The Midtown Messenger

Transcription

THE
Midtown
Messenger
NEWS FOR PHOENIX’S HISTORIC NEIGHBORHOODS
JAN. 20, 2003
Myla: Model, actress,
wannabes’ muse
PAGE 14
Shedding some
light on ‘historic’
street fixtures
Neighborhoods’ desires for ‘faux’
period lighting yield new city policy
■ BY DAVID TELL, MESSENGER EDITOR
A
s the Season of Lights fades, activity among
and concerning the city’s historic districts
may nonetheless lead to some brightening
along their streets. Many historic districts
have for some time been looking into getting street
lights to replace what may once have been there, to
enhance the streetscape and to provide additional
nighttime security. In the process, the question has
arisen: What type of lighting is appropriate for historic neighborhoods?
Additional questions revolve around what’s feasible, for the city and for Arizona Public Service
(APS), which supports the maintenance of city
lighting.
MESSENGER PHOTO/DAVID TELL
This view looking east on Palm Lane shows street lighting authentic to the Encanto-Palmcroft Historic District. A recent Heritage Fund grant is going toward installing replica fixtures heading the other direction, where they are absent. But these lights
are not appropriate for most of the city’s historic neighborhoods—even they they may think they want them.
Till now, the choices have been scant or nonexistent. There is the so-called “cobra” lamp, which
is the modern-style fixture, mounted on a standard
or utility pole, whose shape slightly resembles a
cobra’s hood and which casts a downward beam.
Then there is the “acorn” light, named for the shape
of its globe, which is mounted atop a concrete or
metal post.
When historic neighborhoods begin thinking of
enhancing their lighting, the acorn light is often
what they at first think they want. However, that’s a
continued on page 6 3
My Florist: Mixed drinks triumph over mixed feelings
T
he application for a
Series 12 liquor license
for My Florist Café—
unanimously approved
by City Council at its Jan.
8 meeting—did not spark
the unified opposition
garnered by other recent license applications in Midtown along McDowell
Road. On the contrary, it drew a divid-
ed response, with some neighborhoods—as well as individual neighborhood board members—in favor and
some officially opposed. Those in favor
included Kendra and Brent Vermeer
and Roberta Hancock, all of whom
were once among the most outspoken
opponents of licenses for package alcohol sales for the Gas-N-Go convenience store and the new Osco Drug,
which lie within a few blocks of one
another east of Central on McDowell.
My Florist’s application was for a
Series 12 license, which is the type
required for a restaurant that wants to
be able to serve mixed drinks. The café
currently has a Series 7 license, for
service and package sales of beer and
wine. My Florist and Willo Bread Co.
owner David Lacy has been emphatic
in saying that he does not want the
license in order to operate a bar, but
just to be able to accommodate some
patrons’ desire for mixed drinks in con-
junction with meals.
Nonetheless, that notion was
enough to draw the opposition of Willo
neighborhood residents—particularly
those living along Almeria Road, which
abuts My Florist to the north—as well
as the Willo board, which voted on Jan.
2 to formally oppose the application.
“It was a slam-dunk” decision, said
board member Bob Cannon, based on
the appearance before the board of half
5 Preservation: New ‘prewar’ district • 19 Development: Saving Evans-Churchill? • 27 Editorial: We now opine
NEIGHBORHOODS
LETTERS
DEFENDS CHALLENGE TO
ROUSSEAU DEVELOPMENT
517 W. ENCANTO. COURTESY OF HOMEOWNER PHIL FLEMMING/PHOTO BY ENA LYNNE WILSON
Willo set for Home Tour
Sunday, February 9, right before Valentine’s Day, right in the heart of the city: It begins at 10 a.m.
Tickets are $10, or $9 with a can of food, and can be purchased Sunday, 10 a.m.–3:15 p.m., in
the park at 3rd Avenue and Holly Street. Homes will be open from 10 to 4. Parking is available for
no charge in the parking garage at 1st Avenue and Holly Street. Pre-sale tickets are available in
three locations this year: My Florist Cafe/Willo Bread,534 W. McDowell; Willo Pharmacy, 49 W.
Thomas; and Melrose Vintage, 4238 N. 7th Ave. Presale tickets can also be purchased by printing our online ticket (visit www.willohistoricdistrict.com) and mailing to the Willo Home Tour. Participating businesses will offer presale tickets during their regular business hours at a cost of $9.
The presale tickets can be exchanged for actual home tour tickets as early as 9:30 a.m. at the
small park at Holly Street and 3rd Avenue. Cans of food turned in at the park when picking up your
home tour ticket will also entitle presale ticket holders to an additional dollar off their ticket on
the day of the tour. Surrounding the ticket sales area will be a festive fun art and crafts fair with
vendors ranging from chair massages to local artisans and of course plenty of delicious food. Complimentary Ollie the Trollies will be circulating through the neighborhood from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
For more information about the upcoming Willo Home Tour call 602-579-6948.
In response to Walter Hall’s December letter indicating “duplexes are an
asset”: He clearly is confused on a few
points 1) “Duplexes”—how does he
define that? Rousseau’s development
are not defined as duplexes; 2) “Roosevelt neighborhood to arbitrarily
decide”—there were no arbitrary decisions made. They were all made based
on zoning regulations and the right to
challenge variance requests, which the
association has done; and 3) “put-upon
defenders of hysterical preservation”—
Mr. Hall’s insinuation is very offensive.
The primary criteria for residents supporting developments in our Historic
District have always been based on
zoning requirements, historic value
considerations and the general quality
of the proposed development. Mr.
Rousseau’s development challenges all
three of these primary considerations.
I implore Mr. Hall to take a tour of
the site or sit on the porch across the
street, noting the setbacks, height of
block fence, lack of insulation of the
structure (required by city funding concessions he received), parking and
access plan, tin roofs, and the multicolored painted block and steel structures, to name a few things. It is easy
to look from afar and speak of the question of “actual harm.” When it is in your
historic district, it is easily observable.
The jury is still out and the blocks
may still come tumbling down—stay
tuned, Mr. Hall.
Terri Palmberg
65 W. Willetta St.
CITY OFFERS NEW WISH LIST
FOR 46TH LEGISLATURE
Monday, Jan. 13 was the first day of
the 1st regular session of the 46th Legislature.
Hopefully by now you have identified the three legislators that represent
you at the state Legislature.
If not, please go to http://www
.vote-smart.org/index.phtml and look
them up.
qMIDTOWN
BUSINESS
Gov. Napolitano gave her State of
the State speech. To read it online, go
to http://www.governor.state.az.us
/speeches.htm
The following are some key neighborhood legislative issues for this session:
Oppose attempts to cut state shared
revenues. These important dollars pay
for basic city services like parks, police,
fire and libraries.
• Support legislation to deter cruising
on streets.
• Support legislation to prohibit
liquor stores from locating near
child care facilities.
• Support legislation to prohibit the
sale of masterkeys to cars—to help
stop auto thefts.
• Support legislation to expand neighborhood victim’s rights to include
graffiti and gang-related crimes.
• Support legislation to prohibit sex
offenders from living in the same
residential structure.
• Support legislation to increase the
penalty for those found trespassing
on critical public facilities such as
our water or power plants.
• Oppose (SB 1012) attempts to take
away local government authority to
regulate billboards in communities
across AZ.
Bill sponsors and bill numbers will
be identified as these bills are introduced.
Bridget Schwartz-Manock,
City of Phoenix Legislative Liaison
To subscribe to the city’s electronic news
and information services, visit
http://phoenix.gov/subscribe.html
The Midtown Messenger welcomes
your comments. Responses may be edited for length and clarity.
qMail:
The Midtown Messenger
P.O. Box 36241
Phoenix, AZ 85067
qFax: 602-257-4430
qE-mail:
editor@midtownmessenger .com
TIDBITS
“I heard a rumor that Councilman Johnson sent you an e-mail expressing his condolences
now that I’m in your district.”—Willo resident and activist Kendra Vermeer, to District 7
Councilman Doug Lingner (who newly represents several of the city’s historic districts),
during her testimony in support of My Florist Cafe’s Series 12 liquor license.
“It’s not just tongue-in-cheek to say that it would be a rainy day in Phoenix when Paul
Barnes and I would agree on something.” —Ed Bull, zoning attorney representing Bashas’,
in testimony before the city Planning Commission on the seasonal sales (pepper roasting)
section of proposed commercial standards text amendments to the city’s zoning ordinance. On Jan. 8, the day of the meeting, the Valley received more rainfall than in all of
last January. Barnes heads the Neighborhood Coalition of Greater Phoenix.
2
THE MIDTOWN MESSENGER JANUARY 20, 2003
Council OKs ‘restaurant’ liquor license for My Florist Cafe
Hears support, concerns—but little is voiced on which to base a disapproval that would hold up at state Liquor Board
3continued from Page One
a dozen residents vocally opposed to
the license. “The residents who spoke
were all very opposed to this. We have
to stick together,” Cannon said.
According to fellow board member
Kendra Vermeer, however, there were
about 12 letters submitted to the board
in support of the license. Apparently,
Vermeer said, the failure of the letters’
authors to attend the meeting led the
board to discount them. Vermeer
abstained from the Jan. 2 vote.
The Willo board also voted, with
apparent reluctance, to withhold support for the license at its November
meeting, in a motion that requested
News for Phoenix’s
Historic Neighborhoods
P.O. Box 36241
Phoenix, AZ 85067
602-462-5675
Editor and Publisher
David Tell
Mobile: 602-692-4345
Contributing Writers
Helen Prier
Donna Reiner
Richard Schultz
Advertising Sales Consultant
JoAnn Johnson
Direct: 602-253-1601
Advertising Sales Office
602-462-5675
Design Consultant
Marc Oxborrow
The Midtown Messenger is published
monthly by Quicksilver Publishing Group.
Vol. 3, No. 1. All contents ©2003 Quicksilver Publishing Group. All rights
reserved. No material may be reproduced
in any form except by express written consent. The Midtown Messenger will print
its second issue for 2003 on Feb. 17.
Advertising closing date is the prior Tuesday, 5 p.m., with materials due by noon,
Wednesday, Feb. 12. Send digital ad files
to: [email protected]
All other submissions have a deadline of
February 10, and may be sent to:
[email protected] (preferred)
257-4430 (fax) or P.O. Box 36241,
Phoenix, AZ 85067
that Lacy withdraw the application or
Residents also expressed concern,
longer successfully be contested.
postpone its Council hearing until he
not about the operation of a Series 12
Mayor Skip Rimzsa said the Series
could make his case to the neighborlicensed establishment by Lacy, but
12 license would give the community
hood. Many board members expressed
about what could happen under a posmore control over alcohol sales at the
support and appreciation for Lacy’s
sible future owner who might not be
establishment in the event of a transinvestment in the community and for
as committed to a quality restaurant.
fer of ownership, but that seemed to
the quality of his operation, and
In response to this concern, city
overlook the fact that Lacy intends to
seemed loath to stand in the way of his
License Services Supervisor Becky
keep the Series 7 license either way,
plans for his business. However,
Hicks explained to Council that, while
since he still wants to be able to sell
according to Vermeer, the board did
a Series 7 license is transferable to a
package beer and wine as part of the
issue a letter of opposition to the applinew owner merely
delicatessen side of
qIN OUR OPINION
cation when Lacy, notified of the resoupon a background
his operation.
lution, did not withdraw his applicaWith this first edition of the new year,
check, a Series 12
The question of
we begin editorializing on issues facing
tion.
license is not, and
the appropriateMidtown and Central Phoenix. Please
In the meantime, however, he met
requires a new
ness of the location
with concerned residents in his restausequence of hearings see our editorial on the My Florist
was an issue for the
rant on Friday, Jan. 3, following the
including at the state liquor license on p. 27. These unsigned opponents, but not
Willo board’s second vote. He also
Liquor Board. At the editorials will present the publication’s
based on any histoviews on what may be the best policies
withdrew the portion of the applicameeting with Lacy,
ry of calls to police
tion for alcohol service in the space
however, Brent Ver- for the community, in line with our
for alcohol-related
over the bakery, which he had planned
meer said that a in a mission to serve the interests of historic problems, the incipreservation and neighborhood quality
to rent out for special events. Lacy has
change of ownerdence of crime or a
been living in the space, but reportedly
ship, the new owner of life. Our opinions are our own, but
saturation of simithey are arrived at through careful
wanted to convert it to the commercial
can operate under
lar establishments
reflection following discussion with
use as his lease to use New Urban Art
the license during a
nearby, which are
gallery across the street for catered
leaders and residents of Midtown.
105-day interim
the most relevant
events is set to expire. Concerns were
period within which
issues for a proraised over the likelihood that catered
they must re-apply
posed location.
events in the former loft would confor it. Vermeer explained that objecMichelle Howard, Ann Crowley, and
tribute to parking problems and espetions can then only be made based on
Ann James—all residents of Almeria
cially to noise that would likely carry
the qualifications of the applicant to
present both at Lacy’s meeting and at
across the alley dividing the establishhold the license. The appropriateness
Council—mentioned only the Emerald
ment from homes on Almeria.
of the license for the location, as
Lounge nearby in saying they felt the
Several residents of Almeria who
opposed to for the owner, can no
attended the meeting at the restaurant
expressed concern
about additional
traffic that might
follow acquisition of
the Series 12 license,
as well as additional
hazard by drivers
who might be
impaired.
Phoenix police
Lt. Brent Vermeer,
who has testified
against other recent
liquor license applications as a member
of the department’s
liquor license task
force, said he was
not aware of any situations in which a
transition to a Series
12 license by a current license holder
has resulted in a
worsening hazard or
greater disorderliDavid Lacy, at far right, meets with local residents at his restaurant to air his plans and hear their concerns about the
ness in a neighborSeries 12 liquor license he applied for. Also present were Willo residents Bob Cannon and Kendra and Brent Vermeer.
hood.
JANUARY 20, 2003 THE MIDTOWN MESSENGER
3
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The store offers pool tables, slot
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rec room. The address is 1201 E.
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The center offers affordable, non-surgical treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome, as well as other maladjustments and disorders. Call (602) 2574520 for more information.
