Downtown Phoenix
Downtown Phoenix is the central business district of the City of Phoenix, Arizona, United States. It is in the heart of the Phoenix metropolitan area or Valley of the Sun. Phoenix, being the county seat of Maricopa County and the capital of Arizona, serves as the center of politics, justice and government on the local, state and federal levels. The area is a major center of employment for the region, with many financial, legal, and other national and international corporations housed in a variety of skyscrapers. Major arts and cultural institutions also call the area home. Downtown Phoenix is a center of major league sports activities, live concert events, and is an equally prominent center of banking and finance in Arizona. Regional headquarters for several major banks, including JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo, US Bank, Bank of America, Compass Bank and Midfirst Bank are all located within or close proximity to the area.
The City of Phoenix defines Downtown as the area between 7th Street and 7th Avenue, from McDowell Road on the north to Buckeye Road on the south. However, the majority of downtown development is concentrated in the smaller area surrounding the intersection of Washington Street and Central Avenue.
West of 7th Avenue, the majority of office buildings, especially along Washington, house various agencies and departments of the state government of Arizona, and that area up to 19th Avenue is generally considered the Arizona State Capitol Complex. Washington itself splits off at 15th Avenue, with westbound traffic continuing on Adams Street and eastbound traffic on Jefferson. Those streets, and 17th Avenue, are the boundaries of Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza, with the historic State Capitol building and the more recent Executive Office Building immediately west.
History
Early Downtown
In 1870, a meeting was held to select a town site for the influx of pioneers coming to the recently recognized town of Phoenix. 320 acres were purchased for $50 raised by popular subscription. This original site, the whole of the town of Phoenix in that day, encompasses what would presently be the Downtown Core, bordered by Van Buren Street south to Jackson Street, and Seventh Street to Seventh Avenue.With the first survey of the new town, streets were laid out in a grid, with Washington Street as the main east–west thoroughfare. The north–south streets originally bore Native American tribal names, but were changed to more easily remembered numbers, with everything east of Center Street named as streets and everything west as avenues. The town continued to grow, and was eventually incorporated as a city on February 28, 1881, centered around downtown.
Throughout the 1880s the newly incorporated city made many strides toward modernization with the construction of one of the first electric plants in the West as well as the opening of the horse-drawn streetcar line. The Phoenix Street Railway system was eventually electrified and expanded to several different lines that connected Downtown Phoenix to other neighborhoods and cities in the Valley. Independence Day of 1887 heralded the arrival first Southern Pacific train. This opened up the economy of the young city, as goods now flowed in and out by train as opposed to wagon. As Phoenix became the center of commerce in the territory, the capital was moved to Phoenix.
Downtown growth
After Arizona was granted statehood in 1912, the growth of Phoenix exploded from the downtown epicenter. By the 1930s, a modern skyline composed of various commercial buildings began to take shape and Downtown was a dense, compact and pedestrian friendly city characterized by Victorian buildings and ground-floor retail. Post-World War II building focused heavily on suburb creation, and this, combined with the rise of the automobile and evaporative cooling, resulted in large population relocation outside of Downtown.Redevelopment
As Phoenix began to recover from the Great Recession, interest in re-energizing the urban core skyrocketed. In contrast to the pre-recession construction boom in the Phoenix area which primarily focused on the construction of low density communities and suburban office complexes, the most recent boom has been heavily focused on Central Phoenix, with the construction of higher density development, and a renewed interest in local business, bioscience, education, and the arts. Spurred by Arizona State University's quickly developing Downtown Campus and a new Convention Center, Downtown Phoenix has quickly transformed into an attractive place for businesses. Areas such as Lower Grand, Roosevelt, and the Warehouse District have seen a massive investment in art, adaptive reuse, and local restaurants.Attractions
Downtown Phoenix has many points of interest, including museums, sports venues, performing arts venues and a thriving art scene.Museums and cultural venues
Downtown's museum and cultural attractions include the Arizona Science Center, The Wells Fargo History Museum, the Phoenix Art Museum, the Rosson House Museum, the Arizona Latino Arts and Cultural Center, the Children's Museum of Phoenix and the Phoenix Center for the Arts.Universities and education
, the University of Arizona, Northern Arizona University and GateWay Community College all own buildings and have a presence in downtown.Sports
Downtown Phoenix has a large sports presence.Chase Field is home to the Arizona Diamondbacks. It was the site of the Insight Bowl from 2001 to 2005 and hosted the 2006 World Baseball Classic and international soccer games.
