Camelback & Central Phoenix Metro Light Rail Station: A Gateway.

Exploring the metro light rail stations is very enjoyable.  It goes through urban Phoenix or the parts of Phoenix that are as closest to urban as we have in the valley, so lot of stuff and interesting places can be found right along this 21 mile strip.  

The Camelback & Central station or otherwise called Uptown Phoenix is one of my favorite stations: probably because of it's location, but the art, size and it importance as well.  

This is a park and ride station meaning that there is a large parking lot where which gets filled up as people approach the more dens Phoenix: the cars stay here and the light rail takes up the rest, plus parking can be expensive in downtown Phoenix.  

It's a popular station becasue it is a gateway to midtown and Downtown Phoenix and to North Central Phoenix on the way North: a transition from the mostly single family homes to a more upward living lifestyle.  

To the north of the station there are two very prominent historic neighborhoods, both amongst my favorites of the 35: Windsor Square on the north east corner and Medlock Place on the North West corner.

On the South West is Pierson Place Historic District and the less well known, smaller, but quite nice St. Francis after which the very well received and righfully so St. Francis Restaurant was named.

This entire cross section is busy with activity.  For one thing it's very walkable: from each of the neighborhoods residents or even light rail visitors have access to several wonderful restaurants like St. Francis, Sun Up Brewery, Postino Central, Maizie's, coffee shops, local businesses, shopping, joga studio and then there is the Brophy Preparatory School.  

Several clients have specifically chosen this area as one to live in, invest into and keep an eye out for properties to buy as it's prospects for appreciation are very strong.  It has many of the top characteristics designating a place an in demand location.  it is because of these characteristics that this location will become more important and popular in the future.

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The Art

"The light rail line crosses the southwest corner of Central Avenue and Camelback, creating two large triangular plazas at each end. New York artist, Ilan Averbuch, the design team artist for many of the Central Avenue stations, took advantage of the real estate to create one of the largest works of art on the alignment.

The sculpture, called Landmark, is a massive 24-foot ring of desert stones framing the transit center access drive and Central Avenue itself. Through it, a line of abstract figures crosses a monumental threshold in an endless march, creating a feeling of motion and infinity. There is a Hopi belief that life is a circle that we enter at a particular place; this landmark represents an entry point.

Two nearby small sculptures, Trough and Seat and Tree, consist of a horizontal line of granite stones intersecting a concrete seat under the shade of a large tree. Water flows along the troughs and into the soil, reminding us of the area’s original canals and watering systems." (Metro Art Book - opens in PDF)