Where the 1912 Sine Hardware building in Glendale is, and why people can't seem to find it nowadays


Yes, the 1912 Sine Hardware Building is still there, in downtown Glendale, Arizona. It's in beautiful condition, and there's even an historical marker on it. It's on 58th Drive about a block south of Glendale Avenue.

If you're interested in Glendale history, and you can't find it, it's really not surprising. It took me many years to figure out why. The main reason is that the where it is seems to make no sense to our modern eyes. Now it's on a little tiny road that's so small that even people who have been in downtown Glendale a lot have never gone. But in 1912 it was the main entry into Glendale from Grand Avenue. Even in books, this road is often mislabeled as Glendale Avenue. But it was much more important to the town. It was 1st Avenue.

Travel back in time with me and let's travel from Phoenix to Glendale in 1912. The edge of town for Phoenix is 7th Avenue, and Grand Avenue begins there, going northwest towards Glendale and Peoria. We're riding in my brand new Model T, barreling along at as fast as 15 miles an hour, sometimes even faster. The railroad tracks are on our left.

As we get closer to Glendale, which is on the right, we decide to stop at Sine's Hardware. So we turn on 1st Avenue (which is 58th Drive nowadays). There would be no reason to go all of the way to the intersection of 59th Avenue, because the town in right there, on our right. Why would we overshoot it?

Going north on 1st Avenue, we would probably stop at the park on Main Street, which is still there, built by William Murphy, whose company built Grand Avenue, and the Arizona Canal.

If you want to visit 1st Avenue nowadays, look for 58th Drive just south of the Glendale Municipal Building. No, not 58th Avenue, and definitely not 59th Avenue. 58th Drive. It's only a block long, and Sine Hardware is there on your left. You can't miss it.
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