Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix

The Phoenix Art Museum is a top notch tourist location in the downtown area. It has over 280,000 square feet to wonder and enjoy. It was founded in 1959. It has displays that are international in scope, but specialized in its American Contemporary art collection. The institution also hosts a lot of programs for the people of the area, especially the children. It is very famous for its PhxArtKids program, which specialized in its interactive art displays and photographic exhibitions. There is also a wonderful sculpture garden and restaurant located in the building.

The dream of a fine arts venue for Phoenix started all the way back in 1912, in the year that Arizona became the 48th State of the Union. It purchased its first painting in 1915 and presented it to the City of Phoenix. That was the start of the process that led to the building of the current facilities during the 1950s. In that fifty year time period, the location has been host to over 400 international exhibitions, and has grown the size of its own holdings to over 18,000 pieces of art.