The Urban Desert
Today’s post will feature images from a recent excursion to downtown Phoenix, earlier this week. I was accompanied by Paul Staley, fellow photographer. Our purpose was to capture scenes from the city, an area that neither one of us knows well. We covered two areas on this trip, sufficient to show us that we’ll need to return to explore areas that time did not allow on this first trip. The areas we did see and photograph included parts of the downtown core and some residential areas where we were able to find a number of homes designed by the famous American architect, Frank Lloyd Wright.
This post will emphasize scenes from the city’s core area.
I begin with St. Mary’s Basilica, the oldest Catholic parish in Phoenix and the only Catholic parish in Phoenix until 1924.
Construction of a church on the present site of Third and Monroe Streets began in 1880 under the supervision of Rev. Edouard Gerard. Rev. Gerard was the first priest ordained (February 2, 1877) in Arizona. With its completion, the church was dedicated by Bishop Salpointe on June 24, 1881.
Farish House is a bistro, located in the heart of downtown Phoenix.
Family owned and operated, the Farish House serves up classics such as cassoulet, Angus ribeye, mac n’ cheese and a bevy of small bites, cheeses and charcuterie in a charming turn-of-the-century home and patio setting. The saloon features pre-prohibition era wine estates and cocktails.
Situated in Phoenix’s Evans-Churchill neighborhood, the Farish House blends a mostly French menu with a celebration of the historic home it occupies. Named for the vintage building itself, it’s one of the few to survive the clear-cutting of nearby blocks.
We also spent some time on Roosevelt Row, downtown Phoenix’s walkable arts district, home to art galleries, restaurants, bars and boutique shops in a landscape dotted by colorful street art. The following example of street art caught my attention; I had to photograph it. The artist has signed it as Hugo’s Art. The name doesn’t register with me, but I conclude that Hugo is a very talented artist.
This building is known as the Wurth House, another survivor of renovation in downtown Phoenix.
The Wurth House was built in 1911 by Felix Wurth, a letter carrier who moved to Phoenix from Kentucky. Recently, a developer bought the land the Wurth House had been sitting on for more than 100 years and announced the 1100-square-foot brick home would be bulldozed to make way for a new apartment building.
A neighbour who owned an empty lot across the street from the Wurth House was determined to prevent the loss of this historic building. With the help of other community-minded people she relocated it across the street.
MADE Art Boutique is a locally-owned retail and community space on Roosevelt Row in downtown Phoenix. Since 2005, MADE has offered an always-changing array of artist-made items, including jewelry, ceramics, prints, cards, soaps, candles and more. It strives to build a strong, vibrant downtown Phoenix community.
My last photograph for today, highlights a sidewalk lined with large palm trees, running parallel to E. Roosevelt Street.
That’s it for today’s photographs. I will follow a little later with Part 2, featuring Frank Lloyd Wright designed homes and buildings.