Phoenix's must-see list, drawn from the records rather than the brochures, is mostly buildings that are still in use: a capitol, a basilica, several cathedrals, a temple, two music rooms, and a cemetery. The oldest date on it is 1881, for St. Mary's Basilica, and the State Capitol follows from 1901. Three of these places are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and a fourth is a contributing property. Several are outside the city line: one stop is in Mesa and three are in Tempe, so plan on a car and a loose day rather than a tidy walking loop. This list suits travelers who learn a city through its institutions, the places where people govern, worship, bury their dead, and go out on a Friday. Some entries reward an unhurried hour and some don't, and we say which is which.
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1 Arizona State Capitol
1700 Washington, Phoenix, AZ 85007The state capitol building of Arizona, listed on the National Register of Historic Places
Dating from 1901, the Arizona State Capitol at 1700 Washington, Phoenix, AZ 85007 is where any honest reading of this state should begin: it is the state capitol building of Arizona, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Skip the resort-strip itineraries that treat Phoenix as a swimming pool with a city attached, because this building explains why the city matters at all. Come early, walk the grounds slowly, and let the civic scale sink in before the heat takes over. Of everything on this list, it is the one stop we would not trade away.
Dates from 1901 · National Register of Historic Places listed place
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2 Faithful Word Baptist Church
2620 W Greenway Rd, Tempe, Arizona 85282, United States of AmericaAn independent Baptist congregation in Tempe dating from 2005
Faithful Word Baptist Church at 2620 W Greenway Rd, Tempe, Arizona 85282 is an independent Baptist church that dates only from 2005. Don't bother treating it as sightseeing: it is a young working congregation, not a monument, and we would not send a first-time visitor here when the older sacred buildings on this list repay the drive far better. Anyone with a reason to go should check the church's own website or call +1-480-248-4082 before setting out, and should arrive as a guest at a service rather than as a tourist with a camera.
Dates from 2005
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3 St. Mary's Basilica
231 North 3rd Street, Phoenix, AZ 85004A Roman Catholic church dating from 1881 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places
Founded in 1881, St. Mary's Basilica at 231 North 3rd Street, Phoenix, AZ 85004 has the deepest roots of anything on this list. It is a Roman Catholic church listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and if you have time for a single sacred interior in Phoenix, skip the newer campuses and come here. A building with this much history is worth standing in quietly before you raise your camera. Check the basilica's website for times before you go: this is a working church first and a sight second.
Dates from 1881 · National Register of Historic Places listed place
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4 Cathedral of Saints Simon and Jude
6351 North 27th Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85017A cathedral church in Arizona standing since 1966
Out on North 27th Avenue at number 6351 in the 85017 postal area, the Cathedral of Saints Simon and Jude has stood since 1966, a church in Arizona that carries a cathedral's title and sits well away from the downtown buildings most visitors stick to. Skip the drive-by photograph: a place like this rewards an unhurried look from inside, if the doors are open when you arrive. Pair it with St. Mary's Basilica and you see two generations of the city's faith, built nearly a century apart, in a single afternoon.
Dates from 1966
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5 Dream City Church
North Cave Creek Road, Phoenix, AZ 85022A church in Arizona on North Cave Creek Road
Dream City Church keeps its address on North Cave Creek Road in the 85022 postal area, a church in Arizona for which the record shows no heritage listing and no founding date, so judge it by the visit rather than by its pedigree. Not every entry on a must-see list is a monument. This is a living church and is best visited as one, on its own terms, at a service rather than between them. Check the church's website for what is on before you go, and dress as you would for any congregation that is not yours.
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6 Mesa Arizona Temple
525 East Main Street, Mesa, AZ 85203The seventh operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a National Register contributing property
The Mesa Arizona Temple, a contributing property on the National Register of Historic Places, stands at 525 East Main Street, Mesa, AZ 85203 as the seventh operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which places it early in that church's history of temple building. The strip-mall sprawl along the drive in is not what defines this city; judge Mesa by this address instead. Before you visit, check the church's own page for the temple to understand what is open to visitors, and treat the grounds with the respect you would bring to any sacred building.
National Register of Historic Places contributing property
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7 St. Stephen Cathedral
8141 North 16th Street, Phoenix, AZ 85020A Byzantine Catholic (Ruthenian) cathedral dating from 1968
St. Stephen Cathedral, at 8141 North 16th Street, Phoenix, AZ 85020, practices Byzantine Catholic worship in the Ruthenian tradition, and that is what separates it from every other building on this list. Built in 1968, it is young as cathedrals go, yet its rite connects directly to a line of Eastern Christianity far older than most visitors expect to encounter in the desert. Phoenix's sacred architecture does not all follow the same Western pattern, and this building is the clearest proof. Come with time to sit and look; keep your camera away during worship.
Dates from 1968
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8 Celebrity Theatre
440 North 32nd Street, Phoenix, AZ 85008A Phoenix theatre that has been hosting audiences since 1963
Celebrity Theatre, 440 North 32nd Street, Phoenix, AZ 85008, has been drawing crowds since 1963 and, as a theatre in Phoenix, has earned its place on a list that is otherwise mostly churches. Sound rolls around the room at a scale that pays off: skip the arena tours where the performer is a dot under a screen, because a room this size is where you can see a face and hear a voice without the scaffolding in between. Check the listings on the theatre's website before planning an evening around it.
Dates from 1963
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9 Trinity Cathedral
106 West Roosevelt Street, Phoenix, AZ 85003An Episcopal cathedral dating from 1915
Trinity Cathedral has faced West Roosevelt Street as an Episcopal cathedral since 1915, placing it among the older sacred buildings on this list, younger than St. Mary's Basilica but older than either of the cathedrals built in the 1960s. We wouldn't rush past this one. A building that has stood that long deserves a slow circuit on foot and a look inside if the doors are open. Check the cathedral's website for times and for anything happening on the day you plan to visit.
Dates from 1915
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10 St. Francis Catholic Cemetery
North 48th Street, Phoenix, AZ 85008A Phoenix cemetery in use since 1897
St. Francis Catholic Cemetery on North 48th Street, Phoenix, AZ 85008 has been in use since 1897, which puts it before statehood and makes it one of the oldest layers of the city you can still walk through. This cemetery in Phoenix is not worth the trip if you want spectacle, but give it an hour if you want to understand who built this place, reading names and dates rather than plaques. Keep your voice low, stay on the paths, and give any family visiting a grave a wide berth. Opening details are on the cemetery's website.
Dates from 1897
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11 Marquee Theatre
730 North Mill Avenue, Tempe, AZ 85281A music venue in Tempe
The Marquee Theatre at 730 North Mill Avenue, Tempe, AZ 85281 is the stop on this list for when the sun goes down. We'd skip the hotel-lobby cover bands that pass for nightlife in resort country. A dedicated room for live music is where touring acts sound like themselves, and where you leave with your ears ringing. Listings and tickets go through the venue's linked website, so check what is on before you cross into Tempe, book early for anything you would be sorry to miss, and plan the drive back before the encore.
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12 St. Mary's Church-Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church
300 East University Drive, Tempe, AZ 85281A church building listed on the National Register of Historic Places
St. Mary's Church-Our Lady of Mount Carmel at 300 East University Drive, Tempe, AZ 85281 is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The record describes it simply as a church building in Arizona, but the listing is the point: someone judged this building worth protecting, and that judgement holds up. Set it beside the generic chapels built in recent decades and this one has earned its place on the register. We'd look at it from the street first, then go inside if it is open. Times and parish details are on its website.
National Register of Historic Places listed place
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