Showing posts with label Downtown nightlife. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Downtown nightlife. Show all posts
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Indy film in downtown Phoenix?
Who knows how legitimate it is, but a pretty provocative tweet went out today about an independent movie theatre and bar opening in late 2010 on Second Street just south of Roosevelt Street. For years locals have said that the demographics were right for such a venture, so let's hope this comes together. Mrs. Downtown_resident and I are in for sure.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Dark Knight, Bright Day for Downtown Phoenix
On a perfect April night last week, you could see things all starting to come together for downtown Phoenix.
On the surface, it was merely a couple hundred people taking in a free movie in a park. But when put in perspective, the screening of The Dark Knight put on by ASU students for a class project was a huge moment that illustrated how far downtown Phoenix has come.
The movie screen was in the center of a juxtaposition of downtown Phoenix's old and new. The screen sat in front of the newly-restored 1926 A.E. England Building, flanked on its left by the "Her Secret is Patience" sculpture (also referred to by many more colloquially as the "Jellyfish") and on the right by the very bright lights of the new Central Park East high rise. Moviegoers were pleasantly distracted by the light rail trains that both in front and behind them as well as the news zipper scrolling along on the ASU journalism building. And of course, beneath the movie patrons was the brand-new Downtown Phoenix Civic Space, a 2.77-acre gem of a park that just opened.
An even more positive sign was the crowd that came to watch the movie. Not only did the turnout exceed expectations (with minimal publicity, organizers expected 60-75 attendees and then at least 250 showed up), but it was a crazy blend of people: old and young, all races, ASU students, high-rise condo dwellers and homeless people. And as far as I could tell, everyone enjoyed themselves.
I've been critical of ASU in the past. Its administrators descended on downtown and acted like they owned the place-- let's not forget they wanted to tear down the A.E. England Building they're now patting themselves on the back for saving-- and at first its students publicly bashed their new environment instead of trying to go out and change it for the better. However, on this night ASU's students had a very positive effect on downtown with their ingenious, well-run program to activate the new park. This event showed the promise the university's presence can have for downtown.
As the event ended, people were overheard saying what a great event it was, how they couldn't believe it took place downtown, and how they'd be back (WALL-E will run this Saturday at 7:30 p.m.). Hopefully this is the start of a new tradition that can take its place alongside First Fridays and Suns games as a constant in downtown life. But even if it doesn't, it was enough to illustrate to everyone there that there is at last a burgeoning urban center in the giant megalopolis.
Apparently, while no one was looking, downtown Phoenix came to life.
On the surface, it was merely a couple hundred people taking in a free movie in a park. But when put in perspective, the screening of The Dark Knight put on by ASU students for a class project was a huge moment that illustrated how far downtown Phoenix has come.
The movie screen was in the center of a juxtaposition of downtown Phoenix's old and new. The screen sat in front of the newly-restored 1926 A.E. England Building, flanked on its left by the "Her Secret is Patience" sculpture (also referred to by many more colloquially as the "Jellyfish") and on the right by the very bright lights of the new Central Park East high rise. Moviegoers were pleasantly distracted by the light rail trains that both in front and behind them as well as the news zipper scrolling along on the ASU journalism building. And of course, beneath the movie patrons was the brand-new Downtown Phoenix Civic Space, a 2.77-acre gem of a park that just opened.
An even more positive sign was the crowd that came to watch the movie. Not only did the turnout exceed expectations (with minimal publicity, organizers expected 60-75 attendees and then at least 250 showed up), but it was a crazy blend of people: old and young, all races, ASU students, high-rise condo dwellers and homeless people. And as far as I could tell, everyone enjoyed themselves.
I've been critical of ASU in the past. Its administrators descended on downtown and acted like they owned the place-- let's not forget they wanted to tear down the A.E. England Building they're now patting themselves on the back for saving-- and at first its students publicly bashed their new environment instead of trying to go out and change it for the better. However, on this night ASU's students had a very positive effect on downtown with their ingenious, well-run program to activate the new park. This event showed the promise the university's presence can have for downtown.