Longtime contractor goes historic
Who’s on Seventh?
City Council members Doug Lingner and Phil Gordon are a mutual admiration society at a Jan. 9
ceremony kicking off the city’s new Commercial Revitalization Pilot Program. The pair have
both chaired the Council’s Economy and Commercial Revitalization subcommittee, which directed and coordinated city departments involved in the program. As reported in the November Midtown Messenger, the Seventh Avenue Merchants Association and the Capitol Mall Association
were named as the first two participants in the program. The Local Initiatives Support Corp.,
Arizona Multibank, State Farm Insurance and other organizations are chipping in with funding,
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They said they felt Lacy’s aims fit in
well with their vision for the area, in
which various types of quality commercial uses would enhance the arts district as well as nearby residential and
continued from page 3
historic districts. Vermeer spoke in
area already has enough “bars.”
support of the license in her role as a
Lacy seemed dogged in his quest for
member of the group “Historic
the license, but told Council his
McDowell Now,” comprised of business
request was based on the simple desire
owners and others seeking to upgrade
to respond to customers’ requests. He
the businesses and streetscape from
downplayed Howard’s point that he
Central to past 7th Avenue.
had earlier
Proponents
told neighsaid that if
borhood resithis license
dents that he
were defeatwas pushing
ed, it would
for the license
send a mesin part so that
sage to busiother businesses considnesses might
ering siting in
not be
the area that
they could
deterred from —Bob Cannon, Willo board member
expect neighalso situating
borhood
in the area
opposition
to
their
plans
no matter
and making it a potential alternative
how
good
their
performance.
Said
evening destination to downtown
Scottsdale, for instance.
one resident of the adjacent RooDespite Lacy’s soft-pedaling that
sevelt neighborhood, “If David Lacy
notion, others, including Vermeer—
can’t get a restaurant liquor license,
who like the opponents, lives on Almewho ever could?” The resident said,
ria—F.Q. Story resident Hancock, and
however, that there was no valid parallel to the controversy over a liquor
Phoenix Community Alliance vice preslicense for the nearby Osco, whose
ident Jo Marie McDonald, picked up
defeat reportedly led Central City
on it in voicing their support for the
Village Planning Committee member
license at the City Council hearing.
“ It was a good exercise in
democracy, with everybody
outside shaking hands
afterward.”
Ben Bethel to say it would dampen
downtown development.
District 7 Councilman Doug Lingner,
in his first major test dealing with a
divisive issue confronted by constituents
in the newly added part of his district,
was conciliatory toward the license’s
opponents, but pointed out that, considering state regulatory criteria, Council
had little to base a rejection on and that
the application would almost certainly
succeed at the state board.
“I was very proud of the way the residents of Almeria bonded together and
had their facts to have a dialogue about
it,” said Cannon following the hearing.
“But it was difficult for City Council as
[Lacy] had no violations. It was a good
exercise in democracy, with everybody
outside shaking hands afterward. We
look forward to working with him and
being a good neighbor.”
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odd Barrick and his wife and business partner Sue moved from the
East Valley to
Fairview Place in
1998, fixing up a
house there and in Tombstone. The challenges and
rewards of restoration—
mixed with a little guilt over
participating in incongruous,
big-footprint infill projects in
historic areas of Phoenix,
admits Todd Barrick—led
them to form Vintage Renovation and Construction, LLC
last summer.
“Our homes that we
restored helped to give us the
direction that we are now
traveling—that is, to help others with preservation of their
historic properties, as well as
those that should and will be
designated as ‘historic’ in the
future before they fall prey to
the ‘out-of-town big developers’ or are allowed to be
altered from their original
design, as so many already
have, only to destroy their
ambiance,” Barrick said. He
PHOTOS COURTESY OF VINTAGE RENOVATION AND CONSTRUCTION
can be reached at (602) 3400407 or via e-mail at
Todd and Sue Barrick’s historic 1929 Fairview Place
home before and after its careful restoration.
[email protected].
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PRESERVATION
PRESERVATION
Fie! on faux fluorescence, say HP functionaries
Faux fixtures?
Conferees fiddle-faddle, will reconsider forwarding framework on fixtures in February
3continued from Page One
problem, according to both city and
state historic preservation (HP) officials.
At present, according to city Lead
Preservation Planner Kevin Weight,
the only historic districts with extant
original lighting are Encanto-Palmcroft and Ashland Place. “From what I
understand there are actually a couple
of different fixtures in
Encanto and the acorn is
similar to one of them,”
Weight said. “There are
some metal ones there we
want to keep. Our first priority is to keep lights that
are historic, and if they go
away, we want to replicate them.”
Replicating original fixtures is one
thing. But putting a style of historic
light where it never was isn’t kosher,
Weight said.
“Putting in a fake historic street
light is not an appropriate thing to do.
Your don’t put a false sense of history
in, according to the Secretary of the
Interior’s standards” for areas listed on
the National Register of Historic
Places, he said. “If you’re not going to
replicate what was there, or the neighborhood never had street lights originally, [you should] put in something
that is more obviously new, but still
compatible with the neighborhood—something of pedestrian
scale, that fits in with the neighborhood in other ways.”
The HP Office presented a
draft report and recommendations on lighting issues to the
HP Commission at its Jan. 13
meeting. The commission continued
the matter to its February meeting.
The timing of the report couldn’t be
better for some historic districts on the
verge of installing street lighting—or
worse, depending on their degree of
attachment to a particular style of
light.
In Windsor Square, for example,
neighborhood research has turned up
evidence of original lighting once present in the neighborhood, and residents
are hoping to find out if it can still be
supplied or replicated.
“We had had stories of street lights
having been here and been taken out,
but we had very little information,”
said Robert Hagerty, a Windsor Square
resident. “We started a group to collect
that information. As part of our historic designation we had collected a lot
of information going back to the late
’20s, early ’30s. We also put out a flier
to the neighborhood asking if in anybody’s memory there was something
about this.”
Hagerty said the effort produced an
old photo that offered some evidence.
According to Windsor Square resident Bernie Gellner, neighbor Ida
Lufty produced a photo “showing her
standing her in front of her house,
photographer with his back to the
house; you can see the lighting standards. The lights were put in place by
the developer, on Medlock,” Gellner
said. “Streetlights were there, but not
houses—it was the Depression era and
larger revival houses were to be built,
but only a few of them got built.”
“Ida had given us a picture essentially from the corner of 2nd Street
and Medlock, dating to 1929-1930,”
Hagerty said. “She was one of the six
original residents of the neighborhood—Ida and her sisters. She was one
of the owners of Millie’s Antiques [formerly on Central].”
Upon enlargement, the photo shows
a series of street lights down Medlock
to 6th Street, with Camelback Mountain in the background.
Hagerty said the main motivation
for Windsor Square’s effort is esthetic.
ABOVE, OPPOSITE, COURTESY OF IDA LUFTY. LEFT,
FROM LUMEC CATALOG. THANKS TO JOHN SIEFERT
Above, a row of street fixtures recedes from
left to center along the planned alignment of
Medlock Street, with Camelback Mountain in
the background. Opposite, an enlargement of
the foremost fixture. At left, the luminaire
portion of the Lumec model of light being
recommended by the city for historic districts
that had no “period” street lighting.
“We do have street lights, it’s a hodgepodge of metal posts, the cobra light—
some are metal attached to wood telephone poles, all the wiring is overhead.
It’s amazing what you can overlook as
you get used to it; it’s not very attractive,” he said.
“When they originally created
Windsor Square, they were trying to
create a unique environment that is
very upscale. Then that [development]
company went bankrupt,” Hagerty
said. “So we’ve got an interesting mix,
with ranches appearing in the startup
again in the ’40s.”
Hagerty said Windsor Square was
the city’s first true suburb, defined by
him as being beyond the original trolley lines.
“The original light standards started
being removed in the ’50s and ’60s,” he
said. “Our hope is, now that we’ve documented it, we’re looking for the funding to put them back in where they
originally were.
“We’ve still got a lot of work left to
do, but first we wanted to prove that
but not exactly.
“In Ashland, when a few were damaged and they were looking for a
continued from previous page
replacement, I said Union Metal would
we’re deserving, as having had lighting
be OK, but they found and preferred
historically,” he said.
the Amron, and we approved that,” he
Hagerty and Gellner said the neighsaid. “That has proliferated and has
borhood identified the manufacturer of
been used all over the place. But we
the lighting as the Marbelite Co., but
were not happy with the idea of those
said an existing company by that name
poles popping up in historic districts
no longer manufactures residential
where they had never been.”
street lighting.
“[That acorn style] existed only in
Bill Jacobson, who Weight said is
three neighborhoods historically,”
the HP Office’s resident expert on hisJacobson said. “Historically, what we
toric lighting, said he’s
had in many neighboraware of the company.
hoods are telephone
“It would be interestpoles with masts on
ing if they have informathem. Many neighbortion; they haven’t brought
hoods had none till
any to us,” Jacobson said.
World War II.”
“The concrete cast pole in
What’s driven the issue
Encanto and Ashland
to the point of prompting
were made by the Marberecommended guidelines
lite Co., you’ll see [the
and styles, Jacobson said,
name] cast into the base.
is the recent receipt by
Back in about 1930 the
the F.Q. Story Historic
Union Metal Co. bought
District of a federal grant
out and took over Marbefor lighting and other
lite and continued to
improvements.
make those designs till
“Since it’s a federal
modern times.”
grant, through ADOT
Jacobson said histori[Arizona Department of
cal lighting brochures he’s
Transportation]—a T-21
collected got misplaced in
grant—they have to go
the HP Office’s recent
through a NEPA
move, but that he thinks
[National Environmental
Union Metal bought MarProtection Act] Section
belite in 1930. He said
106 review, which
that complicated the com- qAT ISSUE
includes a historic preserpany’s ability to document To read the Historic Preser- vation review,” he said.
vation Office’s report and
what it had sold where,
“The issue there is, by
draft recommendation on
but that for the period
wanting to put in the
lighting in and for historic
prior to 1930 “they could
Amron-style ‘faux-hisneighborhoods, visit
give me a list of the fixtoric’ fixtures, they would
www.midtownmessenger
tures—about a dozen—
be creating a false sense
.com in February.
they sold to Phoenix,”
of what was there historiJacobson said.
cally. The SHPO’s [state
“I’m suspecting [Windsor Square is]
Historic Preservation Office] position
looking at the same pole that is in the
was that they should put in some modAshland District,” he said. “The ones
ern design—esthetically pleasing and
the city uses to replace them are made
compatible, but not confused with a
by Amron Co.; they’re almost the same,
historic fixture. They had not officially
said there.
Now, “We are proposing a general
policy on street lights,” Jacobson said.
“We have a draft report and policy that
we’re putting on the next commission
agenda. We see things in neighborhood
newsletters about neighborhoods being
interested in faux historic light fixtures.”
So, what light can be shed on that
proposed policy?
“There’s going to be a recommendation for a more modern fixture, so as
not to confuse the issue,” Jacobson
said. That recommendation, the outcome of research and meetings among
the HP Office, the Streets Department,
and APS, centers on a fixture made by
a company called Lumec.
“It’s a major company that makes
dozens of different types of light fixtures for different applications,” Jacobson said. The recommended model is
part of the company’s “Transit Series,”
with a particular base and light and
different options for the globe, he said.
“It’s acceptable to APS, in terms of light-
been consulted, but we knew their
position.”
Jacobson elaborated: “The T-21
grants are transportation enhancement
funds, for lighting, pathways, pedestrian bridges. They put in a grant to do
what was termed traffic calming
devices, with the idea that it would
involve decorative or delineated crosswalks, with decorative lighting at intersections, ramps—cues to motorists.
They succeeded in getting a grant for
that. You have to do a design concept
and then ADOT consults SHPO.
ADOT’s environmental review ranges
from invasive plants, archaeology, etc.;
HP is just one of those issues.
“The city knew what SHPO’s position would be. We advised [the Story
neighborhood] that SHPO was not
likely to sign off on that cast pole
because it would be likely that it would
confuse the historic with non-historic,”
Jacobson said. A member of the SHPO
spoke about lighting in historic neighborhoods at a meeting of the Phoenix
Historic Districts Coalition last spring.
Jacobson’s comments echoed what was
continued on following page 3
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PRESERVATION
PRESERVATION
Fauxgeddaboudit
3continued from previous page
ing technology. That was a big concern. It
has to meet the photometric requirements, the optics, the light coverage—
and be compliant with the city night sky
ordinance. This meets all those requirements,” Jacobson said.
So how’s it likely to go down in the
’hoods?
Sheri Sabo, DVM
Austin Stitzer, DVM
“John Siefert and I attended a meeting
with the Story neighborhood and their
board voted to accept it,” Jacobson said.
“It wasn’t their initial choice. But they did
vote to accept this.”
Back in Windsor Square, “I knew they
were evaluating alternatives,” said Hagerty. But the neighborhood may be able to
document the original presence of an
“acorn” variant.
Likewise, in Encanto-Palmcroft,
where that style is extant and a state Her-
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8
“CARING FOR YOUR PET
AS IF IT WERE OUR OWN”
itage Fund matching grant was recently
received in the amount of $39,000.
The money, which is based on a 6040 match, will pay for nine fixtures on
West Palm Lane from 11th Avenue to
15th Avenue, according to both Jacobson and Encanto-Palmcroft Historic
Preservation Association president
Diane Bishop. She said the lights will
complete what was intended to be there
but for the disruption of World War II.
Meanwhile, across 7th Avenue in
Willo, the neighborhood intends to
resume work on getting lighting after
many months of distraction by the
First Avenue alignment and street closures issue.
“Once a new board gets elected in
mid March, I intend to pursue a
renewed emphasis with a new subcommittee chairperson who will devote
themselves passionately to that vision,”
said Bob Cannon, a Willo board member. “Our streets are too dark. The
challenge is finding away to pay for it.”
On being advised that the acornstyle light may not be historically
appropriate for Willo, Cannon said
that’s what they were considering seeking, but that they’re open to alternatives. “Whether it’s acorn, diamond or
shamrock, funding is the issue,” Cannon said. “We don’t need to recreate
the wheel—we’re very willing to learn
from what other historic districts are
doing,” he said.
