In their 2006 Best Of, The Phoenix New Times named the Newsroom Lounge their “Best Neighborhood Bar, Downtown Phoenix ^[1]” and noted “You’d better get down there soon before Mayor Phil Gordon and company decide to raze it in favor of some ugly urban renewal project.” Well, yeah:

Another colorful slice of downtown Phoenix history will slip off the landscape early Sunday when the News Room Bar closes its doors for good.

Owner Pete Palandri has reached an agreement to sell the 26-year-old bar at 505 N. First St. to make way for a $150 million dormitory for students attending Arizona State University’s downtown campus. [AZ Republic ^[2]]