Downtown Tucsonan - November 2008 - (Page 29)

Historic Downtown vi cto r Sy d n ey G r i f f i t h , 1 870 -1 94 8 By Mike Speelman n 1948, looking back on his fifty years in tucson, Vic Griffith smiled and told a reporter, “Politics and contracting made a nice combination.” Born in athens, tennessee, on May 30, 1870, Victor sydney Griffith initially intended moving north to alaska before seeing a Cincinnati Inquirer article praising tucson’s climate. He and wife Ernestine were anxious to avoid being drawn into a local feud between the tollet and swafford clans. He explained to the Arizona Daily Star, “If you didn’t pick one side, both sides shot at you.” arriving in tucson in 1898, Griffith drew on his experience as a merchant, opening the crescent, initially partnered with H. o. sullivan. the small stand on congress street featured a soda fountain and sold fruits, candies, newspapers, and magazines. the crescent moved into 43 w. congress street in december 1902, evolving into the crescent cigar company. at this larger location, the crescent now included a basement that was divided between a poolroom and a bowling alley. Griffith wanted to provide a wholesome alternative to the bars and gambling dens that had long peppered downtown. as one ad put it, “the best people in town come to our place. no gambling or drinking allowed. Pure sport that removes that tired feeling.” the business, now at 6th avenue and congress street, was very successful when Griffith sold it in 1912. Politics first beckoned to Griffith around 1902. after attending city council meetings in a failed attempt to get his neighborhood streets graded, he ran for and won a council seat. once in office, he saw to it that the dirt streets were leveled. In his second term, Griffith served with Mayor Levi Manning, whose administration began to restrict and then eliminate much of downtown’s wild side. Elected county treasurer in 1908, he served six years and then became county assessor in 1918. But after nine years, Griffith’s time in office ended under a cloud that would not be resolved for more than a decade. an audit uncovered discrepancies in the county assessor’s accounts during Griffith’s tenure. In october 1927, Griffith and his deputy, John Pfeiffer, were indicted by a grand jury on eight counts for the embezzlement of more than $36,000 in state and county funds between 1923 and 1927. In 1928, the county attorney chose one count for prosecution, trying each man separately. John Pfeiffer’s trial ended in conviction; he immediately appealed. In Griffith’s trial, the jury deliberated a mere 16 minutes before bringing in a verdict of not guilty. the other charges were then dismissed without prejudice. In June 1929, all eight counts were refiled and both men were found guilty at trial. the county attorney also filed a civil action suit against them in august. an appeal was made to the arizona supreme court. the court found in 1933 that the statute of limitations had lapsed before charges were filed in 1928 and ordered the cases dismissed with prejudice. Pima county tried one more time to prosecute Griffith when the arizona supreme court ruled in an unrelated 1938 case that the statue of limitations did not apply to “political sub-divisions” such as counties. In 1939, however, the court said that its 1933 decision had been to dismiss all the charges outright and they could not be revived. this ruling settled the case, legally, with Griffith finally freed from further prosecution. In 1906, Griffith bought land on a Mountain from Jesús Pacheco. Expanding a small quarry pit on the lot, he began operating tucson’s first commercial rock crushing business, providing rock for many still extant foundations and walls around tucson. around 1913, he formed a partnership with Pacheco, who had long been involved in local construction, including the grading of streets. Griffith and Pacheco specialized in concrete construction, notably the tucsonia Hotel at congress and Main in 1913, tucson’s first all-concrete building. the company also put in some of tucson’s earliest concrete sidewalks and built a reservoir with a concrete gravity pipeline for the city. In 1927, Griffith started the tucson Rock and sand co., which he owned and operated until 1944. Griffith lived the dream and built a home of concrete for his family in the 2100 block of speedway. He and Ernestine had ten children. a son, david, served with the navy during world war I and died in the spanish influenza pandemic of 1918-20. son John and daughter Harriet became a famous dancing team in vaudeville and movie musicals during the late 1920s and early 1930s. the family eventually moved to 3426 north campbell, where Griffith resided until his death on april 10, 1948. I november.08. downtown tucsonan 29 Photo courtesy of the Arizona Historical Society.

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Downtown Tucsonan - November 2008 Contents Downtown Lowdown Vital Signs Downtown Live Arts Galleries Performing Arts Events Film Historic Downtown Museums Billboard Classifieds

Downtown Tucsonan - November 2008

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