Old Estes Building

On TRF, Steven asked:
I always wondered what happened to the building you saw in many of the catalogs. 
For those TRF posts, CLICK HERE

From the 1971 Estes catalog:

"The Estes plant now encompasses over forty buildings and is located on a 400 acre site."

Bernard Cawley posted this more recent screen capture from Google Earth:

It looks the same except the flagpole has been moved a little to the right or East.

I visited the Estes plant in 1972 with my Mother and Sister.
My Mom was delivering some of her pen and ink drawings to some high end galleries. We had planned a stop at Zion National Park, the Four Corners, the Royal Gorge and Estes.

If you were standing directly in front and looking at the building you would be facing North. The main building is that close to Highway 50. In person, it doesn't seem as large as the catalog pictures.
You can see the display rocket in the clump of bushes on the right. The light gray building directly behind that was a just completed warehouse. I don't remember it facing that direction. It also had some graphics on it. I heard a warehouse had burnt down, maybe the building in the picture was the replacement.

If I remember correctly you entered the tour waiting area from a door on either side, under the E S T E S name. The front building is two story, I was told Mr. Estes office was upstairs.
After the tour a Big Bertha was launched with a B6-4 at Cape Estes. Cape Estes and the store were located in the back right side of the "T" shaped main building.
On the side of the building there was a parking space reading: "This Space Reserved For Vern Estes".
In the back and to the North were the engine making machines, each one in a smaller block house. I remember being impressed by the lightning rods. If lightning was detected in the area, all engine manufacturing is shut down. These buildings were off in the distance, not close to the main buildings.

After taking the tour my Mom asked if Dane Boles was in. I had written a few letters and he had always responded. I was a little embarrassed not wanting to bother him, but my Mom knows how to schmooze.
He came out and we talked California rocketry regulations for a few minutes. My Mother added: "Well, we came all this way to visit Estes!" (Not true, but I kept silent.) Mr. Boles said: "Really, all that way? I'll be right back."
He came back a few minutes later with a new three pack Combo Kit of the new Mini Brutes, a boxed Citation Red Max and a Design Manual from the previous years NARAM. I had already spent some money at the Estes store and left that day with quite a rocketry haul!
I ran into Dane at NARAMs in 1975 and 1976.

After leaving the Estes we checked out the bustling city of Penrose. We drove up the road just to the right side of the main building. I was curious to see the Penrose Post Office that was built to handle the mail orders to Estes! If I had known better I would have kept an eye our for the farm house where Vern and family first lived. As I understand it was on the left side back by the engine making buildings.

Last year I called modelaerospace.com and asked about some older Quest products. I asked who I was talking with. (Always ask, you never know who picks up the phone.) It was Dane Boles! I wasn't aware this was his vendor store.
All these years later, I finally had the chance to thank him for taking the time and making that 1972 vacation memorable.