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Pueblo Grande Museum and Archaeological Park
Categories: Arts & Entertainment Museums Active Life Parks Museums, Parks [Edit]
4619 E Washington StPhoenix, AZ 85034
(602) 495-0901
- Hours:
Mon-Sat 9 am - 4:30 pm
Sun 1 pm - 4:30 pm
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Dogs Allowed:
- No
17 reviews for Pueblo Grande Museum and Archaeological Park
Review Highlights
"...was a blast, and the food at the native market was awesome."
(in 4 reviews)
"...back to a time when the light rail and street lights were..."
(in 2 reviews)
"...to walk through the ruins and explore the history through..."
(in 7 reviews)
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17 reviews in English
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Review from Robert L.
10/24/2011 1 Check-in Here
YELP HELP was great!
that is all.
OH, the place looks really nice!
R\_ -
Review from Page G.
10/28/2011 1 Check-in Here
So I've only been here once, unless you count that time 20 years ago when i was there with my Girl Scout troop, and I really "dug" it. (Ok, I know puns are bad, but I'm feeling very punny today!)
But really, it's a real pleasure to have places in Phoenix flaunt what an amazing, rich and ancient history our valley really does have. After all the quips I hear about how hot it is during Summer, it's great to visit a museum filled with Arizona Awesomeness that I can flaunt to those Texans who swear their state is the best of them all. And this museum certainly does that.
Great pottery, docents and views make this museum a lovely place. I went for the Yelp Helps event, and was blown away by how absolutely gorgeous this place is at night, and how the sounds of the city just disappear and transport you back to a time when the light rail and street lights were figments of people's imaginations.
I can't wait to schedule this into the cool places I'll be taking my niece over Winter and Summer breaks! -
Review from Ceci G.
10/25/2011
good addition to this metro city and the cultural life.
But how come the entrance is far away from the light rail?? I would thought that they would take advantage of this, unless they are car user oriented.
Aside from this, the exposition is well organized and there is much more to learn. -
Review from Jacqui B.
1/10/2012 1 Check-in Here
I'm giving 4 stars because I just love to find this many artifacts of the basket and clay varieties when I visit a museum. It really amazes me, the craftmanship of our ancient peoples! This small museum is not part of the Science Museum circuit, so I wasn't able to use my discount or member card, but for $6 I felt it was worth the trip to check it out. Some exhibits in the kids' room have been duplicated and enhanced in the main museum hall, which was fun to compare. The outdoor area is actually a preserved portion of a reservation belonging to the Hohokum Indians and there are examples of the water distribution canals and housing styles from 300 years ago along the Salt River, AZ. Great, informative afternoon!
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Review from Lindsey F.
Scottsdale, AZ
9/7/2011 4 Check-ins Here
Chances are, you've passed by the Pueblo Grande Museum over twenty times. Chances are, you've been right next door to it and didn't even realize it. Chances are, you'll pass by it again and still won't realize it. Well, I'm here to tell you that it's time to put this place on the map!
So I bet you're wondering where Pueblo Grande is located. Well, believe it or not, it's right on the corner of 44th and Washington, caddy corner to the airport! See, I told you that you've passed by it several times without realizing! The Pueblo Grande Museum talks about the history of Arizona through the story of several tribes and different artifacts. It's home to not only a museum, but also archeological grounds that you can walk through and see ancient tribal structures, ruins, artifacts and and learn how the native tribes lived. It's not a massively large museum, but it's not small either. It's a great way to learn about the Arizona history that existed long before freeways and sushi bars. This is a good spot to visit if you want a crash course in some native Arizona history and in a setting where you actually walk through it.
It's really fun and interesting to walk through the ruins and explore the history through the teepers, ancient housing materials, artifacts and mounds. I need to do plenty of more research on this museum and spend more time here to really walk away more knowledgeable. Luckily I now know it exists and will be back (when the weather is cool) with a notebook and pen in hand! -
Review from Travis B.
