Modern buildings downtown

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 39 stories tall pierce the skyline. Only two skyscrapers reach over 400 feet tall (122 m), the last of which was constructed in the 1970s. Downtown attractions include the Arizona Science Center, Phoenix Museum of History, the Phoenix Art Museum, the Heard Museum and the Burton Barr Central Library. Downtown Phoenix is also a sports and entertainment hub with facilities including Chase Field, the US Airways Center, the Orpheum Theater and the Dodge Theater. Image File history File links Downtownphx. ... Image File history File links Downtownphx. ... Nickname: Location in Maricopa County and the state of Arizona Coordinates: , Country State Counties Maricopa Incorporated February 25, 1881 Government  - Type Council-Manager  - Mayor Phil Gordon (D) Area  - City  515. ... Official language(s) English Spoken language(s) English 74. ... This article is about the unit of length. ... The arizona science center is the 3rd largest science center in the west. ... Founded in 1945, The Phoenix Art Museum has served Americans with ehxibits such as The Gayness of Eden, Homosexuals in paradise, and most recently Why Security Guards Suck. ... The Heard Museum is a museum dedicated to Native American art located in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. It has been designated as a Phoenix Point of Pride[1]. It was founded in 1929 by Dwight B. and Maie Bartlett Heard to house their personal collection of art. ... The Burton Barr Central Library is the central library in Phoenix, Arizona. ... Chase Field, also known as The BOB (after its original name, Bank One Ballpark), is a stadium located in Phoenix, Arizona across the street from the US Airways Center, which is used by many local teams including the NBAs Phoenix Suns. ... US Airways Center (formerly America West Arena) is a sports and entertainment facility located in Phoenix, Arizona. ... The Orpheum Theatre is a small, intimate theatre in downtown Phoenix, Arizona. ... Dodge Theater is an indoor concert hall and arena in Phoenix. ...

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. It has been suggested that FQ Story be merged into this article or section. ...

Development and Re-development

Several new skyscrapers are under construction as of March 2006, with many more^[1] planned that will dramatically transform the skyline. These include: 2006 is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

• Under Construction:
  • 44 Monroe, a 34-story residential condo tower;
  • Sheraton Phoenix Downtown Hotel, a 31-story hotel;
  • Summit at Copper Square, a 23-story residential condo tower
• Approved:
  • Cosmopolitan Lofts, a 17-story residential condo tower;
  • RO3 (Phase III), a 16-story residential condo tower;
  • Cityscape, four 30 to 40-story mixed-use towers, officially approved by the Parks Board on 2/22/2007;
  • Central Park East, a 40-story mixed-use project;
  • Park Place, Phase II, a 38-story mixed-use project;

A W Hotel, a 39-story hotel and condo tower proposed by Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver, was killed 19 September 2007 by a Phoenix judge.^[2] The W Hotel chain is owned by Starwood Hotel and Resorts Worldwide. ... The Phoenix Suns are a professional basketball team, based in Phoenix, Arizona. ... Robert Sarver (born 1961 in Tucson, Arizona) is the current majority owner of the Phoenix Suns. ... is the 262nd day of the year (263rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st Century. ...

There is a large number of high-rise proposals, some of which will likely not be built, due to the considerable amount of speculation occurring in Phoenix. Issues include skyrocketing land costs and ever-increasing construction costs, due to the shortage of concrete, steel and other construction materials. Other proposals not listed above include a third phase of Arizona Center, several "warehouse district" residential high-rises near the stadiums, several office projects and various other residential projects ranging from five to thirty stories in height.

A newly expanded convention center is under construction now, which will triple the amount of available space to nearly one million square feet. The name of the center was recently changed to the Phoenix Convention Center from Phoenix Civic Plaza, to reflect this $600 million investment.

