2 miles down camelback road
I simply can’t take it anymore. I am so very tired of seeing buildings (especially unique mid-century ones) being painted the color of our desert’s dirt. (which also happens to be the same color as a turd). The turd buildings are taking over Phoenix one by one.
Ironically though, the last time I drove through the desert of Papago Park or hiked Squaw Peak I saw so many other colors besides brown; I saw greens, yellows, reds and pinks, oranges, lavenders, and dark purples. I saw blue skies and crisp white clouds. That is why I simply don’t understand why so many building owners would consciously and continuously select these brown shades as if that is their only option. My theory / fear is that we will continue to lose valuable mid-century buildings, because once they go turd – no one sees them as unique or attractive anymore. So when I drove from my place down 7th street to Camelback Road – for only one mile east to Trader Joes, then back down to Jamba Juice – I decided to pull out the old iPhone and document my findings.
this building was white for over 50 years. until this year, when “corporate” picked this new color.
as if the Fitness for Home signs weren’t hideous enough… patterned concrete here too.
That last one was on Highland. They even “stuccofied” it, created a lighter shade of turd, and added a tile roof to make it look more desert-hideous. Then I drove back to Camelback and all the way down to Central.
rose colored turd is still turd. notice the patterned block on this one.
ok so it’s not turdy yet, but I’m sure if “corporate” has their way it will be soon.
So the moral of the story is that if you’ve seen a color like it floating in your toilet or in your child’s diaper, please re-select.
(or hire me to re-select. I would do it for merely $250 in hopes of my eyeballs not becoming permanently damaged.)
the one year old boy that taught me a lesson or two…
greyson cole on his first birthday
EULOGY
Good morning and thank you for coming. I’m Rachel Luptak – Jennifer’s self proclaimed best friend.
Since Greyson was so young, he couldn’t really say a whole lot. But I know that he would have if he could have. I could tell by the expressions on his face, his jibber jabber, and the squeals that made that he had a lot going on inside of that sweet little head of his. I used to try to guess what he was thinking. So I figured that today I would guess again what he’s thinking, and translate a message for those who loved him most, as if he were here to say his final goodbye. I think that today it would go something like this:
“Hi Mom. You look pretty. Even though you’re crying, you’re still the prettiest lady in the room. It’s ok to be sad. I’m sad too and I miss you.
Hi Dad. I like your tie. And I’m looking forward to the day we meet again in a perfect land where we can toss a ball and work on a hot rod together. Thank you for my dimple.
You may never fully understand why God took me home so soon. But he’s got some very important work for me to help him with up here; big stuff – like world peace, ending hunger in third world countries, and putting a stop to global warming. And don’t you worry, we’re getting right on it.
I learned a lot from you guys during my time on earth. Like how to sit up, clap my hands, how to crawl, how to walk, and how to shove half of a banana in my mouth and spit it out again. And I want to thank you for all you’ve taught me and for always putting my needs above your own.
But before I go, I’d like to make sure that you remember a couple of important lessons that I’ve taught you as well. First of all, I know that I totally forced you into learning a little something about a little something called…
Forgiveness.
Remember that time I scribbled all over our new Crate and Barrel sofa with a black pen? I made a mistake and you forgave me for it. Or Mom, how about that time I pooped all over myself, and you, and the back seat of your brand new car? It’s a good thing those seats are leather. I’m sorry I wasn’t nice enough to keep a neat little package in my pants, but lucky for me, I’m so darn cute you forgave me for that too. And I’m so very very very glad that you did, because forgiveness kept your heart light, warm, open, willing and giving enough to let in the next big thing I’ve taught you. It’s THE most important thing that someone could ever learn in their lifetime.
It’s compassionate, it’s unconditional, it’s forgiving and non-judgmental L-O-V-E. (That’s Love, and I can even spell now up here) And since there’s a pastor in the room, I’d like to impress him with some of what I’ve learned this week from the Big Book. 1st Corinthians 13:4:
Love is patient,
Love is kind.
It does not envy,
It does not boast,
It is not proud.
Love is not rude,
It is not self-seeking,
It is not easily angered.
Love keeps no record of wrongs.
It does not delight in evil,
But rejoices with the truth.
It always protects,
Always trusts,
Always hopes,
Always perseveres.
Love never dies.
