The downtown of the city of Phoenix
in the U.S. state of Arizona covers about two or three square miles, with axes running along Central Avenue and Washington/Jefferson Streets. About twenty-five mid-rise and high-rise buildings ranging up to 40 stories tall pierce the skyline. Three of the five tallest skyscrapers in Arizona are in Downtown Phoenix. Chase Tower, at 40 stories and a height of 483 feet, is the tallest. US Bank Center’s 31 floors and 407 feet tall is number two. 44 Monroe, at 34 floors and a height of 380 feet is Phoenix’s 4th tallest.
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DOWNTOWN PHOENIX TICKETS
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Attractions
Downtown Phoenix has many points of interest including museums, sports venues, performing arts venues and a thriving art scene.
Museums
Downtown's cultural attractions attractions include the
Arizona Science Center,
Phoenix Museum of History, the
Phoenix Art Museum, the
Rosson House the
Heard Museum and the
Burton Barr Central Library.
Sports
Downtown Phoenix has a large sports presence.
Chase Field is home to the
Arizona Diamondbacks and was the site of the
Insight Bowl from 2001 to 2005. In 2006 Chase Field was the host stadium for the World Baseball Classic. Chase Field has also hosted international soccer games.
The
US Airways Center is home to the
Phoenix Suns, the
Phoenix Mercury, the
Arizona Rattlers and the
Phoenix Roadrunners. US Airways Center will host the NBA All-Star game on February 15, 2009.
Performing arts
Phoenix Symphony Hall is home to the
Phoenix Symphony. The Tucson based
Arizona Opera has staged many of its productions in Phoenix at Symphony Hall.
Ballet Arizona also stages many of its productions at Symphony Hall.
Orpheum Theater originally built as a grand movie house in 1927, had undergone a 12 year $14 million extensive renovation ending in 2002. The theater now stages everything from
Beauty Pageants to Broadway shows.
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The Herberger Theater was built in 1989, has three stages and is home to 3 resident companies: Actor’s Theater, Arizona Theater Company and Center Dance Ensemble.
The
Dodge Theater, a
Live Nation venue, is a state of the art entertainment venue designed specifically for concerts, Broadway shows, family stage shows, and boxing. The Dodge Theatre seats up to 5,000 people.
Architecture
The
architecture of Downtown offers many examples of 20th century architectural styles including the
Beaux Arts designed Security Building and Hotel San Carlos.
Art Deco design can be seen in
Luhrs Tower, Hotel Monroe (formerly the Professional Building) and the Orpheum Lofts.
International Style was popular in the 1960s thru 1980s and prime examples include
Chase Tower and
US Bank Center. The short-lived
brutalist style has only one example in Phoenix in the
Wells Fargo Plaza.
Post modern, with its return to architectural ornamentation, can be seen in the
Bank of America Tower, both towers at the
Arizona Center and, most notably, in the crown of the Phoenix City Hall Building.
The recent trend of urban living has led to the conversion of the Phoenix Title and Trust building to condominiums called Orpheum Lofts. As well as the newly built residential towers
44 Monroe and The Summit at Copper Square with many more in the planning stages. Two large residential projects are currently under construction. Taylor Place, two 13-story towers which will be the new residential community of the Downtown campus of Arizona State University. Alta Phoenix Lofts, a multi-level, 332-unit apartment project is rising north of the Arizona Center.
Copper Square
Copper Square, the 90-block core of downtown Phoenix, is the business, cultural and governmental heart of the city. Built around the original Phoenix historic town site, Copper Square is quickly becoming one of the southwest's most distinctive urban centers. Copper Square's boundaries extend from Fillmore to south of Jackson Street, 7th Street to 3rd Avenue. Recent and planned revitalizations in Copper Square, including more than $4 billion in public and private sector development, increased arts, cultural and entertainment activity, and the presence of two state universities are resulting in significant physical and economic growth for the greater Phoenix area.