Schism figures see the light
ecent reports uncovered a
schism in the Encanto-Palmcroft neighborhood, with longtime neighborhood leader G.G.
George popping back up heading an
organization claiming to be the legitimate representative of the historic district. Her organization, the Encanto Citizens Association, was founded at least
20 years ago and did represent the
neighborhood until its incorporation
lapsed, according to Diane Bishop, the
president of the successor organization.
Bishop said her group, the EncantoPalmcroft Historic Preservation Association, was incorporated in April 2001 and
inherited the trademark rights and bank
accounts of George’s defunct group.
When George put her group out as
the legitimate one later last year, the
successor organization reportedly threatened to sue to fully assert its rights.
That has apparently proved unnecessary. “She has assigned the trademark to
this association in papers filed Dec.
31,” Bishop said. “It was all settled very
amicably. Everybody has the best interests of the neighborhood at heart. G.G.
R
has made valuable contributions to the
neighborhood over the years, so we’re
glad to get that resolved.”
Additional reports had it that the
recent street lighting grant award settled
the question of who the city regarded as
the legitimate group, by its choosing
between competing applications. Bishop
said that’s not accurate.
“It was one application for the entire
neighborhood, and G.G. did the historic
documentation,” she explained. “City
Council had to approve the acceptance
of the grant, and it was agendaed with
the wrong name. It was a clerical error.”
George concurred, saying she
explained that to the Arizona Republic
reporter and to her editor, but that the
paper decided to stand by the story as
published.
Bishop said George, herself, Martin
Vogel and former president Jay Murphy
wrote the lighting grant, but gave the
bulk of credit for it to Clyde Granderson.
“He is the person who actually headed
up the entire effort, and interfaced with
the city of Phoenix and preservation people,” she said.
Phoenix College neighborhood gets HP nod
Boundaries being more inclusive means the listing does not invoke any groundbreaking post-WWII theory of its context
T
he neighborhoods surrounding Phoenix College went up again for a
public hearing and
received a recommendation for historic designation, including areas
questions about whose historic eligibility led to the move being put off at the
last such hearing, before the city’s Historic Preservation Commission, on
Dec. 9. According to Debbie Abele,
the city’s onetime historic preservation
officer and the consultant who documented the neighborhood’s historic
bid, the inclusion of homes north of
Flower Street in the proposed district
means that the designation no longer
represents a groundbreaking claim for
historic significance as a post World
War II development. Instead, she said,
the area—dubbed “Campus Vista”—fits
perhaps more inclusively and naturally
into the same type of prewar context as
other nearby neighborhoods, including
the recently designated North Encanto
historic district across 15th Avenue.
“There is no difference of opinion”
between herself and city HP staff and
others about the historic merits of the
questioned area, Abele said. She elaborated on the notion of historic significance being a matter of context, as well
as noting the differences in historic
listing in the city vs. on the National
Register of Historic Places. “The [consulting] contract that the city put out
was to to prepare a National Register
nomination and a Phoenix Historic
Property Register nomination. While
very similar in the criteria and process,
there are some notable differences in
how one determines boundaries and
how you justify significance,” Abele
said. “And we were on a tight timeframe and were doing tasks simultaneously.”
That haste may have meant there
was less opportunity to coordinate and
align efforts and correct course if nec-
essary. Driving the timeframe was the
same thing that caused this year’s flurry of designation activity: District 4
Councilman Phil Gordon’s charge to
the HP Office to name another 12 residential historic districts in the 2002
calendar year.
As to choice of context, Abele said,
“You don’t decide what’s important in
isolation, it’s importance in terms of
certain types of trends. In the buildout
of this neighborhood, it was thought
that this would be a good example of
postwar subdivision development and
Phoenix postwar growth—the development of the ranch style.
“In fact, even though it was built out
during the postwar period, Campus
Vista was more like prewar patterns of
development,” Abele said. “At first, we
had this theory of what was significant
after the war. But actually, it was a
good example of prewar development
patterns: centrally located, an infill
area.”
Abele doesn’t necessarily back off
from the notion that a smaller area
might represent a historically significant postwar development. However,
“There was a difference of boundaries.
National Register boundaries require a
process where you identify your
themes and draw your boundaries as
tightly as you can,” she said. “You can’t
use non-contiguous areas, vacant land;
you can’t use planning boundaries.”
Essentially, that’s what Phoenix’s
historic district boundaries are: the
lines of historic preservation zoning
overlays that regulate exterior modifications. They must be approved by the
city Planning Commission, then ratified by City Council.
“The Phoenix [HP] ordinance is
very different from the National Register guidelines,” Abele said. She has
good a foundation for familiarity with
those differences—she helped write the
city’s language.
The National Register is honorific;
Phoenix’s is for managing the
continued on following page
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9
PRESERVATION
Lights, juice, action
Second course on kitchens:
wiring and illumination
L
ast month I started a series on
renovation of kitchens in historic
homes. We covered general topics, layout and design. Now that you
have determined what stays and what
goes and any layout changes, your next
step is to tackle electrical and light fixture issues.
Electrical
Most of our historic homes were
built in the ’20s, ’30s and ’40s. During
that period, most of the wiring was
knob-and-tube and generally homes
only had 30 amp or 60 amp service.
This was plenty of power for the times
and for the most part may be OK
now—as long as it is in good condition.
Have an electrician evaluate your electrical system, considering your power
needs now and in the future. With our
penchant for labor-saving gadgets in
the kitchen, several TVs, computers,
A/C units and so on we certainly use
more electricity than homeowners did
in the ’20s and ’30s.
Most homes do not need 200 amp
Square outlet
service unless they have an electric
stove, electric clothes dryer or other
equipment that requires 220/240 outlets. However, the reality is that homebuyers expect to see 200 amp service,
so if you are adding more outlets and
electricity-consuming appliances in the
kitchen and need to upgrade, then go
to 200 amp service and bring
your house up to
code.
Wiring
Some people
talk about
rewiring their
whole house.
This is usually
not necessary as
HELEN PRIER
the original
PRIER COMMITMENT
wiring may well
be in good shape and could last another 70 years. Rewiring a house requires
cutting into walls and I rarely see a
successful patch on an original plaster
wall. The original wiring will not have
grounded outlets, but you can have
your outlets grounded without having
to install all new wiring.
Outlets
When installing additional outlets
in the kitchen, code requires outlets
every 4 feet and GFCI (ground fault
circuit interrupter) outlets near the
GFCI outlet
sink. Here are
some points to
consider when
choosing outlets and their
placement.
Your goal is
that they be as
inconspicuous
as possible and
in keeping
with the vintage feel of your kitchen.
• Install outlets horizontally instead
of vertically. They are less noticeable
this way.
• Purchase GFCI outlets with buttons
that are the same color as the plate
instead of the red and black buttons.
• Use the rounded outlets instead of
the more “modern” square style
• If possible, install extra outlets
under the upper cabinets so they are
completely out of sight.
• Do not install stainless steel or fancy
contemporary outlets.
Light Fixtures for Kitchens
Our desire for more and more lighting in kitchens has led to some unfortunate trends that do not transfer well
to historic homes. In the ‚20s, ‚30s and
‚40s, lighting in kitchens was usually
an overhead light on the ceiling, perhaps a light over the sink and one on
the stove. Now, it seems there has to be
all types of mood lighting, recessed
lighting, task lighting, uplighting,
downlighting, and just plain old “decorative lighting”—etc. PHEW! This all
looks great in a new home but is inappropriate for a historic home. A classic
mistake is over-lighting, which can also
make the room too hot. The goal is to
have moderate, even lighting. The
intensity and “feel” of the lighting can
be easily controlled with dimmer or
multiple switches/circuits.
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Here are
some of the
dos and don’ts.
What to
avoid
• Resist the
temptation to
install recessed
or „canned‰
lighting.
• Fluorescent lighting is a no-no for
historic homes.
• Track lighting is better left to lofts
and contemporary homes.
• There was no under or above cabinet lighting, so avoid that look.
Appropriate fixtures
• Existing light original light fixtures:
If they are frayed, have them
rewired. If they are painted over,
paint stripper can cure that.
• Instead of recessed lighting, install
one or two nice period-style ceiling
fixtures with dimmers so you can
have that flood of light or soft light
and still retain the vintage look.
• Vintage-style pendant lights
• Wall sconces
We are very fortunate to have a
great supply of vintage-style light fixtures come on the market over the past
few years. They are available in your
local hardware store, renovation hardware-type stores or catalogs. Some
antique and lighting stores also specialize in vintage fixtures and can assist
you in choosing the right fixture for the
era of your house.
Next in the series will be plumbing,
sinks, faucets etc.
Helen Prier is a Realtor and F.Q. Story
resident. She offers free seminars on
historic preservation and urban living.
Reach her at (602) 256-7177 or at
[email protected]
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PRESERVATION
Campus Vista
continued from page 9
resources once you identify them,” she
explained. “For the city’s purposes, you
do the academic stuff, the maps, and in
the end you can reconfigure the
boundaries to meet your goal.”
That’s what has happened in the
case of Campus Vista.
“At first I said to the city, these are
the boundaries I can justify to the
National Register. It has to be a smaller, tighter area. That’s what we took
forward and caused everybody to get
so excited,” she said, referring to resident objections to being excluded.
“When we went back, we decided this
isn’t actually postwar—we’ll take a different tack, rewrite the nomination.
The development continues the [prewar] buildout.
“The city gave me the OK to rewrite
the nomination,” Abele said. “I just
shifted gears and did the local nomination, because that’s more important to
the neighborhood.”
Still, the shift may be disappointing
for those who might like the distinction of being the first subdivision recognized as a “historic” postwar development—and for other neighborhoods
looking for that contextual significance
and eventual designation, such as
Westwood Village and Estates (see “It
takes a (Westwood) Village,” October
2001 Midtown Messenger, p. 12).
Abele recently reviewed the earlier
article and said Westwood’s case for
postwar historic significance is interesting, but that it would have to be
able to defend its claims to substantial
distinctiveness.
Unlike the situation of, for example,
1920s bungalows, for which, being
rarer, there’s an easier case to be made,
“in the postwar period, we have thousands that still exist to tell the story of
that era,” Abele said. “When that’s the
case, you have to explain what makes
this one more significant. For Westwood Village, I’m at a disadvantage
without looking at the research—some
of [those quoted in the article] did
some say some things that set it apart.
If they had evidence that it was the
first subdivision with [refrigeration]
air conditioning, that would be something—but if it was just a claim in an
ad, that’s not enough. You have to have
proof—for example, looking at building
permits.
“John Long bought A/C units by the
trainloads; there are pictures of him
with train cars loaded with them,”
Abele said.
Kevin Weight, the HP Office’s lead
planner and recently its interim officer,
sees a possibility of Westwood’s making
its case. “I don’t have real strong criteria to back this up, but I think they
appear to be among the best candidates for postwar when we get to that
point,” Weight said, cautioning, “That’s
my gut talking.”
Quite a crowd of interested residents were in attendance for the HP Commission hearing at which
the Campus Vista district (Phoenix College neighborhood) was recommended for HP overlay zoning.
That included the homes north of Flower Street whose inclusion was in question at the Commission’s
Dec. 9 hearing on the zoning. The HP Office expects eventually to also nominate the college for HP
designation. Below left, the boundaries of the district are denoted by indistinct dotted lines.
Weight said that even though Campus Vista does not itself truly represent
a postwar development, its designation
process should help incidentally drive
the consideration of criteria for postwar significance. He said the fact that
it was largely built out postwar means
it represents the second to last stage
toward fully postwar developments.
“Our first effort is to get the city designation done,” Weight said. “During
the next couple of months, while the
city’s process takes place, we need to
consult SHPO [the State Historic
Preservation Office], the Arizona Historic Sites Review Committee, then the
National Park Service [which main-
tains the National Register under the
Department of the Interior]. I want to
make some contacts and get some
feedback and then make a case for the
larger area.”
Weight said he hasn’t made a decision about when and in what form to
take a National Register nomination
forward for Campus Vista. However,
he agreed it is basically similar to the
North Encanto neighborhood, which
was recently nominated, as well as
placed on the city’s register. Abele may
have her reservations, but “I think we
can do the larger area; if I didn’t I
wouldn’t have taken it forward for city
designation,” Weight said.
New commission
officers seated
arlene Imirzian, principal in an architectural firm with offices in Phoenix and
Escondido, Calif., chaired her first meeting of the Historic Preservation Commission at its Dec. 13 meeting, with new Vice Chair Reid
PHOTO/DAVID TELL
Butler at her side. Butler is principal of Butler Housing
Marlene Imirzian
Co., which specializes in development of affordable
housing. Butler recently became a resident of the Roosevelt Historic District, where he is also involved in projects creating housing utilizing both new construction and rehabilitated historic structures.
In the audience at the Jan. 13 meeting was the latest appointee to the commission, Kathryn Pedrick, who replaces departed member Teresa Hoffman. Pedrick is
monument manager for the Arizona District of the federal Bureau of Land Management, and is an archaeologist, a requirement in filling Hoffman’s seat. Pedrick
should be on the dais with the rest of the panel at its Feb. 10 meeting.
M
11
TRANSPORTATION
On the town
Light rail vs. palm trees
on Central: a near miss
T
he stately palm trees lining
Central Avenue in Midtown
have had a close brush with the
light rail—and it isn’t even up
and running yet.
Actually, the rumor was that the
trees were at risk of derailing or significantly delaying light rail construction,
because they represent part of what the
State Historic Preservation Office
(SHPO) considers to be the historically
significant streetscape down Central.
The tree issue did cause some additional grappling with SHPO over the
design, according to Valley Connections
Communications Manager Daina Mann.
However, the issue appears to be settled,
with no risk to the trees and no impact
to the massive transportation project.
“In what we were initially proposing,
we needed to fit in the left turn lanes, the
stations and the trackway within the
street,” said Mann. “We’re using primarily the existing right-of-way to accommodate that trackway, and there’s an uneven
amount of right of way that we need.
Where we have a left turn lane, we need
5 to 10 feet, whereas elsewhere we only
need a few feet.”
