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Roosevelt Row, Phoenix, Arizona

Phoenix's downtown arts district, made by the artists who moved into its cheap bungalows and blank walls: murals down Roosevelt Street, galleries in restored houses, First Fridays filling the blocks each month, and the light rail and the downtown core at its door.

Hidden Gem Angle: Downtown arts district living Price band: Affordable Data checked October 27, 2026
The Bliss mural by El Mac and Kofie on Roosevelt Row in Phoenix, at night
The Bliss mural by El Mac and Kofie on Roosevelt Row, photographed at night in 2011. Photo by Chris English, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.

At a Glance

Affordability 6/10 Median sale price, ZIP 85004, downtown core including Roosevelt Row$470,000Arizona Homes and Condos Realty, Downtown Phoenix guide, October 2026 1 year price change, ZIP 85004Up 1.6% year over yearArizona Homes and Condos Realty, Downtown Phoenix guide, October 2026 Average apartment rent, one bedroom, Roosevelt Row$1,844 per monthApartments.com local guide, May 2026 Median sale price, single family detached, downtown ZIPs 85003, 85004 and 85007$596,000Arizona Homes and Condos Realty, September 2026 report on August 2026 closed sales A downtown core that still closes below the citywide median, with renting as the natural way in. The owned houses are the expensive layer, and the condo fees need a hard look.
Walkability 9/10 Walk Score, 330 East Roosevelt Street94 out of 100Walk Score via Point2Homes, October 27, 2026 Transit Score, 330 East Roosevelt Street58 out of 100Walk Score via Point2Homes, October 27, 2026 Bike Score, 330 East Roosevelt Street73 out of 100Walk Score via Point2Homes, October 27, 2026 The blocks around Roosevelt and Third Street run daily life on foot, with a train at Central Avenue. Summer heat sets the real limit, and the wider Evans-Churchill edges walk to less.
Housing Variety 7.5/10 Housing stock, Roosevelt Row and ZIP 85004Mid and high rise apartment buildings and condo towers in the 85004 core, loft conversions and townhome infill in Evans-Churchill, and early 1900s single family homes in the Roosevelt Historic District and toward Garfield; 6,444 occupied units in ZIP 85004, 78.9% renter occupiedPoint2Homes, ZIP 85004 demographics, October 27, 2026; Arizona Homes and Condos Realty, October 2026 Renters get the deep bench here: towers, lofts, infill townhouses. Buyers get a thin owned layer, and family sized houses are the scarcest thing in the district.
Daily Life 8.5/10 Galleries, murals and coffee on Roosevelt Street, a park at the north edge, and one very large Friday night a month. The ordinary weeks are quieter, and that contrast is the rhythm of the place.
Commute 9.5/10 Distance to the downtown core stationsAbout 0.6 milesPoint2Homes station distances from 330 East Roosevelt Street, October 27, 2026 Valley Metro Rail to the Downtown Phoenix Hub4 minutes from Roosevelt / Central AveMoovit Valley Metro schedule, October 27, 2026 The neighborhood sits inside its own commute destination, and the train covers the last half mile in minutes. Jobs spread across the wider metro are a different trip.

Arizona cost notes. Arizona taxes income at one flat rate of 2.5 percent, with no brackets, and Phoenix charges no city income tax (Tax Foundation, 2026). Sales tax in Phoenix totals 9.1 percent in 2026: 5.6 percent state, 0.7 percent Maricopa County and 2.8 percent City of Phoenix, the city rate up from 2.3 percent on July 1, 2025. Property tax runs low: the median effective rate in ZIP 85004 is 0.56 percent (OwnWell, 2026), about $2,632 a year on a $470,000 home, and Arizona taxes a limited property value that cannot rise more than 5 percent a year, with homes assessed at 10 percent of that value. Renters get a clean break: since January 1, 2025, no Arizona city may tax residential rent on leases of 30 days or more (Arizona Department of Revenue), a line that used to add about 2.3 percent in Phoenix.