And yup, you just got Sunday schooled by a one year old. Remember these lessons of forgiveness and love. Forgive your best friend, when she’s said the wrong thing or has been thoughtless and selfish - so you don’t miss out on the years ahead of lattes and laughter. Forgive your neighbors when you must confront them about their annoying barking dogs, and you might just end up with new barbecue buddies. Forgive the next person who poops on you. Show them OUR kind of love afterwards and you might be surprised by what happens next.
Hold on to the love that you felt for me for dear life, cherish it, and keep it in your heart at all times. Perhaps in the future, you can use it again to hold an orphaned baby in the crisis nursery, or to help others less fortunate. Use it to approach the homeless man on the street. Ask him how you can make his day a little easier. It may just be a bottle of water, a blanket, or merely a friendly conversation with a kind stranger. Keep your heart as pure as mine. And even though I’m physically gone, my tiny little existence and legacy can make this big big world a better place.
I love you. I miss you. And I cannot wait until we meet again someday.
Forever and Always.”
- Greyson Cole
10.02.09-10.25.10
The Sahara Motor Hotel - 1950's Postcard
UPDATE: 08.09.2010
As a hospitality interior designer that has spent six years working underneath the designers that transformed Sanctuary Resort & Spa, Montelucia, and Hotel Valley Ho into landmark destination resorts… As someone who spent over a year planning renovations for the historic Wigwam Resort (pre-bankruptcy)… And as a professional who spent an entire summer studying The Sahara Motor Hotel and its retail and banqueting facilities with other architects and engineers for re-use before the city of Phoenix swiped it (just before the hotel would have had the chance to go to a foreclosure auction,) I will fight to bring to our downtown Phoenix the presence that those resorts I mentioned brought to ParadiseValley, Scottsdale, and west Phoenix.
Currently the city’s argument is that this particular hotel isn’t “historically relevant” enough to save. As a stand alone building, I might agree. New Times’ critic Robert Pela stated, “So what if Marilyn Monroe used to crap there?” She stayed there while filming Bus Stop in 1956. And maybe the role of the hotel developer, Delbert Webb (yes, that one) also plays little significance. Who cares if he brought the choo-choos to the hospitality industry and The Flamingo to Las Vegas? So what if he used to own the Yankees, created the third largest city in the state of Arizona with post-war Japanese Interns while building buildings for our government, or if he graced the cover of Time Magazine for thinking up Sun Cityall by himself? The significance of the Sahara Motor hotel is not its singular architectural or singular historical significance, but something more.
My reasons for wanting to preserve this hotel have absolutely everything to do with its potential as a community-enhancing project and one that provides a historical landmark within our city. This is the last possible chance to develop a truly unique historical mini resort in the heart of our urban core that echoes Phoenix’s past as a destination city and a place of paradise.
Aside from The Sahara Motor Hotel’s potential to achieve an architectural hipness that its new bland and pink stucco high-rise neighbor, The Sheraton, would be jealous over – the other half of my motivation to fight for this hotel is to save the last dying remnants of an entire post-war booming culture of tourism, a.k.a. the roadside mini-resorts on the street of Van Buren. Marilyn Monroe most likely didn’t shack up in half of these resorts, but these motor hotels were once the main artery that pumped everyone and their grandmother here to experience a taste of this little desert oasis. And that street of dreams is already gone … gone forever with our City Officials’ blessings, as the last of the kitchy motels, the Log Cabin Motel, got razed just last month.
Most of my generation does not have any idea that today’s miles of no-money run-down used car lots (the ones with trailers for offices) and the blocks and blocks of vacant land were ever anything but that. When in actuality, there used to be competitive mini Vegas-style roadside resorts there, and they made the street of Van Buren great enough to convince people from all over the country that they too could move to Phoenix and survive in our desert. If you came to Phoenix during the ‘50s, you were having dinner on Van Buren, you were seeing live performances on Van Buren, and you were sleeping on Van Buren. Most importantly, you were having Thanksgiving and Christmas Day parties by the pool on Van Buren, an entirely new phenomenon to visitors from the Mid-west and Eastern United States.
My father worked on Van Buren, ironically as an editor and reporter in the Arizona Republic building (known to the children of its employees as the delightful penny gumball machine building.) Though the Republic has moved out, the building is still located right next to the Sahara Motor Hotel. And every so often, when I was a kid, my father would drive us all the way up and down Van Buren. That was exciting! Why? The Van Buren prostitutes gave us lame brained children something to marvel over. We couldn’t wait to point them out and argue over who was and who wasn’t, or who was meeting up for merely a friendly chat or the illegal drug deal. Little did I know back then, why the prostitutes and druggies even migrated there, or how they would eventually leave their own eternal stamp of death on the boulevard that was once our city’s greatest.