Preliminary designs proposed moving
a few of the palms to accommodate the
COMMUNITY CALENDAR
Midtown
Arizona Arts Congress
Monday, Feb. 10; Arizona State Capitol, Senate Lawn, 1700 W. Washington
Wear red and join with other arts
advocates to impress the importance of
the arts on state legislators. Register
before Feb. 5 by calling (602) 2536535, e-mailing artadvocate@
qwest.net or visiting www.azcd.org
Art Detour Advisory Meeting
Saturday, February 8, noon–2 p.m.;
ASU Downtown Center, 5th St. and
Van Buren
Donate to Community Housing
Partnership
To arrange pick-up, please call Minerva
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Non-profit developer of low-income
12
extra width needed.
“Our plan was to retain
the palms, but we needed
that 5 to 10 feet of right-ofway,” Mann said. “Their position is, ‘If you you move them
at all, that degrades their historic value.’”
Bill Collins, deputy state historic
preservation officer and the designated
coordinator for SHPO regarding the
light rail construction, confirmed the
office’s position.
“The issue arose around what might
happen as the light rail is being placed
down the center of Central from about
Van Buren to Palm Lane,” Collins said. “A
great deal of the remaining features of
the historical landscaping, which is five to
seven decades old, is a character-defining
element of the city of Phoenix. It’s what
you might see published: a reference to
‘the wide, tree-lined streets of Phoenix.’
“We were discussing this issue with
the light rail people. Consultants said as
a landscape, it was eligible for the
national register,” he said.
Collins said his office recently reached
agreement on this and related issues
with a variety of parties, including the
Federal Transit Administration, the city
of Phoenix, Tempe, and the public transit authority in Mesa. The talks were
housing, is looking for donations of
building materials—outmoded built-ins
you’ll be replacing —cabinets, doors,
windows, kitchen and bathroom fixtures
etc.—for reuse in the rehabilitation of
our properties. Donations are tax
deductible. Also seeking donations of
household furnishings —furniture,
linens, kitchenware and bathroom
accessories, etc.—to furnish our housing.
T H I N G S T O D O , P L A C E S T O E AT I N C E N T R A L P H O E N I X
DINING OUT
Everybody loves Raimondo’s
appointed Wulf Grote as the acting execaimed at reaching agreements needed
utive director for Valley Metro Rail.
for the project’s final environmental
Grote has been the project director for
impact statement (FEIS), which was
the initial light rail starter line since
approved in December.
1998. In his new position, he will be
“[The agreement] relates to several
responsible for managing the design,
issues of cultural resources; that was one
of the major ones,”
qCENTRAL AVE: PAVING OR ROCKS?
Collins said. Some
archaeological issues
Members of Valley Metro Rail’s Urban Design Task force are
were also addressed in unhappy with the cost-saving tradeoff Midtown residents got
the agreement, he said. the city to agree to last year: to put ballasted rather than paved
Meanwhile, on Nov. track up Central Avenue in exchange for un-deferring the con1, the Valley Metro Rail struction of three Midtown light rail stops. Turns out some Midtowners want to have their cake and eat it on this one, too. The
board of directors
awarded a contract for issue is set to be revisited at the Jan. 23 meeting of the Citizens Transit Commission, Burton Barr Central Library, at 3:30
final design and construction design servic- p.m. For a preview of the Midtown Messenger’s article on the
es for the initial 20topic, visit www.midtownmessenger.com in early February.
mile light rail starter
segment. The approval gives project staff
construction and operation of the light
the ability to sign a contract of up to
rail system, including the 20-mile starter
$66.65 million with a team led by Parline and any future extensions.
sons Brinckerhoff, pending final contract
The light rail system is scheduled to
negotiations.
begin construction in late 2003 and
In addition, on Oct. 30, the board
open beginning in late 2006.
information desk, main lobby, 12th
Street and McDowell Road. For more
information, call (602) 239-4411.
Lunchtime Family History Lessons
New location: Arizona Hall of Fame
Building, 1101 W. Washington; First
Thursdays, noon–1 p.m.
Seating is limited; register for free programs at (602) 542-3942.
mal), City Council Chambers, 200 W.
Jefferson
Check agenda online the Friday before
each meeting for cancellations (and
the day before, for additions).
Historic Preservation Commission
3rd Mondays, 4:30 p.m., Historic City
Hall. Call 261-8699 for info.
Roosevelt
Good Sam charitable programs
Historic Districts Coalition
Roosevelt Farmers’ Market
Reach
Thursday, Jan. 16. 6:15-8:30 p.m.
Encanto Park Boathouse, 2605 N. 15th
Ave. (at Virginia).
Sundays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Portland Parkway (Portland St., Central to 3rd Ave.)
Produce and raw foods, high-quality
crafts, cut flowers, baked goods. Vendors wanted, one-time free trial of the
venue is available. Call (602) 252-0222.
Out and Read
Promote early childhood literacy with
at-risk children, by donating slightly
used books to the Family Practice
Office, located in Suite 605 of the
Edwards Building on the Good Samaritan campus. For more information,
visit www.reachoutandread.org.
Mother’s Closet
Service provides donated maternity
clothing free of charge to pregnant
mothers who are unable to purchase
maternity clothes on their own. Donations accepted at the Good Samaritan
14 Wild indie-ans: On loose downtown
15 Filmosophy: Itchin’ for a fight
16 Theater: ‘I DO!’ does well
Historic Preservation Seminars
Historic Preservation in Phoenix
Tuesday, Jan. 21 and Feb. 11, 6 p.m.
How to Rehabilitate a Historic Home
Part 1–Thursdays, Jan. 30; Feb. 13th
Part 2–Tuesday. Feb. 18th
Call (602) 256-7177 for location, to register.
Phoenix City Council Meetings
Tuesdays (Policy); Wednesdays ( for-
Willo
Home Tour
See article, page 2 or visit www.willohistoricdistrict.com for info.
Stunning antique haven hides behind nondescript
facade in near-inaccessible site with parking problems
■ BY PDQ BAKLAVA, DINING OUT CRITIC
oz. Pilsner glass she had brought. Subtle cues to remove the Pilsner glass
o for the food, stay for the
were missed, till, finally, the second
incredible decor, return
waitress got it.
despite the service. And
Then she took our order, which,
even that might improve, as
among other things, reflected our conit did during our visit—making due
tinuing quest to sample the fried calaallowance for our “late” dinner and
mari in every joint west of Amarillo.
giving points eventually for friendliWe also ordered the “Italian Wedding
ness if not for form.
Soup,” linguine with white clam sauce,
You may notice a
and vitello alla GenqCHECK, PLEASE
pattern when we say
ovese.
Raimondo’s Restaurant &
part of our service
Here’s where it got
problems derived from Lounge
increasingly weird:
4622 N. 7th St.
our seating ourselves
First came our dinner
Phoenix, AZ 85014
because we did not
salads. After a few minSun-Thu 10-11ish to 9:30ish
want to linger in the
utes, we decided to just
Fri-Sa 9:30-10ish to 11ish
smelly bar area long
go ahead and comenough for someone to (as stated by staff)
mence eating these, as
602-277-9939
notice and seat us. So
we were pretty hunwe passed through
gry—despite their
åååå
and sat near the
being served grossly
kitchen and the couple of tables with
out of order. At least we were able to
lingering diners. It was about quarter
secure some bread for the table to go
to nine on a Friday evening—not an
with them, after only two requests.
hour and day when you should expect
The salads weren’t bad: fresh and with
restaurants to begin to shun your
a variety of shredded accoutrements
patronage—but then, this is Phoenix.
amid slightly wet romaine.
We had to eventually ask a young
Then came the soup. Still out of
Mexican busser to corral a server for
order, but yum! This was billed as a
us, and even then, there were stage
“marriage of tiny meatballs, shredded
whispers among the couple still on
chicken and leafy green vegetables in
duty about who should “have to” wait
consomme.” “Consomme” is a stretch,
on us. The woman who, with an insinbut the broth and meatballs were full
cere smile, started to, quickly
of flavor and the combination pleassloughed us off on a nicer server, both
ing. But I wonder who makes all those
of them seemingly more at home as
tiny meatballs? Laid off Keebler elves?
barmaids—in east Mesa—than in a
Ex Kathie Lee sweatshop workers?
kind of nice Italian restaurant.
Anyway, at about this point we
We started off wanting to peruse
inquired about the calamari, and a
the menu over glasses of water and a
glimmer of consternation appeared on
beer—the initial server a bit nonthe server’s face. Soon it was before us.
plused by my request for a Moretti or
We don’t know if they scraped the botPeroni and then by my request for a
tom of the squid bucket, but these
dry, room-temp pint glass (like the
were some of the smallest, skinniestwater glasses) to drink the Peroni
sliced calamari rings and tentacles
that—lo and behold!—they had,
we’ve ever seen. That’s a good thing.
rather than out of the chilled, puny 6Along with the blond, not over-
G
MESSENGER PHOTO
Take a good look at this take-out pizza from Raimondo’s—it’s apparently a rare and littleseen species after about 9:45 in central Phoenix. We visited no fewer than seven places on a
recent Wednesday evening, from 9:55 to 10:40, trying to find a pizza to go. No luck. Shame!
browned crust, it signaled tenderness—and genuine crispiness, with the
batter not out of proportion to the
meat. Nice, well-seasoned chunky
marinara on the side.
The entrees were simultaneously
better and worse than feared. My linguine came with what I consider an
illegitimately thick-style sauce, almost
like an Alfredo. But it was full of tender
clams and just-right pasta, and accepting the notion, I mixed in more grated
cheese and enjoyed it immensely.
The veal was a disappointment to
its owner, but I pointed out that, like
with the calamari, the paleness of the
eggy coating signified that it was not
overcooked. The lemon-butter-wine
sauce with mushrooms and artichoke
hearts accompanied it well. Perhaps
the wan-looking mix could have been
qTHE GOBLET SYSTEM
Restaurants are visited incognito and are
assessed based on a complex weighting
system that rates them both against what
they seek to accomplish and against
absolute, immutable, universal standards
of culinary achievement.
ååååå A toast to your excellency
åååå Few drops shy of perfection
ååå Honey, let’s eat out
åå My 6-year-old could’ve cooked this
å That’s my dinner? I’ll cry if I want to
(none) Is that a fly in my goblet?
dressed up better, somehow.
Of course we had to have the
tiramisu; they were out of their other
dessert. Made onsite, it was clearly cut
out of a sheet of same, and was saturated but not soggy with liqueur—and
tummy-rubbingly good.
At this point we met the owner, Ray
(Raimondo LoVecchio) himself, and
enjoyed wide-ranging philosophical
conversations on everything from being
from New Jersey to the need for tolerance and diversity and how our great
country promotes that, to the elements
of a durable and loving marriage and
family life. Of course, the latter engendered a big fight afterward between the
wife and me. Thanks, Ray! Not!
A couple nights later, I ordered a
pizza to go, which was made promptly
and as ordered, including not having
to twist their arm to get them to go
easy on the cheese. It’s not East Coast
style, but still pretty damn good. The
crust was thin, crispy, bubbly and
almost flaky, the sauce tangy and the
toppings fresh.
Anyway, on our first visit, Ray also
gave us a tour of the Tea Room—his
catering and special parties area—
which has to be seen to be believed.
It’s magnificent, check it out! And try
the food, too.
For more images of “la bella Raimondo’s,” visit www.midtownmessenger
.com in early February!
13
On the town
On the town
THURS., JAN. 30, 7:30PM & FRI., JAN. 31, 8PM
Some stars
are born
Getting in on the
ground floor with local
indie filmmakers
■ BY DAVID TELL
FILM—FAST TAKES
CLOCK STRIKES 25; SMUG
BOURGEOIS REALITY JARRED
IMAGES COURTESY OF BALLBOY PRODUCTIONS/ERIC FAIRCHILD
At right, a scene of “Stalked!” being shot at Pizzeria
Bianco downtown. Myla (right) and Aaryn Alonzo are
featured. Above, the Tell siblings emerge from a side
street before disappearing while tossing a Frisbee. Said
Myla (www.mylasplace.com) of her co-stars, “They
were awesome!” And Jae Staats and crew called them
“naturals” in the way their belittling repartee came off.
rothers Jae and Kai
Staats have a vision.
Being seen. Their films, that
is—creations of their filmmaking company, Ballboy Productions.
So, if they want to be seen, what
are they doing in Phoenix? Starting
out, apparently. Plus, Jae still lives in
the home in Willo that he bought,
next to his parents. When they’re not
shooting, Kai is usually in Colorado
working for a software firm.
So far the brothers have made three
short films, with the aid of local talent
and the cooperation of businesses and
the city on shooting locations. Recently, too, close associates of this publica-
B
D T he Art of Variation D
tion—Naomi and Daniel Tell—got the
opportunity to contribute their talents, free, to the latest effort,
“Stalked!” But it’s not only highly talented rookies who join with the Staats
Bros. Nascent stars such as Myla (a
one-namer like Madonna, Cher and
Gallagher) and other professionals
gladly get involved.
Myla is developing a resume,
including starring in a direct-to-video
feature film soon to be out, called
“What I Learned in College,” a “comedy-love story.” But she doesn’t compare her work in Phoenix with smalltimers unfavorably to her Hollywood
gigs. “I’ve never done a short before,”
she said. “The experience is definitely
different. As an actor, you need to get
as much variation as you can.
“It’s really neat to be able to do a
film short and be on the independent
film circuit,” she said. “As a short film,
it has a very different feel, it’s a much
more personal feel. It was more
involved, not so much the ‘big man,’
people rushing you. It was more of a
slow-paced thing, where you’re able to
ask more questions, about character,
character development, what do they
want out of his scene?—rather than a
million takes boom-boom-boom.
—Being more of yourself being the
character.”
Myla started acting at 14, she said,
as “Mr. Beaver” in a Children’s Little
Theater production of “The Lion, the
Witch and the Wardrobe.” Versatile as
she is, we doubt she could get that
part now ...
As for Jae Staats, he hopes to get
Ballboy’s three short films distributed
on CD in small stores nationwide, and
get them seen at film fests. Superstar
Video at 7th and Osborn carries and
helps promote the shorts. For more
information, visit ballboy.net or
stalked.net.
