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Little more than an Arizona desert frontier settlement just a century ago,
Phoenix has
grown rapidly into one of the Western USA's most dynamic and exciting
getaways. The
city sits low in an arid valley surrounded by mountains and high desert
- its
once-rugged terrain having been replaced to a large degree by massive
blocks
of residential subdivisions, strip retail and office developments, and
oasis-like golf and tennis resorts. The many slick and trendy dining,
shopping, and gay nightclub options - coupled with the sunny dry
climate and
abundance of outdoors diversions - make this an increasingly popular
lesbian
and gay travel destination though little known here in the UK.
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This sprawling city has an amazingly dry climate - only the Sahara
Desert is
less humid than Phoenix's Sonoran Desert. If you're planning a trip
here it's
important to consider how the different seasons can affect your stay -
outdoorsy types should avoid the deathly hot summers, although May
through
September can be great months to score hotel bargains. And because
virtually
every interior cubic inch of Phoenix is cooled by air-conditioning,
it's
seldom oppressively unpleasant here but for the humid rainy season in
late
July and August. Personality-wise, while the population exceeds 1.3
million
and now ranks the city among the nation's largest, Phoenix retains a
surprisingly easy pace and a laid-back personality. People move here
for the
job opportunities - the metro area is the third-largest U.S. high-tech
centre
- but also to escape the fast pace and rudeness of other big cities.
GAY COMMUNITY LIFE
Phoenix tends to be deeply conservative. The city has never been
especially
sympathetic to the plight of minorities, sexual or racial, though one
historically important Phoenix Republican politician - the late U.S.
Senator
Barry Goldwater - espoused a live-and-let-live philosophy. In his later
years
a defender of the gay community, Goldwater was unable to sway popular
opinion
in favour of gay-rights initiatives. The city has a highly visible gay and
lesbian
community regardless of the political climate and a huge number of
social
organizations.
ATTRACTIONS
Though it has a bounty of shops and good restaurants, Phoenix has
relatively
few attractions. Cultural highlights include provocative examples of
20th-century architecture, a handful of highly regarded performing-arts
venues, and some excellent museums and galleries. Also, while it's an
enormous and rapidly growing metro area, greater Phoenix hasn't quite
paved
over paradise: just a short drive from downtown you can reach hundreds
of
hiking areas, from scenic Pima Canyon to craggy Squaw Peak. The region
has
prestigious golf courses, plus lavish tennis centers, spas, and
athletic
clubs - swanky Scottsdale is particularly rife with such facilities.
CULTURE
Over the past decade Phoenix has revitalized its once barren downtown,
renovating historic buildings and erecting innovative postmodern
structures.
The East End, which has become one of the region's few walkable
neighbourhoods, is home to cultural venues like: the restored Spanish
Revival
Orpheum Theater, which hosts film festivals and theatre productions;
the
multi-use Herberger Theater Center, which presents dance and theater;
and
Symphony Hall, home of the Phoenix Symphony and the Arizona Opera.
History and preservation buffs could easily spend a day wandering
around
Heritage Square. Among the century-old homes you can tour here is the
Victorian Rosson House. West of the square is the impressive Arizona
Science
Center, whose touch-friendly exhibits are a hit with kids and yet
sophisticated enough to amuse even most adults - also check out the
center's
state-of-the-art Dorrance Planetarium. North of these museums is the Arizona Center, whose
60
shops, 24-screen multiplex, and restaurants make for a happily mindless
break
from all those stimulating museums.