The grand boulevard that once enticed so many was left to rot while the city looked forward to progress. First came the freeway, then sprawl, then vacancies, and then of course came the prostitutes and drug addicts. I find it a complete shame that the City of Phoenix did not have enough foresight to lead a re-generation and revitalization effort that included a conscious act of keeping its road-side history alive. Thanks to bulldozing, now even the prostitutes are gone, leaving absolutely zero reasons to travel down Van Buren. The City’s general mentality of encouraging the destruction of all the run-down, ugly, crime-infested places versus fighting to clean them up and preserve what little bit of our history and culture still survives absolutely disgusts me. It is this attitude that will result in Phoenix never finding its own character. We can’t know our future if we don’t recognize our past. That is why I fight for the Sahara Motor Hotel. That is why I will fight for the excitement and bad publicity of prostitutes and eyesores with a past and potential future, before I will ever succumb to the blocks and blocks of generic nothingness that the bulldozer continuously leaves behind.
So go ahead all of you transplants, keep complaining that we have no sense of culture like the other big American cities. Contemplate why we have so many empty lots in our downtown that people believe we’re in our infancy. How do you think they became empty? Ask yourselves why the President of Arizona State University (who recently migrated from the East coast) continuously declares that we are an exciting “new emerging American city,” when in fact, we’ve been here since the 1800s. Could it be because so much of our history has already vanished into dusty desert air that we must now start over entirely as a new city would? Please, dare to ask our city planners and politicians, who exactly is going to finance this new two-acre urban asphalt heat island, and the new “someday” at least 50 million dollar ”epicenter for the law community” when the City of Phoenix and ASU are broke as a joke, and the potential donor law firms are laying off their employees. Please don’t get me wrong, I (like everyone else) want ASU to grow and flourish downtown, but I see no reason why we can’t have both a new law school and a mid-century hotel.
My idea: let’s slow this destructive process down a little bit and consider what a “world-changing model of sustainability” institution really is. Try building things on already vacant lots (there are plenty of them in the very near vicinity) and let a private developer rehab the existing buildings that aren’t of use to the city or ASU. Put out Requests for Proposals so developers have a chance to rehab the Sahara Motor Hotel project as either a hotel or much needed affordable housing. That should spark something. Or give me ninety days to find an adequate solution before you cut us off and bulldoze. I’m up for the challenge.
I will be at the public hearing on Thursday morning. Will you? Those of you who’ve patted me on the back for my preservation efforts thus far will finally have your own chance to make a difference. Please join me!
It ain’t over till the skinny lady runs off to London.
(They have buildings there.)
- SAVE THE SAHARA – PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE
ORIGINAL POST BELOW:
The Sahara Motor Hotel - 1950's Postcard
Why would a state university, particularly Arizona State Univeristy, want to purchase a MID-CENTURY HISTORIC ROADSIDE HOTEL in the very heart of a city? What could a college possibly want to do with a 50′s motor inn that used to lend a pillow to the likes of Marilyn Monroe? What do they intend to do with the ONLY garden resort style outdoor swimming pool (including lots of grass and trees) located in the very heart of an urban core who’s community thrives outdoors in and around water for 9 months out of the year? Of course ASU would want to buy a structure with 175 guest rooms, 2 penthouses, bar, café, dining and lounge facilities, gift shop, two large terrace suites for hosting parties, and almost an entire block of busy street facing retail space. Not to mention the fact that it was designed by a talented Mid-Century Modern Architect who used period style materials that you couldn’t afford to use today in a roadside Motor Inn, like red brick, colored mosaic tiles, patterned concrete block, floor to ceiling glass, tons of cast-in-place concrete and solid block?
According to the City of Phoenix’s Urban Form Project code, OASIS is the concept and goal for our entire downtown’s identity. This is THE ONLY hotel property that has the courtyard pool and landscape potential of an actual Oasis, south of the I-10, and between Seventh and Seventh, should it really be owned by ASU and banning the experience of the general public?
