Adios

These little bungalows on Taylor Street near Second Street aren't long for this world. Soon, an ASU-powered wrecking ball will deal these 90-year old buildings their fate. While preservationists are aware of this, there won't be any Sun Merc-style lawsuits or A.E. England-type behind-the-scenes politicking to save these low-profile buildings. So I figured I'd put a picture of them in this space before they make way for two ASU dorms.

For those keeping score, ASU has now taken out at least six single-story downtown Phoenix buildings while the downtown Phoenix campus is constructed. It's too bad a few of these couldn't be integrated into the campus as a reminder of the city's history. They're functional and could be used to house small businesses or ASU offices. But that's not ASU's model.

More updates and links

* According to the Roosvelt neighborhood newsletter, opening on the second floor of the building at 701 W. McDowell (the former Emerald Lounge site that will soon house Pei Wei and Starbucks) will be a wine bar and lounge tentatively called the "Second Floor Lounge." The lounge is to open in the fall.

* Here's a thoughtful, though depressing, link arguing that Phoenix will never have a real downtown. I'm not sure when the article was written, but I believe many of its contentions-- that Phoenix is too "car-addicted," afflicted by zoning, or just too hot-- are undermined by the rise of successful downtowns in places like San Diego and Denver. San Diego is car-afflicted and a product of a zoning regime, and Denver has those problems plus frigid weather, and both have built quality downtowns. If it can happen there it can happen in Phoenix as well. And can we stop using weather as an excuse for Phoenix's downtown? Has anyone ever spent time in Boston or New York in the winter, or in DC at any time of year? The weather sucks, and yet those downtowns are thriving. So weather by itself isn't a factor.

* Citing the proximity to the arts district, light rail, and the burgeoning condo market, upscale Layers Furniture has opened its showroom at 824 North Central Avenue in the spot formerly occupied by Greta's Pet Boutique.

* Downtown restaurants get a thumbs up on a web review site, but meanwhile on another site downtown Phoenix in general gets a thumbs down.

Where was my byline?

Maybe I'm seeing something that wasn't there, but the opening paragraphs of the Arizona Republic's cover story on downtown sounded a lot like something I wrote about six weeks ago. Here's what I mean:

On February 25, in my post 'The Old Guard Reacts in the Wake of CityScape,' I wrote, '...Every few years some developer comes along with a project that is going to "save" downtown but fails in that colossal task. In the seventies, it was the civic plaza convention center. In the late 1980's, after the Boston Globe called downtown Phoenix a "surreal nightmare," we tried to save it with the Mercado and Arizona Center. In the nineties, it was US Airways Arena and Chase Field...CityScape is just the latest variation in a series of megaprojects billed as the downtown savior.'

On April 8, the Republic ran a story called 'Multiple projects key to downtown's revival.' It opens like this: 'First it was the Phoenix Civic Plaza. Then it was the Arizona Center. Later it was the sporting venues - America West Arena and Bank One Ballpark - that were to provide the spark. More recently, it was a new Arizona State University campus that was ballyhooed. It seems every few years - for the past three or four decades - city boosters anointed one venture or another as the savior of downtown Phoenix. But each time, the project's actual impact has fallen far short of the lofty projections.'

Maybe I'm mistaken-- but it seems like there are a lot of similarities here-- the use of a list that names the civic plaza, the Arizona Center, the arena and ballpark; the use of the same word, "savior," to describe the projects; and of course the overall thesis are pretty much the same.

Anyway, I'm not mad. The notion that downtown Phoenix tries to reinvent itself every so often through some "silver bullet" megaproject was hardly novel when I wrote it. And I also know that someone can read something, forget it, and then weeks or months later, the subject of the reading comes back into one's mind and the person innocently uses it as their own thoughts. My only beef is, hey, if you liked the concept, give me a byline, or quote me!

Bar Smith: worth a visit

I stopped by the brand-new Bar Smith last night with my girlfriend. It's a quality spot, but it's got some challenges ahead. The restaurant is wedged between Burn and the Sky Lounge on Washington Street-- you know, the spot where Oregano's failed. (When a place such as Oregano's, where 60-minute wait times are the standard at its other locations, can't make it, that says something about downtown.) The place was pretty much empty on a Friday night. Still, it's got some good things going for it-- the ahi tuna sliders were really good, the scene inside could be hip and it's a got a very cool rooftop patio. It could be a fun place to hang out when the downtown core comes to life during the upcoming Suns playoff run.