The area just north of the mall on and around Central Avenue has become
a
repository of some of the most thought-provoking large-scale
contemporary
architecture in the country. You'll see buildings shaped like King
Tut's tomb
and in the form of an inverted pyramid (appropriate styles given the
city
name's connection to ancient Egypt). Of particular note is the Phoenix
Burton
Barr Central Library, a curvaceous copper-sheathed wonder meant to
evoke the
region's red-rock terrain. Here the superb Phoenix Art Museum, a
green-quartz
structure, houses an impressive number of 19th-century European
paintings, a
delightful American West collection (heavy on O'Keeffe, Frederic
Remington,
and Albert Bierstadt), and a spacious contemporary wing representing
some of
the world's abstract geniuses. |
| The lovely Art Museum Cafe overlooks the
sculpture garden. Two blocks north of the art museum is the free Heard
Museum, a 1928 Spanish Colonial Revival house that recently doubled in
size;
it contains the nation's top collection of Native American art and
artifacts which reveals the differing cultures of tribes in the region through their exhibits. |
RETAIL THERAPY
In central Phoenix, especially along Camelback Road, you will find
plenty of
excuses to spend money. Park Central Mall, less snazzy than some of its
newer
competitors, is the gayest shopping center in Phoenix. Some of the
city's
gay- and lesbian-owned businesses have been pushing for the past few
years to
get this large rectangle area - bounded by 7th Avenue, Indian School
Road,
7th Street, and Bethany Home Road - to be known at least
conversationally as
the Rainbow Zone. The scene in Phoenix may be too spread out and
eclectic
ever to fully embrace the designation of any one gay district, but
within
this area you will find the bulk of the city's gay bars, plus such
favourite
retail stores as All About Books which is a very well-stocked lesbian-gay bookstore.
Many a diva whiles away her Saturday afternoon at the Biltmore Fashion,
strolling through Cartier, Gucci, and other high-end boutiques - it's
also a
source of several outstanding restaurants. You can also take a break and enjoy an
exceptional lunch, by driving 10 minutes southwest of the
mall or
just east of downtown to reach the gay-friendly Coronado Cafe. Set in a
charming old house, the kitchen serves creative sandwiches, soups, and
salads
- from curried pumpkin soup to Southwestern lasagna with black beans,
sweet
corn, and chipotle sauce.
Beyond Phoenix itself, you'll find ample opportunities for further
exploring
in some of the neighbouring communities, in particular the border city
of
Scottsdale. A cross between Beverly Hills and Santa Fe, this ritzy
haven of
socialites, celebrities, and resort-goers has hundreds of high-end arts
and
crafts galleries, and specialty shops.
The Scottsdale Fashion Square, with some 240 shops, is an enormous,
fancy
mall, and just south of it, 5th Avenue takes you northeast from Indian
School
Road up to Scottsdale Road, lined with clothiers, jewelers, and
boutiques.
More touristy but still brimming with great shopping is the Old Town
Scottsdale district, which thrives along Main Street between Brown
Avenue and
70th Street. The one non-shopping must-see here is Taliesin West, 1937
winter
home of Frank Lloyd Wright, where the master of architecture and design
kept
a studio and his school in the desert. Tours of the grounds are
available
daily.
For information and advice you can also contact the
Phoenix Pride LGBT Center - which nowadays works mainly online.
THE LITTLE BLACK BOOK
All About Books (24 W. Camelback Rd., Unit A, 602-277-0757).
Arizona Center (3rd and Van Buren Sts., 602-271-4000).
Arizona Science Center (600 E. Washington St., 602-716-2000).
Biltmore Fashion Park (24th St. and E. Camelback Rd., 602-955-8401).
Coronado Cafe (2201 N. 7th St., 602-258-5149).
Heard Museum (2301 N. Central Ave., 602-252-8840).
Herberger Theater Center (222 E. Monroe St., 602-254-7399).
Heritage Square (Adams and 7th Sts.).
Orpheum Theatre (203 W. Adams St., 602-252-9678).
Park Central Mall (Central Ave. and Earll Dr., 602-264-5575).
Visit Phoenix's Visitor Center (602-254-6500)
Phoenix Art Museum (1625 N. Central Ave., 602-257-2222).
Phoenix Burton Barr Central Library (1221 N. Central Ave., 602-262-4636).
Rosson House (6th and Monroe Sts., 602-262-5029).
Scottsdale Fashion Square (Scottsdale and Camelback Rds., Scottsdale, 480-990-7800).
Symphony Hall (75 N 2nd St., 602-495-1999).
Taliesin West (12621 N Frank Lloyd Wright Blvd, Scottsdale, 480-860-8810).
Andrew Collins authored Fodor's Gay Guide to the USA, the Connecticut
Handbook, and six regional gay guides for Fodor's. He can be reached
at GayFodors@aol.com.
Next: Phoenix Gay Nightlife
Revised August 2019.
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