The Sahara Motor Hotel -1950's Postcard
Now here’s the kicker. They don’t even want it for the Oasis factor. They have no plans to operate another hotel facility and they already built their student housing. ASU, being the self proclaimed “World Changing Innovators and the Model of Sustainability”, would make one think they could find a way to re-duce waste, and re-use this perfectly good structure. It really does have amazing CAST-IN PLACE CONCRETE AND RED BRICK bones that will stand the test of time. The Mechanical, Plumbing, and Electrical need a little work, but are generally in decent shape for hotel use, but what the heck – they want to raze the place and build an entire city block of guess what, folks? An ASPHALT PARKING LOT for the Sheraton. And who knows what else down the road how many years from now (5, 10, 20?) years later, maybe another School of Law for ASU?
Why would they want to bulldoze this site? I will be the first to admit that the hotel is currently in a dilapidated state and its design details have been masked with too much stucco, Spanish tile, and an unflattering paint job. It has had absolutely no curb appeal for far too long and storm damage has left its lobby smelling like a rotten armpit. But with a historic preservation attitude and some TLC, the look and feel of the hotel could easily and fairly inexpensively be returned to its days of glory, especially if you were to compare what you get dollar for dollar on a bulldoze/parking lot / new build School of Law or whatever the long term plan may be. Wouldn’t it make a little more sense for ASU to buy another vacant lot? They just want its locale.
Current Nastiness, Credit: Rachel Luptak
More current nastiness. Credit: Rachel Luptak
Speaking of locale, as a hotel, it is in a PRIME spot within our city to educate the public about the revolutionary historical impact that affordable automobile use and Motor Inn concepts like it had on our city, the entire Southwest, and the travel and hospitality industry itself, and the industry’s architecture and design. (Have I mentioned that I am a hospitality Interior Designer and was formally trained at a little art/science institution called Arizona State University where I scored at the very top of my History of Architecture and Interior Design courses?) These motels helped put us on the map for attracting tourism and future transplants. One would never know today, but Van Buren was once our city’s most amazing street – linking Phoenix to Tempe before there was a highway. We had our own mini-Vegas styled strip of these roadside motels, where each had their own concept, identity, and competitive drive to outdo each other. We all know what this street has become, but thanks to bulldozing, most of us will never have the opportunity to know what it used to be. (See very bottom of this post for more info. and an awesome link to the history of Van Buren.)
Mr. Sun & Sin City, Credit: www.TimeMagazine.com
The hotel in question was built as The Sahara Motor Hotel in 1955 by our valley’s own mover and shaker in the Southwest’s construction and real estate industry, Mr. Delbert Webb (I like to refer to him as Mr. Sun AND Sin City). He was also the visionary behind our valley’s first mega adult resort and golf community, which made the cover of Time Magazine in 1960. Some of you more athletic types may know him as an ex-owner of a little baseball team called the Yankees, or someone who golfed with Howard Hughes, Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, and Robert & Barry Goldwater. Webb helped shape the southwest with motor hotels throughout the southwest under the Hiway House names. We used to have one of these lovely Hiway Houses on Van Buren. It had its own locomotive and was attached to the Webb built Phoenix Star Theater (now known as Celebrity Theater). And guess what? The state bought up that Hiway House and turned it into a women’s prison - which closed a few years ago. His company also built the Flamingo Hotel and Casino in Vegas for Busgy Seigel and another two Casinos on the strip that he would later buy, one with the same name as our little diamond in the rough – The Sahara. I better not fail to mention that Mr. Webb’s company also built for our government. He accommodated enough post-war Japanese interns to make up the 3rd largest city in the state (population +17,000) while constructing the Poston Relocation Center for our Military near Parker during World War II. The man was a pretty big deal in the sleepy little town that Phoenix used to be mid-centrury, and ironically, his name might also sound familiar to you because it is also the current name of ASU’s own Del E. Webb School of Construction, which boasts of its collaboration that creates ASU’s School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment.
Come on ride that train.... its a choo-choo train... Yep. This one was torn down too!, Postcard Credit: www.brazilbrazil.com
Why couldn’t ASU have left it up to a private investor to pay homage to a man of Mr. Webb’s stature in our city’s center and let them renovate to bring it back up to today’s hospitality standards? Does The City Of Phoenix and ASU have to own or partially own every decently located piece of land downtown? It was about to go out to public auction and would have been sold at a ridiculously low price. That ridiculously low purchase price may have allowed a private investor the ability to also afford a renovation that would breathe new life to the heart of our downtown in a way that the new Sheraton only wishes it could. But now the Sheraton gets to encourage more fuel consumption and discourage more light rail use while accommodating an entire city block’s worth of extra cars.
