Tag: museums

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Phoenix from the Convention Center

Updated last: February 23, 2021 (to reflect permanent closures and changes, not temporary measures due to COVID-19).

Originally published May 30, 2016.

Let’s say you’re in town for a thing at the Phoenix Convention Center. You have a spare hour here and there. Maybe a spare afternoon. And then you have a flight to catch. How can you get a little taste of Phoenix while you’re here?

Or maybe you’re a local, looking for somewhere new to eat or hang out while you’re downtown for an event like Phoenix Fan Fusion (formerly Phoenix  Comicon) or before you head to a symphony performance.

Phoenix convention center and symphony hall

Here are some tips for a Phoenix experience with the Convention Center at the epicenter. All these locations are easy to get to from there without a car.

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At the Convention Center

View: There are places to sit and experience the Arizona climate outside of all 3 of the Convention Center buildings (North, South, West). In the North Building, check out the view from the second- and third-floor (200 and 300 level) terraces on the south side of the building. Look for the mountains beyond the downtown. (Building maps)

Phenix convention center and food trucks

Food: While all the Phoenix Convention Center Food is managed by Aventura, a Phoenix-based division of Aramark, they do contract with local companies such as City Central Coffee in the Metro Marché food court in the North Building. Some events (like Phoenix Fan Fusion) may also have locally-owned food trucks outside.

 

Symphony during Phoenix Comicon

Music: The West Building of the Convention Center is actually connected to Phoenix Symphony Hall, where there is a variety of performances throughout the season. Check the Phoenix Symphony’s online schedule for concert and ticket information.

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Bike Share: There are bright green Grid Bikes you can rent by the minute from kiosks outside the Convention Center, in Heritage Square, and several other locations downtown. Sign up first online or via the Social Bicycles app – membership is required even for a single “Pay as You Go” ride.

Pizzeria Bianco

In the Neighborhood

There’s tons of stuff to see/do/eat within walking distance. Here are some recommendations, in order of their (rough) distance from Phoenix Convention Center.

Cartel

.2 mi Cartel Coffee (1 N 1st St)

Relax and sip some really good coffee. It’s very close to the Convention Center, but just far enough away to be much less hectic.

They share space with Kaleidoscope Juice, in case you also need a smoothie, salad, or breakfast sandwich.  Update: This Kaleidoscope location has closed. However, you can still find them in Scottsdale, Gilbert, and North Phoenix.

 

CityScape Phoenix

.3 Cityscape (1 E Washington St)

Two blocks of mixed-use space, including residences, offices, fitness centers, a hotel, salon, barbershop, drugstore, comedy club, shopping, and restaurants.

CityScape Phoenix

  • Patriots Park – Before the high rise buildings of CityScape, there was Patriots Park. The newer development includes a park-like central plaza with a grassy area, splash pad, and a solar-powered charging station.
  • Check the event schedule for music, comedy, and free outdoor movies.

CityScape Phoenix

  • The Arrogant Butcher offers a straight-up delicious variety of new American dishes, plus charcuterie and a raw bar.

AZ Center

.3 Arizona Center (455 North 3rd Street)

The best thing about Arizona Center is probably its Garden Grotto. Pathways wind through desert plants and past a pond. There’s a fair amount of shade and lots of benches. I feel like a little garden walk is a great remedy for convention hall chaos.

Arizona center
There is also shopping and restaurants.

Heritage Square Phoenix

.4 Heritage Square (113 N 6th St)

Part of the original Phoenix townsite, the Square is now home to several museums, a couple restaurants, and cultural festivals throughout the year.

Pizzeria Bianco outside

Diamondbacks baseball field

.5 Sports Venues

 

Light rail Phoenix

Just stops away…

The Valley Metro light rail is a convenient way to get around Central Phoenix (some tips). There’s just one line and automatic ticket kiosks at each station.

You can catch westbound trains off Washington in front of the West Building / Symphony Hall. The eastbound stop is on Jefferson, just across from the South Building.

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Hop on the westbound train (it’ll curve north) to check out these places, listed by number of stops from the Convention Center.

Her secret is patience sculpture

2 stops: Civic Space Park area – Van Buren/Central Ave

Lola Coffee

3 stops: Roosevelt Row – Roosevelt/Central Ave

  • First Fridays – Roosevelt Row, the arts district of Roosevelt Street, comes alive for the monthly First Friday night artwalk, when the street is taken over by pedestrians and art galleries are open late. Boutiques and cafes have extended hours. There is live music, an outdoor arts market, free trolleys to transport you from place to place, and a party atmosphere.
  • Third Fridays are a newer addition with fewer crowds and more gallery openings.
  • MADE Art Boutique offers locally handcrafted items.

Desoto market

  • DeSoto Central Market – Food court of great local restaurants, bar, and coffee shop with lots of room to meet up with friends.
  • Pita Jungle is a vegetarian-friendly, Mediterranean-inspired restaurant with a nice, big patio and local art on the walls. They offer specials for happy hour and reverse happy hour (9pm to close).

Lola Coffee

  • Lola Coffee Bar is right next door to Pita Jungle. It’s a warm, welcoming place to hang out.
  • FilmBar – Cinema showcasing indie, local, cult, and classic films with a beer and wine bar.

Phoenix Art Museum

4 stops: Phoenix Art Museum – McDowell/Central Ave

Collections include American, Asian, European, Latin American, and Western American Art, fashion, photography, and contemporary installations, such as the interactive You Who are Getting Obliterated in the Dancing Swarm of Fireflies.