As usual, the Arizona Republic’s Bill
Muller almost completely misses the
point of a film he doesn’t care for.* That
figures, since the films he likes are usually pointless. (Maybe if I criticize him
directly like this, we can get our own TV
show, like Chicago Tribune and Chicago
Sun-Times critics Siskel and Ebert! I’ll
be the smart one—which also makes me
the fat guy ... though that aspect’s kind
of a close call, “Big Bill” ...) Anyway,
Muller seems to think “The 25th Hour”
errs in making “slimeball crook” drug
dealer Monty Brogan (Edward Norton)
likable. Actually, in Spike Lee’s deep and
subtle mind, what is probably going on
is this: Reportedly, one-third of black
American males are or have been
involved with the criminal justice system. A significant fraction of this is
probably accounted for by our inane
drug laws. But who really thinks much—
much less really gives a
hoot—about the waste of
financial and social capital represented by countless years of these hundreds of thousands of
lives spent behind bars?
So, how do you get people to think about this
topic, really feel what it
means to be facing years
of your life brutalized,
raped, caged? Give them
someone they can identify with. Enter Monty:
just a feckless white guy
who started dealing
drugs a few years back instead of doing
his homework in college. Lives in a nice
apartment with a beautiful girl, maintains ties to respectable friends and family—gets ratted out, faces seven years. I
find it a bit of a stretch to think of Norton as the luscious new babycakes piece
of meat about to be thrown to the
inmate wolves—but hey, deprive me of
female companionship for a few years
and who knows? My tastes might evolve.
Anyway, that seems to be the main thing
on Monty’s mind as he debates during
the final countdown whether to check in
or light out. This film is a bit slow-paced,
but the acting and production values are
solid, and it’s fun watching “The Piano’s”
Academy Award-winning Anna Paquin
all grown up (almost) and playing with
Philip Seymour Hoffman’s head. Just the
big one, hey! Which, as a subplot,
underscores the theme concerning the
potentially hefty consequences one can
pay for a little error of judgment or slide
toward indubitably tasty and perhaps
arbitrarily off-limits temptation. So,
back to Monty: No one’s excusing him if
he’s selling hard drugs to schoolkids,,
and yeah, some of his associates are
pretty bad guys. But who can really deny
that our current drug laws and “war” are
an ill-conceived, counterproductive,
extravagant, corrupting, discredited Prohibitionistic waste? Often disciminatorily applied? Huh. Well, write me back,
Bill.
*Then there’s the Phoenix New Times’
Robert Wilonsky, who thinks “Hour” is
about post 9/11 New York. Huh?
CLOCK STRIKES 5 P.M.: END
OF DAY, CAREER; SMUG ...
An acting turn by The Great Nicholson that can best be described is defining “stolid” once and for all. Even my
dad, who looks and sounds a little like
Jack, can bend and emote more than
that—on a good day ... Anyway, like its
main character, a somewhat plodding
film; its sad humor hardly rises to the
level of mild irony till the last third of
Guest Conductor Guillermo Figueroa joins The Phoenix Symphony for
an evening of musical variations. The orchestra will perform Brahms’
Variations on a Theme of Joseph Haydn, Elgar’s Enigma Variations,
Vaughan Williams’ Fantasy on a Theme by Thomas Tallis and
Roberto Sierra’s Fandangos .
THE INTERMISSION
IS SO YOU CAN
CATCH
YOUR BREATH.
UPCOMING EVENTS
D Jim Brickman D
FRI., FEB. 7, 8PM & SAT., FEB. 8, 8PM
Pianist Jim Brickman joins conductor Robert Moody and The Phoenix
Symphony for a special night of beautiful music. He combines classical
influences and contemporary pop to create original romantic melodies
that will certainly touch your heart and the heart of someone special.
Friday Night at the Pops sponsored by
the film in Denver. Hope Davis as Warren Schmidt’s bitchy, demanding,
checked-out daughter is wonderful, as
are most of the rest of the supporting
cast—Dermot Mulroney as the “nincompoop” fiance, Kathy Bates as his LeftCoast mom, the little-knowns, the also
rans, the has-beens ... they’re all good.
Still, the film is kind of over-hyped, like
so much else out of Hollywood these
days. There’s just too much money on
the line in these things. As for the point:
For people who are sleepwalking
through their own daily lives (and that
of their “loved ones”), at least there’s still
a chance—albeit randomly, cluelessly,
near-anonymously and at a distance—to
make a difference in someone else’s.
(That little plot device and denouement—you’ll see which one I mean—is
how we know “about Schmidt,” anyway—thus the implosive title.)
—D.A. Tell
D Tchaikovsky Festival D
Once again, we include a multiple-concert tribute to one of the great
masters. This year it's Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. You’ll hear Tchaikovsky’s
most memorable works. The Festival begins on February 20 and runs
through March 21. Please call for specific concerts, dates and times.
Tchaikovsky Festival is sponsored by
It’s powerful.
For tickets, call 602-495-1999 or visit phoenixsymphony.org.
All concerts held at Symphony Hall unless otherwise noted.
15
qON
On the town
Do see ‘DO’
Play is ‘lite’ and filling
hoenix Theatre Producing Artistic Director
Michael Barnard could
easily receive a special
Zonie Award for good
timing! In light of the
gloomy news bombarding us daily, his decision to produce
the sentimental musical “I DO! I DO!”
at Phoenix Theatre is a welcome relief
amid gathering war clouds and economic uncertainties. Like the unexpected arrival of an early spring, this
cheery and heartwarming production
is a delicious slice of theatre, similar to
angel food cake topped with whipped
cream. It is light and very satisfying.
The original Broadway production,
based on the play “The Fourposter” by
Jan de Hartog, starred Robert Preston
and Mary Martin and was directed by
Gower Champion. Opening Dec. 5,
1966, it ran for 560 performances. Along
with the score by Tom Jones and Harvey
Schmidt (who also wrote The Fanta-
P
sticks), the production, Champion, and
co-stars Martin and Preston were all
nominated for Tonys, but only Preston
took home the prize—for best actor in a
musical in 1967. A movie version was
filmed starring real-life married couple
Rex Harrison and Lilli Palmer. An offBroadway revival ran in 1996.
“I DO! I DO!” is a nostalgic and
intimate story spanning five decades of
of a couple’s marriage, from the early
to the mid 20th century. The show
begins with Michael and Agnes on
their wedding day and traces their life
together. The audience enjoys their
wedding night jitters, raising a family,
negotiating mid-life crises, quarrels,
separations, reconciliations and growing old together, all lovingly set to a
pleasantly tuneful score including the
bombastic “I Love My Wife,” the spicy
“Flaming Agnes” and the clever “When
the Kids Get Married.”
The local production, directed by
Pasadena resident Brad Carroll, soars
with energy, passion and sincerity.
Musical Director Ron Colvard (who
also accompanies the show with Andria
Fleming) has orchestrated a stunning
rendition of the score. The tastefully
articulated bedroom set by Richard
Farlow is enlivened by Mike Eddy’s cre-
A new restaurant—an ancient menu
Hours:
Mon.-Thu. 11 a.m.-9 p.m.
Fri.-Sat. 11 a.m.-10 p.m.
Healthy, delicious meals
traditionally prepared
from Mediterranean and
Middle Eastern recipes—
including vegan, vegetarian,
seafood and meat preparations.
1335 W. Thomas
(Thomas and 15th Ave.)
602.263.1915
STAGE
I DO! I DO!
Phoenix Theatre
100 East McDowell Avenue in Downtown
Phoenix
Through January 26, 2002
Tuesdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m.
Sundays at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Tickets are $28-$32
Box Office: 602.254.2151
ative and theatrical lighting design. Liz
Ihlenfeld’s costumes hit the mark in
subtly conveying the passage of time, as
do the hair and make-up design by
Manuela Needhammer. Director Carroll has crafted a unified vision with his
Sorenson (who is returning to Phoenix
talented production team.
from his new home in New York) and
The two co-stars, Debby Rosenthal
Rosenthal (who returns to the stage
and Bob Sorenson, deliver knockout
after a “mommy sabbatical”) honestly
performances and rightfully deserve
portray the emotions and events that
admiration and applause for their
shaped these characters’ relationship
exploration of matrimony. Their disas spouses. Hemlines may change.
tinctive performance styles blend well
Hairlines may recede. Waistlines may
together as they “wowed” a nearly soldexpand. Romance novels may give way
out house. Sorenson’s gift for comic
to avant-garde poetry. Regardless of
timing drives many of the lighter
the fashionable whims of any decade,
moments, while Rosenthal’s spectacu“I DO! I DO!” affirms the idea of maklar voice and earnest acting key plot
ing a commitment to share a life
moments infuses with greater meaning.
together. The universal appeal of “I
Sorenson’s portrayal of Michael epitDO! I DO!” lies in this very simple
omizes the traditional perception of the
premise: We all laugh. We all cry. We
masculine role within a marriage. He is
are all adoring at the onset, distant
a successful author, active in the purduring moments of tension and then
suits of the outside world by building a
passionate in rediscovering love. You
career, amassing wealth and dabbling
may relate to Michael’s financial anxiin adult diversions. Rosenthal as Agnes
eties or your spouse may anguish in
tolerates her life as a dutiful wife and a
Agnes’ domestic frustrations. Or vice
caring mother. Youthful illusions of
versa. Yet, it is love that endures and
marriage eventually crumble
sustains a long-term relaunder the pressures of raistionship. “I DO! I DO!” celing children and navigating
ebrates the inherent power
middle age as detailed in the
of true love to overcome
songs “The Honeymoon Is
hurdles, to disentangle
Over” and “Where Are the
momentary distractions
Snows.” Michael is seduced
and to constantly renew
by the trappings of the outitself throughout life’s unexside world, while Agnes
pected twists and turns.
valiantly strives to rediscover
Bravo to Phoenix Theatre
her identity. Yet, love preRICHARD SCHULTZ
for reminding us of this
vails; they find bliss within
STAGE BUZZ
important life lesson!
the arms and the comfort of
each other. “I DO! I DO!” is
Richard Schultz, who has
reminiscent of a Whitman chocolate
an MFA in Theater, has directed over
candy sampler—sweetly familiar. Every
40 stage productions, including one
flavor, every emotion, every experience
of Chicago’s longest-running comein a marriage is present, wrapped in
dies, “Patsy’s Bridal Shower”—which
warm afterglow.
he also co-authored. Locally, he has
Yet, what is the relevance of such a
directed at the Herberger Theater
saccharine show in today’s world of
Center and Desert Foothills Theater.
live-in lovers, blended families, sameE-mail him at
[email protected]
sex partners and multiple marriages?
Now featuring ...
A Rotating Sale!
A new category discounted each week.
See if it’s your favorite—call or drop in!
“More than a book store ... a unique experience!”
OPEN Tues.-Sat. 10-2
Located at 7th Ave. and Osborn, SE corner—behind Mi Patio
3343 N. 7th Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85013
(602) 241-3166
16
On the town
LISTINGS JAN.–FEB. 2003
We invite all organizations whose events may interest The Midtown Messenger’s readers
to submit releases for publication in the listings. We reserve the right to edit or not to
publish due to space limitations or other criteria. We take care in compiling and editing
these listings, but are not liable for errors or for reschedulings or cancellations by the
sponsoring organization. Readers are advised to check with the source for any updates.
Mail releases to P.O. Box 36241, Phoenix, AZ 85067, or e-mail to listings@
midtownmessenger.com. Please note concise format. Releases pre-edited to conform to
our format will be given first consideration. Faxed releases will be given lowest priority.
Artlink First Fridays
OUTINGS
FEBRUARY 1
Heritage Saturday
Decorate a Valentine heart
with cute humanized Victorian cats and paper
lace. Heritage Square,
Carriage House. 11am1pm. Free. For information, call 480-991-0344.
FEBRUARY 2
Centennial: St. Mary’s
Basilica Church
This celebration features
historical displays, tours,
and food throughout the
day. St. Mary’s Basilica.
8am-8pm. Free. For information, call 602-2527651, ext. 314.
FEBRUARY 6
Harlem Globetrotters
America West Arena.
7pm. Tickets are $12100. For tickets, call
480-784-4444.
FEBRUARY 7
Free self-guided tours of
over 30 art openings in
and around Copper
Square. 7pm-10pm. For
information, visit
www.artlinkphoenix.com.
MARCH 6-9
Artlink’s Art Detour
Enjoy a self-guided tour of
artist studios, art spaces
& galleries in and around
Copper Square, featuring
entertainment and shuttle
buses. Times vary. Free.
For information, call 602256-7539.
MARCH 7
Artlink First Fridays
Free self-guided tours of
over 30 art openings in
and around Copper
Square. 7pm-10pm. For
information, visit
www.artlinkphoenix.com.
MARCH 29 & 30
AJ’s Fine Foods Great
Arizona Beer Festival
This fundraising festival
features live entertainment and beverage sampling from over 70 brewers, with all proceeds benefitting Sun Sounds of
AZ. Arizona Center. 2pm6pm. Tickets are $30-35.
CONCERTS
JANUARY 30
The Rolling Stones
Live In Concert
The legendary rock group
brings their 2002/2003
World Tour to America
West Arena. 7:30pm.
Tickets are $50-300. For
tickets, call 480-7844444.
JANUARY 30 & 31
The Art of Variation
Phoenix Symphony Classics Concert. Guest Conductor Guillermo Figueroa
directs the orchestra on
pieces by Brahms, Elgar,
and others. Symphony
Hall. Times vary. Tickets
are $20-47. For informa-
Kaddy Korner Bar & Grill
Lunch & Dinner $5.95–$12.95
Best Happy Hour in Town! 4-8 p.m.
Fabulous Alaskan Cod–
Friday Fish Fry (All You Can Eat) 4-9 p.m.
Krazy Karaoke Fri.-Sat. 9 p.m.-1 a.m.
2801 N. Central Ave. (602) 277-3158
Hours: Mon.-Thurs. 11 a.m-11 p.m.; Fri-Sat. 11 a.m.-1 a.m.
tion, call 602495-1999.