A $1.2 billion light rail system called "The Metro" is also under construction. When the initial 20-mile (32 km) segment is completed in 2008, it will improve connections to downtown areas of Phoenix, Tempe and Mesa. A downtown campus of Arizona State University opened in fall 2006, with about 3,000 students. A much larger campus is planned, with up to 15,000 students by 2015. Some coffeehouses, restaurants, nightclubs and shopping in the area continue to draw people downtown for the growing nightlife scene. Much more development is expected once the light rail line and downtown ASU are fully open. Location in Maricopa County and the state of Arizona Coordinates: Country United States State Arizona Counties Maricopa Incorporated November 29, 1894 Government  - Mayor Hugh Hallman Area  - City  39. ... Location in Maricopa County and the state of Arizona Coordinates: , Country State Counties Maricopa Government  - Mayor Keno Hawker (R) Area  - City 125. ... Arizona State University (ASU) is a public research institution of higher education and research with campuses located in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. ... Coffeehouse in Damascus // A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or cafe (also spelled as café from the French, Spanish, and Portuguese or caffè from the Italian) shares some of the characteristics of a bar, and some of the characteristics of a restaurant. ... For other uses, see Restaurant (disambiguation). ... Laser lights illuminate the dance floor at a Gatecrasher dance music event in Sheffield, England A nightclub (or night club or club) is a drinking, dancing, and entertainment venue which does its primary business after dark. ...

The 10 tallest buildings in Phoenix are:

Note: 44 Monroe and the Sheraton Phoenix are currently under construction. There are two J.P. Morgan Chase Towers. ... The US Bank Center is a highrise in Phoenix, Arizona. ...

Source:http://skyscraperpage.com

Lack of development, historically

Unique among large American cities, downtown Phoenix is relatively small due to several factors. Phoenix's ranking^[3] as the 5th largest city in the country is misleading since cities such as San Francisco, Miami, Boston, Dallas, Washington, and Detroit are underrepresented by the de jure city limits, which had been set historically, though the cities continued to expand in area, population and influence. In comparing metropolitan areas these cities and five others have larger city sizes than Phoenix and larger populations as metro areas. Look up De jure in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The following is a list (by population) of all Metropolitan Statistical Areas as defined by the United States Census Bureau. ...

There is little historical housing stock precisely because Phoenix was so small—only 106,000 people in 1950. In addition, much was largely destroyed in the "urban renewal" movements of the 1960s and 1970s, for example, no equivalent of San Diego's Gaslamp District exists anywhere in Phoenix today. For comparison, in 1950, San Diego was more than three times as large as Phoenix. Dallas was more than four times as large, Houston almost six times larger, and Kansas City, Missouri was over four times as large as Phoenix in 1950. As of 2007, Phoenix has three times the population of Kansas City, but Phoenix's skyline is actually smaller than Kansas City's in comparison. “San Diego” redirects here. ... Entrance to the Gaslamp Quarter The Gaslamp Quarter is a historic neighborhood of downtown San Diego, California. ... “Dallas” redirects here. ... “Houston” redirects here. ... Nickname: Location in Jackson, Clay, Platte, and Cass Counties in the state of Missouri. ...

Much of Phoenix's growth during the 1950s and 1960s was low density suburban sprawl. Zoning at the time largely favored mass subdivisions of inexpensive cement block homes at the edge of the ever-expanding city. Land was cheaper and there were few neighbors and little red tape. As a result, developers gravitated to the edges of the metropolitan area.

"Growth is good for business"

"As urban growth continued in the 1960s and 1970s and spread from Phoenix into surrounding communities, the power base widened. Instead of a few private-sector leaders, there was the 'Phoenix 40,' a group of approximately 40 business leaders that included representatives from other industries, such as real estate and construction. The pro-growth bias broadened and became prevalent. In general, the perception of the bulk of the business community has been and continues to be that growth is good for business.

