Midtown
DPJ Yelper of the Week: Thomas S. on Tony’s Shoe Repair
Posted on 7/06/10 by DPJ Staff » No Comments
DPJ is proud to bring you the best Yelp reviews of your favorite Downtown restaurants, boutiques, venues and everything in between. Every week, visit DPJ for a finely crafted, tell-all account of a Downtown spot straight from the experts: the people!
Thomas S.
Phoenix, AZ
Five-star rating
06.19.10
You buffed. You shined. You commented on my behind.
Yep, Tony. I’m upping you a star, sir!
$40 to spruce up my favorite Johnston & Murphy hand-made Italian shoes for my launch party was the Deal of the Century. And, it took, what, a couple hours? New heels. New insoles.
Did I mention buffed and shined? Oh. Yep. I did.
Get your shoes a makeover at Tony’s. Tell ‘em Thomas sent you!
Tony’s Shoe Repair is located at 3110 N. Central Ave. #129 in Midtown — 602.266.8081
The DPJ Yelper of the Week offers honest insight on a Downtown business to help you explore your core. DPJ hopes that by partnering with Yelp to spread the good word about well-loved Downtown spots, you’ll spread your patronage and support local business.
Yelp is a social networking and local search engine that provides the reviews of places and things that matter to you. Simply log in, pick a place and queue up your inner critic. You can write a beaming review of your favorite gelato spot, or a scathing portrayal of that rental car facility you had to use after that curb came out of nowhere. Yelp’s reviews are at once honest, uncensored, wildly hilarious and true. Heck, the site must be doing something right — it had 26 million viewers just last month!
Downtown Beat | Sizzlin’ at the Heard, ‘Mahalo Mondays’ and Jams at Portland’s
Posted on 7/06/10 by Monica Arevalo » No Comments
The Downtown Beat keeps you up to date on the happenings in Downtown Phoenix. Have a scoop? Email Monica for consideration.
Target Free Sizzlin’ Summer Saturdays in July at Heard Museum
Parents now have a place and time to take the kids during the summer to escape the heat. Adults can enjoy the museum while kids enjoy the free arts and crafts, dance performances and artist demonstrations, and meet popular children’s authors, all thanks to Target.
The fun at the Heard takes place every Saturday in July. This Saturday is “Fancy Flyers” day, with arts and crafts paying homage to our favorite winged animals. Dance performances by the Yellow Bird Dancers will rile the crowd. Kids will walk away with treats and a goody bags filled with activities, crayons, stickers and more.
For more information, please call 602.252.8848 or visit heard.org/Sizzlin. The Heard Museum is located at 2301 N. Central Ave. in Midtown (light rail at Encanto Station).
A Tiki good cause
Refuse to have a case of the Mondays in July, thanks to Hula’s Modern Tiki. Every Monday, the restaurant will be donating 10% of its proceeds to Ronald McDonald House Charities of Phoenix.
Hula’s “Mahalo Mondays” started in March and has since raised over $7,500 to organizations such as the Southwest Center for HIV/AIDS, The Red Cross Haitian Relief Fund, The Boys & Girls Clubs and Free Arts Arizona.
So, end Mondays on a wonderful note with a delicious meal at Hula’s Modern Tiki and give to amazing causes.
Hula’s Modern Tiki is located at 4700 N. Central Ave. in Uptown (light rail station at Central/Camelback) — 602.265.TIKI
Beat the heat and keep the beat at Portland’s
Portland’s Restaurant and Wine Bar just added some new flavor to its Saturday nights with live music and special prix fixe dinners.
During dinner, you can enjoy live acoustic music every Saturday night featuring local artists like Shelby James, Betsy Ganz, Jeff Schnuck and Zubia + DeGuvera from 8 to 11 p.m.
The special three-course prix fixe dinner is only $25 with mouth-watering meals like tempura rock shrimp, Stilton blue cheese bistro steak or sustainably farmed Scottish salmon. And, don’t forget dessert, with the tiramisu or Claire’s flourless chocolate torte.
Portland’s is located at 105 W. Portland Ave in Roosevelt (light rail at Roosevelt Station) — 602.795.7480
Third Friday: Dad’s Night Out
Posted on 6/17/10 by Si Robins » No Comments
Sunday is Father’s Day, and surely many of you still haven’t chosen a present. Why not skip the inanimate object this year and take Dad out this Third Friday? With the handy-dandy light rail, getting from galleries to eats and drinks to Third Friday events is a breeze.
Whether Dad likes to party or take a quiet stroll through the city, Third Friday provides great opportunity for art viewing at your own pace, with live music and Phoenix’s nightlife just steps away.
