Freeze Frame From San Isidro Farms

By Coryn Anderson

 

When it was time to do our freeze frame at 2:30 P.M. on January 25, 2002, I was standing at the San Isidro Farm's fruit stand on 20th Street and Baseline Road in Phoenix, Arizona. The fruit stand had an odd array of products for sell.  The fruit stand wasn't only selling oranges and tangerines but also pictures of Mary and Jesus, jars of jelly, and soft drinks.  Ten feet from the door of the fruit stand was Baseline Road and cars were racing past us on the busy street. Occasionally, a car would stop and the driver would get out to purchase a bag of oranges from Chris, the owner. Other than the traffic it was a pleasant, sunny day. Across the street from Chris's stand is a newly vacant lot with bulldozers and tractors working to get the land ready for development. According to Chris the land was just leveled two weeks ago. Apparently a developer named Brian Whittacker is going to build Cobblestone Great Western Homes on this stretch of land. I can understand why developers like Whittacker would want to build on 20th Street and Baseline Road. As I look around I see rows of orange trees, a gorgeous view of downtown Phoenix, South Mountain, Camelback Mountain, Squaw Peak Mountain, and a hint of airplanes flying into Sky Harbor Airport. South Phoenix is in the middle of a major surge of gentrification and this is just the beginning!

 

 

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