More Than a Desert Town
People who haven't spent time here are often surprised that Phoenix has a genuine performing arts and museum scene, and one with real history behind it. The Orpheum Theatre and the Heard Museum both opened in 1929, the same year the Arizona Biltmore opened its doors, when Phoenix was still a town of under 50,000 people betting on tourism and culture to help it grow.
Nearly a century later, that bet paid off. Downtown Phoenix now has a walkable cluster of historic theaters and museums, and a Frank Lloyd Wright-designed auditorium out in Tempe that's still hosting touring Broadway shows. Here's where I send clients who want to know what there is to do here beyond golf and hiking.
Historic Theater Go-Tos
Opened in 1929 in a lavish Spanish Baroque style, with murals meant to make you feel like you're sitting in a courtyard under the stars. Restored by the City of Phoenix in the 1990s and now on the National Register of Historic Places.
Opened in 1989 as part of the push to revitalize downtown, with three stages hosting everything from Broadway touring shows to local theater companies.
The only public building in Arizona designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, completed in 1964. Still the Valley's go-to venue for touring Broadway productions.
Home to the Phoenix Symphony, Arizona Opera, and Ballet Arizona, all under one roof in the heart of downtown.
Museum Go-Tos
Founded in 1929 by Maie and Dwight Heard to share their collection of Indigenous art, now internationally recognized with twelve galleries of American Indian art told from a first-person perspective.
Opened in 1959 and now the largest art museum in the Southwest, with more than 18,000 works spanning American, Asian, European, Latin American, and fashion collections.