JANUARY 31
Shakira
Live In Concert
Let’s get series, now
Global superstar
Shakira brings her
The Downtown Chamber Series’ next concert is at monOrchid photography
Tour of the Mongoose to America studio. Photo above is from the December Baroque concert at Paper Heart
Gallery. See under Concerts, March 1. Quick, before tickets run out.
West Arena.
7:30pm. Tickets
an evening of wine,
Preservation Hall Jazz
are $35-65. For tickets,
cheese, crackers, fudge
Band
call 480-784-4444.
and art. Oh, and a
Enjoy the joyous sounds
Brahms quintet for clarFEBRUARY 2
of New Orleans Jazz, preinet and strings.
sented by Southwest Arts
monOrchid, 214 E. RooSt. Olaf Choir
& Entertainment.
sevelt, 8p.m. $10
The St. Olaf Choir of
Orpheum Theatre. 8pm.
Advance tickets advised.
Northfield, Minnesota, is
Tickets are $30-34. For
Call 602-254-1491 for
recognized as the pioneer
information, call 602info.
a cappella choir in Ameri262-7272.
ca. Symphony Hall. TickMARCH 1
MARCH 5
ets are $20-28. For information, call 602-262Downtown Chamber
The American Scene:
7272.
Series
FEBRUARY 4 & 5
Five members of the
Phoenix Symphony offer
Bernstein and All
That Jazz
Phoenix Symphony Classi-
VISIT ARIZONA’S ONLY MUSEUM OF
LATINO ART, HISTORY & CULTURE
With changing exhibitions featuring emerging
and renowned ar tists and ar tisans.
GREAT SELECTION OF FRIDA
KAHLO ITEMS–BIOS, POSTERS,
COOKBOOKS, ART BOXES, MORE!
Also, don’t miss the museum’s gift and book
store with imported fine and folk art, jewelry,
posters, and bilingual books and videos.
147 EAST ADAMS STREET
SW corner Adams & 2nd
(S of Hyatt Regency, W of Civic Plaza)
OPEN 10 a.m.- 4 p.m.
Tuesday-Saturday
Call (602) 257-5536 for tours & information
17
On the town
cal Connections Concert.
Associate Conductor
Robert Moody conducts
the symphony on Ives,
Joplin, Bernstein, and
more. Orpheum Theatre.
7:30pm. Tickets are $22.
MARCH 21
Chicago Live In Concert
This famous 80’s band
will perform at Dodge
Theatre. 8pm. Tickets are
$35.25-45.25. For information, call 602-3792888.
GALLERIES/EXHIBITS
ONGOING
Every Picture Tells
A Story
A new interactive exhibit
at the Heard Museum that
explores the meanings
behind the designs and
symbols depicted in
Native American artwork.
Includes more than 200
cultural and fine art works
from the Heard’s internationally renowned collection.Grand opening celebration Oct. 5-6. Free
with museum admission,
$7; $6 seniors, $3 kids
4-12, free under 4. 2301
N. Central Ave. For more
information, call 602252-8848.
THEATER/DANCE
JANUARY 17- FEBRUARY 2
The Little Mermaid
Dive to the depths of the
deep blue sea with the
Little Mermaid! Valley
Youth Theatre. Times vary.
Tickets are $12. For information, call 602-2538188, ext.2.
On the town
JANUARY 23-26
JANUARY 24 & 25
Salome
Cartas De Amor
The Arizona Opera presents a seductive performance involving Salome,
John the Baptist, and
King Herod. Symphony
Hall. Times vary. Tickets
are $25-110. For information, call 602-2667464.
Enjoy this live romantic
play from Mexico City in
Spanish about a man and
a woman who share love
letters. Orpheum Theatre.
Times vary. Tickets are
$15-50. For information,
JANUARY 28 - FEBRUARY 2
JANUARY 24 - FEBRUARY 9
Fame
Gray’s Anatomy
Presented by Actors Theatre. Witness the effects
of middle age and neuroticism when a minor eye
complaint takes hold of
an anxious writer. Herberger Theater, Stage
West. Times vary. Tickets
are $22.50-38. For information, call 602-2528497.
JANUARY 24
Herberger Theater
Gala
Enjoy a gala evening featuring a performance of
“The Fantasticks” by Arizona Theatre Company,
dinner buffet, cocktail
reception, and more. Herberger Theater, Center
Stage. 6:30pm. Tickets
are $200. For information, call 602-254-7399,
ext. 102.
call 602-262-7272.
JANUARY 28-30
Lunch Time Theater
Hard Edges
Robert Whitton re: structure, form and function at New Urban
Art. Exhibiting through Feb. 22. Reception Friday, Feb. 7, 710 p.m. 521 W. McDowell Rd. (602) 256-2900
Enjoy “This is a Play” by
Daniel MacIves, a comedy
that exposes the actors’
inner thoughts. Herberger
Theater. 12:10pm. Tickets
are $5. For information,
call
602-254-7399,
ext. 106.
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& More
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Madness
&
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Daily
Specials
Great Soups
&
Desserts Too!
JANUARY 30
Readers Theatre
Bruno Mali’s
Café & Gifts
This musical chronicles
the four-year odyssey of
the talented students at
New York’s High School of
Performing Arts. Orpheum
Theatre. Times vary. Tickets are $33.50-39.50.
For information, call
602-262-7272.
602-264-HELP
602-264-4357 • AVAILABLE 24-HOURS A DAY
Enjoy a free performance
by the Heritage Square
Guild; bring your lunch.
Heritage Square. 12:15pm12:45pm. Free. For info,
call 602-262-5071.
FEBRUARY 4-6
whole family. Valley Youth
Theatre. Times vary. Tickets are $12. For information, call 602-253-8188,
ext. 2.
FAIRS & FESTIVALS
MARCH 15 & 16
Aloha Festival
Enjoy a celebration of
Hawaiian culture featuring
music, island crafts,
games, and Hawaiian
food. Heritage & Science
Park. 10am-5pm. Free.
CONFERENCES/EXPOS
JANUARY 25
Lunch Time Theater
Volvo Car Show
Enjoy “This is a Play” by
Daniel MacIves, a comedy
that exposes the actors’
inner thoughts. Herberger
Theater. 12:10pm. Tickets
are $5. For information,
call 602-254-7399, ext.
106.
This Volvo Car Show is
open to the public. Heritage Square. 10am-2pm.
Free. For information, call
602-262-5029.
MARCH 7-23
SchoolHouse Rock
Live!
Valley Youth Theatre presents this 70’s schoolhouse
musical sensation for the
Enjoy live scientific discussions via satellite from
the JASON expedition
site. Arizona Science Center, Giant-screen Theater.
Times vary. Free with
admission. For information, call 602-716-2000.
call 480-784-4444.
AZ Sportsmen’s
Vacation & RV Show
Enjoy this consumer show
featuring several hundred
exhibits, seminars, and
clinics for outdoor and
traveling enthusiasts.
Phoenix Civic Plaza, Halls
A-C. Times vary. Tickets
are $4-6. Children 6 and
under free. For information, call 602-262-7272.
FEBRUARY 6
Nurse Week Career
Fair
This job recruitment featuring jobs available both
in state and out of state is
open to all nursing professionals. Phoenix Civic
Plaza, Hall A. 8am-5pm.
To register, call 800-8592091.
FEBRUARY 5
Adults’ Night Out
Alwun Exotica, #20
The Opening Night Gala of Alwun's Exotic Art Show, celebrating its 20th anniversary as the Valley's quintessential Valentine “art happening,” fortuitously happens on Valentine's Day,
Feb. 14th. Doors open at 7 p.m., show starts at 8. Advance
tickets, $20 (602.253.7887, or via the internet at Website
alwunhouse.org), or $25 day of show. Guests are encouraged
to “Dress for Success” and expect mature subject matter—
two continuous stages of cabaret entertainment.
co-workers, and others.
Phoenix City Council
Chambers. 12pm-1pm.
Free. For information, call
602-261-8242.
Dr. Robert McGaughey of
the Institute for Reproductive Studies reviews
the latest issues related to
assisted reproductive
technology. Arizona Science Center. 5:30pm9pm. Tickets are $5. For
information, call 602KID STUFF
716-2000.
JASON Project XIV
From Shore to Sea
WORDS
USHRA 2003 Monster Jam
JANUARY 23
Select Artists Associates
and the Maricopa County
Stadium District present
this event featuring great
trucks such as Grave Digger and others. Bank One
Ballpark. 7:30pm. Tickets
are $8-27. For tickets,
Understanding &
Respecting Sexual
Orientation
Attorney David Horowitz
will discuss sexual orientation issues recounting
his personal experiences
dealing with employers,
SENIOR HELP LINE
Available 24-hours a day, the
Senior HELP LINE is your best
resource for information
regarding services
for older persons
throughout
Maricopa
County.
Find everything going
on in Copper Square.
www.coppersquare.com
S H O P P I N G
S P O R T S
T H E A T R E S
D I N I N G
19
On the town
DEVELOPMENT
Visions shared for former stadium site, beyond
Classifieds
Automotive
1997 Volkswagen Jetta GL sedan 4D, excellent
condition. Midnight blue, manual transmission,
AC, bucket seats, cassette radio, cruise control,
moon roof, airbags, power locks, alarm, rear
window defroster. 96,800 miles, low Blue
Book. William, 602-264-1118.
Toyota Land Cruisers, 1970 and 1972. Call Les,
716-5583
Miscellaneous for Sale
Antique Loveseat and Matching Ottoman Both
recently reupholstered with a burgundy textured
fabric; sturdy, curved paneled back with two
cushions; $750 for both; can e-mail photo
upon request; 602-258-4984.
1930s Wedgewood Stove Can be used for display
or home use - we have been using for 14 years;
White; 42” wide; $800; can e-mail photo upon
request; 602-258-4984
Culver top of the line Classical speakers. Approx
qCORRECTION
The phone number for Kaddy Korner Bar &
Grill was listed incorrectly in the December
2002 dining review. The correct number is
277-3158.
5’ high, 6” deep. Also 100 watt Carver tuner
amplifier. $850 OBO Steve (602) 277-5519
Vintage glass lamp shades, globes, tulips, domes
etc. Milk glass, art glass, ceramic. $1-$60.
Also, some vintage lamps, parts. Elizabeth
(602) 277-5519.
Vintage jigsaw puzzles: Tuco, Guild, Crown, Jaymar, Watkins Strathmore, Milton Bradley, Built
Rite. $5-10 each. Elizabeth (602) 277-5519
Beautiful hutch cherry stained, rattan chairs,
children’s desk, portable full size dishwasher w/
butchers block top, bookshelf w/ light futon
w/black mattress. $15–$300 Call for info.
(602) 518-2835 Leave message if no answer.
able samples to The Midtown Messenger, P.O.
Box 36241, Phoenix, 85067. Reporter candidate in particular must meet stringent expectations and/or be highly amenable to rigorous
training and close editing to meet strict standards and to learn effective methods. Freelance or part-time, potentially leading to fulltime employment. Should be more interested in
getting experience and a byline than in high
pay. CALLS/FAXES WILL ELIMINATE AN
APPLICANT FROM CONSIDERATION.
Girl and women’s medieval costumes $5-$10 for
complete outfits. Women’s vintage shoes (40’s
& 50’s) and dresses. $5-$10 (602) 518-2835
Advertising Sales—Get in early with a growing
publication. NOT telemarketing. Visit and consult with Midtown business proprietors. Work
independently; 100% commission; generous
incentive structure. Ideal for retiree, homemaker. Will train motivated, capable candidate. Call
David, 462-5675.
Kenmore freezer, upright, clean & working, in
excellent shape. Only $85. 602-264-1266.
Clubs and hobbies
Maytag Washer and gas dryer - $350 obo takes
both. 602-230-0714
Large Tuff Shed (10x12) like new - you haul $400 obo. 602-230-0714
Oriental rug, beautiful hand-knotted Bokhara
style. 6x9. Excellent condition. Purchased at
World of Rugs. Orig price $3399. Yours for
$1200. 602-253-6350.
Kenmore double-capacity washer/dryer set. Brand
new. Only $400. Call 602-252-1960 after
7pm
Employment
Beat (hard news) reporter, arts, music columnists, feature writer. Send resume, non-return-
Scrapbooking! Attend workshops or a scrapbooking class. Workshops in Coronado every other
Wed night and once a month on Friday night.
(602) 716-0315 [email protected]
Services
Horn lessons, former member of Indianapolis
Symphony, $20/hr. 602-843-2493
Available now for mowing, trimming, planting,
cleanup, and special projects. Give me a call &
leave a message: 602.287.8935 Joseph M Harte
Offers & Business Opportunities
FREE CLASSIFIEDS! E-mail us your ads and get
‘em for free. (Free up to five lines, $2 a line
after that, or $2 a line if faxed or mailed.) Up to
3 free ads per source, call or e-mail again to re-
run. E-mail: [email protected].
Fax: 257-4430 Mail: Midtown Messenger, P.O.
Box 36241, Phoenix 85067. Include name and
phone number. Deadline: Monday, Feb. 10. Free
ads are limited to private individuals with a noncommercial offering only. Misc. items for sale,
rentals offered by private landlords and personal
services (e.g. babysitting, petsitting, housesitting, etc. are considered non-commercial.)
Rentals
Art Studio, Recording Studio and Office Space for
lease. Willo District. 3rd Ave. & McDowell; covered parking & utilities included. (602) 3493049
Room for rent Share remodeled home on quiet
street in Coronado District. Private bedroom
and bath, full use of house and pleasant backyard. $400 per month plus one-half utilities.
(602) 254-7794.
Guest House–Central Phoenix. On bus line. $400
plus deposit. 602-264-8012
Rear Studio Apartment, Indian School & 11th
Ave. All utils. & cable TV incl. $425/mo. $300
deposit 602-266-9042
Central Phoenix - Willo X-Lg. Studio with pvt.
yard, ALL util. & cable TV incl. Off-St. parking/near bus line $675/month + deposits 602716-9101 a/noons, evenings & weekends.
