City Creek in Downtown Salt Lake vs CityScape
There is only one word to describe City Creek in Downtown Salt Lake: Holy-freaking-cow-this-project-is-amazing. (It’s one word when you use hyphens according to a rule I just made up.)
If only the Phoenix version of this project (called CityScape) were just one percent as good as City Creek, we’d have something to be proud of. But as I’ve hypothesized in the past, CityScape is the crappy first draft that Salt Lake rejected because it sucked.
So someone in the meeting said, “Take it to Phoenix! They will build anything!” A sadly, we do. To be fair, the Mormon Church threw around a few billion dollars to build City Creek whereas in Phoenix we only spent 900 million dollars. Plus Phoenix aims low and goes for the best (i.e. worst) value engineering money can buy. And thus was born CityScape – an eyesore if there ever was one, a suburban office park in the middle of downtown that spitefully ignores the city streets, a project that pays no homage to the city’s past. It’s a gray fortress that looked dated the day it opened.
Not so in Salt Lake. Callison Architecture, the firm from Seattle that designed City Creek is the same firm that designed ShittyScape, er, I mean CityScape. Read more 
Metro Arts Institute Nurtures Young Artists
From my new posts on DPJ about a Downtown Phoenix arts school:
In public high schools, art and music programs always seem to be on the chopping block, while a heavy emphasis is placed on athletic programs. For students serious about sports, traditional high schools provide fields, weight rooms, pools, and dedicated coaches.
Talented athletes have more opportunities to be seen by scouts or receive scholarships than do talented artists who may not even have a chance to take an art elective until their junior year of high school. By then, too much time has passed to create a well-rounded portfolio.
Read the rest here.
The Artwork of Carol Roque on DPJ
I was at Third Friday in January selling my book with Jim McPherson in front of MADE Gallery on Roosevelt Row when I first saw Carol Roque. She was off to the side of me in front of MADE doing portraits and I was impressed by how good they were. I went over to see her display where on her table she had digital picture frames that scrolled through her work and I really liked what I saw, there was that element of lonely, Tim Burton-esque playful darkness juxtaposed to really bright, abstract, dream-like kind of stuff. I asked the owner of MADE, Cindy Dash, more about the artist out front and Cindy told me that Carol had been a regular part of First Friday since 2006 (which was even before I started going.) So I figured she had an interesting story, and she did. Plus I have a special place in my heart for people who live downtown and create things.
I interviewed her and wrote a story that is now posted on the DPJ website. You can read it here.
2012 Mutant Pinata Show at Bragg’s Pie Factory in Photos
The 4th Annual Mutant Pinata Show is now on display in Bragg’s Pie Factory at 1301 W Grand Avenue.
Jim McPherson and I submitted a pinata for this years show because it sounded like a ton of fun to make a pinata. And it was. We made a mini Westward Ho complete with the antenna, palm trees, the Stacey Champion downtown chalkboard, and of course a mini-cover of our book “Downtown Phoenix.” Jim and I felt that this historic building is sort of a “mutant” in the sense that it is still standing and not taking up space in a landfill. Historic buildings in Phoenix are treated like mutants and demolished so we thought our pinata fit the criteria perfectly. To my surprise and delight, the pinata sold for 5 bucks!! That totally makes me a full time working artist! (In my mind.)
Below are some photos I took while perusing the other entries this year. Make sure to check this exhibit out. There were a lot of great entries. Read more
Phoenix Challenge Nation 2012 in Photos
Some of my favorite spring time activities in Phoenix are all the outdoor races, runs, and marathons. At the top of my favorite list is Challenge Nation- an urban scavenger hunt that tests your physical fitness and downtown Phoenix knowledge.
I ran last year and made good time but knew I could do better. This year I ran with my teammate Ivonne and we got (drum roll please) second place! There were over 874 registered runners on 220+ teams and Ivonne and I got 2nd place and we only lost first place by one damn minute! Still, I’m pleased with our performance.
At the start of the race, each team is given a list of 12 clues that you have to solve then run to the location described in the clue then take a photograph with each member of your team in the photo. I’d share some of the clues here but I didn’t keep my sheet of paper and I don’t remember the clues except that they were not easy, and this coming from a guy who prides himself on knowing Downtown Phoenix better than anyone. Some of those clues threw me for a loop! Well done clue writers for Challenge Nation!