Mortgage Matchup Center is home to the Phoenix Suns, Phoenix Mercury and Arizona Rattlers. The ECHL's Phoenix RoadRunners played there from 2005 to 2009. It hosted the NBA All-Star game on February 15, 2009.
Downtown Phoenix has hosted many major sporting events in recent years. Downtown was the site of the 2015 Super Bowl XLIX Central and NFL Experience, which drew over one million people to the city center. In March 2017, Phoenix hosted the 2017 NCAA Final Four Championship, drawing over 400,000 people to Margaret T. Hance Park and other associated downtown entertainment venues.
Performing arts
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.The 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.
The Herberger Theater Center was built in 1989, has three stages and is home to 3 resident companies: Actors Theater, Arizona Theater Company and Center Dance Ensemble.
The Arizona Financial Theatre, a Live Nation venue, is a state of the art entertainment venue designed specifically for concerts, Broadway shows, family stage shows, and boxing. Originally known as Dodge Theatre before the primary sponsorship changed in 2010, the facility seats up to 5,000 people.
Opening in 2017, The Van Buren is Phoenix’s newest concert venue. Originally opened by valley theater owner Charlie Levy and bought out by Live Nation in 2021.
Visitor and information centers
Downtown has two main visitor and information centers. Downtown Phoenix, located at 2 E. Washington Street runs Downtown's Business Improvement District and is open daily Monday – Saturday, 8:00am – 8:00pm. Visit Phoenix operates a citywide visitor and tourist center within the Downtown Phoenix Convention Center.Notable buildings and landmarks
Luhrs Building & Tower – Located on Central and Jefferson Avenue, the Luhrs Building was completed in 1924 and was Downtown's first 10-story high rise. In 1929, a second phase of the development resulted in the completion of a 14-story Art Deco tower with Spanish Colonial and Southwest influences. Both buildings have been preserved and house office, restaurants and retail businesses.Hanny's – Opened in 1947, Hanny's was the number one location for men's clothing and fashion until closure in 1986. The building now houses an upscale restaurant and cocktail bar.
The Professional Building – Built in 1932 as the headquarters for Valley Bank and the Maricopa County Medical Society, the building provided Phoenix's first medical offices until the bank took over the entire building in 1939. It is the largest limestone sheathed building in Arizona.
Maricopa County Courthouse – The existing building served as the City Hall from 1928 to 1994 when the "New" City Hall was completed across the street. The building is an excellent example of Renaissance Revival architecture.
The San Carlos – Constructed in 1927, The San Carlos hotel opened its doors on March 19, 1928, as the first hotel in Phoenix with evaporative cooling. The site was previously the location of the first school house in Phoenix. Major celebrities have stayed in the hotel, including Betty Grable, Mae West, Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe. The hotel now has 12 suites named in honor of its famous visitors and remains a working hotel.
The Heard Building – When completed in 1920, the Heard building was Downtown's tallest structure and was financed by Dwight B. Heard, a finance and publishing executive. Since completion, it has housed the Arizona Republic newspaper, a radio station and many office and ground-floor restaurant tenants.
St. Mary's Basilica – Built in Romanesque/Mission Revival style, St. Mary's Basilica is the oldest Catholic parish in Phoenix and the second oldest church in Phoenix. Construction began in its first phase in 1880 and the building and grounds were placed onto the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
Chase Field – Opened in 1998, Chase Field is the first stadium built in the U.S. with a retractable roof over natural grass and is the home of the Arizona Diamondbacks Baseball team.
Alwun House – Home of the Alwun House Foundation, this historic building located in the Garfield neighborhood serves as a nonprofit alternative/contemporary art gallery. The foundation was the recipient of a 2013 Governor's Arts Award in the community category.