By the way, since one of us brought up the Sheraton that my tax dollars built, our old Sahara Motor Inn has more life and “soul” hiding underneath its current nasty red tiled port o’ cochere than the “destination specific” and “hyperlocal” Sheraton has in its entire 31story unimpressive façade, and public spaces combined. For those of you who aren’t aware, “destination specific” and “hyperlocal” to the City of Phoenix’s design decision makers means there must be a beige, brown, pinkish, rusty terra cotta color scheme – which every resort in the Valley has (even the freaking W for crying out loud.) We get it already. The Phoenix desert is 100 different shades of browns at sunset – but a materials palate alone does not create a place, exhibit a cultural history, or produce a vibrant and unique urban essence.
I seem to be the only one who can envision it. Could it be that I – a 31 year old Interior Designer am the only human being on this planet that knows what’s underneath that Godawful pink stucco and can appreciate this hotel’s history and unique charm? I have seen a report that was compiled by professional Architects and Engineers on the existing structure, interiors, mechanical, plumbing, and electrical systems. This report outlines what it would take to get them up and running as a hotel again. I have also seen the original blueprints from the 50’s and have dreamed up ways to reveal the old charm. This hotel renovation project can be done, decently, for a mere $7 - 8 million. It could be done wonderfully for $9-10 million. (Valley Ho Quality). And this includes furnishings, people!!! The rooms renovations could also be done in phases, of course meaning less money up front.
Original Line Drawing Credit: Matthew Trudell Architects, Quickie Photoshop Study: Yours Truly (What is hiding underneath that stucco. Except for these mosaic tiles, they must have been Value Engineered out, but could easily be added again to achieve original intended design)
1955 Original Line Drawing: Matthew Trudell Architects, Quickie Photoshop: Moi
I’m not just upset by the fact that downtown Phoenix has lost another unique and historically valuable project. Sure it’s always sad when one of my favorite buildings gets defaced or destroyed, but I haven’t ever wanted to start a blog about any other building not getting the chance to fufill its potential. I AM DISGRUNTLED BECAUSE THE CITY ITSELF HAS NOT ONLY ALLOWED, BUT ENCOURAGED THE DEMISE OF AN ENTIRE UNIQUE HISTORICALLY RELEVANT POST WAR CULTURE OF TOURISM TO THE POINT WHERE THERE IS ZERO REMNANCE THAT IT EVER EVEN EXISTED. (A.K.A. VAN BUREN) I DON’T FEEL THAT THE NEW END RESULT (LAW SCHOOL THAT COULD HAVE FILLED IN ANOTHER ALREADY VACANT LOT) WILL LIVE UP TO THE POTENTIAL OF THE EXISTING SITE. And the City of Phoenix and ASU seem to be completely out for themselves in this decision. Not for the greater good of a downtown society’s economy and culture, or for our environment and land fills for that matter.
Now why should anyone listen to me? Because I care about Phoenix, it has been my lifelong home and it owns a very large piece of my heart. I have lived, breathed, worked, ate, drank, danced, shopped, loved, lost, volunteered, made friends, and re-caffeinated myself over and over again downtown between 7th and 7th for many years. I AM the young, innovative, and creative talent that Phoenix says it wants to attract and keep. But all these City Planners offer me are brand new parking lots, education buildings, high end hotels and condos, and RED development. We will continue to leave in search of what we are looking for – diversity, real history, real culture of our own, and a lively community that celebrates its authentic “soul”.
It was just plain wrong and greedy City of Phoenix /ASU not to let this property go to auction. They should not have been the ones who got to take advantage of this deal of the century on a mid-century Hotel type of property just to tear it down. It is an opportunity for uniqueness and diversity being wasted. I will gladly walk the site and show anyone from City of Phoenix, ASU and Historic Preservation how much potential this building has. Historic Preservation SHOULD care about this one. It has not been altered enough beyond repair. The professional report did not find any major aesbestos issues anywhere other than possibly popcorn ceilings (mainly in the rooms where ASU once housed their students) which aren’t a big deal to leave painted or remove, and possibly in acoustical ceiling tiles that are so old and ugly they would be removed and replaced in any standard gut renovation. So don’t be surprised if you find me camping out on a hot pink blow up raft with my little furry pup at the bottom of the un-filled swimming pool watching them try to bulldoze this site with us in it.
