East Monroe, East Washington, North 5th and North 7th Streets frame Heritage and Science Park, the downtown Phoenix block you have reached. This block holds Heritage Square, anchored by the Rosson House, alongside the Arizona Science Center and the building of the former Phoenix Museum of History. Heritage Square sits on the last remaining residential block of the original site of the town of Phoenix and tells the story of how Phoenix residents lived before Arizona became a state.
It is also home to restaurants and a museum shop. Preservation efforts for this place began in the 1970s when Mayor John D. Driggs stepped in to preserve the Rosson House. Architect Robert Frankeberger designed the park, which was designated "Historic Heritage Park.
In 1976 the preservation and restoration of the historic homes and the addition of the Lath House began, and the park opened in 1980. The majority of Heritage Square was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985 under the name "Phoenix Townsite. In 1996-97 the Arizona Science Center and the Phoenix Museum of History moved next to the site from their prior locations, expanding the campus.
Notice the Rosson House, the Lath House, the science center, and the historic block that surrounds them.