Roosevelt Row CDC

Description

Roosevelt Row is a dynamic, walkable urban mixed-use area with a significant concentration of artists and other creative professionals. With increasing density, this is an area that is becoming more pedestrian-friendly and supportive of small local independent businesses that give downtown Phoenix character. Roosevelt Street is an east-west corridor that connects the historic neighborhoods between Grand Avenue and 16th Street. The corridor also connects Copper Square, Chase Field, U.S. Airways Center, major cultural institutions, the new downtown ASU campus and the biomedical campus. Roosevelt Row is also home to artist live/work spaces, gallery spaces and studio spaces. Roosevelt Row is a pedestrian friendly street that connects the arts and downtown Phoenix historic neighborhoods including Garfield, Evans Churchill, F.Q. Story, Willo, the Roosevelt Action Association and Grand Avenue. A SHORT BIT OF HISTORY Roosevelt Row has been a vital mixed use area from the earliest days of the establishment of Phoenix. Many of the historic concrete sidewalks in the corridor were poured 1909, three years before Arizona officially became the 48th State. In the early 1940s, when there were approximately 30,000 people living in Phoenix numerous businesses were established along Roosevelt Street. The flower shop at Fifth Street and Roosevelt has been in continuous operation since 1948. In the 1970s, parts of the area were re-zoned as a high-rise incentive district leading to land speculation and a decline of the neighborhood that lasted until the late 1990s. The blighted area was attractive to artists because the boarded-up buildings and former crack houses were affordable for studio and gallery space. The arts were a major factor in the revitalization of the area resulting in significant decreases in crime as more people began to venture into the area to experience the cultural vibrancy. The corridor is re-emerging as one of the more vital areas of downtown Phoenix and a significant cultural resource in the metropolitan region and the state.