This winter the Phoenix Art Museum has an
exhibition about Frank Lloyd Wright, the well known architect who
lived and worked partly in Phoenix. He was active in the beginning of
the century and made some very famous buildings and homes, the most
famous probably Falling Water and the Guggenheim Museum in New York.
The most fascinating thing about this
exhibition was that I understood more about Phoenix and where the inspiration for the city structure had come from. A lot of Frank Lloyd Wright's work has an art deco style which I am very fond of. It is somehow both old and
futuristic. I can not help thinking about Fritz Lang's Metropolis
when I see art deco architecture. But the interesting thing I learned at this exhibition was that Lloyd Wright also created a plan
for the perfect city, Broadacre City. It was the beginning of the century,
cars were not very common but there was a dream of wealth and technically advanced future. Naturally
his plan evolved around cars and the idea that everyone should have
an acre of land. To make this work the city became very spread out
and in order to get around quickly a network of roads were a central
part of the planning. Looking at his sketches makes you realize that
this is exactly what Phoenix looks like today. This futuristic city
that has become reality is as functional and lifeless as the drawings
show.
East Phoenix Metro Area from Superstition Ridge
The thought of giving everyone a fair piece of
property close to everything they need is of course very nice. But
therefore it also lacks the atmosphere that so many other cities do
have and make them worth visiting. There is no city center where
people spontaneously meet and where you can go shopping, catch a
movie, a theater, visit markets, have coffee or dinner with friends
and stroll around and do some people watching, all in the same place.
Honestly, I have a very hard time to say why anyone should visit
Phoenix as a tourist. It is a comfortable city to live in but does not offer a lot to the visitor. Unless the city structure itself makes
you want to come and see it with your own eyes. The thing many people visit Phoenix for is the weather, to play golf or other sports when it is too cold in other places. Many baseball teams for example has their spring training in Phoenix which attracts a lot of tourists. Fair enough, the winters here are very comfortable and also my favorite thing about Phoenix.
Coming from a place where public
transport is the best way of getting around and having a car is
actually more of a hassle than useful, it is difficult to get used to
Phoenix. People who grew up here seem to love it though. Many would
just get nervous in a city where I feel very comfortable. I guess this is a good thing though, everyone is not the same and there is a place for everybody.