As the event ended, people were overheard saying what a great event it was, how they couldn't believe it took place downtown, and how they'd be back (WALL-E will run this Saturday at 7:30 p.m.). Hopefully this is the start of a new tradition that can take its place alongside First Fridays and Suns games as a constant in downtown life. But even if it doesn't, it was enough to illustrate to everyone there that there is at last a burgeoning urban center in the giant megalopolis.
Apparently, while no one was looking, downtown Phoenix came to life.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
All quiet
One of the x-factors for downtown is the performance of its two main sports teams, the Diamondbacks and Suns. When the teams are playing well, attendance at their respective events surges and downtown becomes that much more alive. (Granted, the two stadiums do a lousy job of interacting with the rest of downtown, but while the spillover from downtown sporting events could be better, there is no doubt that the streets are more alive and downtown businesses profit. Hopefully the presence of light rail will enhance the sports spillover even further.)
But as of late April 2009, things are pretty quiet on the downtown sports scene. The Suns missed the playoffs for the first time since 2004, costing downtown establishments as much as $200,000 per game in lost revenue, and the Diamondbacks are off to a bad start with their punchless offense.
The prognosis for the two teams seem very different: the aging Suns ought to tear up the team while there is still some trade value in their older players— hanging on to some of the younger guys who hustle on defense as well as offense such as Jared Dudley (above)— while the Diamondbacks have to be patient with a team that’s still very young and wait for the talent that showed itself in 2006 to return.
Here’s hoping that the two teams can turn things around quickly. It’s great for all of Phoenix and especially downtown when the Suns and D-backs are title contenders as they both were just a couple years ago. And I shudder to think how far we’ve fallen if our best hope for a championship in Phoenix is…the Cardinals?
Friday, January 25, 2008
A city dweller's guide to Super Bowl XLII
No, Phoenix is not Boston or New York. That's hardly a revelation. But visitors here for the Super Bowl wishing to take in a little urban culture in the desert should look carefully, because there are some great finds in our city as well.
I've compiled a list of downtown Phoenix "city culture" that our guests should check out if they want an escape from the bleached-blonde vapidity of Scottsdale or the beer-soaked environments of Tempe and Glendale (or the suburban sameness of everywhere else):
* First Fridays Art Walk. Friday, February 1, 2008, 6-11 p.m.; sites all over downtown and uptown Phoenix but concentrated at Third Street and Roosevelt Street and Grand Avenue at Fifteenth Avenue (for details see artlinkphoenix.com). More than 10,000 people descend on downtown Phoenix monthly to check out the artwork in the various avante garde downtown galleries (which stay open late on this night). The art is really hit or miss, although I recommend checking out what's new at the Bragg's Pie Factory at 1301 NW Grand Avenue or taking in the Gold Spot Gallery at Third Avenue and Roosevelt Street.
* Downtown breakfast and lunch. At this point in downtown Phoenix's nascent renaissance, the restaurant scene is further ahead than the nightlife options (although I'll discuss those as well). There are terrific options for breakfast and dinner downtown. First, breakfast-- Matt's Big Breakfast is the gold standard for breakfast and lunch in Phoenix; Palatte opened last summer in a renovated historic home at 606 N. Fourth Avenue and serves healthy breakfast and lunch options and has a nice outside patio; and for the really adventurous the Welcome Diner serves limited breakfasts and lunches in a Depression-era/Route 66 diner-on-wheels (seating nine individuals) in the Garfield neighborhood.
[Matt's Big Breakfast, 801 N. First Street, 7:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.; Palatte, 606 N. Fourth Avenue, 7:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.; Welcome Diner, 924 E. Roosevelt Street, 7:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.]
* Downtown dinner. Everybody knows about Pizzeria Bianco, the downtown wood-fired pizza that has won multiple awards and was even called (by an out-of-town reviewer) "the best pizza in the world." It's great food and is worth the wait when you couple a trip there with stops at next-door Bar Bianco and the brand-new Cross and Crown English pub across the way. But if you'd like to avoid the three-hour waits that can be common at Pizzeria Bianco, check out Cibo in the Roosevelt Historic District next to downtown Phoenix. It's in a refurbished 1920's house and has a great selection of pizza, wines, and desserts (try the crepes with nutella). Another great spot for bohemian adventurers is Fate, which serves inexpensive pan-Asian fare in a restored historic home just off Roosevelt Street. Fate is even more of a destination these days thanks to its recently-opened Next Door outdoor bar. Fate is open until 3:00 a.m. on the weekends, which is great for those living the NYC lifestyle, as is Carly's, an avante garde sandwich place with a great beer selection, open until at least 2:00 a.m. on weekends.
