Encanto Village is one of the 15

Urban village In urban planning and urban design, design, an urban village is an urban development typically characterized by medium-density housing, mixed use zoning, good public transit and an emphasis on pedestrianization and public space. Contemporary urb ...

s that make up the City of Phoenix, in

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

. The village, centered along Central Avenue, is home to the popular Midtown and Melrose Districts, as well as many historic neighborhoods, including Encanto, its namesake. As of 2010, Encanto had a population of 54,614 residents.

Geography

The community is located in Central Phoenix. At about 8 square miles, it is the city's smallest urban village by area, and, consequently, one of its densest. The western border of the village is the I-17 Black Canyon Freeway, and the southern border is McDowell Road. The Grand Canal makes up the northern and eastern border. ViadTower

Features

The core of the Encanto Village is the Park Central Mall; and the

Arizona State Fair The Arizona State Fair is an annual state fair, held at Arizona State Fairgrounds. It was first held in 1884, but has had various interruptions due to cotton crop failure, the Great Depression era, World War I & World War II years & the COVID-1 ...

, on whose fairgrounds the

Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum, also called the Madhouse Coliseum or Phoenix Memorial Coliseum, is a 14,870-seat multi-purpose indoor arena in Phoenix, Arizona, United States, located at the Arizona State Fairgrounds. It hosted the Phoenix Su ...

is located. It was the original home of the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA), We ...

, the city's

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

franchise. Other points of interest include Encanto Park,

Steele Indian School Park Steele Indian School Park is located on the northeast corner of Indian School Road and Central Avenue Corridor, Central Avenue in Encanto, Phoenix, Encanto Village, Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, Arizona. Geography Indian School Road, on which the f ...

Heard Museum The Heard Museum is a private, not-for-profit museum in Phoenix, Arizona, United States, dedicated to the advancement of American Indian art. It presents the stories of American Indian people from a first-person perspective, as well as exhibitio ...

Phoenix Art Museum The Phoenix Art Museum is the largest art museum, museum for visual art in the southwest United States. Located in Phoenix, Arizona, the museum is . It displays international exhibitions alongside its comprehensive collection of more than 18,0 ...

and

Phoenix College Phoenix College (PC) is a Public university, public community college in Encanto, Phoenix, Arizona. Founded in 1920, it is one of the oldest community colleges in the country. History The college was originally a part of the Phoenix Union Hi ...

. The village includes the city's Midtown and Uptown districts, which, combined with nearby

Downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...

, make up the largest center of employment in the state of Arizona. Encanto also includes the southern portion of the Melrose District (with the northern portion in neighboring

Alhambra The Alhambra (, ; ) is a palace and fortress complex located in Granada, Spain. It is one of the most famous monuments of Islamic architecture and one of the best-preserved palaces of the historic Muslim world, Islamic world. Additionally, the ...

), which has an increasing number of gay and lesbian bars.

Transportation

Encanto Village is served by

Valley Metro Rail Valley Metro Rail is a light rail system serving the Phoenix metropolitan area in Arizona, USA. The network, which is part of the Valley Metro public transit system, began operations on December 27, 2008. In , the system had a ridership of , ...

, with 4 stops located within the boundaries of the village,

Thomas/Central Avenue station Thomas/Central Avenue station, also known as Midtown Phoenix, is a light rail station on the B Line of the Valley Metro Rail system in Phoenix, Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern re ...

Osborn/Central Avenue station Osborn/Central Avenue station, also known as Park Central, is a station on the B Line of the Valley Metro Rail system in Phoenix, Arizona, United States. Nearby places Phoenix Central Neighborhood* Phoenix Financial Center * Park Central M ...

Indian School/Central Avenue station Indian School/Central Avenue station, also known as Steele Indian School Park, is a station on the B Line of the Valley Metro Rail system in Phoenix, Arizona, United States. Notable places nearby * Steele Indian School Park at the site of t ...

, and

Campbell/Central Avenue station Campbell/Central Avenue station is a station on the B Line of the Valley Metro Rail system in Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and t ...

Historic Neighborhoods

Encanto village contains a majority of the city of Phoenix residential historic districts with 21 of the 36 districts falling within its boundaries. * Ashland Place * Alvarado * Campus Vista * Cheery Lynn * Coronado * Country Club Park * Del Norte Place * East Alvarado * Earll Place * Encanto-Palmcroft * Encanto Manor * Fairview Place * Idylwilde Park * La Hacienda * Los Olivos * Margarita Place * North Encanto * Willo * Woodlea * Villa Verde * Yaple Park

References

External links

{{Clear Urban villages of Phoenix, Arizona Gay villages in the United States