The Phoenix Annual Parade of the Arts (PAPA) is a festival celebrating the uniqueness and creativity which thrives in the greater Phoenix community. Everyone is welcome to enjoy a variety of live music, street performances, visual arts, and more including the evening’s highlight, the public procession of the Parade of the Arts. PAPA encourages members of the community to scratch their creative itch by marching together and building unique floats and costumes that represent themselves, their family or their business. Also, being sensitive to the intricate threads of culture woven into the fabric of our community, PAPA caters to all age groups with family appropriate content and features multiple activities for children of all ages. PAPA is proudly presented by the Office of the Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon and the Downtown Phoenix Partnership.
To celebrate its third year, PAPA is being held on the evening of November 1, 2008, and located at 5th Street between Roosevelt and Garfield.
Roosevelt Row
Roosevelt Street is an east-west corridor that runs thru the northern edge of Downtown. Roosevelt Row, roughly bounded by 3rd Avenue to 7th Street, has reinvented itself from a blighted, drug infested area to the epicenter of the Central Phoenix art scene. This emerging neighborhood has become home to artist live/work spaces, gallery spaces and studio spaces. Since 1994 the monthly First Fridays artwalk has grown to become the largest monthly artwalk in the United States. Increasing interest in this area has prompted Rooselvelt Row to becoming more pedestrian-friendly and is supportive of small local independent businesses that give downtown Phoenix character.
Historic Neighborhoods
Downtown and Central Phoenix are home to several historic neighborhoods ranging from turn of the century Victorian to mid-century modern architecture. Some of them are more established and in-demand like the Willo and Encanto-Palmcroft districts, while others are still redeveloping. Some of the more well-known districts include Coronado, Encanto-Palmcroft,
FQ Story, Willo and Woodlea.
Downtown Phoenix in Film and Television
Mel's Diner, on the outskirts of downtown has been an old Phoenix landmark for decades. It's famous for being the setting for the TV sitcom
Alice.
Many movies have been filmed in Phoenix using downtown locations.
- The 1960 film, Psycho
features the Downtown Phoenix skyline in the opening shot. Originally Alfred Hitchcock wanted a helicopter shot to fly thru downtown into the window of a hotel, but the shot was changed to a series of pan and fade shots.
- In the 1998 remake of Psycho Gus Van Sant filmed the opening shot using a helicopter and zooming into the 8th floor of the Westward Ho.
- Parade scenes for the 1956 Marilyn Monroe film, Bus Stop, were filmed in front of the Westward Ho.
- In the film Waiting to Exhale, Lela Rochon is shown in front of the Phoenix City Hall building in her character’s introduction scene.
- In the film The Gauntlet, the open shots feature the Phoenix skyline. Downtown is also used in the final climatic shoot-out between Clint Eastwood's character and the Phoenix Police, ending in from of the Phoenix Symphony Hall.
- In the film Ninja III: The Domination, a car chase uses the streets of downtown.
- Blue Collar Comedy Tour: The Movie was filmed at The Dodge Theater in 2003.
- In the 1978 made for TV movie A Fire in the Sky, a comet crashes into Earth west of the city which destroys downtown Phoenix. Many landmarks are shown during the destruction. Wells Fargo Plaza and the Hyatt Regency Phoenix are shown collapsing while the glass skin of the Chase Tower, is blown from its steel skeleton. The antenna of the Westward Ho falls to the ground as a result of the impact blast. This film should not be confused for the 1993 alien abduction movie of the same name.
- In The Banger Sisters the skyline is featured.
- In the film The Getaway, Phoenix stands in for Albuquerque with Kim Basinger navigating thru downtown’s streets and alleys.
- The Arizona Center is used in the opening scenes of Phoenix.
- The Paul Newman film, Pocket Money used the Westward Ho courtyard for scenes in 1972.
- Olympic gold medalist Mitch Gaylord is filmed in the final competition scenes for 1986’s American Anthem at the now-razed Phoenix Union High School gym.
References