It's All in the Details

For the last two days I've been taking you on a tour of the freshly restored art deco Professional Building in downtown Phoenix.  It has a new life as a Hilton Garden Inn.  At the far end of the huge lobby I featured yesterday, was the entrance to the hotel's business center.

The business center had two different levels with conversation areas in each.  That seems to make it very convenient for small business meetings to take place without having to reserve a special room.

The business center was cozy as well as functional.  On the far wall you can get a glimpse of the row of computers available for doing a little research or to check in for a flight.  Traditionally, this is the location of where the bank vault would have been.  I can't really tell if this area was once the vault but, typically, the bank vault was always at the far end of a long lobby.

I enjoyed these four prints on the wall.  Each one depicts some piece of the art deco detail from the outside of the building.  I like this idea, bringing a little bit of the building's outside history inside the newly remodeled interior.

Art Deco Beauty

Walking through the front doors of the new Hilton Garden Inn which is housed in the old Professional Building, I was very impressed by the beauty of the lobby.

I love the huge pillars, the beautiful tile floors and those great round light fixtures.  Even the furniture and desk features maintain a bit of the art deco feel to them.  It's easy for me to picture this area in it's original role as Valley Bank.  This is the quintessential 20th Century bank lobby; impressive to some, intimidating to others.

I was happy to see that the original elevator doors have been maintained and the elegant marble that surrounds them has been polished up beautifully.

Opposite the elevators I found this ornate grate that probably was in front of an old heating/cooling vent.  And the sign with the original name of the building sits there proudly.

It looks like they stayed true to the original design and used the building's wonderful features to their best advantage.

Tomorrow I'll show you some more details from inside the hotel.

It Took Many Years, But It Was Saved

For two decades, this beautiful art deco building in the heart of downtown Phoenix sat empty.  In fact, I took this photo exactly four years ago when I caught sight of the pigeons flying in and out of those empty window frames.

When I was downtown three weeks ago, I noticed that the building was looking rather dapper and was once again alive and functioning.

Hilton Garden Inn has taken over the building and converted it to very nice looking hotel.

The building was built in 1932 and originally housed Valley Bank which later became Valley National Bank.  The bank took up the lower three floors and various medical offices took up the rest of the building.

In 1972 Valley National Bank (now Chase) built a new glass tower across the street from this one and moved out and gradually the remaining tenants left too.

Luckily, a solid purchase was made within the last four years and renovations started.

A little bit of trivia is that this building was used in the opening shot of the 1960 movie "Psycho".

Tomorrow I'll show you inside.

Got Any Bright Ideas?

I found this mural in the Roosevelt Row Arts District in downtown Phoenix,  I couldn't find the artist's name for this one but, clearly this guy has the idea "lightbulb" going off in his head.  I sure hope he has a idea about solving our current political problems.  Wouldn't that be great?

Brilliant Blue Sky and Lots of Sun

Standing in front of the Phoenix Art Museum, I get a wonderful view of this tall office building and on this particular day, the sky was sapphire blue and the sun was creating a nice sun flare.

My friends Julie and Dave work in this building.  Their law firm has offices on two of those upper floors.



I have a new post on Sharon's Sojourns today.  A hot summer day at the Grand Canyon is on tap.

Meeting the Artist

My good friend David asked if I wanted to join him Thursday night to attend a VIP reception for the opening of an art exhibit by Hugo Medina.  I jumped at the chance and I'm so glad I did.  You see, I've seen some of this artist's work before in murals around the city.  In fact, I featured one recently on this site, here.  This particular show is called Portraits by Hugo Medina and it features some new work he's done that was inspired by a recent backpacking trip across Europe.  The one above was one of my favorites however, I will say it was hard to pick a favorite.  He does faces so beautifully.  This one was inspired by a scene on the colorful island of Burano in Venice Italy.  He told me that the three women were not keen on having their photo taken but after hearing he was an artist finally decided it was okay.  This show is currently at the Onyx Art Gallery at 1346 W Roosevelt Street in Phoenix and it runs from now until November 3rd.  If you live in area, stop by and take a look at his wonderful portraits.  I know you will be impressed.

More Doors

I have three more interesting doors or entrances that I've observed from my wanderings around town.

