Attractions

In late 1937 Wright purchased land in northeast Scottsdale, Arizona, where he and his young apprentices took on the task of building Taliesin West as a winter "camp." The complex of buildings included residential spaces, theaters, a shop, and an architectural studio and drafting room.

From its inception, the buildings at Taliesin West astounded architectural critics with their beauty and unusual form. In it 1956 report Architectural Record called a visit to Taliesin West "an experience in color, light, and time . . .

Most of all, the building is an experience in time: approach terraces, the steps, the long walk under the pergola, the penetration into the heart of the building itself: all these form a subtle sequence of varied spaces, scales, and shapes . . .

Perhaps never since the baroque period has the element of time been used so skillfully in realizing the enchantment of an intricate work of art."

The essence of the Japanese culture is brought to the desert through the three and a half-acre authentic Japanese Friendship Garden in downtown Phoenix.

The garden and teahouse celebrate the spirit of understanding and promote educational and cultural awareness between the East and West. The garden features more than 50 varieties of plants, flowing streams, a 12-foot waterfall and a Koi pond. The garden is a joint project between Phoenix and its sister city of Himeji, Japan.

Following Einstein’s observation that “imagination is more important than knowledge,” Mystery Castle builder Boyd Gulley provides free-spirited testament. In 1927, Gulley left his Seattle office for a doctor’s appointment and never returned – not to work, nor home to his wife and daughter.

Diagnosed with tuberculosis, he vanished, showing up three years later in the hill country south of Phoenix. He devoted his final 15 years to creating an 18-room castle with crenellated parapets, turrets and a tower from native stone, adobe, and auto parts including wheels of his Stutz Bearcat, held together by a mortar of sand, cement, calcium and goat’s milk. Depression glass dishes form doorway transoms and an inverted bathtub doubles as a kitchen stove exhaust vent. Out back from the unplumbed fantasy abode is the Pink Privy, a two-holer with a shocking pink interior.

After he died in 1945, a lawyer contacted his widow and grown daughter to inform them Gulley had built his once 4-year-old princess the castle he had promised. His daughter Mary Lou Gulley conducts tours. Closed July-September.

Another familiar Phoenix landmark, Tovrea Castle sits atop a cactus-covered hill like a giant tiered wedding cake. This one-of-a-kind castle was built in the 1920s by Alessio Carraro and sold shortly thereafter to cattle baron Edward Tovrea.

The castle reflects the rustic elegance of 1900s Arizona. Now owned by the city of Phoenix, the castle is an historic preservation project of the Phoenix Historic Preservation Office and the Parks and Recreation Department. The city has completed a garden restoration project on the grounds.

The castle, currently under restoration, will be open to the public on a limited basis upon completion.

Pueblo Grande is the only National Historic Landmark in the city. The park includes a 1,500-year-old Hohokam culture ruin along an interpretive trail as well as an onsite museum with three exhibit galleries and a theater featuring exhibits of the Hohokam and other cultures of the Southwest. The site also includes some of the last remaining intact Hohokam irrigation canals. Pueblo Grande Museum and Archaeological Park is dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of southwest cultures, past and present.

Museum Mission: Pueblo Grande Museum will collect, preserve, interpret, and exhibit materials from the site of Pueblo Grande as well as archaeological and ethnographic material from the Greater Southwest. The Museum is dedicated to enhancing the knowledge of prehistory, history, and ethnology of Native Americans and inhabitants of the Southwest, and promoting a greater understanding of other cultures past and present. Pueblo Grande Museum is located at a 1,500 year-old Hohokam village ruins in modern day Phoenix. For over 70 years the museum has been dedicated to the study and interpretation of the Hohokam culture. On the 102 acre park grounds, visitors explore the ruin of an 800 year-old platform mound possibly used by the Hohokam for ceremonies or as an administrative center. An excavated ballcourt, and to full-scale reproductions of prehistoric Hohokam homes can be viewed along the ruin trail. The site also includes some of the last remaining intact Hohokam irrigation canals.

The Hohokam Culture: The prehistoric Hohokam people lived in central and southern Arizona from about AD 1 to 1450. They were expert farmers, growing crops such as corn, beans, squash, and cotton. They used adobe to construct their villages, often centered around platform mounds and ballcourts, and engineered hundreds of miles of canals to irrigate their fields. Distinguished by their red-on-buff pottery, the Hohokam wove beautiful textiles and made jewelry from shell obtained from the Gulf of California. Drought, floods and perhaps internal strife, forced the Hohokam to abandon the Salt River Valley in the fifteenth century. When Spanish explorers arrived in the sixteenth century, they found the Hohokam villages in ruins. However, they also found thriving villages of Akimel O'odham (Pima) natives, who claim to be descendents of the Hohokam. Pueblo Grande Museum and Archaeological Park is dedicated to increasing knowledge and understanding of the peoples of the Southwest, past and present.

Don't forget to stop in at the Museum Store operated by the Pueblo Grande Museum Auxiliary. It's a great place to find that one-of-a-kind gift or personal item. Located off of the museum lobby you will find a wide variety of books, American Indian jewelry and pottery, games and books for kids, shirts, compact discs, cassette tapes and lots of other interesting items.