This is Nelli. You can tell that she doesn't want to have to camp out on a hot pink raft in protest. Photo Credit: Rachel Luptak
And that, my dear friends, is how Rachel Dawn sees it.
p.s. this was a response to the article posted here: http://www.azcentral.com/community/phoenix/articles/2010/02/15/20100215asu-phoenix-downtown0215.html)
p.s.s. this is how YURI sees it: http://yuriartibise.com/2010/03/08/dumb-and-dumber-the-city-of-phoenix-and-asu/#utm_source=feed&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=feed
p.p.s.s. this is how SETH sees it: http://www.downtownphoenix.com/blog/2010/03/community-commentary-more-parking-for-downtown/
p.p.s.s.s. what might have been: http://www.acehotel.com/palmsprings
p.p.p.s.s.s. more reasons why I care about this hotel: see this great web site that further exhibits the history of the roadside motel, as it used to be exemplified on Van Buren for Phoenix: http://www.brazilbrazil.com/vanburen.html - warning: if you have a heart for our city’s history and/or mid-century architecture and design, this will make you sad – looking at what Van Buren Street used to be vs. what it’s become. Here are some photo highlights from the website of some of the amazing mid-century motor inns that we used to have in Phoenix. All but one have been bulldozed w/ something like empty wastelands, used car lots or suburban style pink stucco apartments replacing them today:
R.I.P. Log Cabin Motel. You fought a good fight until the summer of 2010.
803 E. Van Buren
804 E. Van Buren
938 E. Van Buren
2247 E. Van Buren
2247 Today. Anyone know what's happening with this site?
2853 E Van Buren
2364 E. Van Buren - this was a Ralph Haver design. sad.
3333 E. Van Buren
3901 E. Van Buren
All Van Buren Postcard Credits above go to http://www.brazilbrazil.com/vanburen.html .
DEAR ALMIGHTY GODS OF OUR DOWNTOWN PARKING LOTS (CITY OF PHOENIX AND SUSTAINABLE ASU),
THANK YOU.
down in a day, photo credit: Jim McPherson
WE WILL SOON HAVE ONE MORE ENTIRE CITY BLOCK OF URBAN BLIGHT.
gone in three, Look Marilyn's Penthouse! Photo Credit: ME
AS IF WE NEEDED ONE MORE.
LOOK! Mid-century Architecture finally exposed. Photo Credit: ME! Again.
GOOD LUCK IN YOUR ENDEVOR TO QUICKLY RAISE THE FUNDS FOR A NEW LAW SCHOOL.
I've waited a long time to see this revealed... Photo Credit: ME some more!
REALLY.
Lovely Brick Retail Facade Just waiting to be exposed. Photo Credit: MEMEME!
I MEAN THAT.
Terrace Suites Overlooking Pool for Sunset Party Hosting... Photo Credit: ME
cast in place concrete vertical elements. sandblast me! photo credit: RD
lobby needs a gut job. photo credit: me
potentially interesting staircase... photo credit: me
who wants a reclaimed wood floor? ask phil. photo credit: me
the dungeon bar - original coffee shop. someone thought it was a good idea to fill in the windows with shelving? photo credit: me
ugly old coffee shop bar. photo credit: me
Floor to ceiling glass at poolside dining room. hey phil! Can i have these chandeliers? photo credit: me
clean T beam concrete ceiling in lobby (hidden above grid) no aesbestos here! photo credit: me
retail interiors turned meeting room, photo credit: me
original guest bath. possible aesbestos issue under floor tile. big freaking deal. photo credit: me
wacky addition interiors, photo credit: mememe
giant commercial kitchen, photo credit: me
typical guest room, notice the mid-century cast-in-place wall. the walls next to it are solid block. look at that scary popcorn ceiling (possible aesbestos painted over for 50 years) here's an idea: lets put ALL of it in a landfill!!! photo credit:me
Marilyn's penthouse bedroom window. photo credit: me
upstairs meeting room, this pretty red drapery would look nice in Phil's office! (it matches our AZ Flag.) photo credit: me
more brick and floor to ceiling glass. conference room, photo credit: me
hhhmmm. aesbestos? nah. photo credit: me
marble vomit. lobby restrooms
have fun digging up this solid concrete basement. (see lobby ceiling style) hmmm. no aesbestos here either. photo credit: me
landfill bound. photo credit: me
hey look!!! mid-century sweeping curved roof architecture! pretend the 80's canopy is invisible. photo credit: me
garden, photo credit: me
the overgrown post card paradise today. photo credit: me
pretty garden flowers, photo credit: me
cool moment. photo credit, me.
