During Phoenix Art Detour,  my friend Anne and I wandered into the George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center.

The building had been a high school for African American students from 1926 to 1953, which I didn’t even know about until we stumbled across it. I guess I had assumed that, since the Phoenix population didn’t really start booming until the ’60s, maybe we had just skipped the whole segregation thing. Unfortunately, that’s  not the case.

However, Arizona did desegregate its schools a year before Brown v. Board of Education mandated it nationally. The Carver High School closed, and the students were integrated into other high schools.

In 1986, four Carver alumnae formed Phoenix Monarchs Alumni Association, an organization to preserve the building and turn it into a museum and cultural center. They were eventually able to purchase it, and it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.

The George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center is now open with a mission to honor African and African American heritage, arts, and culture.

The Phoenix Monarchs Alumni Association continues to raise funds to upgrade the space and offer additional programs and exhibits.

In front of the museum is a statue of its namesake, scientist George Washington Carver, holding one of the peanut plants he was famous for studying.

We explored the first floor and saw artwork like paintings, sculptures, and a quilt made by students who had gone to school there.

There was a room with vintage typewriters and sewing machines.

Another one had what looked like African artifacts and traditional craft, like masks, drums, and beaded gourd instruments, as well as contemporary paintings, and a violin.

Outside of Art Detour week, I think a volunteer guide is usually there to provide context and answer questions, because a lot of the items weren’t labeled. The museum had a work-in-progress feel, as funds are still being raised to improve the building and exhibition space. It will be exciting to see it transform!

More Info on the Carver Museum

• The George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center is located at 415 E. Grant Street in the Phoenix Warehouse District.
• Hours: Fridays and Saturdays, 11am to 5pm.
• Donations accepted.
• History of Carver school and museum (archived).