Map of Roosevelt Row, Phoenix in context, with a pin on the neighborhood and the downtown core just south
Roosevelt Row in context, pin on the neighborhood, with the downtown Phoenix core just south and Margaret T. Hance Park at the north edge. Map: Esri, HERE, Garmin, © OpenStreetMap contributors, and the GIS user community.

The Story

Roosevelt Row began as a plat on paper. The district originated with the platting of the Churchill Addition in 1888, when fewer than 4,000 people lived in Phoenix, and the Evans and Churchill Additions grew as walkable, mixed use blocks north of the young downtown. West of Central Avenue, the companion Roosevelt neighborhood became one of the city's first streetcar suburbs: narrow, deep lots a short walk from the car line, filled between 1895 and 1930 with California bungalows, Craftsman bungalows and Period Revival houses, alongside Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, Kenilworth School and the Hotel Westward Ho.

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The car undid the pattern. Streetcars gave way to buses in 1948 after the trolley warehouse burned, suburban sprawl in the 1950s pulled people and money north, and a 1960s freeway plan that would have cut through the district left banks wary of lending there. Big houses were subdivided or turned to institutional uses, and more than 3,000 homes across central Phoenix were eventually demolished for the freeway system. Preservation pushed back first: the Roosevelt Historic District joined the National Register of Historic Places in November 1983, and in September 1986 Phoenix made it the city's first designated historic district.

Artists came next, for the usual reason: the buildings were old, central and cheap. Through the late 1980s and 1990s they turned vacant buildings into studios and galleries, some of them pushed out of the warehouse district when stadiums took their spaces. Artlink formed in 1989 after the first Art Detour studio tour in 1988, and in 1994 it began promoting First Fridays, the monthly walk that still anchors the Row. Around 2000 the buying began. Cindy Dach and Greg Esser bought the Eye Lounge building at Fifth Street and Roosevelt, Wayne Rainey built Holga's and then monOrchid, Kimber Lanning took on Modified Arts, and when a proposed stadium map showed Eye Lounge as a parking lot, the neighbors organized: the Roosevelt Row Community Development Corporation formed in the early 2000s to give the district a voice in its own development. Valley Metro Rail arrived in December 2008, reconnecting the district to its streetcar roots.

Success brought the second act. Murals made the Row famous, Lauren Lee's Three Birds went up on the GreenHAUS wall in 2012, and USA Today named Roosevelt Row one of the ten best city arts districts in the country in 2014. Then GreenHAUS itself was demolished in 2015 for a luxury apartment project, birds and all, and mid-rise housing rose on the vacant lots First Fridays vendors once lit up. The question in Roosevelt Row today is whether artists can still afford to live and work in the place their work made valuable.

Isaac Caruso's Sunflowers mural on the monOrchid north wall in Roosevelt Row, Phoenix, with a restored historic home behind it
Isaac Caruso's Sunflowers mural on the north wall of monOrchid, with a restored historic home behind it. Photo by Chris English, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Timeline

  • 1888: The Churchill Addition is platted, the origin point for Roosevelt Row, when fewer than 4,000 people live in Phoenix; the Evans and Churchill Additions grow as walkable, mixed use blocks.
  • 1895 to 1930: The Roosevelt streetcar suburb west of Central Avenue fills with California and Craftsman bungalows and Period Revival houses on narrow, deep lots along the Kenilworth streetcar line.
  • 1948: Streetcars are replaced by buses after the trolley warehouse is destroyed by fire, and 1950s suburban sprawl begins decades of decline for the downtown core.
  • 1960s to 1973: A freeway plan proposes an elevated freeway through the neighborhood; lending dries up and houses are subdivided. The proposed Papago Freeway inner loop is defeated in 1973, but more than 3,000 central Phoenix homes are demolished as the freeway system is completed.
  • November 1983: The Roosevelt Historic District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
  • September 1986: Phoenix designates the Roosevelt residential historic district, the first designated historic neighborhood in the city, with boundary adjustments in 1991, 1997 and 2004.
  • 1988 to 1989: The first Art Detour open studio tour runs in 1988, and Artlink forms in 1989 to carry it.
  • 1994: Artlink takes over promotion of the monthly art walk and moves it to the first Friday, starting First Fridays.
  • 1999 to 2000: Modified Arts is founded in 1999, Wayne Rainey establishes Holga's, and Cindy Dach and Greg Esser buy the Eye Lounge building in 2000.
  • Early 2000s: The Roosevelt Row Community Development Corporation forms to protect affordable artist space and give the district a voice in development, after a proposed stadium map showed Eye Lounge as a parking lot.
  • December 2008: Valley Metro Rail opens through downtown Phoenix, reconnecting the district to its streetcar roots.
  • 2012: Lauren Lee paints Three Birds on the GreenHAUS gallery wall; the mural becomes a symbol of the Row.
  • May 2014: USA Today names Roosevelt Row one of the 10 best city arts districts in the country, as reported by Cronkite News in January 2015.
  • 2015: GreenHAUS is demolished, with the Three Birds mural, for the iLuminate 290 luxury apartments, as mid-rise development reshapes the Row.
  • Each month: First Fridays draws 14,000 to 20,000 visitors, one of the largest monthly art walks in the United States (Artlink).

