After spending most of June 8th touring Paolo Soleri’s Arcosanti, in central Arizona, we headed west to Prescott, where we would stay at the Hotel St. Michael on Whiskey Row across the street from the Yavapai Country Courthouse Plaza. A cornerstone of Prescott’s historic downtown since the late 19th century, our stay here provided a laid-back contrast to our stay at the Talking Stick Resort in Scottdale the previous night.
Our room at Hotel St. Michael was on the third floor, which meant taking the early 20th-century elevator was not Joy’s favorite part of our stay. A little bit of history is always good for the soul — the noise and shaking also provided some excitement.
After checking in, we went for a walk around the Yavapai County Courthouse Plaza where people were casually walking their dogs, pushing baby strollers and sitting in the shade of the majestic old Elm trees on the plaza, considered one of America’s Great Public Spaces by the American Planning Association’s (APA) 2008. The courthouse, constructed in the popular Neoclassical Revival style, the two-story building is symmetrical and faced with locally quarried granite over a structure of reinforced concrete.
We sat for awhile on the plaza people watching on a beautiful late spring day before deciding it was time to take in the shops and bars on Whiskey Row.
Matt’s Saloon is located next to Hotel St. Michael, so we went in for a beer or two. While there, we met a couple from Seattle who were on their last day after spending time in Jerome, Cottonwood, and Sedona before flying out of Pheonix the next day. They loved the places they visited, having beautiful weather, except the heat. Yes, it had been in the low 90’s, which is a little warm for this part of Arizona in mid-June.
Before returning to our room to ready for dinner, we strolled by St. Michael’s Shops, one of which is the Old Sage Book Shop. Nice to see that there are still some small independent bookstores around.
kenne
Side Note: Joy and I were first if Prescott in October 1993 when I interviewed for the academic dean position at Yavapai College. Very good college, nice town, but they did us a favor by not hiring me. We weren’t ready to live in Prescott, Arizona — a great place to visit, though.
