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Phoenix is the capital, and largest
city, of the U.S. state of Arizona,
as well as the sixth most populous
city in the United States of
America, and is also the most
populous state capital in the United
States. The New Year's Eve party and
fireworks display in Phoenix each
year attracts crowds from all across
the city and the wider state area.
Phoenix was incorporated as a city in 1881, after
being founded in 1861 near the Salt River close to
its confluence with the Gila River. The city has a
notable and famous political culture and has been
home to numerous influential American politicians
and other dignitaries, including Barry Goldwater,
William Rehnquist, John McCain, Carl Hayden, and
Sandra Day O'Connor. Residents of the city are known
as Phoenicians.
Since 1986, the city of Phoenix has been divided
into urban villages, many of which are based upon
historically significant neighborhoods and
communities that have since been annexed into
Phoenix. Each village has a planning committee that
is appointed directly by the city council. According
to the village planning handbook issued by the city,
the purpose of the village planning committees is to
work with the city's planning commission to ensure a
balance of housing and employment in each village,
concentrate development at identified village cores,
and to promote the unique character and identity of
the villages.
Several music venues take place around Arizona, but
primarily in and around downtown Phoenix and in
Scottsdale. One such venue is the Phoenix Symphony
Hall, where performances from groups such as the
Phoenix Symphony Orchestra, Phoenix Youth Symphony
Arizona Opera and Ballet Arizona often occur.
Another venue is the Orpheum Theatre which is home
to the Phoenix Metropolitan Opera. Concerts also
regularly make stops in the area. The largest
downtown performing art venue is the Herberger
Theater Center, which houses three performance
spaces and is home to resident companies Actors
Theatre of Phoenix and Arizona Theatre Company.
In
April 2009, artist Janet Echelman inaugurated her
monumental sculpture, Her Secret Is Patience, a
civic icon suspended above the new Phoenix Civic
Space Park, a two-city-block park in the middle of
downtown. This netted sculpture makes the invisible
patterns of desert wind visible to the human eye.
During the day, the 100-foot (30 m)-tall sculpture
hovers high above heads, treetops, and buildings,
the sculpture creates what the artist calls "shadow
drawings", which she says are inspired by Phoenix's
cloud shadows. At night, the illumination changes
color gradually through the seasons. The large
three-dimensional multi-layered form is created by a
combination of hand-baiting and machine-loomed
knotting, and is the result of a collaborative
effort with an international team of award-winning
engineers.
Phoenix has long been renowned for authentic Mexican
food, thanks to both the large Hispanic population
and proximity to Mexico. But the recent population
boom has brought people from all over the nation,
and to a lesser extent from other countries, and has
since influenced the local cuisine. International
food, such as Korean, Brazilian, and French, has
become more common throughout the valley in recent
years. However, Mexican food is arguably still the
most popular food, with Mexican restaurants found
all over the area.
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