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184 BARRETT-JACKSON EXPERIENCE WINTER 2024A meeting between classic car aficionados Russ Jackson and Tom Barrett in the early 1960s set them on a road that effectively changed the face of car collecting forever, culminating in what is now known as The World’s Greatest Collector Car Auctions. The collaboration between the two men had humble beginnings that sprung not only from a passion for vintage vehicles but also a love for their recently adopted hometown of Scottsdale, Arizona, which was incorporated as a town in 1951 and became a city in 1962.The population of “The West’s Most Western Town” had grown rapidly from a mere 2,000 in 1951 to more than 10,000 by 1960 and showed no signs of stopping. Recognizing that the rapidly growing municipality needed a civic infrastructure, a downtown site was chosen for a new governmental complex. The 1966 master plan called for a civic and commercial mix that would include a municipal library, convention center and museums, along with commercial buildings around a landscaped pedestrian mall adorned with sculptures, fountains and pools. Tapped to bring the plan to life was architect Bennie Gonzales, who envisioned a cultural center in which civic discussions, educational pursuits and appreciation for the arts would coexist.Barrett and Jackson decided to help the project along by holding a car show (opposite page, lower left, circa 1967) and parade – dubbed the “Fiesta de los Autos Elegantes” – to raise funds for the city’s arts center and to buy books for the community library. That car show evolved into what is now a collector car auction known the world over, and today, the Scottsdale Civic Center Library and Scottsdale Center for the Arts remain two important anchors of what is now a unique urban park.Historic HeartNEWLY RENOVATED CIVIC CENTER WAS THE “BIRTHPLACE” OF BARRETT-JACKSONTHEOF SCOTTSDALE