Homebuyers with a hankering for downtown living are looking to lay down roots in the Coronado neighborhood. With roughly 5,000 homes within boundaries loosely extending from Seventh to 16th streets and Thomas to McDowell roads, this midtown subdivision is easily one of the largest historic neighborhoods in Phoenix. With so much space and so many styles to choose from — pueblo, ranch, bungalow, the list goes on — residents have a better chance of buying within their budget. While home designs may differ, most dwellings in this downtown suburb are small in stature, offering an average of two to three bedrooms. Petite as that may seem to some, it's perfect for the family that's just getting started. While Coronado has definitely become more kid-friendly over the years thanks to home tours, art fairs, and gentrification, it stills remains a prime spot for serious artists, making Coronado creative cohabitation at its finest.

Encanto-Palmcroft is one of Phoenix's priciest historic neighborhoods. Fortunately for those who like to fawn over early-20th-century tudors and colonial callbacks, a walk through this European-style setup of abodes is not only open to the public, but also is absolutely free. Dating back to 1927, this (technically) West Phoenix pocket of 330 homes is situated along circular drives, winding roads, and the 222-acre Encanto Park. For newcomers and nonresidents, this maze-like area is easy to get lost in, but you'll hear little complaint from pedestrians who like to take in the suburban scenery. Here, well-manicured lawns and rose gardens highlight all styles of residence, from pueblo to ranch revival. Whether it's a home tour, a film crew, or simply a nearby neighborhood dog walker, residents are sure to find their fair share of window shoppers in Palmcroft-Encanto.

Whether you've already made the gallery rounds, need to stop mid-First Friday runaround, or want to pregame the monthly downtown Phoenix art walk, Welcome Diner's patio is the place to be. There's a more than fair chance you'll bump into creative types from the Grand Avenue and Roosevelt Row circuits while lounging at one of the communal tables, typically rousing with conversations about pop culture, local news, and the latest exhibitions. Add to the din cheap beer, good cocktails, and hearty Southern-style food and you've got the perfect recipe for an arts district-adjacent late-night hang.

Readers Choice: Roosevelt Row

Lisa Sette and her eponymous gallery are nothing short of institutions in Phoenix's art world. Over 30 years, the gallery has earned a reputation both locally and nationally as a serious exhibition space that features seriously talented artists. Housed in a partially subterranean Al Beadle building in Central Phoenix, Lisa Sette Gallery's current artist roster reads a bit like a who's who of Arizona's most notable contemporary artists, including Carrie Marill and James Turrell. For art collectors and appreciators alike, Lisa Sette Gallery is in a class all its own.

Readers Choice: Modified Arts

When Arizona State University's art school relocated its Step Gallery to one of Michael Levine's rehabbed warehouses, we had a sneaking suspicion that we were going to love it. Not only is the raw, industrial space great for displaying artwork, it's also home to studio spaces for the art school's grad students. Seeing completed exhibitions from up-and-coming artists in the same building as their fellow students' in-progress pieces is kind of an art-nerd fantasy. And it's one we get to live out every First Friday.

Isaac and Gabriel Fortoul like to keep things moving. Originally from New Jersey, the brothers have bounced between New York and Phoenix for the past decade, building their art careers through their nomadic gallery, 40Owls. When the pair returned to the Valley in the winter of 2014, they found an empty spot on Central Avenue and promptly filled it with works that blend modern primitivism with cubism — before shutting down again. Blending strong artistic points of view with commercial elements, 40Owls was short but sweet, and we wouldn't be surprised to see the Fortouls pop up in downtown Phoenix again.

As part of the multi-city initiative INFLUX's 2015 cycle of projects and commissioned by the city of Tempe, Kristin Bauer (no, not the True Blood actress) installed a lovely reason to look skyward at Mill Avenue and Fifth Street, on a brick building that houses Terralever and Comerica Bank. LOOK UP AND SEE ME, the piece demands in red all-caps. The perforated vinyl piece wraps a corner, and on its other side is a dreamy black-and-white portrait of actress and model Audrey Munson in a 1918 silent film. Bauer's work often pushes its viewers to question how text and imagery interact, and this piece begs for multiple passes.

Nestled between Arizona State University's downtown campus and a handful of municipal and commercial buildings, Civic Space Park is the most important piece of green land downtown. What the park lacks in a name (it'd be like calling Camelback Mountain "Central Phoenix Big Red Mud") it makes up for in art. Her Secret Is Patience is Janet Echelman's outlandish sculpture, and no piece of public art in Phoenix prompts as much discussion. Everything from the price ($2.5 million plus maintenance costs) to the execution raised questions since the piece's completion in 2009. But short of the weather, there's nothing Phoenicians strolling the streets of downtown love to debate more than their impressions of the gorgeous netting and multi-hued curves of Her Secret Is Patience.

Seventy-seven years after it first opened, the former College Theatre continues to kick cinematic ass. Valley Art's consistently interesting roster of foreign films, independent movies, and arty flicks appeals to ASU jocks and cineasts alike. Despite its hipness quotient and a 15-year-old $1 million renovation that modernized the old-fashioned theater, it still retains its vintage charm. The only single-screen theater in the Valley, the venue is one of dozens in the Harkins chain, which spans five states and includes more than 400 screens, and it's the one where the whole chain began. Owner and CEO Dan Harkins is wise enough to let his programmers slot rare fare at Valley Art, which in recent years has shown us Kuchar Brothers festivals and animation extravaganzas, as well as small movies getting notice in New York or L.A. that other commercial houses won't risk showing. Valley Art is a beautiful thing.

The weird thing about Pollack Tempe Cinemas is that it's better than most theaters — so why is it "discount?" The answer, of course, is in its last-chance movie selection. If you just have to see it on the big screen but missed it, then realize it's playing at Pollack, that's serendipity. Three bucks for the flick ($2 on Tuesdays), plus a visit to a museum-like theater that shows how it cares about film and the people who watch it. What's not to love about a place with a cabinet full of life-size presidents? Other mannequins, standees, and various Hollywood-related items that owner Michael Pollack's collected over the years decorate shelves above the lobby. It's got a hometown feel and several old-school video games to go along with its 1980s prices. The comfy seats and good sound system make for a two-thumbs-up experience — depending on the movie, of course. But then, if it sucks, you didn't waste much cash. If possible, we'll wait till it gets to Pollack.