This one has a very tropical look to it with those big palms all around.

This one has a very high rock wall that seems to frame a sort of courtyard inside.  I also noticed the security camera on top of the wall.  Maybe guests must be pre-screened before entering.

This door has some very interesting tile work that frames it quite nicely.  That tile almost has a Moroccan look to it.

Unique Apartment Living

I recently found this brand new apartment building located in the Roosevelt Row arts district in downtown Phoenix.  It's unique because it's constructed entirely of shipping containers.  There are 9 one-bedroom apartments available and 2 live-work spaces and one commercial space in the building. It's called The Oscar.  Another "artsy" feature of the complex is the changing art piece that will reside in front of the place.

I cropped in on the current art piece to give you a better view.  This one is by Pete Deise and it's called "Whitewater".  Deise is a sculptor who works with ribbon-like metal.

Interesting apartments and interesting art project.

The Last Scattering Surface

I think this art piece that glows in the lobby of the Phoenix Art Museum is my favorite piece in the whole museum.  And it looks so pretty lit up at night when the museum is closed.

The piece is called "The Last Scattering Surface" and it's part of a series that the artist, Josiah McElheny calls the Big Bang Series.  The artist says that this piece attempts to explain the creation of the universe.

In the artist's description he explains that the term "last scattering surface" is a scientific term used to describe when the universe transformed from opaque to transparent or in other words, "when light particles that filled the early cosmos separated from normal matter and began to travel freely through space."

It's made from glass, metal and electrical lights.

I never fail to stop for another photo.  I'm simply drawn to it every time I visit the museum.

Glittering Lights

I've been drawn to the lights, sparkling lights!

Tomorrow I'll show you where all these glittering lights come from. 

The Painted Desert

I found this mural full of fun characters on a wall in the Grand Avenue arts district on the west side of town.  It's called painted desert by Rebecca Green.  It looks like these cute little critters like to play around with mother nature's color palette as much as I do!  I love the colorful prickly pear cactus in the lower right corner.

Theme Day: Sensual

As most of you know, the first day of the month is always "Theme Day" for City Daily Photo bloggers and the October theme is "sensual".  Well now that is certainly a theme that could go in so many unusual directions.  I chose to take the "epicurean" direction for my post.  After all what could be more sensual than a glass of fine champagne and a little candle light.  I actually took this photo on my  birthday last month.  After my friends treated me to a fantastic dinner, we went to that hidden bar I posted about last summer for some champagne.  I have really great friends.

Also on the sensual side in my book is fine chocolate and a lovely box of Zak's Chocolates is just the perfect thing to fill that bill.  I posted about Zak's back when I discovered them and it has become my all time favorite fine chocolate.  The chocolate is always smooth and silky and....well, sensual now that I think about it.

To see more "sensual" posts from other cities, click here.

I have a new post on Sharon's Sojourns today.  I have a little something different, a story with a little history, a little humor and a ghost!  Check it out.

The Not So New - New Windsor Hotel

The New Windsor Hotel began it's life in downtown Phoenix as the 6th Avenue Hotel back in 1893 right after the territorial capital was moved to Phoenix.  It started it's life as a two-story brick building.  In 1925 the name changed to the Windsor Hotel and during the 1930's it underwent a big remodeling project where a third floor was added and the new 'modern' stucco finish was added.  It is the only 19th century hotel in Phoenix that is still in use today however it's not used as a public hotel any longer.  Today it serves as housing for the low-income elderly.

Big Round Tree

This big and very round tree caught my eye recently so I decided to stop to get a photo. I'm sure the owners must have it trimmed to keep that lovely round shape.

This view shows the house it belongs to  This is in one of our historic neighborhoods, so this house was probably built some time in the 1940's.

The Jokake Inn

Sitting just inside the grounds of the Phoenician, one of our premier resorts on the border between Phoenix and Scottsdale, is The Jokake Inn welcoming guests with its decidedly southwestern appearance.

Back in the very early 1900's, 40 acres of property at the base of Camelback Mountain was owned by the artist Jessie Benton Evans.  She gave 12 acres of the property to her son and daughter-in-law and they built this very unique adobe house.  It was expanded over the following years to accommodate guests.

A young Hopi Indian boy gave the home its name "Jokake" which translates to "mud house".

