Yuma Art Center in Historic Downtown

\Mural on the back of Yuma Art Center

The Yuma Art Center is located in a graceful old building in Historic Downtown Yuma. Walk inside, though, and the interior is anything but old. The ceilings are super high, obviously the result of a few floors combined. The interior lighting is wonderful.

The center, owned by the City of Yuma and operated y the Yuma Fine Arts Association, has four galleries on the bottom floor. There's a children’s gallery, showcasing art projects they’ve completed in classes here, on the second floor.

What we found disappointing, however, is there’s all this wonderful wall space, and only little pieces of work, some as small as 8-1/2x11 (just guessing here) on the walls, though some of the paintings were somewhat larger. (Perhaps I am too used to the wall=sized paintings you find in European art museums?)

We weren’t very impressed by the displays on the day we went, but this may be a matter of taste more than anything else. The largest gallery was a temporary exhibit of paintings of tattoos, done in depressing colors. I did enjoy a photo exhibit in a smaller gallery, where some of the photos were printed directly on wood, while others were highly detailed portraits of people from various walks of life. We both agreed, however, that our favorite gallery was the children’s art. Some of the artists were as young as three years old, yet showed impressive talent at that age.

The best art in the galley was in the gift shop, in my opinion. Besides paintings, there was a colorful collection of pottery and sculptures, all done my local artists or non-locals who had exhibited there in the past.

The art center is located at 254 S. Main Street. It is closed Sunday and Monday, and opens at 10 a.m. the rest of the year. Admission is free.

Sanguinetti House: a cool piece of Yuma's history

Sanguinetti House Museum

The Sanguinetti House Museum is a good place to chill out on a hot day in Yuma, Arizona. Located in Old Town, this adobe house, built in the 1870s, has at least one modern convenience: an air conditioner. It also has a lush garden with plenty of shade in back.

E.F. Sanguinetti

The museum is named for its former owner, E.F. Sanguinetti, an early pioneer in Yuma who was a businessman, merchant, farmer and banker. He was considered one of Yuma’s most influential citizens of that era.

This Arizona Historical Society Museum traces the history of Yuma and the Lower Colorado River from the mid-16^th century one. Reproductions of old photographs, such as President Taft signing the Arizona statehood bill, line the walls of this compact house. Antique buffs will love the two small rooms crammed with dark, ornate period furniture and other furnishings. One of the museum’s most interesting features, however, just very well may be the 37-minute video that traces the history of Yuma. It is a fast-paced presentation crammed with loads of interesting facts about this important military and agricultural community in the very southwest corner of the state. I particularly enjoyed learning more about Yuma’s military history: that General George Patton trained his troops for warfare in North Africa near here, and that B26 bomber gunners learned how to shoot at the military base, now a Marine air station, by riding a Jeep that had a gun mounted to it around a track.

Sanguinetti House garden

The garden is at the rear of the house. It is filled with lush greenery not usually found in Yuma. Benches are tucked in among the greenery, giving visitors a place to sit and enjoy the peacefulness and privacy of the garden. The garden could have used a good weeding the day we were there, but it did not detract that much from the serenity of the place. At one time, the garden had an aviary, but now there are only empty cages.

The Sanguinetti House Museum is located at 240 Madison Street. It is closed Sundays and Mondays. There is a small admission fee.