When Bill Baker and his mom ventured to Downtown Phoenix to watch a movie in the 1930s, they had a specific routine. “There was always a double feature playing,” Baker... continue reading. Click here for more info.

The 1956 opening of the Sahara Motor Hotel was a madhouse. Thousands filled its courtyard, overflowed onto adjacent streets, and packed the roof of the First National Bank building’s garage... continue reading. Click here for more info.

Downtown Phoenix’s economical lodging alternative, the Friendship Inn Motel, was once regal accommodations, at least by the sound of its original name. The Imperial 400 Motor Hotel featured a thrifty... continue reading. Click here for more info.

Bill Baker is one of the few people who can visualize Downtown Phoenix stretching back to the Great Depression in the late 1930s. “Downtown was where people went for most... continue reading. Click here for more info.

In the early 1960s, Phoenix residents complained about living in a desert—a cultural desert, that is. While Tucson, Albuquerque, Denver, Salt Lake City, and Los Angeles had impressive performance halls... continue reading. Click here for more info.

A restaurant entrepreneur arrived in Phoenix in 1953 and decided to take residents into the future, architecturally speaking. Ovide. A. Helsing, a native of Mobile, Alabama, had operated a chain... continue reading. Click here for more info.

“The buildings spoke to me, saying ‘renovate and they will come,’” developer Mark Abromovitz says of the former O.S. Stapley Hardware store at 723-747 NW Grand Avenue. “It was my... continue reading. Click here for more info.

There’s no place Larry Lazarus would rather be than Phoenix. In the early 1970s, Lazarus relocated to Phoenix from Chicago. He began as a neighborhood activist, advocating for city services... continue reading. Click here for more info.

Verde Park, located just east of Downtown Phoenix along Van Buren Street in the Garfield Historic District, once provided the city with much more than just a recreation outlet. The... continue reading. Click here for more info.

**Notice to readers: This article contains language that refers to cisgender queer people at times. Please note that this is not intended to exclude specific groups within the LGBTQ+ community... continue reading. Click here for more info.