhood. Pratt: We brought The Go-Go’s in ’82 and I took them onto some rides [before the show]. I think it was a Saturday, and Legend City was shut down in the daytime during the off-season. And as we were riding, they were talking about doing a video there. So I got to show The Go-Go’s around Legend City. How cool is that? I was a 20-year-old with a mullet. Mark Zubia, local musician and former Legend City patron: I worked at one of the concession stands [at/near Compton Terrace] when there were shows; just like a part-time job. The concession stands were in Legend City. It was chaotic, a bunch of teenagers. When I wasn’t working, I’d go there. Just chasing girls, sneaking in joints; just typically teenage fun. End of the Ride By the early ’80s, things had gotten worse at Legend City. Most of the shops were closed, blight was everywhere, and rides were falling into disrepair. In April 1982, a Tempe Fire Department official declared the park a fire hazard after a blaze engulfed an aban- doned ride. Todd Baty, former Legend City employee: A lot of things had [become] run down. All of Courtesy of John Bueker Poster art from 1969. the little gift shops and novelty stores were pretty much abandoned. The Sidewinder roller coaster would only run if it had the weight of passengers in the cars. Occasionally, after it rained, the tracks would rust. So before we allowed any customers on, they used employees to give it a test run. I remember being in the back car and having to get out and push it over the next hump before it got going again. In June 1983, Salt River Project announced a $21.5 million deal to purchase the property for its new corporate headquarters. Three months later, Legend City permanently closed on September 4, 1983. Bueker: The Capells did fairly well with Legend City financially. They didn’t make a fortune, but they made a profit. Louis Crandall first got it for a song, but it was worth tenfold in the early ‘80s. The real estate was so valuable SRP wanted the land, they had deep pockets, and it spelled the end for Legend City. McMahon: Legend City lasted 20 years. And like The Wallace and Ladmo Show, it continues to live in the hearts and minds of people everywhere. It’s astounding to me. To this day when it comes up in conversa- tions with people, they always ask, “Why hasn’t somebody done a new Legend City?” Bueker: There’s an idea that Louis Crandall and Legend City were ahead of their time. The Phoenix area probably wasn’t quite ready for a park like that. One of its biggest legacies is we still don’t have a major amusement park in Phoenix, 40 years after Legend City disappeared. We periodically hear people making proposals and plans to build something, and it never seems to materialize. We deserve to have a world-class amusement park here, but we don’t. Editor’s note: Some quotes have been edited or condensed for clarity. John Bueker’s book Images of America: Legend City is available at arcadiapub- lishing.com. 23 phoenixnewtimes.com | CONTENTS | FEEDBACK | OPINION | NEWS | FEATURE | NIGHT+DAY | CULTURE | FILM | CAFE | MUSIC | PHOENIX NEW TIMES SEPT 29TH–OCT 5TH, 2022