[Pizzeria Bianco 623 E. Adams St., 5:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.; Bar Bianco, 609 E. Adams St., 4:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.; Cross and Crown Pub, across from Pizzeria Bianco, call ahead for hours; Cibo, 603 N. Fifth Avenue, 5:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m. weekends, earlier weekdays; Fate, 905 N. Fourth Street, open until 2:00 a.m. Friday and 3:00 a.m. Saturday; Carly's, 128 E. Roosevelt Street, open until 2:00 a.m. on weekends. (Keep in mind these places will be mobbed on First Fridays (Feb. 2), but other than Pizzeria Bianco should be only moderately busy on other nights.)]
* Nightlife. Downtown Phoenix is just starting to develop a nightlife scene and its current options are very limited, but for those who get tired of Scottsdale's fakeness or Tempe's college scene, there are some quality spots to relax and try some great beer. Go to the Roosevelt Tavern, owned by the same couple that runs Matt's Big Breakfast, featuring multiple beers on tap including Tempe's own Kiltlifter, plus some clever takes on bar munchies, and take in a scene that features everything from prep school teachers to beatniks (yes, Phoenix has some). A great discovery just two blocks away is the Lost Leaf, which has more than 75 varieties of domestic and imported bottled beers (that will seem really cheap by east coast standards). A nice, authentic Irish pub will help the Bostonians get over any brief homesickness, and that's what you'll find at Seamus McCaffrey's in the heart of downtown, which usually features live music on weekends. Finally, for wine lovers, a stop at Cheuvront (beware- it closes early) or Silver might be a good option.
[Roosevelt Tavern, 816 N. Third Street, open until 2:00 a.m. on weekends; Lost Leaf, 914 N. Fifth Street, open until 2:00 a.m. every night; Seamus McCaffrey's, 18 W. Monroe Street; Cheuvront, 1326 N. Central Avenue, open until midnight on weekends; Silver, Second Street and Washington Street, call for hours.]
I've compiled a list of downtown Phoenix "city culture" that our guests should check out if they want an escape from the bleached-blonde vapidity of Scottsdale or the beer-soaked environments of Tempe and Glendale (or the suburban sameness of everywhere else):
* First Fridays Art Walk. Friday, February 1, 2008, 6-11 p.m.; sites all over downtown and uptown Phoenix but concentrated at Third Street and Roosevelt Street and Grand Avenue at Fifteenth Avenue (for details see artlinkphoenix.com). More than 10,000 people descend on downtown Phoenix monthly to check out the artwork in the various avante garde downtown galleries (which stay open late on this night). The art is really hit or miss, although I recommend checking out what's new at the Bragg's Pie Factory at 1301 NW Grand Avenue or taking in the Gold Spot Gallery at Third Avenue and Roosevelt Street.
* Downtown breakfast and lunch. At this point in downtown Phoenix's nascent renaissance, the restaurant scene is further ahead than the nightlife options (although I'll discuss those as well). There are terrific options for breakfast and dinner downtown. First, breakfast-- Matt's Big Breakfast is the gold standard for breakfast and lunch in Phoenix; Palatte opened last summer in a renovated historic home at 606 N. Fourth Avenue and serves healthy breakfast and lunch options and has a nice outside patio; and for the really adventurous the Welcome Diner serves limited breakfasts and lunches in a Depression-era/Route 66 diner-on-wheels (seating nine individuals) in the Garfield neighborhood.
[Matt's Big Breakfast, 801 N. First Street, 7:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.; Palatte, 606 N. Fourth Avenue, 7:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.; Welcome Diner, 924 E. Roosevelt Street, 7:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.]