What It Actually Feels Like

Roosevelt Row feels like two neighborhoods sharing one street. On Roosevelt itself the walls do the talking: murals run down the blocks, galleries and small shops sit in converted bungalows and low commercial buildings, and coffee and lunch spots fill the corners around Third and Fifth streets. A block west, past Central Avenue, the streets go residential and quiet, all bungalow porches and palm shade in the historic district. South, the towers and the ASU downtown campus take over; north, Margaret T. Hance Park gives the district a green front yard. Ordinary days are calm, almost sleepy in the heat, with the light rail sliding past on Central. Then the first Friday of the month lands, the blocks fill with thousands of people, and the district remembers what it is for. The honest texture is that contrast, plus the construction fences: new apartment blocks keep rising on the old vacant lots, and longtime gallery people will tell you the Row they made is thinner than it was.

A Sunday evening on Roosevelt Row in Phoenix, with a mural covered wall in dusk light
A Sunday evening on Roosevelt Row in 2013: a mural covered wall, a quiet street and dusk light. Photo by Chris English, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Pros and Cons

Pros

  • Downtown prices below the city line: the ZIP 85004 median sale price of $470,000 (October 2026) sits below the City of Phoenix median of $485,000 (Phoenix REALTORS, September 2026), rare for a downtown core.
  • A walkable core with a train: Walk Score 94 at 330 East Roosevelt Street (Walk Score via Point2Homes, October 27, 2026), light rail every 12 minutes at peak, $2 a ride, and the downtown hub 4 minutes away.
  • Renting is the natural way in, and it got cheaper: a one bedroom averages $1,844 a month (Apartments.com, May 2026), and since January 1, 2025 no Arizona city may tax residential rent on leases of 30 days or more.
  • First Fridays is a real institution: 14,000 to 20,000 visitors a month, one of the largest monthly art walks in the United States (Artlink, October 2026).
  • The historic layer has legal protection: National Register listing in 1983 and the city's first historic district designation in 1986, which is why the bungalow streets west of Central still stand.

Cons

  • The portals disagree about the median by hundreds of thousands: Neighborhoods.com reads the Roosevelt neighborhood at $620,000 and the condo heavy Evans-Churchill mix at about $352,500, neither with a dated window, and monthly ZIP medians swing on thin sales.
  • Owned family houses are scarce: ZIP 85004 is 78.9 percent renter occupied (Point2Homes, October 27, 2026), and the verified historic house on October 27, 2026 listed at $2,550,000.
  • Core building fees are steep: the verified tower condos on October 27, 2026 carried HOA dues of $829 to $863 a month, on top of the mortgage.
  • Summer heat caps the walkability the scores promise: the core is flat and shadeless in stretches, and midday errands on foot are a July commitment.
  • First Fridays is mid reset in 2026: the A.R.T.S. Market street closure ended after a March 2026 incident near the event, and a city pilot is moving vendors onto private property, with the format still shifting in fall 2026 reporting (Southwest Contemporary, September 2026; Arizona Republic, April 24, 2026).
  • Development has thinned the gallery scene that made the district: longtime artists report surviving art spaces can be counted on one hand (Southwest Contemporary, September 2026).