Here is a recap in photos. Read more
Dapper + Dash Launch This Weekend
Bow Ties are cool.
I have a new post on the Downtown Phoenix Journal about Dapper + Dash, a new local business that creates bow ties from vintage materials and ties. The business is launching this weekend with a kick off party at Mercantile on Saturday, March 3 from 6:30- 9:00 p.m. Read more
Matsuri Festival 2012 in Photos
The Matsuri Festival was this past weekend at Heritage Square in Downtown Phoenix and a good time was had by all! I go every year to this free event and it’s always a blast. For me, the Matsuri Festival is the official first big event that kicks off the whole season of festivals and events. Coming up is the Challenge Nation Urban Scavenger Hunt, the Blues Blast, the Great Arizona Beer Fest, the Aloha Festival, Phoenix Pride and so many more that I can’t even keep track.
Here are a few photos that I took while walking around the Matsuri Festival on Saturday afternoon. Read more
Our Interview on “Horizon”
Last night I appeared with my co-authors on PBS for an interview about our book.
From their website: Read more
New Post on DPJ “State of Sustainability”
Downtown Voices Coalition hosted the “State of Sustainability in Downtown Phoenix” on Tuesday night and I was there to cover the event.
Is Phoenix really the “least sustainable city in the world” as author Andrew Ross’ new book declares?
I recapped the event and the story is posted on the Downtown Phoenix Journal.
Phoenix Phoestivus 2011 in Photos
The Phoestivus was a blast! Crowds of people swarmed through the little market on both days this year, enjoying music, food, drinks, and local produce and art. The reaction to my new book has been overwhelmingly positive and I’m happy that I can finally share it with the world. Many early copies were sold just in time for Christmas.
The official release is January 2, 2012 and the official release party is on January 7th from 5-8 p.m. at my most beloved downtown Phoenix location- Hanny’s. Read more
Progress on Valley of the Sunflowers Continues
On Sunday volunteers from the Valley of the Sunflowers (VOS) met for a community potluck in the center of the once dirt lot that is now bursting with green stalks and yellow leaves of the sunflowers, some over 6′ tall. Within the flowers, life has returned to the lot in the form of insects like bees and ladybugs.
As Martha Stewart would say, “It’s a good thing.” Read more
desert ArtLAB Contiues in Garfield
Desert artLAB, an initiative that explores the connections between ecology, culture and community continued the project LAND Knowledge on Saturday in Garfield.
LAND Knowledge, brings together artists, activists, researchers and residents of Phoenix to plant cacti in vacant public spaces and document their efforts through photographs or videos. On Saturday, over 80 people showed up to dig holes and plant cacti at Parque Liberdat. I wrote about the event this past Saturday for the Downtown Phoenix Journal here. Read more
(En)Hance Park
Last year I blogged about Hance Park in Downtown Phoenix and how the park was in a “visioning phase” and I quoted one of my favorite lines from Jane Jacobs regarding parks:
You can neither lie to a neighborhood park, nor reason with it. ‘Artist’s conceptions’ and persuasive renderings can put pictures of life into proposed neighborhood parks or park malls, and verbal rationalizations can conjure up users who ought to appreciate them, but in real life only diverse surroundings have the practical power of inducing a natural, continuing flow of life and use.
She’s right. She was always right. Read more
Healthy Communities Need Third Places
I have a second post on Downtown Phoenix Journal this week. I’m on fire! (Actually I’d like to post there a lot more, and I hope I can soon.)
I took the train south down Central Avenue last night then walked from Chase Field through the Warehouse District to the Levine Machine (A marvelous, award winning historic warehouse that is truly a gem). The boys from Mulch Coffee were there serving up single brewed cups of coffee and hot cider to the attendees who were bundled up in their winter finest. If you’re not from Phoenix, you may not understand how cold it gets here. If there was moisture in the air, it would snow. Actually it did snow this week in north Phoenix.
Anywho, the TEDxScottsdaleSalon was well attended and some great insights and stories were shared by the presenters.
You can read my recap of the event here.
What are Third Places?
My new post is up on Downtown Phoenix Journal about the TEDxSalon event this Wednesday night. The event is at the Levine Machine building from 6-9 pm. Food and drinks will be available for purchase. Read more