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The museum also hosts traveling exhibitions, like Hollywood Costume, Michelangelo, and Super Indian – Fritz Scholder’s bold, bright pop art.

Michelangelo

  • Extended hours/voluntary donations times on Wednesdays (3-9pm) and First Fridays (6-10pm), plus all afternoon on Second Sundays (12-5pm). During these times, no admission ticket is required for general entry. You have the option of making a donation via a cash box in the lobby.

heard-museum

5 stops: Heard Museum – Encanto/Central Ave

Fantastic museum of the historic and contemporary culture of indigenous peoples of the Americas, especially the Southwest. Collections include work on canvas, jewelry, pottery, texiles, and video interviews.

Downtown Phoenix sunset

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Arts and Flowers 2014

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For four days every year, flowers sprout up throughout the Phoenix Art Museum. Okay, they don’t literally sprout. But fresh flowers do appear one Thursday afternoon.

Leading up to the Arts & Flowers event, floral designers create works of art from natural materials – flowers, tree boughs, baskets, stones, and even vegetables. Each piece is inspired by and in response to a work in the museum’s collection. This year also included a floral couture show (Savage Botanicals) and a bonsai exhibit.

phoenix art and flowers fashion

I’d originally heard about it from my friend Karin, who has participated the last few years, but I just hadn’t made it over there. So I was excited when my Craft Hack group decided to go during Phoenix First Friday. There’s nothing like having a set time and people to meet to actually get you to go somewhere.

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I took the light rail over and met the group at the cafe just as they were finishing up there. Then we started winding our way through the museum, enjoying all the Arts, but also scanning for the & Flowers like we were on safari.

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Some of them were very literal interpretations of the original work, others more abstractly captured a certain aspect of it. There was also this interesting contrast between the solid permanence of the paintings, ceramics, and sculpture – some which had lasted centuries – and the organic and ephemeral nature of the arrangements, which could only exist for a matter of days.

phoenix art and flowers

I did my best taking a few photos, but it was tricky to get good ones with the lighting, crowds, etc. If you want to see more photos, my friend Eileen posted a bunch on Facebook, or you can check out the Instagram hashtag #artsflowers14.

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Phillip had planned to meet us after work. By the time he got there and found parking, we were on the second floor. I’ve been to the Phoenix Art Museum several times, but not often enough to ever remember that there are two parts to the second floor, and they don’t connect. It’s a statement on our modern digital lives and the disconnect with past generations – or some artsy reason like that probably. I actually have no idea why the place is so hard to navigate, so I made that up.

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Anyway, while I’m on the phone with him, wandering around, trying to figure out where he is, I totally lose the group. I finally flag down a guy in a museum polo, who explains how to get him to where I was. The Craft Hackers probably thought I ditched them for my man. I love Phillip, but that was not my intention. I’m not a ditcher. I am, however, pretty good at getting lost. (Have I mentioned that here before? That could be a post of its own. Maybe more than one. I’m adding a getting lost tag now.)

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So I showed Phillip the highlights of my wing of the second floor. I said hello to Karin for the second time that evening and spent more time checking out the details of her miniature Italian garden. Then we worked our way over to the second second floor, where there didn’t seem to be any flowers.

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We did find more in the Asian collection on the first floor. We also talked with a couple more of the floral artists. They were eager to chat about their work and answer questions.

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Around this time, we decided we really needed food. We’d checked out the menu of the museum ahead of time, and it had some solid, clearly marked gluten-free options. The thing we didn’t realize is they close at 8:30 pm, but they stop serving food at 8:00. From 8-8:30 (when we got there), you can only order drinks and prepackaged cookies. Sad trombone.

We wrapped up at the museum, and then finished off the evening at Pita Jungle, which is open until 11pm on First Fridays, has reverse happy hour starting at 9, and is awesome with dietary restrictions and substitutions. (They’re not paying me to talk about them. I was just super excited to finally eat!)

pita-jungle

Anyway, I do wish a few things had gone differently. That’s life, though. It’s not perfect. But any evening that starts with friends, flowers, and an art museum, and ends with my husband, a plate of hummus, and perfect patio weather is not a bad one in my book.

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P.S. If you’d like a heads up on awesome cultural events like this, that’s exactly the kind of thing that goes into our new monthly newsletter. You could have even met up with us at the museum for this! And then I could’ve lost you while I was looking for Phillip. See? Fun times!

You can sign up on the sidebar on the right or on our newsletter page.

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Things to know about visiting Phoenix Art Museum:

  • Photos are allowed (without flash).
  • First Friday evenings are always free, so they’re especially crowded.
  • Parking can be a hassle during big events. The light rail is your friend. (Post on this coming soon!) There’s a stop across the street from the museum.
  • Check the museum’s events calendar to find out what’s going on when you’d like to go. If we’d had time, we could have also bought tickets to see the Hollywood Costume exhibition, which was going on at the same time. Or you might choose to avoid big events and go when it’s less crowded.
  • The museum restaurant, Palette, has a menu that includes gluten-free, vegetarian, and vegan options, but they close before the museum and may stop serving food earlier.
  • The upper floors are in 2 separate wings that don’t connect. Walking from the North Wing to the South Wing on the second floor/upper level is not a thing you can do.
  • During Arts & Flowers there are tons of museum staff (or are they volunteers?) around, and they are super helpful!
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