* Downtown dinner. Everybody knows about Pizzeria Bianco, the downtown wood-fired pizza that has won multiple awards and was even called (by an out-of-town reviewer) "the best pizza in the world." It's great food and is worth the wait when you couple a trip there with stops at next-door Bar Bianco and the brand-new Cross and Crown English pub across the way. But if you'd like to avoid the three-hour waits that can be common at Pizzeria Bianco, check out Cibo in the Roosevelt Historic District next to downtown Phoenix. It's in a refurbished 1920's house and has a great selection of pizza, wines, and desserts (try the crepes with nutella). Another great spot for bohemian adventurers is Fate, which serves inexpensive pan-Asian fare in a restored historic home just off Roosevelt Street. Fate is even more of a destination these days thanks to its recently-opened Next Door outdoor bar. Fate is open until 3:00 a.m. on the weekends, which is great for those living the NYC lifestyle, as is Carly's, an avante garde sandwich place with a great beer selection, open until at least 2:00 a.m. on weekends.
[Pizzeria Bianco 623 E. Adams St., 5:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.; Bar Bianco, 609 E. Adams St., 4:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.; Cross and Crown Pub, across from Pizzeria Bianco, call ahead for hours; Cibo, 603 N. Fifth Avenue, 5:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m. weekends, earlier weekdays; Fate, 905 N. Fourth Street, open until 2:00 a.m. Friday and 3:00 a.m. Saturday; Carly's, 128 E. Roosevelt Street, open until 2:00 a.m. on weekends. (Keep in mind these places will be mobbed on First Fridays (Feb. 2), but other than Pizzeria Bianco should be only moderately busy on other nights.)]
* Nightlife. Downtown Phoenix is just starting to develop a nightlife scene and its current options are very limited, but for those who get tired of Scottsdale's fakeness or Tempe's college scene, there are some quality spots to relax and try some great beer. Go to the Roosevelt Tavern, owned by the same couple that runs Matt's Big Breakfast, featuring multiple beers on tap including Tempe's own Kiltlifter, plus some clever takes on bar munchies, and take in a scene that features everything from prep school teachers to beatniks (yes, Phoenix has some). A great discovery just two blocks away is the Lost Leaf, which has more than 75 varieties of domestic and imported bottled beers (that will seem really cheap by east coast standards). A nice, authentic Irish pub will help the Bostonians get over any brief homesickness, and that's what you'll find at Seamus McCaffrey's in the heart of downtown, which usually features live music on weekends. Finally, for wine lovers, a stop at Cheuvront (beware- it closes early) or Silver might be a good option.
[Roosevelt Tavern, 816 N. Third Street, open until 2:00 a.m. on weekends; Lost Leaf, 914 N. Fifth Street, open until 2:00 a.m. every night; Seamus McCaffrey's, 18 W. Monroe Street; Cheuvront, 1326 N. Central Avenue, open until midnight on weekends; Silver, Second Street and Washington Street, call for hours.]
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Party off
Watching fireworks from a downtown Phoenix rooftop, as my friends and I did on New Year's Eve, was a study in Phoenix sprawl.
Way, way out on the horizon in every direction-- Tempe, Avondale, Peoria, Scottsdale-- were fireworks. One would have expected the nation's fifth-largest city to follow suit. After all, a firework display is not that expensive, and downtown is a great scene for such shows because the noise from the explosions echo off the other buildings in a really cool way. There's no need for a full-blown New Year's party-- the colossal bust that was downtown's New Year's Eve party to ring in the year 2000 showed there's no point in trying to encroach on Tempe's virtual monopoly on big New Year's celebrations (and Glendale's poorly-attended Westgate Party just underscores that reality).
But instead of a simple fireworks display, downtown Phoenix was quiet. Maybe city leaders will realize that Phoenix has fallen behind even its suburbs and put together something next year.
Way, way out on the horizon in every direction-- Tempe, Avondale, Peoria, Scottsdale-- were fireworks. One would have expected the nation's fifth-largest city to follow suit. After all, a firework display is not that expensive, and downtown is a great scene for such shows because the noise from the explosions echo off the other buildings in a really cool way. There's no need for a full-blown New Year's party-- the colossal bust that was downtown's New Year's Eve party to ring in the year 2000 showed there's no point in trying to encroach on Tempe's virtual monopoly on big New Year's celebrations (and Glendale's poorly-attended Westgate Party just underscores that reality).
But instead of a simple fireworks display, downtown Phoenix was quiet. Maybe city leaders will realize that Phoenix has fallen behind even its suburbs and put together something next year.
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