Housemates
Room for rent in private home. Indian School/
11th Ave. Will consider sharing whole house
with right person. No pets. 602-266-9042
FOR RENT 1br in house. Part. Furn. Some use of Internet. Local phone. $350.mo.Inc util. 1622 W. Lynwood
What’s desired is clear, what will happen isn’t. Meanwhile, city seeks bids to relocate some historic homes from area
L
ate last year, the city’s Planning
and Community and Economic
Development departments
reported back to the community on the stakeholder input that Assistant Planning Director Joy Mee had
collected over prior months. The Nov.
19 meeting, held at the Burton Barr
Central Library, was attended by top
officials and staff from those departments and by many members of the
surrounding arts and historic districts
and other groups interested in the
future of the east Roosevelt area downtown and of the larger community.
Since the meeting, some progress
has also occurred in efforts to preserve
homes in the portion of the area being
master planned that was under consideration a year ago as the site of the
Cardinals multipurpose facility. That
neighborhood, dubbed EvansChurchill, is at the heart of what is
now a larger area being masterplanned.
As the council member representing
the area, Mike Johnson made some
opening remarks at the Nov. 19 forum.
“One of the things we said was, even if
we didn’t get the stadium there, we
would look at doing some type of master plan for the area that would be conducive to quality development—pedestrian oriented, 24-hour uses—in the
community,” Johnson said. “I did go
out and contact some of the people in
the arts district and went out on a First
Friday ArtWalk. I was amazed that we
had hundreds of people from all over
the city riding the bus, walking down
dark streets, up and down Roosevelt.
The arts district would be a key component of what we need to keep this
area viable.”
Johnson said the arts are just one
the types of stakeholders in the area,
but a key one.
“As we develop and build downtown
with some of the lofts that are being
built, we also want to get affordable
housing in there, and want to look at
what we currently have in that area,”
Johnson said. “Artists need apartments
that are affordable so they can still be
in that area.
“We want a plan that’s not only conducive to the arts, but connected with
the downtown area. It has its own
identity, and that is going to be one of
the key components of what’s going on
in the downtown area—along with
genomics going in, the Children’s
Museum going in.
“We have a tremendous opportunity
with the activity going on in that area
there,” Johnson said. “We have some
great and wonderful things that we’re
going to come up with, planning that
area.”
The developments Johnson mentioned are only some of those that have
added momentum—and urgency—to
both planning and preservation efforts
in east Roosevelt over the past year.
As part of original preparations for
a downtown Cardinals stadium, con-
tracts were
obtained for the
purchase and
assembly of
property in
Evans-Churchill.
Last summer,
City Council
authorized $14
million for the
city to take over
and pursue those
purchases. And,
in a parallel
development, as
Johnson mentioned, Phoenix
was selected as
the site of a consortium pursuing genomics
research, now
called TGen,
which will occupy the former
Phoenix Union
High School
(PUHS) campus,
and expand out
from there in
both its physical
and economic
GRAPHIC COURTESY OF PHOENIX COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPT
development.
(On Dec. 8, City This graphic shows the 16 homes on four blocks that the city has acquired
Council gave final and for whose relocation and restoration it is soliciting proposals.
approval to designation of PUHS as the city’s first hisized the issuance of requests for protoric landmark.)
posals (RFPs) seeking agencies that
In December, City Council author-
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21
DEVELOPMENT
DEVELOPMENT
Master planning
3continued from page 21
Trent is PCA keynoter
Dr. Jeffrey Trent, president and chief scientific officer of the new TGen Research Institute planned
for the former Phoenix Union High School campus and environs downtown, explains the institute’s
work and promise at the Phoenix Community Alliance’s Annual Membership Luncheon, held at the
Phoenix Civic Plaza on Dec. 19. At left and right are PCA president Don Keuth and chairman Jerry
Colangelo. U.S. Rep. Ed Pastor and Stardust Foundation philanthropist Jerry Bisgrove were also
honored at the event. The Phoenix Boys Choir entertained attendees.
might relocate and rehabilitate homes
on four of the blocks in EvansChurchill, possibly placing them into
pending, innovative downtown housing developments and onto infill lots in
the Roosevelt Historic District long
intended as recipients of threatened
historic structures.
Joan Kelchner, a driving force
behind the attempt to save the EvansChurchill homes, says housing developers Reid Butler and Anthony Olivieri
are working with the Roosevelt Neighborhood Initiative Area (NIA) and the
Roosevelt Action Association to move,
rehab and reuse the homes.
Representatives of various stakeholder communities such as business
and property owners and arts, housing
and historic preservation advocates
were optimistic about the master planning effort, though in some cases wary.
Wayne Rainey, a photographer, downtown businessman and property
owner, and member of the Phoenix
Arts District Community Development
Corp. (CDC) board, was at the November forum and was unrestrained in his
enthusiasm.
“It’s all positive. I think it’s com-
Citrus
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REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP)
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The city of Phoenix is seeking proposals to acquire, relocate and renovate approximately 16
residential buildings located in a four-block area between 4th - 6th and Fillmore and Garfield
streets.
The submittal deadline will be noon, Mountain Standard Time, on Monday, March 10,
2003. For more information, contact Jason Harris at 602-262-5040 or [email protected].
RFP packets may be obtained from:
Joe Murphy
Encanto Community Church
A United Church of Christ Congregation
An Open & Affirming Christian Church
Sunday Worship Service
10 a.m., child care provided
Adult Bible Study
7 p.m. Tuesday evening
Choir Practice 7 p.m. Thu.
Women’s Fellowship
10-noon, first Sat. monthly
Men’s Club
6:30 p.m., fourth Tue. monthly
City of Phoenix
Community and Economic Development Department
200 W. Washington St., 20th Floor
Phoenix, AZ 85003-1611
Phone: 602-262-5040
Fax: 602-495- 5097
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602-264-2322
like project,” he said. “The CDC itself
could be extraordinarily useful because
there is no other non-profit to my
knowledge capable or willing to administer the management process of placing
artists in housing.
“It’s an amazingly good sign to see
organizations like the PCA [Phoenix
Community Alliance] and DPP [Downtown Phoenix Partnership] participating in bringing ideas on how to bring
the arts into the master plan,” Rainey
added. “For the first time in the history
of Phoenix the powers that be—the people with money—realize the magnitude
of an arts economy. It’s becoming more
and more obvious with recent research
what enormous dollar figures come out
of the arts-based economy. It’s an enormous economic engine in itself—having
that walking traffic.”
Rainey expressed support for the
idea of saving Evans-Churchill homes
from possible development ancillary to
the TGen campus to the south. “I think
it would be a shame to have vacant
land where there were historic buildings just for the sake of clearing it,”
Rainey said. “There’s opportunity here
to utilize it more efficiently.
“I’m very optimistic about it,” he
added. “I’ve never seen so much interest from city departments about how
best to serve the artist community
before, in any situation. Just about
every department has contacted me for
input on how to make it work This is a
great shot at a super-exciting new
downtown—because that’s that what
it’s going to be if it works.”
Louisa Stark, a historic neighborhood resident, housing advocate and
chair of the Central City Village Planning Committee, was more guarded
and even mistrustful in her assessment
of the forum and what it and the master planning effort represent.
“I felt that it was an interesting
meeting, putting together all the different parts that the city felt should go
into a plan for the revival of the area,”
Stark said. “Probably what will happen
is, the city will put together whatever
plans it wants or needs to comply with
whatever requests come from the
genomics projects. We go to a lot of
meetings and it’s wonderful to get the
input from the public, but sometimes I
wonder if the public is a little jaded,
because processes like this can seem
like window dressing.”
Concerns remain about important
properties not part of the city’s RFP for
relocating historic homes. See next
month’s issue for an update or check
online at www.midtownmessenger.com
in early February.
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22
Murphy’s
Irish Services
landscaping, clean-up, rock spreading,
trimming, all types of hauling,
Palm Fronds
wooden fences & demolition
To acquire, relocate and renovate residential buildings located in a
four-block area between 4th - 6th and Fillmore and Garfield streets
Proposals must provide evidence of financial and technical ability to relocate, rehabilitate
and/or dispose of the proposed structure(s).
Proposals also must provide evidence of site control of where the structure(s) will be
relocated and provide evidence that any proposed relocation site(s) are consistent with
zoning, local context and neighborhood plans, including neighborhood approval.
Additional proposal requirements are outlined in the RFP.
mendable that the city’s taken the time
to get the input from the businesses in
the area and from those who have
made inroads in a community that’s
beginning to blossom,” Rainey said.
“—People who got the ball rolling and
took the chances—Kimber Lanning [of
Modified Arts on East Roosevelt
Street], CCBG—an architectural firm.”
Rainey wasn’t confident that that
the forum’s presentation of all the
things the community said they would
like to see in the area’s development
would necessarily come about. “Master
planning is sometimes impossible
because there’s no way to really designate who’s going to do what,” Rainey
said. “It’s all conjecture, unless the city
actually owns the property. And how
do you hold anybody accountable? The
key thing is to find ways to do specific
projects that matter the most. You can
gather all the information in the world,
but you have to make some choices.
“You can go through the whole process,
and somebody’s still going to have their
feelings hurt because what they wanted
didn’t get done,” Rainey said.
He explained his vision for the
Phoenix Arts District CDC’s participation in the planning and in the area.
“The CDC’s role is in a being a bridge
for the artists and for developers who
might coexist in some kind of artspace-
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23
DEVELOPMENT
qDEVELOPMENT
BRIEFS
OVER-55 FACILITY GETS
VILLAGE PLANNERS’ GOAHEAD IN SECOND ROUND
The second time was the charm on
a proposal to rezone the 5-story building and parking lot on the southeast
corner of Thomas Road and 7th
Avenue from C-1 and P-1 to C-1 HR
(high-rise). The EVPC voted to recommend the proposal Dec. 2 after tabling
it at its Nov. 4 meeting. The proposed
rezoning would facilitate a plan by
Catholic Healthcare West to operate
an 85-dwelling-unit facility for residents 55 and older. Kevin McAndrews
of Land Entitlement and Development
Services (LEADS), the applicant on
behalf of Catholic Healthcare, was shot
down by committee members in
November over a failure to meet with
the Willo neighborhood so that it
could forward a recommendation to
the planning committee. McAndrews
appeared to have suffered from an
excess of zeal, having met with District
8 Councilman Mike Johnson and
members of the city’s Development
Services Department and gotten
“Willo president” Kendra Vermeer’s
support, he indicated. On the committee’s advice, he canceled his scheduled
hearing before the city’s zoning administrator and made a presentation to
the Willo Neighborhood Association
board at its Nov. 7 meeting. Members
also expressed concern over the
revised form of the rezoning recommendation—combining the parcel
containing the building with that
housing the parking lot—which they
said might entail abandonment of the
VIEWPOINTS
alley separating
them. Several
adjacent businesses on
Thomas rely on
the alley. In
other regards,
members suggested, they do
not necessarily
oppose the
development, as,
according to staff
planner Charla
McCoy’s report,
it meets several
city goals and
planning objectives for which the
already non-conforming structure is
suitable.
TRADER JOE’S SHOWS
GLIMMER OF INTEREST IN
DOWNTOWN PHOENIX
A Trader Joe’s for downtown may
not be just around the corner, but the
California grocery chain’s language in
response to neighborhood solicitations
is a bit more positive than it once was.
Trader Joe’s VP Douglas Yokomizo used
to respond with thanks and a demurral,
pointing out the the company can’t
open stores “in every community that
wants us.” However, the tune changed a
bit slightly in response to Roosevelt resident Henry Wingfield’s efforts to connect the chain with Desert Viking
Properties, which is redeveloping the
Gold Spot market at Roosevelt and
Third Avenue. A July 19 letter from
Yokomizo said he has added downtown
Phoenix the the list of areas being considered in the current review.
Westwood Community Baptist Church
An Old-Fashioned Country Church in the Heart of the City
Add worship to your life experience.
Praise God from whom all blessings flow.
Solid Biblical preaching.
Focusing on senior saints and sinners.
Sunday Morning
Worship Service – 9:15
Bible Study – 10:30
3444 North 19th Avenue
Phoenix, Arizona 85017
For information, call Pastor Mike Shepherd (623) 848-3333
24
On MLK Day, a reflection on ‘The Pianist’
Film can remind us to bend our view, hearts and policies in the direction of the disempowered, deprived, desperate
Readers whose sensitivities are excessively keen and understanding dull are
advised to pass over this essay, which
contains offensive terminology, chosen
and used for didactic reasons directly
emergent from the line of argument.
MIDTOWN MESSENGER PHOTO/DAVID TELL.. RENDERINGS, COURTESY OF DESERT VIKING PROPERTIES
Above, the building at Thomas and 7th street to be renovated as senior living units by Catholic
Healthcare West. Below and bottom—Desert Viking Properties’ ongoing downtown developments: the Gold Spot Marketing Center at Roosevelt and 3rd Avenue, and the Lamar Building at
3rd Avenue and Latham.
S
eeing “The Pianist,” I was
made glad that my grandparents’ parents—maternal and
paternal—had the guts, gumption and enterprise to move their families to America well before the nadir of
anti-Semitic brutality throughout
Europe in the ’30s and ’40s. In fact, my
paternal grandfather was born in London, and that side of the family arrived
here before the turn of the century; my
mother’s setting foot on U.S. soil a few
years after. When I resent not always
being able to be understood in English
in my native country, and consider
other issues related to our porous
southern border, I ought to remember
the drive for relief from desperation
that brings migrants, and the assimilation that naturally occurs—if not
always among the first generation,
then usually soon after.
“The Pianist,” a triumph of filmmaking for veteran director Roman Polanski, is admittedly hard—distressing,
painful—to sit through. It also almost
trivializes the film to assess it through
usual cinematic categories. This, then,
gives me more than the usual license to
use it as a take-off—pretext?—to spout
my own social, political and philosophical views and prejudices. Here goes.
The film follows virtuoso Warsaw
pianist Wladislaw Szpilman (Adrien
Brody) and his family and community
from just before the Nazi occupation of
Poland until its liberation by the Russians near the end of World War II.
