Desert Southwest Conference, Phoenix Art Museum, And Phoenix Theatre Company Launch Partnership

The Desert Southwest Conference of The United Methodist Church, Phoenix Art Museum, and Phoenix Theatre Company are collaborating to embark on a 99-year lease of the existing Central United Methodist Church property located at 1875 North Central Avenue in Phoenix. The partnership, now entering its final negotiations, will ensure the preservation of the historic church property located adjacent to the shared cultural campus occupied by the Theatre Company and Museum while providing for an opportunity to expand parking availability for cultural patrons and to expand the historic cultural campus at the northeast corner of Central Avenue and McDowell Road. The long-term lease provides for the care of the church sanctuary to remain accessible to the community, and enables the Theatre Company and Museum to revitalize the property to expand cultural offerings in the region. The Conference, Theatre Company, and Museum have retained the services of Gensler to create a strategic vision for the future of the campus. The three organizations will communicate more extensive details regarding future plans for the campus in the coming months.

"The planned lease creates a foundation for generational impact, allowing for programming, performance, education, and public engagement that will uplift the spirits of creativity and inclusivity for decades to come," said Vincent VanVleet, executive director of Phoenix Theatre Company. "This lease cements our collective vision for a vibrant, collaborative arts campus that not only honors the legacy of the space but also ignites new opportunities for creativity, accessibility and shared community. It's a rare and powerful moment to build something today that will serve generations tomorrow."

The Central United Methodist Church has been a neighbor to the Phoenix Civic Center, the campus that includes Phoenix Theatre Company, Phoenix Art Museum, and previously, Central Library. The Civic Center was made possible through the donation of 6.5 acres located at Central and McDowell by Marie Bartlett Heard and Dwight B. Heard, who envisioned a civic center that would serve as the cultural heart of the growing city. Phoenix Theatre Company, originally Phoenix Little Theatre, was founded in 1920, and moved to its present location in 1924. The Phoenix Civic Center municipal cultural complex was first established in its current form in 1951 with the opening of Phoenix Theatre Company's mainstage theatre. Phoenix Art Museum completed construction and first opened on the site in 1959. The history of the Central United Methodist Church spans across three centuries. The first Protestant church in Phoenix, the congregation first met under mesquite trees along the Salt River, before moving to a building in 1904, an expanded campus near Downtown Phoenix in 1926, and finally to its present home since 1950. In 2024, the congregation concluded its service, following the official vote of closure by the Desert Southwest Annual Conference. Since that time, the Desert Southwest Conference has explored a new path forward to preserve the campus's rich heritage, and to utilize the campus to continue to enrich the lives of its community. The result of those efforts culminates in the announcement of this forthcoming partnership.

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Best Musical - Top 3

1. TOOTSIE (Arizona Broadway Theatre)

15.9% of votes

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7.7% of votes

3. ANASTASIA: THE MUSICAL (Don Bluth Front Row Theatre)

7.2% of votes

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