img_8821A new co-working space will be unveiled on October 19 at SkySong, the ASU Scottsdale Innovation Center — and will feature some incredible pieces of old-time Americana.

The space is located on the ground floor in SkySong 1, and is named 1951@SkySong for the year Scottsdale was incorporated. The space is a next step in ASU’s efforts to support the region’s entrepreneurial enterprise.  Community startups can purchase tiered memberships with access to varying levels of space, technology, training and mentoring from ASU faculty and the university’s Entrepreneurship + Innovation experts.

In honor of the year 1951 the space will be adorned with Americana on loan from the collection of Scottsdale real estate entrepreneur Michael Pollack.

Pollack, a renowned collector of rare memorabilia, is president and founder of Michael A. Pollack Real Estate Investments. From his sought-after Frank Polk Slot Machine collection to owning the largest 3D Advertising Museum in the world to a beautiful collection of rare Baranger displays, Pollack owns some of the biggest collections around the globe. On display at the 1951@SkySong co-working space will be 28 pieces of Pollack’s Americana collection, from classic juke boxes to old gas pumps to neon signs from the 1950s era.

The décor may hint of yesteryear but the vibe and amenities are as modern as they come, with high-speed wifi, teleconferencing technology for collaborations, direct connections to Silicon Valley companies, and data experts to help build company profiles. The stimulating vibe will reflect that of SkySong with collaboration, openness and community among the prevailing qualities. Members can sit at designated desk spaces, on couches, or on modular furniture that can be re-arranged to meet team needs. The 6,500-square-foot space also includes multiple meeting rooms, lounge space and recreational features. Members can use the conference rooms for staff or client meetings.

“SkySong is the perfect fit for a co-working space that will be populated with striving innovators,” said Sharon Harper, President & CEO of Plaza Companies. “Entrepreneurs, ASU students and faculty, small business owners, freelancers and startups alike will feel right at home in this new extraordinary space. And thanks to Michael Pollack, an innovating entrepreneur in his own right, 1951@SkySong will have a unique look and feel.”

Pollack’s penchant for advertising memorabilia started when he was 14, when he would buy electric beer signs on Saturdays at a flea market near his home in San Francisco and then sell sold them on Sundays to antique dealers around the Bay Area. Today his own Pollack Advertising Museum, housed in his corporate offices in Arizona, is home to over 110 Baranger displays and more than 7,000 other three-dimensional advertising pieces sprawling over 6,000 square feet.

“An amazing entrepreneurial space needs a connection with the past and I am thrilled to be able to provide this connection with selections from my collection,” said Pollack. “SkySong’s innovative spirit is a reflection of the bold dreams and vision the country had in 1951, when this memorabilia was part of the nation’s fabric.  I applaud the entrepreneurial spirit of Arizona State University for the opening of 1951@SkySong.”

“SkySong, the ASU Scottsdale Innovation Center, is one of the leading hubs of innovation and entrepreneurship in the Valley,” said Sethuraman Panchanathan, executive vice president of Knowledge Enterprise Development and chief research and innovation officer at Arizona State University. “1951@SkySong helps us be of greater service to the community and we are excited to house some of the university’s most groundbreaking programs and initiatives here.”

Other memorabilia on display will include a Dog’n Suds neon sign, a Bob’s Big Boy statue, an ASU Devil neon sign, a Mobil gas metal sign, a barber pole, a rocket-shaped gumball machine, a Coca-Cola bottles vending machine, metal Route 66 signs, a cowboy neon figure, a Marilyn Monroe neon sign and a Wurlitzer juke box.

The 1951@SkySong name represents the year Scottsdale was incorporated. On June 25 of that year, with a population of about 2,000 living within an area of less than a square mile, the town incorporated and adopted “The West’s Most Western Town” as its official motto.

 Plaza Companies is the developer of the SkySong project in partnership with the Arizona State University Foundation, the City of Scottsdale and Holualoa Companies.

SkySong, the ASU Scottsdale Innovation Center, is home to a global business community that links technology, entrepreneurship, innovation, and education to position ASU and Greater Phoenix as global leaders of the knowledge economy.

SkySong is a 42-acre mixed use development designed to:

  • Create an ecology of collaboration and innovation among high-profile technology enterprises and related researchers;
  • Advance global business objectives of on-site enterprises;
  • Raise Arizona’s profile as a global center of innovation through co-location of ASU’s strategic global partners; and
  • Create a unique regional economic and social asset.

Companies located at SkySong enjoy a special relationship with Arizona State University, which has more than 90,000 students studying across four metropolitan Phoenix campuses, in Lake Havasu and online. ASU is one of the largest public universities in the nation.

In addition to locating its own innovative units at SkySong, through ASU’s on-site operations, tenant companies have a single point of contact for introductions to technology transfer, enterprise and innovation initiatives, researchers, faculty and programs to address their specific needs.

For more information on SkySong, visit www.skysong.com or www.facebook.com/skysongcenter.