Housing in Detail

Entry: the condo tier, where the downtown guide puts entry level condos near $200,000 and the verified active floor on October 27, 2026 was a one bedroom at 1130 N 2nd Street Unit 210 in the en Hance Park condominiums, 683 square feet, listed at $314,999 two blocks off Roosevelt Row. Lofts: the industrial conversions west of the Row, where a two bedroom loft at 387 N 2nd Avenue Unit 1C in the Lofts at Fillmore, 1,358 square feet, listed at $580,000. Towers: the downtown high rises, where a 19th floor two bedroom at 310 S 4th Street #1905 in Summit at Copper Square, 1,412 square feet, listed at $614,995, with condos and lofts across the downtown ZIPs carrying a $429,000 median list price (Arizona Homes and Condos Realty, October 2026). Top: the historic houses, where a renovated 1900 six bedroom at 506 E Portland Street listed at $2,550,000, against a single family detached median of $596,000 across the downtown ZIPs. The shape underneath: a renter's district, 6,444 occupied units in ZIP 85004, 78.9 percent renter occupied (Point2Homes, October 27, 2026), with new mid-rise apartments and townhome infill still arriving on the Evans-Churchill lots.

Daily Life

Roosevelt Street carries the daily round: galleries at monOrchid and Modified Arts, the MADE Art Boutique, coffee and lunch counters in the converted bungalows, and murals that change often enough to reward the same walk twice. Margaret T. Hance Park, at the north edge, is the district's green space, and the ASU Downtown Phoenix Campus a few blocks south keeps students in the coffee lines. The light rail on Central Avenue covers downtown, the ballpark and arena district, and the run east to Tempe. Groceries and errands sit at the downtown core's edge rather than on the Row itself, which is the trade for living this central. And once a month, First Fridays takes the whole district over: galleries open late, vendors set up, and 14,000 to 20,000 people walk the same blocks that were quiet that morning.

Best For / Think Twice If

Best for: young professionals who want downtown life at below city median prices; artists and gallery people who want to live inside the district they show in; downtown and ASU campus workers who will ride the light rail; renters who want a one bedroom near $1,844 with no rental tax line on the lease.

Think twice if: you need an owned family sized house, because the owned stock is thin and the historic houses carry seven figure prices; you are buying a core condo on a tight monthly budget, because HOA dues of $829 to $863 a month showed on the verified tower cards; you want quiet on the first Friday of every month; you plan to walk everywhere in July.

Top Properties Right Now

$314,999

1130 N 2nd Street Unit 210, Phoenix

1 bed | 1 bath | 683 square feet | Condominium, en Hance Park

The verified floor inside the Roosevelt Row core: two blocks off Roosevelt Row and beside Margaret T. Hance Park, behind gated access with a fountain courtyard, covered parking, a pool and tall ceilings, listed October 1, 2026.

Listing verified on the brokerage ARMLS IDX page, October 27, 2026. View on the brokerage page

$325,000

2201 N Central Ave Apt 4C, Phoenix

2 bed | 2 bath | 1,250 square feet | Condominium, built 1957

The mid-century card on the Central Avenue corridor at the McDowell edge, with a den, city and mountain views and two car garage parking; an open house ran October 25, 2026. HOA dues are steep at $1,458 a month.

Listing verified on Realtor.com, October 27, 2026. View on Realtor.com

$580,000

387 N 2nd Avenue Unit 1C, Phoenix

2 bed | 1,358 square feet | Loft condominium, Lofts at Fillmore

The loft card on the 85003 edge: exposed brick, open ducting, hardwood floors and soaring ceilings, with gated access, a private garage and a covered carport, steps from Roosevelt Row.

Listing verified on the brokerage ARMLS IDX page, October 27, 2026. View on the brokerage page

$614,995

310 S 4th St #1905, Phoenix

2 bed | 2.5 bath | 1,412 square feet | Condominium, built 2007, Summit at Copper Square

The tower card: a 19th floor, north facing unit with downtown skyline views from an oversized balcony, floor to ceiling windows and a redesigned kitchen, 67 days on Redfin.