What is difficult to watch, of course, is
the brutal degradation of members of
my religious and ethnic group, in which
their general lack of resistance aided
their oppressors. I do not judge those
individuals and hordes who were herded into such conditions and ultimately
their deaths. I try to respect legitimate
authority and have sometimes obligingly submitted myself to institutionalized
wrongs. So, wincing while watching my
people subordinate and debase themselves, I take compensatory pride not
only in their dignity and dogged persistence in survival and martyrdom
alike down the centuries—but also in
their fierceness as Bronze Age warriors
who, in an ancient exercise in the “ethnic cleansing” that is mankind’s (not
just Balkan peninsula residents’) frequent habit—retook and defended
Canaan following the Exodus.
I take less satisfaction in the grim
and sometimes ruthless resolve on the
part of today’s Israel to defend and
perhaps extend its borders. But what is
fundamentally regrettable there is that
the two-millennium European experience of the Jewish Diaspora and the
guilt of the Western Allies made it necessary—necessary—to re-carve a Jewish homeland out of so barren—but
perennially contested, as “holy” and
“homeland”—a strip of the planet.
Still, anti-Semitism, in my book, has
always encompassed bigotry and
oppression not only against Jews, but
also Arabs—traditional descendants of
Abraham’s elder son, Ishmael. Tolerance, respect, cooperation, and a commitment to help raise our Arab brothers out of poverty and degradation
should be considered part of the native
mission of all Jews, in my Book. So, it
pained me, the times I heard a pam-
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pered, JAPpy, trashily superficial
“Nigger!” And the term is disturbingly
acquaintance in Detroit—which
offensive just hanging there in the air,
allegedly has the largest Arab-Amerior on the page, even impersonally. But
can population in the United States—
as a Jew, I say it’s time to start re-idenrefer to Arabs as “sand niggers.” Still,
tifying, on a large and politically influthe term accurately evokes the condiential scale, with “niggers”—of all coltions and plight of those worst off in
ors.
many Arab and Muslim nations—as
Jim Hudson, my girlfriend Megan’s
well as, reportedly, the attitude of nonfather, was a “nigger.” A white, Middispossessed Arabs in the Middle East
western, middle-class “nigger,” but a
toward their Palestinian counterparts.
“nigger” nonetheless, in his humble
To digress, seemingly: A decade ago
convictions on behalf of the oppressed.
I dated a woman, who, a few years
Son of a small-town banker in the
older than me, had
upper Midwest, he
grown up, in the
became a carpenqTOWARD ACTION
early-to-mid ’50s,
ter by trade, and
“underground”—her Hear a free public lecture sponsored by
retired as one.
the John M. and Hellen S. Jacobs
parents being not
Now, I’m not sugEndowed Visiting Professorship in Ethics:
only dyed-in-thegesting, as he per“The Political and Ethical Costs of
wool atheists, but
haps felt, that we
also avowed, literal- Bystanding: Defending a Philosophy of
should over-idenAction.” Presented by Robert Grudin,
ly card-carrying
tify with “the poor
Communists. It was Ph.D., a Pulitzer Prize-nominee. Wednes- Palestinians
day, Feb. 12, 7 p.m. ASU West, Universi- against the imperinew to me to learn
ty Center Building, La Sala, 47th Avenue
that being left of
alist-allied
& Thunderbird Road. Open to the public.
center tended, in
Israelis.” No, I’m
R.S.V.P. requested to (602) 543-5303.
many circles, to
suggesting that
place you on the
Jews, more than
side of, e.g., the
anyone else, need
Catholics in Northern Ireland, as well
to get in touch with our own “nigger”
as the Palestinians in the Mideast.
roots, and offer our voices and efforts
Well, to unwind the digression, that’s
in principled opposition to many of the
not so surprising, and is certainly not
worst policies currently being pursued
inconsistent. After all, aren’t we, the
in the name of anti-terrorism.
left-leaning, supposed to be on the side
Obviously, we Jews know by recent
of “niggers” everywhere? And, as the
experience what it’s like—and what it
would-be soul-music impresario in
can lead to—to be denied fundamental
“The Commitments” says in explaining
rights, due process—to be spirited
away the incongruity of his taste: “The
away, to be spied on and turned in—to
Irish are the blacks of Europe, and
be made not only second-class, but
Dubliners are the blacks of Ireland.”
subhuman. In the case of Europe, it
Well, let’s not be too politically corwas “subhuman by association.” While
rect here, even though by my lights,
the Holocaust victims whose brutalizaone of the most virulently inflammatotion and destruction we witness in
continued on following page
ry things you can say to someone is
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qSEE
VIEWPOINTS
‘Pianist’ strikes
a deep chord
continued from previous page
“The Pianist” are, in many cases, members of affluent professional and mercantile classes prevalent in Poland and
Germany, they were guilty of “niggerhood-by-association” with the millions
of Jewish peasants populating the
forests, foothills and steppes of Eastern
Europe and Western Russia. Like their
counterpart Christian villagers, they
barely clung to survival, let alone the
lofty tenets of their religion, as the
appeal of folklore, paganism, mysticism
and superstition lured them at many a
turn. And in Poland under Chmielnicki, and Russia under czars and Cossacks—even more than in Germany
(until the Nazis and their convenient
four-in-one-solution of distracting and
inspiring the masses, expropriating
wealth, cheaply staffing heavy industry
and exterminating a hated group),
there was a tradition of vicious, bloody
scapegoating, because the Jews, in their
different and even strange ways—like
Middle Easterners now—have always
been easy to scapegoat.
Back to the film, for a moment (let’s
not forget the film)—I can’t even compare it knowledgeably to Spielberg’s
“Schindler’s List”—because I’ve never
seen more than the first 15 or 20 minutes of it. Spielberg didn’t even begin to
convince me there was much edification to be found in the fact that a collaborator Polish industrialist conspired
to save a thousand or so Jews. But,
watching “The Pianist,” I realized that,
while the numbers tortured and lost in
the Holocaust reflect an incomprehensible enormity, the value of each life
saved—somehow, still—is also incommensurately enormous. Thus my gratitude to my wise, feisty and doughty
forebears is enhanced. But I still do not
admire Schindler—nor feel terribly
sorry for the German officer who
helped shield Szpilman from discovery
and save him from starvation in the
last days of the occupation. Grateful,
yes. Sorry, no.
Again, anyway—speaking of “niggers” and those who stand up for
them—Szpilman’s Christlike appear-
ance and trials (not quite 39 lashes) are
notable among “The Pianist’s” few
symbolic touches. Otherwise, it is just
horribly, unrelentingly realistic. But
Christ, as Everyman, can be completely
degraded—and yet prevail. Not every
man, but some—the lucky. It’s just luck.
Notably, too, you hardly notice the
almost total absence of music—certainly the absence of Szpilman’s beautiful,
authoritative, powerful renditions of
Chopin—throughout most of the film.
As in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs,
music ranks rather low amid those
going unmet in that Warsaw sojourn.
Back to the social treatise, it’s not
clear in these times of infringed-upon
civil rights and liberties, government
encroachment on privacy, and our
broadly reprehensible foreign and
domestic policy, that Everyman can
prevail. Witness Christ as 1984’s Winston Smith, rather than as lucky, digni-
THE FILM
“The Pianist” is now showing at Harkins
Camelview in Scottsdale, Goldwater Blvd.
north of Camelback. See other local listings
for showtimes or call 222-HARK #016
fied, talented, persevering Szpilman.
So, it’s time to protest domestic policies, foreign policy. It’s time to insist on
our stopping undermining Hugo
Chavez, and starting to undermine
King Fahd. Let’s call for “regime
change” in Saudi Arabia, where kleptocrats prop themselves up by redirecting
their “niggers’” resentment and hatred
toward the West, toward Israel, toward
the Jews.
We have brothers in Iran, Iraq,
Yemen. Some are Jews, some are Arabs,
some are Persians, some are Baha’ists,
some are Muslims—Sunni, Shiite alike.
Some are Kurds, some are Chaldeans,
some are even Christians. Some are
middle-class professionals just like ourselves, unable to make a bold move for
fear of their Big Brother’s boot in their
face. Many are “niggers.”
To extend the metaphor: In this
country—or, say, prewar Poland, Vichy
France, 19th century Germany; Holland, Hungary, Spain—we Jews have
our “Uncle Toms.” In many societies
throughout history we have often—
some or many of us—ingratiated ourselves with the the prevailing regime,
despotic and enlightened alike. We
establish ourselves as a skilled administrative, artisan or merchant class and it
becomes not in our interest to rock the
boat—even as others—co-religionists or
mere unrelated “niggers”—are chained
to oars, lashed without mercy and
thrown to the sharks. One of the hardest things to watch in “The Pianist” is
Jews deputized by the oppressors to do
their dirty work for them. —To police
and keep down their friends and neighbors—eventually, even to help herd
them to the slaughter.
To the contrary, we need to remember who we are, where we came from,
and what we stand for.
And to speak out: I am a nigger, I
am a Jew ... I am Everyman.
—David Tell
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IN OUR OPINION
Lacy earned it; Midtown deserves it
A few classy restaurant-bars would be compatible with a clearsighted vision for downtown—and nearby neighborhoods
K
endra Vermeer, long
known as a bit of a
naysayer and NIMBYite with regard to
various
downtown
developments, has now
simultaneously performed a bit of an about-face and a neat
balancing act. In her capacity as a member of the Willo neighborhood board, she
has a certain responsibility to stand with
what the board decides. On the other
hand, as one of several business owners
participating in “Historic McDowell
Now”—a consortium seeking to upgrade
the business presence and appearance
along West McDowell, she naturally must
participate in and promote those efforts.
David Lacy, also a participant in
“Historic McDowell Now” as well as the
owner of the Willo Bread Co. and My
Florist Café, recently applied for Series
12, restaurant-type liquor license for
the bistro. Lacy committed a misstep in
not seeking early support from surrounding neighborhoods, but he remedied that in a meeting on Jan. 3 at the
restaurant, at which he explained his
plans and intentions. Notably, he also
withdrew the portion of his application
that would have led to Heard Museumlike catered events in the loft space over
the bakery. OK, well—nothing of the
magnitude of the Heard’s special-use
events, they would still have been occasions for disrupting the quietude of life
along Almeria Road behind the place.
Still, Almeria residents expressed
somewhat highly charged opposition to
the idea of Lacy’s serving a martini or
two to his diners, at a Jan. 2 meeting of
the Willo board, at Lacy’s own confab,
and at his application’s City Council
hearing. They also accurately pointed
out to Council that Lacy had told his
audience he was pursuing the license,
rather than dropping the bid, partly so
that other businesses might not be
deterred from coming into Midtown
and potentially making the McDowell
strip a nighttime destination as classy
as anything in Scottsdale.
In his Council testimony, Lacy downplayed this assertion, but we wish he
hadn’t. We think the notion is exactly
correct, and represents the sort of thinking and future for Midtown that ought to
occur. Not only is it not grossly out of
sync with the reasonable peace and
security of nearby neighborhoods, it is
essential to secure the long-term viability of downtown and Midtown neighborhoods against the latent but ever-present
threat of commercial rot and residential
blight in our urban core.
Some recent commentators in our
Letters space are correct when they say
that many Midtown residents have a
suburban mindset in their lifestyle
expectations. But while the neighborhoods north of McDowell were once the
city’s suburbs, they no longer are. And
the mindset that some residents have
betrays a provincial ignorance of—or
willful blindness to—what a city needs
to be to thrive.
We visited Santa Monica in L.A. last
summer and were reminded of what we
could have here, if planners and developers and communities manage to strike
the correct balance between preservation
of the best of what we now have and cultivation of what we still need. Within just
the radius of a mile or two, there were
blocks and blocks of small, neat apartment buildings; a commercial area
anchored by a beautiful, thronging
pedestrian mall; intermittent low-density
commercial such as specialty markets
and small grocery stores; the Pacific
Coast Highway and I-10; and, just adjacent to all this, beautiful, large-lot, greenlawned, mature-landscaped upscale single-family neighborhoods with homes
valued at least in the high six figures—up
for consideration in a public vote for
some historic preservation limitations
and protections.
We respect Vermeer more than ever
for going out on a limb in support of
Lacy’s license. We also applaud District
7 Councilman Doug Lingner in his
insightful and pragmatic approach to
the matter—the first of many similar
issues that will confront him in the new,
“historic” end of his district. As for the
members of the Willo board who heeded only the concerns of the few resi-
dents “crying wolf ”—that’s not leadership. As a Roosevelt resident remarked,
Willo now is making itself perceived
downtown as Roosevelt was doing 10
years ago—as being against virtually
everything, and bent on getting its way.
That may not be fully accurate, but we
agree it’s the recent tendency—witness
the high-handed handling of the recent
First Avenue alignment and street closures. Presentations before various
public bodies carried a distinct air of
“This is what we’ve decided—who are
you to say us nay?”
We kind of enjoyed hearing our publication mentioned to Council as having
been present at Lacy’s meeting and as
being likely to accurately attest to what
was said there. But, like Vermeer and
Lingner, we are performing a delicate
balancing act. Our mission, of course, is
to raise and promote dialogue on public
policy questions that affect Midtown life.
And in doing so, we may often suggest
where we think the proper outcome may
lie. In covering and serving the historic
districts of Midtown, we naturally have a
slant in favor of historic preservation, not
to mention neighborhood preservation.
However, we must advise our loyal readers: The interest of the larger community
is not always identical with the interests
of an individual neighborhood or historic
district. But, sometimes, what is best for
the larger community is also what’s best
for more local interests—in the long run.
Loaned out your copy of
The Midtown Messenger?
Get another at any of
these distinguished locations:
AJ’s, Floral Keepsakes, MacAlpine’s,
Speeder & Earl’s, Q’Doba, Phoenix
City Grill, Hidden House, Bruno Mali’s,
Hamburger Works, Purple Lizard
Boutique, Paisley Violin, Phoenix
Museum of History, My Florist Cafe,
Willow House, Xavier Square, Lux
Cafe, Lucci’s Cafe, Brandeis Book
Shoppe, Alwun House, Shackelford
House, the State Capitol and at dozens
of Pogo free racks throughout the
downtown area.
No luck? Call 462-5675
for replenishment.
[email protected]
27
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