Arcosanti

Construction began in 1970, and continues to the present — although the last major building added to the site was completed in 1989. At the time of my visit, around 65 people of all ages were living and working in the city, some having done so for decades. At its height, the community had 150 members. As it was and continues to be, it’s mostly home to students who live on-site as they take the educational seminars and workshops offered by Arcosanti.

The city is funded by donations, tours, workshop fees, on-site event hosting, and the sale of hand-crafted ceramic and bronze Soleri windbells, created by the community’s trained artisans.

From my experience, I got the impression that the place had seen better days. The well-traveled road to enter was so rough I thought it would take my vehicle apart before I reached the city. So the visit was not off to a great start.

Upon entering the visitor’s center, it was evident that some of the building, like the floor devoted to the closed bakery, was in disuse. And as I was toured around, it was pointed out that lots of spaces with other intended uses had been converted to living quarters. Efforts at farming had been abandoned as well, for the most part. But people seemed to be in good spirits, and while no new buildings were being added, there was some construction underway to implement small improvements.

A part of me wondered if I could have given the place a go as a resident. With my background and experience in things like construction, mechanical repairs, farming, and art/design, I probably could have made myself useful. But the thought of living down the hill with all the newbies, in one of the small, unair-conditioned concrete cubes they were housed in, was not very appealing.