text: I have been to CityScape three times in the past month and have yet to experience anything remotely worth praisingnnThe first time I went was with my girlfriend to check out the Lucky Strike bowling alley for the monthly mixer Radiate PHX I had already heard about the alleys dress code but I do not wear baggy clothes sweat pants or sports logos so that was not a big deal The problem we had was finding the entrancennAfter parking in the underground garage we took the closest set of stairs up to the plazamallcourtyard We ended up on the North side facing Washington just next to the new artbentpaperclip sculpture Knowing in advanced that Lucky Strike was on the Southwest corner we walked down st Ave to where the CVS drug store is located We could clearly see the Lucky Strike signage but not the entrancennIn what was hilariously reminiscent of a scene from This Is Spinal Tap we spent the next minutes trying every door hallway elevator and stairwell trying to figure out how to get into the place Turns out there is no way to enter the nd floor from Jefferson Whisky Tango FoxtrotnnIm a big fan of architecture no seriously Last year I went to New York just to go on a walking tour with Taliesin students I have dreams about Calatravas work I consider Will Bruder Frank Henry Michael P Johnson my hometown heroes so of course I started to really analyze CityScape After a few minutes I could see that place has no distinction and was not built to human scale its actually got less soul than Tempe Marketplace Desert Ridge and West Gate This place is not designed to serve those who call downtown Phoenix home its obviously designed to appeal to all of the suburbanites who think fauxdobes and tuscan mcmansions are awesomennSo many people assume that if you criticize CityScape you are somehow in favor of what was there before Bullshit Most sane people agree that Patriots Square Park was a flop and eyesore The most often complaint is that is was a haven for the homeless So did CityScape somehow make all these homeless people have homes or better yet just disappear No They simply displaced them into another area of town just like all gentrification does So do not give them credit for making the place better especially when we lost a public park in the processnnBack to the bowling alley we eventually made it up the escalator and entered Lucky Strike We entered what was mostly a Hard Rock Hotel Las Vegas atmosphere that was filled with conventioneers Six Sigma trainees specifically The irony of original Sheperd Fairey prints hanging in a place that enforces a dress code did not escape usnnWe met up with the rest of the Radiate PHX crowd in a private sectioned off area We were offered various appetizers to sample The chips and salsa were completely of the store bought variety this is Arizona do not do that shit The other appetizers were a joke typical Sysco or Shamrock foods frozen crap The beers on tap at our bar Bud Bud Light and Stella Have they never heard of The RooseveltnnI just now realized how much I typed about my first visit which was actually the best time I had I will spare you the other stories for another day