In 1962, Dave Morgan built the Velda Rose, which started as a 40-acre project, east of 62nd Street between University Drive and Main Street. Along with retirement homes, Morgan created a commercial district that included Dave Morgan's Velda Rose Motel and Mineral Baths at 5700 E. Main St., virtually in the shadow of its more famous neighbor, Alice & Ted Sliger's Buckhorn Baths. The 116-room air-conditioned and heated motel featured a "unique rose-shaped pool and rosebud children's pool." Drawing mineral water from the same geothermal source as the Buckhorn, Velda Rose touted similar services as its older and bigger neighbor. Just 6 miles east of Mesa, the Velda Rose complex of activities grew like a small town, complete with a house of worship, the Velda Rose United Methodist Church, founded in 1963. The Velda Rose Drive-in movie theater at Main Street and Recker Road. It opened in 1972, but closed just 11 years years later, the victim of changing movie-going habits, including the rise of multiplex theaters and watching videos at home. The Velda Rose Medical Center sits on the site today. | Date: ca. 1970 | Source: Deborah NelsonDownload Original File