"An identifiable power hierarchy has been lacking since the 1970s. Charter government in the city of Phoenix was dissolved in 1975. The strength of the Phoenix 40 has waned without being replaced by a similarly powerful group. Yet the same pro-growth private-sector interests continue to wield considerable power. County government remains weak and no real regional government exists. Though city governments have become more important, some are as pro-growth as their private-sector constituency."^[4]

For years, Phoenix was an isolated, small outpost far from the centers of power. Phoenix's tallest building from 1929 to 1961 was the Westward Ho, a 17-story hotel that is now a retirement home for seniors. In 1970, Phoenix's entire metropolitan population was less than one million, and was considered largely a retirement and tourist haven. At the same time, Dallas had well over two million residents and Los Angeles had seven million. Thus, much of the skyscraper-building frenzy that marked the downtowns of sunbelt cities like Dallas, Houston and Atlanta never occurred in Phoenix. Phoenix was considered too small and too remote to attract much significant commercial high-rise development during the 1960s and 1970s. It is also possible that the growing leviathans of Los Angeles (and to a lesser degree, Denver, Houston and Dallas) siphoned off some of the high-rise development that might have otherwise occurred in Phoenix. All of these cities were much larger than Phoenix and were seen as being much more progressive at the time. Year 1929 (MCMXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Westward Ho is a skyscraper located at 618 North Central Avenue in Phoenix, Arizona, formerly occupied by a hotel of the same name. ... Nickname: Location in Fulton County and the state of Georgia Coordinates: , Country State Counties Fulton, DeKalb Government  - Mayor Shirley Franklin (D) Area  - City  132. ... Nickname: Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates: , State County Settled 1781 Incorporated April 4, 1850 Government  - Type Mayor-Council  - Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa  - City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo  - Governing body City Council Area  - City  498. ... Nickname: Location of Denver in Colorado Location of Colorado in the United States Coordinates: , Country United States State Colorado City-County Denver (coextensive) Founded [1] November 22, 1858 Incorporated November 7, 1861 Government  - Type Strong Mayor/Weak Council  - Mayor John Hickenlooper (D) Area [1]  - City & County  154. ...

Phoenix was anti-urban and still is, to some degree. A comprehensive freeway plan was resisted until 1985. At that time Phoenix was the largest metropolitan area (with almost two million residents) in the United States without a completed freeway or beltway system encircling and crossing the city, which created busy arterial streets. Sightlines and mountain views are important to residents. Many still oppose high-rises because views of the mountains are considered sacred, as evidenced by the recent rejection in 2005 of Donald Trump's 15-story high-rise project in the Biltmore area. Many people that came to Phoenix in the latter half of the 20th century did so to escape "big city problems," so there is a natural tendency in Arizona to keep things small. As a result, much of the office space in Phoenix is located in low profile newer office parks in outlying areas of the city, and not in downtown high-rises like in other cities. Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946 in Queens, New York, New York) is an American business executive, entrepreneur, television and radio personality and author. ...

Nevertheless, following the groundbreaking of the METRO Light Rail, development in Downtown Phoenix has restarted, with three projects currently under construction, and four more large-scale projects approved. Four of these projects feature the construction of buildings over thirty stories and will help transform the Phoenix skyline.

Copper Square

The one square mile area surrounding Central Avenue and Jefferson consists of a business district, housing many state and local government buildings, and is known as Copper Square. A growing center of activity, many locals refer to this area as "Downtown". Copper Square, despite the lack of city-center development over the years, has undergone a renaissance since the building of the US Airways Center (formerly America West Arena) in 1992 and Chase Field (formerly Bank One Ballpark) in 1998. US Airways Center (formerly America West Arena) is a sports and entertainment facility located in Phoenix, Arizona. ... Chase Field, also known as The BOB (after its original name, Bank One Ballpark), is a stadium located in Phoenix, Arizona across the street from the US Airways Center, which is used by many local teams including the NBAs Phoenix Suns. ...

References

External links

• Phoenix Museum of History
• Copper Square - Downtown Phoenix Partnership
• Phoenix Convention Center