Best Guardians of Local History 2024 | Tempe History Museum | Megalopolitan Life | Phoenix
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Best Guardians of Local History

Tempe History Museum

There's much more to Tempe history than just Legend City, Hayden Flour Mill and Monti's La Casa Vieja. (Remember Greasy Tony's? How about Incredible Universe?) The East Valley suburb has a rich heritage dating back to the late 1800s filled with stories of Indigenous peoples, early settlers, cultural landmarks and the growth of a vibrant community. The Tempe History Museum's staff work hard to catalog and showcase as much of the city's past as possible, preserving its legacy for future generations. Its 8,000-square-foot space offers exhibit areas, galleries and themed sections, such as "College Town" and "Surviving in the Desert." What sets Tempe History Museum apart from other local historical institutions are its engaging and fun exhibitions. In 2014, it presented "The Tempe Sound," a rip-roaring collection of nostalgic photos and artifacts of the city's music history with a focus on Mill Avenue's late '80s/early '90s jangle-pop heyday. Other standout exhibits include 2021's game-themed "Video Invaders" and last year's fascinating and evocative "Guadalupe: Where Three Cultures Flourish." The museum also offers a robust online archive (emuseum.tempe.gov) containing countless photos of Tempe bars, restaurants, businesses and institutions that have long since become distant memories.

Best Discovery

John Milton's Handwritten Notes

Of all the places one expects to find a rare example of 17th-century poet John Milton's handwritten reading notes, a downtown Phoenix library is not on the list. And yet that's exactly what happened earlier this year. Visiting scholars who were examining books in the Burton Barr Central Library's Rare Book Room came across what they thought were notations by Milton in a 1587 history tome. After an expert at the University of Cambridge authenticated the find, Burton Barr could now call itself the owner of only one of three English-language books containing Milton's handwriting. The visiting scholars had been brought to the Valley by the Arizona Book History Group, an organization founded by ASU professors Brandi Adams and Jonathan Hope to inspire new ways to do literary research. "We don't get time to kind of meander with a book," Adams said in an ASU News article. "So we decided that this would be a good way to think about how do we kind of break some of those structures and work in community and conversation." Mission accomplished.

Best Revitalization

The Abbey on Monroe

The story of The Abbey on Monroe begins in 1883, when Phoenix First Baptist Church was founded. The congregation's first building began construction in 1903 and was replaced by the current structure in 1930. The congregation left the building for digs uptown in 1968, but in 1984, the structure, which by then had been added to the National Register of Historic Places, succumbed to a fire that caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage, including destroying the ceiling of the sanctuary. Enter former Phoenix mayor and Arizona attorney general Terry Goddard, who helped a nonprofit legal client, Housing Opportunity Center, purchase the building in 1993, right before it was due to be demolished. Over the next 30 years, some low-income housing was built on the property, but the gorgeous ruin of the church lay empty. But now, 40 years after the fire, the building has reopened and has a second chance at life, and has been renamed The Abbey on Monroe. It's a wedding and event venue, and Walter Productions co-owner Kirk Strawn and concert promoter Danny Zelisko are in talks to bring concerts and other forms of entertainment to the space. Future plans include a restaurant as well. It's a happy ending for one of the most beautiful buildings in Phoenix.

Best Save

Beadle House #6

One of Phoenix's iconic midcentury houses was almost demolished early this year. White Gates, or Beadle House #6, is a 1954 home designed by beloved local architect Al Beadle. The long one-story dwelling with the instantly recognizable ellipsoid screen is a jewel that is appreciated by locals and architecture students alike. It's changed hands a number of times; most recently, the house was sold for $1.7 million in early 2024 to a buyer who then submitted an application for a demolition permit. The move drew the ire of historic preservationists, Beadle fans and neighbors of the house, and the outcry became so large that the permit application was withdrawn. Until Beadle House #6 is designated a landmark by the Phoenix Historic Preservation Commission, a demolition permit can always be re-requested. But for now, the White Gates are still with us.

