Downtown Mesa Sculpture Tour

Sculptures in Mesa, Arizona’s compact downtown

Mesa is one of the cities that form part of the sprawling Phoenix metropolitan area in central Arizona. This suburb city is located just east of Phoenix. It is the third-largest city in Arizona. Despite its large land area of just over 133 square miles, Mesa’s downtown is relatively compact. Comprised mainly of low-rise buildings and containing several historic buildings, the downtown area retains a small town feel despite being in the middle of a huge urban area.

Wide main street of downtown Mesa, Arizona lined with low-rise buildings and with light rail system running through middle. — *Main Street in downtown Mesa. Valley Light Rail runs down its centre.*

In its square mile, which was the original townsite when Mesa was founded by Mormon pioneers from Utah in 1878, you’ll find a variety of shops, restaurants, and cultural institutions within easy walking distance of each other. You’ll also find a collection of sculptures. There are almost forty pieces in Mesa’s growing permanent sculpture collection. Here is a sampling of those sculptures.

Sculpture of a newspaper delivery boy on a bicycle — *“Home Delivery” by Steven Schneider*

*“Big League Dreams” – The Chicago Cubs, who spring train in Mesa, were one of the sponsors of these three pieces*

Sculpture of a big black hog — *“Big Charlie Black” by Carrie Grant*

Sculpture of a sitting woman reading a book. She sits on a real park bench. — Several green benches throughout downtown Mesa offer opportunity to sit for a while – unless the bench is occupied by a sculpture like this one. “Booked for the Day” by Dan Hill is a personal favourite.

Sculpture of a man with his foot on a spade held with one hand and a paper in his other hand — *“Wall Street Farmer” by Art Norby is a sculpture of W. Larkin Fitch, a farmer who participated in numerous community organizations*

Sculpture of a Humpty Dumpty figure with a big bronze head and colourful clothing sitting on a brick wall — *“Humpty Dumpty” by Kimber Fiebiger*

Dinosaur sculpture — *This dinosaur is not technically part of the Mesa’s official sculpture collection. It is at the entrance to the Arizona Museum of Natural History in downtown Mesa*

In addition to the sculptures, you can also find a number of murals in downtown Mesa. For a self-guided tour, pick up a Downtown Guide and Art Walk at Visit Mesa or use this digital art walk guide.

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