rebeccmeister (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
rebeccmeister) wrote2022-01-07 07:49 am
rebeccmeister) wrote2022-01-07 07:49 am
Entry tags:
Fire bird [Phoenix, photos, architecture, urban planning]
Over the summer we got to live our best Scottsdale lives with the duplex near Old Town. This trip we are living our best Phoenix lives in a place on Roosevelt Row. I remember when this duplex got built, because the new construction stood out like a sore thumb in this part of the Garfield neighborhood, a decade ago. At this stage, there's a Public Hearing sign outside that has to do with wanting to remove some requirements for the parking lot in the back and the yard/vegetation in the front. I don't know whether that means that this place is now slated for demolition in the near future, but it wouldn't surprise me. The interior layout is nice, but the place is showing signs of wear and tear. It's also still way out of character with the immediate neighbors, but the contrast isn't as stark as the contrast between the old Craftsman houses and the new luxury apartments just to the west of 7th Street.
I have solidly mixed feelings about the new construction downtown, which I've had a lot of time to stare at as I walk the mile to and from the Convention Center for this conference. On the one hand, it's wonderful to see the population density increase in downtown Phoenix, a thing that has been enabled by the copious number of vacant lots, the light rail, and things like the ASU Downtown campus. On the other hand, the majority of the new construction and new businesses are Arizona-gauche: the ugly modern construction out of scale with its surroundings that developers tell us is the only way they can make a profit, and a proliferation of sports bar-type establishments. But there are some good things, like the jazz club that opened in 2019 next door to Carly's, that make me think this place may manage to hold onto some of its history and character.
And I did eventually find one newer building whose construction I actually approve of:
Yes, it's an enormous city block monolith, but the balconies are well-done. Most of the other balconies on surrounding buildings simply jut out of the sides of the buildings, with no privacy or protection, even on the south-facing sides, which tells me that the people who designed them haven't spent any time living in Arizona in the summertime, or they don't actually care about providing the people living in the building with useable outdoor space, just as people raising "free-range" livestock often provide access to the outdoors that the animals never use. The building reminds me much more of the scale and structure of architecture in Copenhagen, where the buildings also have an inner courtyard to provide quiet. I don't know whether that's the case with this building, but a large inner courtyard would also provide a pleasant protected space out of the sun in this climate. So, kudos to whoever designed and built this one project. The rest can go to hell (heh).
The rest of my out-and-about photos are a hodgepodge of views from this duplex and interesting things spotted while walking around, so I'll stick them behind a cut.
Out the bedroom window. This bedroom would be phenomenal if it weren't for the smoke from the neighbors lighting fires and barbecues, the pervasive stench of dog poop, and the general urban noise.
I have come to appreciate palm trees, although it took a while to come around to this perspective.
The next-door neighbor's house fascinates me. The roof is caving in, but there's an abundance of fun things in the backyard, and the false front door is so strange, but necessary.
The Spanish version of this poster is a collage. You may have to look closely at the photo - sorry it isn't any better. I have questions.
I've missed the light and shadows of the desert. This is the patio at Carly's Bistro, where the food is just as good as it used to be. There's now a small bike shop next door, that very kindly did the seatpost quick release clamp replacement for me. The guy who runs it is awesome and deserves your business.
This struck me as a strange, but very Phoenix, way to plant palo brea trees:
Lots of great murals and street art, still. This is just outside of two Craftsman houses that have been turned into a bistro and a coffeeshop, with lovely patios out front, the coffeeshop reminiscent of Willow House. To the right edge of this photo is a building getting constructed out of shipping containers, which my brother tells me are expensive and impractical to convert into living spaces. There is still a ton of active construction in this area, so I have to imagine things will look different yet again by the next time I'm here to visit.
Apparently the Welcome Diner pulled the same trick as Matt's Big Breakfast, relocating to a larger space to be able to serve a bigger customer base. I'd never been to the original Welcome Diner, but we enjoyed dinner at the new place last night. N enjoyed her French toast topped with Fruity Pebbles, on the right, and both K and N liked their first taste of Mexican soft drinks made with real sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup. I'm not sure I could have handled that much sugar.
I have solidly mixed feelings about the new construction downtown, which I've had a lot of time to stare at as I walk the mile to and from the Convention Center for this conference. On the one hand, it's wonderful to see the population density increase in downtown Phoenix, a thing that has been enabled by the copious number of vacant lots, the light rail, and things like the ASU Downtown campus. On the other hand, the majority of the new construction and new businesses are Arizona-gauche: the ugly modern construction out of scale with its surroundings that developers tell us is the only way they can make a profit, and a proliferation of sports bar-type establishments. But there are some good things, like the jazz club that opened in 2019 next door to Carly's, that make me think this place may manage to hold onto some of its history and character.
And I did eventually find one newer building whose construction I actually approve of:
Yes, it's an enormous city block monolith, but the balconies are well-done. Most of the other balconies on surrounding buildings simply jut out of the sides of the buildings, with no privacy or protection, even on the south-facing sides, which tells me that the people who designed them haven't spent any time living in Arizona in the summertime, or they don't actually care about providing the people living in the building with useable outdoor space, just as people raising "free-range" livestock often provide access to the outdoors that the animals never use. The building reminds me much more of the scale and structure of architecture in Copenhagen, where the buildings also have an inner courtyard to provide quiet. I don't know whether that's the case with this building, but a large inner courtyard would also provide a pleasant protected space out of the sun in this climate. So, kudos to whoever designed and built this one project. The rest can go to hell (heh).
The rest of my out-and-about photos are a hodgepodge of views from this duplex and interesting things spotted while walking around, so I'll stick them behind a cut.
Out the bedroom window. This bedroom would be phenomenal if it weren't for the smoke from the neighbors lighting fires and barbecues, the pervasive stench of dog poop, and the general urban noise.
I have come to appreciate palm trees, although it took a while to come around to this perspective.
The next-door neighbor's house fascinates me. The roof is caving in, but there's an abundance of fun things in the backyard, and the false front door is so strange, but necessary.
The Spanish version of this poster is a collage. You may have to look closely at the photo - sorry it isn't any better. I have questions.
I've missed the light and shadows of the desert. This is the patio at Carly's Bistro, where the food is just as good as it used to be. There's now a small bike shop next door, that very kindly did the seatpost quick release clamp replacement for me. The guy who runs it is awesome and deserves your business.
This struck me as a strange, but very Phoenix, way to plant palo brea trees:
Lots of great murals and street art, still. This is just outside of two Craftsman houses that have been turned into a bistro and a coffeeshop, with lovely patios out front, the coffeeshop reminiscent of Willow House. To the right edge of this photo is a building getting constructed out of shipping containers, which my brother tells me are expensive and impractical to convert into living spaces. There is still a ton of active construction in this area, so I have to imagine things will look different yet again by the next time I'm here to visit.
Apparently the Welcome Diner pulled the same trick as Matt's Big Breakfast, relocating to a larger space to be able to serve a bigger customer base. I'd never been to the original Welcome Diner, but we enjoyed dinner at the new place last night. N enjoyed her French toast topped with Fruity Pebbles, on the right, and both K and N liked their first taste of Mexican soft drinks made with real sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup. I'm not sure I could have handled that much sugar.
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