Points of Pride

Exhibit celebrates what was and what is

Comments (0) By Robrt L. Pela Thursday, Jul 24 2008

Much of what once made it bustling and lovely to look at is gone, but the shadow of downtown Phoenix casts a long memory. It’s a dark shadow filled with pretty sites: The San Carlos Hotel on Central Avenue, with its street-front portico and its swoopy neon sign; the Henry Nace-designed Orpheum Theatre at Second Avenue and Washington Street, its marquees still proudly announcing live entertainment and the occasional silent film. The streets are wider than they were when, a hundred years or so ago, downtown was a lively retail and entertainment district dignified by architectural grandeur and majestic residences.

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Through the summer, one can get a glimpse of our old-time downtown in Iris Budinoff’s “Early Phoenix: A Photographic Exhibit of Historic Downtown Phoenix,” a celebration of the city’s former splendor in black-and-white images. The collection will exhibit at one of the few remaining beauties, the Rosson House Museum, a 2,800 square foot Eastlake-style Victorian in downtown’s Heritage Square.

Wednesdays-Sundays. Starts: June 6. Continues through Sept. 28, 2008