NY Times article about Phoenix trying to save its history (Tempe: 2014, theatre)

[phoenixmike11]

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/18/us...tory.html?_r=0

According to the NY Times, after so many historic buildings have been lost in Phoenix- the struggle to preserve the historic buildings that remain.

[ajonesaz]

Interesting article. I love seeing some of the interesting architecture of the older buildings. I remember going into Phoenix in the late 90's and they were just bulldozing old buildings and leaving dire lots. It will be interesting to see of this gentrification continues and some of these dirt lots start to fill in. Maybe cut back on the amount of llanteras and liquor stores as well

[roosevelt]

Having lived here all my life, I don't think any historic buildings are left.

[Bungle]

List of historic properties in Phoenix, Arizona - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by ajonesaz

Interesting article. I love seeing some of the interesting architecture of the older buildings. I remember going into Phoenix in the late 90's and they were just bulldozing old buildings and leaving dire lots. It will be interesting to see of this gentrification continues and some of these dirt lots start to fill in. Maybe cut back on the amount of llanteras and liquor stores as well

I have mixed opinions about preserving old structures. Tearing down old buildings and leaving ugly vacant lots occurs all too often, and that's when efforts should be made to save the structures. However, if a building becomes dilapidated, and a developer wants to build something much nicer & more aesthetically pleasing in its place, I don't see anything wrong with that. What would be even better is if developers left the historic buildings in tact, and the rest of the land is developed around it with something more appealing. This is what's planned for the Monti's site in Tempe in the near future.

[Maroon197]

I don't think Phoenix is going to age well precisely because it lacks the historic architecture that has near universal appeal. People rave about Boston, NYC, Chicago, and Philadelphia because they have such high concentrations of beautifully renovated historic structures. The reality is, we don't build anything with any eye towards art or detail anymore. It's all how big, how clean/modern, and how cheap can we make it. When the ultra modern buildings go out of style (ala 70s brutalist architecture) they become eyesores that ultimately need to be torn down and replaced. Nobody mourns the loss of a depressing, easily reproduced concrete box, but people will always deeply feel the loss of structures such as the old Penn Station in NYC.

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by Maroon197

I don't think Phoenix is going to age well precisely because it lacks the historic architecture that has near universal appeal. People rave about Boston, NYC, Chicago, and Philadelphia because they have such high concentrations of beautifully renovated historic structures. The reality is, we don't build anything with any eye towards art or detail anymore. It's all how big, how clean/modern, and how cheap can we make it. When the ultra modern buildings go out of style (ala 70s brutalist architecture) they become eyesores that ultimately need to be torn down and replaced. Nobody mourns the loss of a depressing, easily reproduced concrete box, but people will always deeply feel the loss of structures such as the old Penn Station in NYC.

That's very true. All the cookie cutter stucco developments with bland colors and rock yards have no character. Many of the strip mall centers that were built from the 1970s & beyond have become eyesores because of so many businesses pulling out, and nobody moving in to replace them. They were never all that attractive in the first place, but now many of older ones have fallen to disrepair.

What few architectural novelties remain are often left abandoned or torn down. The SunDome in Sun City West is one example. It wasn't all that aesthetically pleasing on the outside, but it was a very unique type of theatre that drew all kinds of big names for a long time. In the last decade, it was left abandoned and became an eyesore, until it was torn down recently & replaced with something even more world class and historically significant: a Fry's shopping center! Oh well, I guess even that's better than tearing it down & leaving a vacant lot, or leaving it abandoned & dilapidated.