Downtown Phoenix

The Painters Lounge

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Not many know about The Painters Lounge – a locally owned art studio where people can paint with guided, step-by-step instruction – making it a Downtown Phoenix hidden treasure.

The Painters Lounge Manager Caleb Spencer thinks part of what makes The Painters Lounge so special is it gives each person a different opportunity to paint their own unique portrait regardless of the fact that there is one painting serving as inspiration for the whole class.

Even for those who may not see themselves as artistically inclined, when it comes to The Painters Lounge, Spencer says that doesn’t even matter.

“Everyone can paint with step-by-step instructions. Everyone’s capable of doing it. I think art…it relates to every single person, whether they are good at it or not.”

Check out for yourself what makes The Painters Lounge so special. 

How Downtown ASU students get around campus

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Downtown Phoenix is home to several of Arizona State University’s notable programs – the College of Nursing and Health Innovation, the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication and, soon, the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. With over 11,500 students enrolled on the Downtown Phoenix campus, and limited parking availability, many commute, choosing ways other than by car to make it to class. Here’s how the Downtown Phoenix ASU students get around campus.

Downtown Phoenix volunteer-run garden hits seventh year serving community

News

Roosevelt Growhouse is now in its seventh year as a productive, creative space for the downtown Phoenix community. I chatted with Growhouse manager Kenny Barrett about how he and fellow artist, Kelly Placke, first started Growhouse with the intent of taking an underutilized property and creating a productive space for the community as well as a creative space for artists, given its location in the heart of Roosevelt Row Arts District. These days, the Growhouse garden is teeming with hundreds of volunteers with volunteer garden days every Sunday from ten till noon.

Roosevelt Growhouse is located at 6th St. and Garfield.

STUDENTS CURIOUS HOW ASU’S LAW SCHOOL RELOCATION WILL AFFECT DOWNTOWN CAMPUS

News

The relocation of Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, which will bring hordes of law students to the Downtown Phoenix campus, has current downtown students concerned: where will these new students park?

The construction site for ASU’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law new location in downtown Phoenix.

Downtown Phoenix, like most downtown’s in a big city, has limited parking, and ASU student Allison Bailey is concerned that lack of parking might be somewhat of an issue come next fall. And, not to mention, the Starbucks line downtown will surely triple.

“I think it’s great to have all the law school students come down here and expand the downtown campus,” says ASU student Allison Bailey. “But to be honest, I’m just really worried, because I get Starbucks every morning. With more students coming in the lines are going to be extra long.”

The $129 million will be called the Arizona Center for Law and Society.

Construction for ASU’s new law school started in July of 2014 and is set to open in the fall of 2016. Azcentral.com recently created a timelapse of the progress on construction thus far, which can be seen here.

Significant progress has been made. What progress is yet to be seen, and will surely be looked for, is that of what will become of the parking situation. That and, of course, the Starbucks lines.

Significant progress made on Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law’s new home in downtown Phoenix.

Downtown Phoenix – Buying Local

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I plan on taking a deeper look into the local food community. I want to dive into who is buying locally produced food and ingredients (restaurants? citizens?), what the cost is, what the benefits are and its prevalence, specifically in downtown Phoenix. I recall hearing that Phoenix Public Market Cafe makes all of their food with locally produced ingredients from local farms nearby. They also host the farmer’s markets every Saturday that provide the Phoenix community with a place to buy local products. I talked to a manager at Roosevelt GrowHouse recently, and they talked to me a little bit about a farm right under our nose here in downtown Phoenix that I had never even heard about. It made me wonder if people ever really give any thought to local farms, or about what they’re purchasing in supermarkets. Could it perhaps be something that could be purchased from a local shop or farm (that may be healthier for both their bodies and the local economy)? I want to create a site that pulls together the many facets of what it means to buy local, where residents of Phoenix CAN buy local and how it could benefit them and their community in the long run.