Arizona Museum of Natural History, Mesa, Guida per visitatori e cosa fare nei dintorni

The Arizona Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum on North Macdonald Street in downtown Mesa, Arizona, housed in the city's former city hall from the 1930s. It is known for its dinosaur displays and for a real territorial jail cell kept inside the building, and the old civic building is worth a look in its own right.

The story behind it

Before the dinosaurs moved in, this was the working heart of Mesa. The building was designed by the firm Lescher & Mahoney and completed in 1937 with Works Progress Administration money, part of the federal job program of the Great Depression. It held the city hall, the municipal courts, the city library, and the police and fire departments under one roof.

A small museum opened inside it in 1977 as the Mesa Southwest Museum, and in 2007 it took its current name, the Arizona Museum of Natural History. Among the exhibits is a territorial jail. Local ghost-walk stories say the cell comes with a resident ghost, and Mesa's annual ghost tour has started with a visit to it. Take that as local legend, but it adds a good story to a plain-looking facade.

What to look for

• The building's exterior is a reminder that this was a civic building first, so look at the façade and think of the courts, library and fire station that once shared it.
• Dinosaur sculpture is part of the downtown scene here, so keep an eye out for life-size dinosaur figures around the museum and the nearby streets.
• The territorial jail inside is a real cell built to hold people, and it sits among the museum's displays.
• The street name on the corner, Macdonald, is a good cue to look along the block and notice how the older downtown buildings sit side by side.

Tips for your visit

• Allow an hour or two if you plan to go inside, and less if you only want to see the exterior and the street around it.
• The museum is open to visitors, but check current opening hours and admission before you go.
• The façade looks best in softer morning or late afternoon light, which is also kinder in the Arizona heat.
• Downtown Mesa is compact and easy to walk, so you can combine the museum with a stroll to nearby streets, shops and cafes.

See it on a quest

The Oz Escape in Mesa is a good way to take in this corner of downtown with an Oz theme. You reach the museum on foot as one stop on a longer route, the app tells you about the place as you arrive, and you solve a puzzle on the spot. One ticket covers the whole group.

Murder Mystery: Death in the Shadows in Downtown, Mesa suits a building with a jail cell and a ghost story attached. You walk to the museum as part of a route through downtown, hear about it from the app, and work out a puzzle in front of it. One ticket covers the whole group.

Lucky Treasure Hunt: The Golden Shamrock in Mesa is a treasure-hunt style walk that passes the museum among other downtown stops. The app tells you about each place when you get there and sets a puzzle in what you see. One ticket covers the whole group.