Today the building is used every now and then by The Phoenician to host small gatherings or parties.  Other than that, it stands there proudly just inside the entrance drive.

The Muse

There are some brand new apartments that have just opened right across the street from the Phoenix Art Museum.  They are called "Muse".  A few years ago I served on the Encanto Village Planning board for my old neighborhood and I remember when this apartment plan came before the board.  It was supposed to have a work/living feature with businesses on the ground floor and apartments above.  I'm going to have to take a closer look at this place to see if it turned out that way.

Communing with Nature

I did make it outdoors on Sunday to take advantage of the gorgeous weather and to do a little communing with nature.  I took a long walk at the Desert Botanical Garden where I found this lovely white datura bloom.  It's looking pretty good with those splotches of red flowers behind it.

The honey bees were busy as usual.

And the bright sun shining on this palm leaf was making it hard to resist.  I was hoping we were headed into fall weather but, the reports say it's heating up again later this week.

Three Birds

Back in 2012, I posted about a brand new mural that had been painted near downtown Phoenix in an area that has become a vibrant arts district. It was of three birds and I loved that mural.  You can see that post here.

In 2015, the building where the mural was painted was demolished to make way for another apartment complex and it almost broke my heart when I heard that wonderful mural was gone.

The original 2012 mural was the artist Lauren Lee's very first mural and the fact that it was demolished raised a lot of publicity and angst in the arts community.

Well, fast forward a few years and those apartments are now done and I was pleased to see that Lauren Lee was commissioned to reproduce the birds in a new format.  The new piece is called Three Birds in Flight and it was done in three panels that are now fixed to the wall of the apartment complex that replaced the original building.

These are wonderful and I'm pleased that they are back where they belong but, I still like those original Three Birds the best.

The artist loved them so much that she had them tattooed on her upper arm!  

Sunday Outing

It's a beautiful Sunday here in sunny Arizona and the temperatures have finally fallen to sane levels.  In fact, it's predicted to reach only 87 degrees today and will start out in the low 70's.

It's time for me to spread my wings and get out to experience some nature.

You can bet I'll be taking a long walk today! 

I have a new post on Sharon's Sojourns today.  It's another Sunday outing but much further away.

In the Market for Some Western Wear?

Here are a couple of businesses in Old Town Scottsdale that have been around for a very long time.  They both specialize in Western wear.  This location for Porter's was once the very first post office in Scottsdale.  It's said that people would gather here and wait for the mail to arrive.  That was back in 1929.

Now Porter's is known as the "Boot Corral".  They sell lots of shoes but have a huge selection of boots.

Just down the street from Porter's is Saba's Western Wear.  It's been in business for 90 years.  They opened their first store in 1927, back when many of their customers rode up on horseback.  When I first moved to Arizona, there were several occasions that required one to wear western style clothes so I went to Saba's to find the right things.  That was a very long time ago and although I haven't seen many people dressed up in western clothes these days, they still seem to be going strong.

Doors and Entrances

I'm always on the lookout for interesting doors and entrances and if I cruise around the hills of Paradise Valley, I'm bound to find some.  This one is rather elegant looking with the stairs and the planters.

This one is very rustic and that light fixture overhead is the perfect addition.  It has a very "old-west" look to it.

This one is decidedly southwestern in style and those cactus and the two large vases frame the double doors very nicely.

On the Fence

Remember last month when I posted about the man in white standing in front of an apartment complex?  And, then there was the time back in May when I posted about the lady holding the urinal who also sat in front of an apartment complex.  Remember that one?

Well, here is another one that I found not too far from the man in white and also sitting in front of an apartment complex in Tempe.


One of my faithful readers, found the name of the artist and as luck would have it, a couple of weeks ago there was an article in the newspaper about that very same artist.  His name is Bill Tonnesen and he's not only an artist but he is also the owner of the apartment complexes where his interesting works resides.

I visited his web site and discovered a few more of his pieces that reside around town.  One of those pieces I posted a photo of way back in 2008.  It's a piece located at a business so it doesn't get seen by many people.

It you check his website, you will see photos of how he creates these figurative sculptures.  Besides the art, he also owns both business and residential properties and he's a landscape architect.

I will seek out and show you some of those other pieces in the future.