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... More >>>