brick planters (underneath stucco) meet cast in place throughout the hotel., photo credit: me
4 story atrium - notice the random stamped square details on concrete tower., photo credit: me
more terrace suites - sweeping curved roof below... photo credit: me
floor to ceiling retail, photo credit: me
AND PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT NEW SCHOOL IS REALLY REALLY REALLY TALL TO BLOCK MY VIEW OF THE POOPTASTIC SHERATON.
photo credit: parsons.com, poopshop: me!
PEACE OUT Y’ALL,
RACHEL DAWN.
P.S. I’M NO URBAN DESIGNER (YET) BUT CAN SOMEBODY PLEASE TELL ME WHY YOU WOULD PUT A BRAND NEW, AMAZING LAW EPI-CENTER THAT IS SUPPOSED TO ENCOURAGE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IN BETWEEN 4 NON-PEDESTRIAN FRIENDLY BUILDINGS? (EVERYTHING IN ITS VICINITY EXCEPT THE DORMS?) I CAN THINK OF SO MANY BETTER PLACES IT COULD HAVE GONE. TOO BAD NOBODY HAD THE TIME TO ASK ME. SUCH A HURRY FOR ANOTHER ASPHALT LOT. OR PERHAPS SUCH A HURRY TO GET ANOTHER HISTORIC BUILDING BULLDOZED BEFORE ANYONE ELSE WAKES UP AND REALIZES WHAT THEY’LL BE MISSING???
P.S.S. ASU ARCHITECTURE / URBAN PLANNING / MRED ALUMNI AND CITY OF PHOENIX EMPLOYEES : DO NOT BE FOOLED. WE ARE NOT A “NEW EMERGING AMERICAN CITY” AS SOME MIGHT HAVE YOU BELIEVE. WE ARE AN OLD CITY THAT HAS BEEN SO ROYALLY SCREWED UP BY DECADES AND DECADES OF OUR OWN PLANNERS, POLITICIANS, EMPIRE BUILDERS AND JERK DEVELOPERS THAT WE MUST START OVER FROM SCRATCH. (I LEARNED THAT ONE FROM A WISE OLD OWL AT ASU) SO GO AHEAD AND DREAM BIG ON ALL OF THOSE EMPTY LOTS EVERYONE, BUT I AM CHALLENGING YOU TO RESEARCH. FIND OUT WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHY, AND HOW THEY BECAME EMPTY. LEARN FROM THOSE MISTAKES. AND FOR CRYING OUT LOUD, BREAK THE FREAKING CYCLE ALREADY! WE USED TO HAVE BUILDINGS ON THOSE EMPTY LOTS. AND WE USED TO HAVE A REAL DOWNTOWN. I WOULD LIKE IT BACK, PLEASE.
P.P.S.S. CITY OF PHOENIX: COULD YOU AT LEAST PLEASE SAVE THE PALM TREES, AND USE SOMETHING A LITTLE MORE CREATIVE THAN ASPHALT? AGAIN – JUST ASK ME. I’M A BRILLIANT, IMAGINATIVE, AND OBVIOUSLY VERY HUMBLE DESIGN PROFESSIONAL WITH BIGGER AND BETTER IDEAS. ASK DOWNTOWN VOICES COALITION. IF WE ALL PUT OUR HEADS TOGETHER AS A TEAM, WE’VE GOT TITANIC SIZED BOATLOADS OF BRILLIANCE.
P.P.S.S.S. WARNING: IF ANYONE HAS ANY BIG IDEAS TO TEAR DOWN THIS HISTORIC HOTEL BELOW FOR MORE SUNS PARKING OR SCOTTSDALE STYLE DEVELOPMENT; PREPARE YOURSELVES FOR THE WRATH OF RACHEL DAWN.
Madison Hotel, photo credit: me
OR IF YOU’D LIKE TO SELL THIS PROPERTY, COME FIND ME.
photo credit: rachel dawn
notice what's under that stucco? photo credit: me
P.P.P.S.S.S. MERGER OR NO MERGER – HISTORIC PRESERVATION DEPT. WAKE UP AND DO YOUR JOB!
hello world!
i have officially arrived on the ole’ google machine…
