El Zaribah Shrine Auditorium
Encyclopedia
The Polly Rosenbaum Building, formerly the El Zaribah Shrine Auditorium, is a building in Phoenix
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...

, Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

, at the corner of 15th Avenue and Washington Street, that was built in 1921. The 18000 ft2 building houses the Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum
Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum
The Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum in Phoenix, Arizona, is a museum focused on minerals and mining. Operated by the Arizona Historical Society, a state government agency, its exhibits include more than 3,000 minerals, rocks, fossils, and artifacts related to the mining industry.- History :The...

.

The building was completed in 1921 as a home for the activities of the El Zariabah Shrine unit, a local Shriners organization that had been formed in 1896. It was designed by architects Lescher & Mahoney
Lescher & Mahoney
Lescher & Mahoney, a Phoenix, Arizona architecture firm, designed many significant buildings in Arizona, including several architectural significant theater buildings...

 and built by Clinton Campbell
Clinton Campbell
Clinton Campbell was a "locally prominent builder" who worked in Phoenix, Arizona. Several of his works both survive and are listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.Works include:*Clinton Campbell House, 361 N. 4th Ave., Phoenix, Arizona...

. It is an Exotic Revival/Moorish Revival style building. The building and its 0.8 acre (0.3237488 ha) property were listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

 for the building's architecture in 1989 as "El Zaribah Shrine Auditorium".

In 1988 the Shriners began construction of a new building and made plans to vacate the building at 15th and Washington, which was in an area where the state government was establishing a government mall. In late 1989, the Shriners completed their new auditorium building at 552 N. 40th Street, which now bears the name "El Zaribah Shrine Auditorium".

After the Shriners relocated, the state government of Arizona acquired their original building to house the museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...

 and offices of the Arizona Department of Mines and Mineral Resources
Arizona Department of Mines and Mineral Resources
The Arizona Department of Mines and Mineral Resources is a state government agency in the U.S. state of Arizona that has the purpose of promoting and developing the state's mineral resources....

, which moved in in October 1991. The building was renamed the Polly Rosenbaum Building in honor of Polly Rosenbaum
Polly Rosenbaum
Edwynne Cutler "Polly" Rosenbaum was a teacher and politician who was Arizona's longest-serving state legislator, representing Gila County in the Arizona House of Representatives for 45 years....

, a longtime member of the Arizona House of Representatives
Arizona House of Representatives
The Arizona House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arizona Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Arizona. Its members are elected to two-year terms with a term limit of four consecutive terms...

 who, in collaboration with then-governor Rose Mofford, spearheaded efforts to obtain and renovate the building as a permanent home for the Department's mineral
Mineral
A mineral is a naturally occurring solid chemical substance formed through biogeochemical processes, having characteristic chemical composition, highly ordered atomic structure, and specific physical properties. By comparison, a rock is an aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids and does not...

 collection and archives. This is one of two Arizona state government buildings in Phoenix that are named for Rosenbaum; the other is the Polly Rosenbaum State Archives and History Building, located at 19th and Madison and completed in 2008.

In February 2010, Governor Jan Brewer
Jan Brewer
Janice Kay "Jan" Brewer is the 22nd and current Governor of the U.S. state of Arizona and a member of the Republican Party. She is the fourth woman, and third consecutive woman, to hold the office...

announced that the Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum will become the Arizona Centennial Museum for the State's 2012 celebration. The Building will be transferred from the Arizona Dept of Mines and Mineral Resources to the Centennial Commission then subsequently to the Arizona Historical Society.

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