Listing verified on Redfin, October 27, 2026. View on Redfin

$2,550,000

506 E Portland Street, Phoenix

6 bed | 5 bath | Single-family house, built 1900

The historic top of the ladder: a 1900 house in the heart of Roosevelt Row, fully renovated with original cabinetry, a chef's kitchen with a walk-in pantry, spa style bathrooms and a separate one bedroom guest house.

Listing verified on the brokerage ARMLS IDX page, October 27, 2026. View on the brokerage page

Nearby Alternatives

  • Garfield: southeast of the Row, the same early 1900s bungalow stock on quieter residential streets, sharing the downtown edge at lower intensity.
  • Willo: west across Seventh Avenue in ZIP 85003, the grander historic district, where the ZIP median runs $584,000 (October 2026) and the bungalows are the whole point.
  • Midtown, Central Avenue: north up the light rail line, quieter condo towers and museum row blocks, trading the arts district energy for space.
  • Coronado: northeast, a historic bungalow district near the hospitals, residential first, with downtown a short drive or ride south.

Sources

Data as of the dates shown above. Refresh due within 90 days for listings and 6 months for market data.

  • Arizona Homes and Condos Realty, Downtown Phoenix Real Estate guide, last updated October 2026: median sale price, ZIP 85004, $470,000, up 1.6% year over year; ZIP 85003 $584,000, up 3.5%; single family detached median $596,000, up 3.1% (September 2026 report, August 2026 closed sales); condo and loft median list price $429,000: arizonahomesandcondos.com
  • Redfin neighborhood pages for Roosevelt Row and Evans-Churchill, checked October 27, 2026: no Redfin neighborhood median sale price for either geography could be read on a Redfin page that day, so the labeled ZIP 85004 figure above headlines this report and the portal spread is disclosed in the Pros and Cons.
  • Apartments.com, Roosevelt Row local guide, May 2026: average apartment rent, one bedroom, $1,844 per month; studio $1,421, two bedrooms $2,535, three bedrooms $3,631; rents down 4.2% in the past year: apartments.com
  • Point2Homes, Roosevelt Row apartment building, 330 East Roosevelt Street, October 27, 2026: Walk Score 94, Transit Score 58, Bike Score 73 at the address; light rail station distances, Van Buren / Central Ave 0.57 miles and Washington / Central Ave 0.73 miles: point2homes.com
  • Point2Homes, ZIP 85004 demographics, October 27, 2026: 6,444 occupied housing units, 78.9% renter occupied, 21.1% owner occupied; median gross rent $1,834 per month: point2homes.com
  • Neighborhoods.com, Roosevelt Row Arts District page, October 27, 2026: median sale price $620,000 for the Roosevelt neighborhood geography, no dated window shown: neighborhoods.com
  • Neighborhoods.com, Evans Churchill page, October 27, 2026: median sale price $352,500, no dated window shown; housing types and building ages 1910 to 2017: neighborhoods.com
  • Moovit, Valley Metro Rail schedules, October 27, 2026: Roosevelt / Central Ave to Van Buren / 1st Ave in 2 to 3 minutes and to the Downtown Phoenix Hub in 4 minutes: moovitapp.com
  • Phoenix.org, Valley Metro Light Rail summary, October 27, 2026: single ride $2, all day pass $4, trains every 12 minutes at peak: phoenix.org
  • Phoenix Agent Magazine, Maricopa County report, October 8, 2026, reporting Phoenix REALTORS data: City of Phoenix median sales price $485,000 in September 2026, down 3.5% year over year: phoenixagentmagazine.com
  • Tax Foundation, Arizona tax rates and rankings, 2026: flat individual income tax 2.50%, state sales tax 5.60%, effective property tax rate on owner occupied housing 0.48%, no estate or inheritance tax: taxfoundation.org
  • Avalara, Phoenix sales tax rates, 2026, and City of Phoenix newsroom, March 2025: combined Phoenix sales tax 9.1% (state 5.6%, Maricopa County 0.7%, City of Phoenix 2.8% from July 1, 2025, up from 2.3% under Ordinance G-7369): avalara.com and phoenix.gov