10/21/2011 1 Check-in Here
patrick b. asked and answered a great question....phx and history? hah!
to those naysayers, az was once crawling with native americans. we discovered to some depth last night at the Yelp event held here.
it was such a wonderful night and we signed up for a behind the scenes tour of the archives. it's a really neat place, just like something you'd think indiana jones would be perusing. our docent was so friendly, funny, and informative.
there are on-site ruins which we didn't see because it was dark, but some of their scale models are very cool!
if you think phx has no history, stop by the museum and i'm sure they'd be happy to change your mind! -
Review from Christine A.
Cerritos, CA
12/7/2010
Fascinating if you're into staring at piles of dirt and rocks and imaging how it must have looked before falling into ruin. It's somewhat comparable to Tuzigoot in that you're on top of the structure that's sectioned off into many rooms, but it's not as preserved and it's far smaller.
What makes this exceptional is the fact that it's a piece of native history in the middle of a big city. In this regard, it's perhaps like the La Brea Tar Pits in the heart of Los Angeles.
Admission was $6, which gets you into the little museum and the park in back. The park includes one large original structure that you can walk onto by a paved walkway with several recreated buildings scattered along the roughly 1/4 mile trail.
The experience is closer to visiting Besh-Ba-Gowah over in Globe; however, you can't walk around in the ruins or climb up ladders. Unlike Globe, though, you get to walk into a couple of the recreated dwellings in Pueblo Grande, which are furnished with a few small items that you can gently handle.
It's worth a visit.Listed in: Visitable History (California…, Roadside Arizona
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Review from patrick b.
Laveen, AZ
11/7/2010
Phoenix has no history, you say? Please, hurry thee to Pueblo Grande for an explanation about our canal system and the historical significance of the Hohokam (fascinating story) as well as others who have since adapted to living in this desert. In my opinion, no one tells the story better than Pueblo Grande, complete with the actual on-site ruins, and you're almost guaranteed to learn lots of neat stuff even if you already thought you knew everything.
We've gone a couple of times in the last month or so, once to wander through the museum and once for the native market. Each was a blast, and the food at the native market was awesome! Given the incredibly convenient location of Pueblo Grande, I hope we go back often. I remember really liking this place as a kid -- I shouldn't have waited so long to go back.Listed in: AZ Cultural Attractions
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Review from Amanda B.
Tucson, AZ
2/29/2008
If you went to school in the Phoenix area, you've probably been to Pueblo Grande. There's also a strong likelihood that you haven't returned since that fourth grade field trip.
I'm thoroughly confident this is a happenin' place, particularly for the history/anthropology/southwest geeks out there. This is not, however, due to the fact that I'm a part-time employee and hide out behind the scenes.
New exhibits open a few times a year in the changing gallery. Just last winter brought a traveling Smithsonian exhibit and the current exhibition highlights the archaeology found beneath Sky Harbor.
The stroll around the archaeological site shows Hohokam village ruins and a platform mound. Replicas of the houses are at the end of the trail for your enjoyment and there's a small garden displaying native foods. There is also an excavated ballcourt to be seen and Park of Four Waters, the ancient canal system, is located behind the museum and occasionally open to the public.
It's cheap, it's fun, and you can buy prickly pear jelly in the gift shop. What more could one ask for? -
Review from Charlie G.
Phoenix, AZ
6/22/2008
Phoenix was the *first* [or right close to the first] city to have an Archaeologist on staff. Pueblo Grande was why.
If you don't *yet* know about the Hohokam, when you get there, ask.
I've been going there for several Centuries. Now that I think of it, I haven't been for a while. I better go again.
Go there. Walk around on the mound. Let your imagination transport you back a thousand years. Enjoy. -
Review from Erin G.
Fairfax, VA
12/4/2008
Rock on! I had no idea that right in Phoenix was the site of the original hub of the Hohokam people in the first century. This museum is so interesting and while the 10 minute intro video is informative, and i'm sure kids enjoy the Dig It zone, but the archaelogical park is my favorite part of the tour.