Is Dad a fan of summer concerts? Have him prepped for a those blistering-hot amphitheater shows this summer by making a stop at Civic Space Park (light rail at Central Station) to see Dead West Radio rock the stage. The show starts at 7 p.m., and it’s free! Add to the experience by picking up a snack and a latte at Fair Trade Café in the park and perusing this month’s art show inside the A.E. England Building, attached to the park stage.
Modified Arts' chill vibe may be just what Dad likes. Photo courtesy of Modified Arts.
If rock isn’t Dad’s thing, Charlie Brand of Brooklyn-via-Phoenix band Miniature Tigers is making a rare stripped-down solo appearance (also free!) at the Heard Museum’s (light rail at Encanto Station) monthly NU event. Brand will be playing quieter versions of his band’s songs, most of which were conceived in a bedroom in Phoenix. Plus, he’s always good for some humorous (if slightly bizarre) between-song banter. The performance begins at 8 p.m., and the entire event (filled with art, museum exhibits, food and a lecture) runs from 5:30 to 9 p.m.
Perhaps Dad would enjoy a quieter gallery setting. Modified Arts‘ (light rail at Roosevelt Station) newly renovated space looks brilliant at night, and the “Reality Reimagined” show debuts on Third Friday. The show, filled with international talent on a variety of mediums, promises “contemporary vision, sometimes irreverent, sometimes frank, and always compelling.” The gallery is open from 6 to 9 p.m.
A great way to wind down the night is with Eddie J. at The Duce (a short walk south of the Central/Washington or 1st Ave/Jefferson light rail stations). Eddie’s keytar stylings are unlike any other in Phoenix, and his baritone register can make any cover song a must-hear. Eddie jams at the Duce bar every Friday until 11 p.m., providing enough time for a perfect nightcap: An Old Fashioned or a Basil Gimlet handcrafted at the Duce’s vintage Chicago bar.
Explore McDowell Station with DPJ and LightRailBlogger.com
Posted on 6/16/10 by DPJ Staff » 2 Comments
DPJ is teaming up with LightRailBlogger.com once again for the next installment of our “Explore Your Core: Light Rail” video series. This time we’re headed up to McDowell Station, home of the Phoenix Art Museum, Burton Barr Central Library and some tasty eat and drink spots.
We want to let you, the viewer, decide where we explore. So, what are some of your favorite destinations within walking distance of the light rail? Maybe you like hanging out in Cancer Survivors Park. Or, perhaps you can’t get enough of the shiny buffing at Los Olivos Hand Car Wash. You might enjoy a new relaxing weekend ritual at Giant Coffee. You tell us!
Leave a comment below informing us which places to include in our next video. Fire away!
From the Arizona Room | 119 E. Coronado Rd. — Carl Pleasant/John Barney House
Posted on 5/26/10 by Si Robins » No Comments
From the Arizona Room is a weekly column examining the historic, reuse and infill structures in Downtown Phoenix. The inspiration for this column stems from the ever-expanding resources in Burton Barr Central Library’s Arizona Room (located on the fourth floor). For further information on this and other historic structures in the area, visit the Arizona Room during normal library hours.
119 E. Coronado Rd. in Midtown
In 1928, a Period Revival home was built on a relatively off-the-path plot near 3rd Street and McDowell Road. The Carl Pleasant/John Barney House stands 82 years later, still relatively tucked away, but just steps from the bustle of the Phoenix Art Museum and the traffic on McDowell.
Brick with a concrete foundation and stucco wall sheathing, the building was occupied for several decades as a residence before transitioning to office use (it is now the Administrative Service Center for the Girl Scouts Arizona Cactus-Pine Council). Surprisingly, the building hasn’t changed all that much. The original entry remains, and asphalt shingles much like the original selection still line the roof. Understandably, the interior has been reconfigured to accommodate the office space.
Though it stands out amongst its peers on this neighborhood street today, the design and layout are consistent with 1920s subdivision development. The home was originally occupied by Pleasant from 1929 to 1932. Pleasant gained fame during the era as the namesake of the Carl Pleasant Dam, a 250-foot multiple-arch concrete dam he designed and built in 1927. The dam has since been replaced, and is now more than 100 feet underwater in his current-era namesake, Lake Pleasant, near Peoria. In the 1930s, Barney, who was listed in the city directory under several professions, moved in.
Source: Willo-Alvarado Multiple Property Area Historic Resources Survey, 1989.
Is there a historic property in Downtown Phoenix you’d like to see in From the Arizona Room? Email me at si@downtownphoenixjournal.com with the address and a brief description.
