Description

Exterior photo of Yavapai Savings and Larry’s Buffet on Cortez Street in Prescott, Arizona.

Yavapai County Savings Bank opened on October 3, 1906 by Moses B. Hazeltine, who quickly became President of the bank in the Elks Building, before moving to 108 Cortez Street. Continuing quietly into statehood, on November 10, 1933, Yavapai Savings earned the distinction of being the first Arizona savings bank to enter the Federal Home Loan Bank System. That same decade, the Savings Bank got into a legal battle with the State Tax Company over banking and taxes, which reached the Arizona Supreme Court on July 5, 1938.  After expanding to multiple Arizona cities and a name change in 1961 to the Pioneer Bank, the Bank merged with the Bank of Phoenix to create the Pioneer Bank of Arizona, with its offices in Phoenix.

Larry's Buffet, on the other hand, has a briefer history. Jointly operated by Fred Russell and J. A. Andis, Del Monte Buffet and Café opened in 1937 on 110 Cortez Street. Later, possibly coinciding with a name change to Ralph’s Buffet in 1948, restaurant ownership transferred to W. J. Hensen and N. J. Claridge. Finally, after another name change in 1961 to Larry’s Buffet, Geraldine Ellen Cantwell owned the Buffet between 1967 and 1974.

Sources: Tucson Citizen September 7, 1906 p 8, Weekly Journal-Miner October 3, 1906 p 8, Williams News November 10, 1933, p1, 1939, 1948, & 1961 Prescott City Directories, Arizona Daily Sun March 9, 1962.