Best Christmas Tradition

APS Electric Light Parade

The holidays are a time for cherished traditions. With almost no chance of a White Christmas here in the desert, we embrace uniquely Arizona experiences like feasting on tamales, decorating cactuses or marveling at awe-inspiring light displays. One of the most spectacular examples of the latter is the annual APS Electric Light Parade, our favorite local Christmastime tradition. A staple of the holiday season for more than 35 years, the parade transforms a portion of midtown Phoenix into a glowing wonderland as floats, vehicles and performers adorned with illuminated bulbs roll along a 2.3-mile jaunt down Central Avenue, Camelback Road and Seventh Street while lighting up the night with festive energy. Stake out a spot along the route and experience the parade's twinkling magic. It's a moment to bond with fellow Valley residents while sharing a sense of joy, wonder and holiday cheer. After all, those are some of the reasons for the season.

Best Christmas House

Scary Christmas House

Many local holiday displays include Jack Skellington and characters from "The Nightmare Before Christmas," including the one adorning the home of Bob Spacy Jr. The Glendale resident takes things to a level of holiday grandeur that only the Pumpkin King himself could appreciate. The result is the Scary Christmas House, a massive holiday display and tribute to the animated film encompassing the exterior and front yard of his three-bedroom home. Epic in size and imagination, it contains multitudes of handmade props, characters and scenes from "The Nightmare Before Christmas," many created by Spacy himself. There's Spiral Hill and Ooogie Boogie's Lair. Monstrous wreaths and Jack's Christmas formulae. Skeletal reindeer and a kidnapped Sandy Claws hanging from the rooftop. And elsewhere, Zero flies through the air and characters like Lock, Stock and Barrel lurk amid 125,000 lights. The display has been visited by tens of thousands locally since its debut in 2016 and was viewed by a nationwide audience when it was showcased on ABC's "The Great Christmas Light Fight" last year. Spacy might not have taken home the show's bulb-shaped trophy, but he more than earns the honor of being the best Christmas house in town.

Best Halloween House

Haunted Graveyard Arizona

The Halloween season brings out the spooky side in many mortals. Some plan elaborate costumes or binge scary movies. Others adorn their homes with a few kitschy decorations. Then there's Chris Birkett, who transforms the exterior of his Scottsdale residence into an epic Halloween display that's the best in the Valley. Rivaling professional haunted houses in production value and genuine scares, it's a multimedia-powered experience inspired by macabre illustrator Edward Gorey, Disneyland's Haunted Mansion and similarly spooky source material. The front yard is bathed in orange and purple light and features animatronic headstones, singing pumpkins and ghoulish figures on projection screens while a fire-breathing dragon and a black castle are perched on the roof. A dank and creepy abandoned mine runs along the side of the house, while inside the garage, a claustrophobic maze contains freakish fiends, illusions, jump scares and plenty of twists and turns. The Haunted Graveyard has come a long way since its humble beginnings in 1986, when it started as a small pumpkin patch and a few tombstones crafted by Chris and his brother Steve. These days, it draws tens of thousands of people each year from Oct. 25 through Halloween night, all of whom are in the mood for a good scare.

Best Fireworks Display

Fabulous Phoenix 4th at Steele Indian School Park

Every Independence Day, the Valley becomes a literal boom town as colorful cannonades of fireworks burst above cities from Apache Junction to Avondale. But there's one display that shines brighter than the rest: the annual Fabulous Phoenix 4th at Steele Indian School Park. Boasting the largest free fireworks display in Arizona, the event sets off more than 7,800 aerial effects each year over midtown Phoenix. A local tradition since the 1980s, the Fabulous Phoenix 4th draws anywhere from 40,000 to 80,000 people to the park for a 25-minute spectacle that dazzles and delights. It's a stunning and soul-stirring celebration of America's birthday, with each explosion a marvel unto itself. Rivulets of golden fire rain down like molten sparks from a celestial forge. Glowing serpentine streaks shimmer and sparkle while twisting through the warm evening air. And thunderous booms echo as dazzling blue stars erupt before painting the heavens in sapphire light. A cacophonous grand finale caps off the fireworks display with a luminously vibrant barrage of hundreds of fireworks detonating within a minute or so, evoking author (and Arizona resident) Alan Dean Foster's declaration that "freedom is just chaos, with better lighting."

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