It's so hard to picture the life the Hohokam lived here a thousand years ago, but the plaques scattered around the park paint a great picture of early desert living. Also fun are the reconstructed home and pit houses that you can go inside of and check out daily life for Hohokam people.
I love that the entry fee is only $5 because you really are transported at Pueblo Grande. -
Review from Lorena L.
Mesa, AZ
2/9/2009
I never knew this place existed in the middle of the city. I saw an article about this place in the paper and we decided to come and check it out.
It doesn't take very long to watch the video, walk the park outside and check out the museum inside. It was pretty neat and I'm glad I checked it out, but I was a little bored. -
Review from Kari E.
North Hollywood, Los Angeles, CA
2/27/2010
Eh. Im all for history but this place kinda toots its own horn a little much. "Pueblo ruins" is a stretch. Faint remnants and clearings w/ a video explaining what used to be there is more accurate.
On the plus side it's cheap (or free some days, i think) and its a good short trip if you have kids you'd like to expose to a little culture. I appreciate the educational value of this place, but it got kind of boring trying to imagine what it looked like instead of actually being able to see much. They have some neat reproductions and a lot of information, and the museum is decent. -
Review from Jacqueline H.
Scottsdale, AZ
5/27/2009 2 Check-ins Here
Amidst the urban sprawl and commercial filth of Phoenix, lie the ruins of a 1500 year old civilization, the Hohokam. Literally meaning "those who have gone," this was the name given to the mysterious Indian culture that thrived in the southwest of Arizona between AD 1 and 1500. Known throughout the southwest for the irrigation canals, pottery, and ruins they left behind, this is one of the parks that brings you closer to this culture.
Though the ruins are little more than mounds, due to building materials back then being in limited supply (i.e. adobe, caliche, and if you got lucky - some logs) and heat and monsoons eroding away what once was, there are some wonderful full scale homes (replicas) for visitors to explore.
Picture the teepees we know and love in the Westerns, now replace the furs and leather with the surrounding soil. I can't imagine that their villages were easy to sustain, though their exceedingly large ballcourts survive to this day, seen here at Pueblo Grande. Walk the trails and walk in the footsteps of this ancient culture, trace the foundations of their homes, look at pottery which has been found at the site, learn about the amazing irrigation canals that helped their civilization thrive as a successful farming community for 1500 years.
Advice: never come here unless it is below 85 degrees. Locals can talk all they want about it being a dry heat, but you will be doing a lot of walking while here.
Admission is $2, that's all the city gets for sponsoring the research, tours, talks, digs, and displays.
If you are bored to tears just thinking about walking amidst almost non-existent ruins, visit the visitor center museum and gawk at the artifacts found in or around the site. Kids can be archeologists for a day and dig around in their life-size excavated trench. -
Review from Lissa -.
Los Angeles, CA
5/31/2010
Cute museum. Really hot in the desert. Cool history lesson of how the Hohokam Indians lived back in the day.
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Review from w w.
Scottsdale, AZ
2/28/2007 3 photos
If you love learning about the Hohokam culture, Pueblo Grande is a must-see! It's an incredibly cheap activity- it will cost you a mere $2 for adults and $1 for children, but you'll get to see things you can't anywhere else. For instance, you'll see 1,500 year old Hohokam village ruins, an 800 year old platform mound and an excavated ballcourt.
You'll also be given a wealth of information on the Hohokam culture, so you not only will get to see how they lived, you'll learn about the people themselves, the challenges they faced and their everyday lives. Really cool.
You can also take a little trail to see replicas of prehistoric Hohokam homes. You can go in them because they're full-size and it's a hands-on experience.
Lastly, if you want to take a little of the culture home with you, there's always the museum store! -
Review from Thomas M.
Lakewood, CA
3/16/2010
This museum appealed to both the casual anthropologist and the photographer in me. Very educational both inside and out. It is a relay race of science and mystery.