  • OwnWell, Maricopa County and Phoenix property tax pages, 2026: Maricopa County median effective property tax rate 0.46%; ZIP 85004 median effective rate 0.56%: ownwell.com
  • Arizona Department of Revenue, Residential Rental Licensing Requirements and Processes, October 27, 2026: no transaction privilege tax on residential rent for stays of 30 days or more anywhere in Arizona since January 1, 2025 (A.R.S. 42-6004(H)); stays under 30 days remain taxed: azdor.gov
  • City of Phoenix, Historic Preservation, Residential Historic Districts list, October 27, 2026: Roosevelt district designated September 1986, the city's first, period of significance 1895 to 1930, boundary adjustments in October 1991, December 1997 and November 2004: phoenix.gov
  • Roosevelt Action Association, History of the Roosevelt neighborhood, October 27, 2026: streetcar suburb origin, 1948 bus transition, freeway plan and decline, National Register listing in November 1983, 1994 First Friday launch, 2008 light rail: rooseveltneighborhood.org
  • Downtown Phoenix Inc., Artlink page, October 27, 2026: Artlink formed in 1989 following the first Art Detour in 1988, promoting First Fridays since 1994, 14,000 to 20,000 visitors monthly, one of the largest monthly art walks in the United States: dtphx.org
  • Downtown Phoenix Inc. and Phoenix Community Alliance, Meet Cindy Dach, interview, October 27, 2026: Dach and Esser arrive in 1997, buy the Eye Lounge building in 2000, the stadium map and the formation of the Roosevelt Row CDC: dtphx.org
  • Greg Esser and Nicole Underwood, Phoenix's Roosevelt Row, Arcadia Publishing, March 7, 2016, publisher synopsis: Churchill Addition platted in 1888, Evans and Churchill walkable growth, 1950s decline, artists arriving for affordability around 2000: readings.com.au
  • Arizona Republic, Is First Friday dead or about to make a major comeback in Phoenix, April 24, 2026: the walk's 1992 Wednesday night start, Artlink promotion from 1994, the Roosevelt Row CDC created in the early 2000s, and the 2026 format changes: azcentral.com
  • Southwest Contemporary, Roosevelt Row's First Friday Controversies Force Reset, September 2026, and Roosevelt Row Developments Affect Artists, 2022: the end of the A.R.T.S. Market street closure after the March 2026 incident, the city vendor pilot, gallery losses and artist affordability: southwestcontemporary.com and southwestcontemporary.com
  • Cronkite News, Protesters ask Phoenix officials and developers to preserve Roosevelt Row culture, January 2015: USA Today naming Roosevelt Row one of the 10 best arts districts in the country in May 2014, and the GreenHAUS mural dispute: cronkitenewsonline.com
  • Hunker, Neighborhood Watch: Roosevelt Row, October 27, 2026: Lauren Lee's Three Birds mural in 2012, the GreenHAUS demolition and iLuminate 290 in 2015, Wayne Rainey's Holga's in 1999 and monOrchid: hunker.com
  • Visit Phoenix, Roosevelt Row page, October 27, 2026: First Friday Art Walk as one of the largest self guided art walks in the nation, and the district's mural artists: visitphoenix.com
  • Listings verified October 27, 2026: 1130 N 2nd Street Unit 210, 387 N 2nd Avenue Unit 1C and 506 E Portland Street (brokerage ARMLS IDX pages), 2201 N Central Ave Apt 4C (Realtor.com) and 310 S 4th St #1905 (Redfin).
  • Chris English, Phoenix, AZ Roosevelt Row, Bliss, El Mac and Kofie, 2011 (hero photograph), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0: commons.wikimedia.org
  • Chris English, Sunflowers on Mon Orchid's North Wall, Roosevelt Row, 2013 (story photograph), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0: commons.wikimedia.org
  • Chris English, A Sunday Evening on Roosevelt Row, 2013 (photograph), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0: commons.wikimedia.org
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