About one and a half hours north of Phoenix are two National Monuments that are well worth a day trip from the Phoenix area. Montezuma Castle stands in a cliff recess a hundred feet above the Verde Valley. It was five-story a 20-room dwelling built by the peaceful Sinagua farmers in the 12th century. This area overlooked fertile fields where they grew corn, beans squash and cotton. Nearby, a creek provided them with a reliable source of water. This location also provided some safety from potentially dangerous visitors.

Montezuma Castle was so securely built that it is now one of the best-preserved prehistoric structures in the Southwest. Nearby one can also see some of the remaining ruins from an additional six-story 45-room dwelling which was built at the base of the cliff. Tuzigoot is an Apache word meaning "crooked water." Tuzigoot is a remnant of a Sinaguan village built above the Verde Valley before 1400. It is thought that the population here, and the building of additional rooms as a consequence, was comprised of farmers leaving the drought in outlying areas. Visitors are invited to walk in and around Tuzigoot to try to imagine the daily life of the Sinagua who farmed, hunted and created pottery and artwork in this area hundreds of years ago.

In addition to Montezuma Castle and Tuzigoot, Montezuma Well is open to the public for visits. The well is a limestone sink formed hundreds of years ago. The local inhabitants of the era used the waters from the well to irrigate their crops. Remains of pithouses are here, as well as petroglyphs which can be viewed only certain days of the week. Contact the National Park Service for the schedule.

Both Montezuma Castle and Tuzigoot are managed by the National Park Service, and there is small fee for entry. The museum at Montezuma Castle provides good information, but needs a bit of refurbishment. The Visitor Center at Tuzigoot, however, is very well done. Both monuments are very interesting, but for the younger crowd Tuzigoot will be the more popular of the two since you can actually walk up, in and around the structure. No food is available at any of these locations, so bring some sandwiches and fruit and drinks. There is a picnic area at Montezuma Castle. If visiting in the spring and summer, make sure to bring a hat and suncreeen, since there is little protection from the sun.

Home of new baby tigers – “Nash” & “Raja” – named after 2 of the Phoenix Suns Basketball players.

At the Wildlife World Zoo, we strive to achieve the highest standards for our animals, our customers, and ourselves. Since 1984 one of the Wildlife World Zoo's primary goals has been to educate Arizonians about the importance of conserving of all species of animals and the places they call home.  Our Mission:  We will endeavor to be recognized locally and nationally as an excellent zoological park exhibiting and explaining the wonders of the natural world. The four key purposes of the Wildlife World Zoo are; conservation, recreation, education, and non-invasive scientific studies.

Zoo Profile:  At 22 years old and growing stronger, Wildlife World Zoo has Arizona's largest collection of exotic animals, totaling over 2400 individual animals representing nearly 400 species.  Wildlife World Zoo is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). It is one of a few nationally accredited privately owned zoos in the United States. In 2004, the zoo was also inducted into the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA). Only about one quarter of AZA's 200 plus member institutions are currently selected for membership in WAZA.  Wildlife World Zoo brings together over 2400 individual animals representing more than 350 different species. In our exhibits you will see endangered hoofed animals in grassy pastures, rare birds in flight in their naturalistic aviaries, remarkable reptiles, fascinating fish and mazing small mammals. Through this living environment over three million visitors have passed, explored and learned.

The Boyce Thompson Arboretum brings together plants from the Earth's many and varied deserts and dry lands. Approximately 3,200 different desert plants can be found within the arboretum, and most of them can be seen along the 1.5 mile main trail. During wildflower season, the Boyce Thompson Arboretum is especially beautiful, displaying all the wonderful colors of the desert.

Are you a bird lover? More than 250 species of birds have been recorded at the Boyce Thompson Arboretum. The Arboretum brings together plants from the Earth's many and varied deserts and dry lands and displays them alongside unspoiled examples of the native Sonoran Desert vegetation. No matter what the season, you will enjoy a moving and memorable experience of the beauty, majesty, and mystery of arid land plants.

You will also enjoy the many natural communities that form the arid land environment. Memorable experiences await you as you walk the Main Trail; you will see enthralling, otherworldly shapes and forms in the Cactus Garden. You will also find peaceful reflection in the cool shade of towering trees in Queen Creek Canyon; and intellectual stimulation in the many and varied displays at the Smith Interpretive Center. You may enjoy a quiet and intimate time at the Wing Memorial Garden; as well as inspiration for home or business landscapes at the Demonstration Gardens of Low Water-demanding Plants. You will see expansive southwestern vistas visible from the High Trail. There are many gardens here; so find your special places among them.

Arcosanti, The Cosanti Foundation - Paolo Soleri’s architecture project is an “urban laboratory” in progress. Tours include the Soleri bronze-bell foundry, gift gallery, bakery and more. In 1970, the Cosanti Foundation launched Arcosanti, an experimental town in the high desert, 70 miles north of Phoenix. When complete, Arcosanti will house 5,000, demonstrating how to improve urban conditions and reduce destructive impact on the earth.

Large, compact structures and solar greenhouses occupy only 25 acres of a 4,060-acre preserve, keeping the natural countryside close to urban dwellers. Arcosanti can be experienced in stays of a few hours or a few days, and there are programs for longer-term experiences.