Parking in downtown Tempe is a little different, but it is nothing to be afraid of!
Guests going to an event at the Emerson may park at metered parking around the building. They may take the light rail or bus or free shuttles or street cars to the building.
But my recommendation is to park UNDER the building. There is plenty of public parking. It is not free. The cost is $2/hour. With taxes and fees, the cost is $2.45/hour.
There are no gates. Anybody may freely drive into and out of the underground parking facility. If you stay for more than 15 minutes, you will need to pay for parking.
IT IS EASY TO DO SO. You can:
• Use the ParkMobile app on your mobile device/phone.
• Use your device to scan a QR code on a parking sign, and pay from a web page
• Text a message to a designated number
This is current information. I personally tested parking this morning.
You can pay for an hour of parking, and you'll receive an automated message when your time is nearly completion, and you can click a button to extend your time.
Note that there are signs posted in the parking structure that say parking is limited to "3 hours." That is not true. You can park for a LONGER period of time, as long as you continue extending your time through app or the automated messages you receive.
If you are thinking: "Why would I need to park for more than 3 hours for a dinner event?" ...Most of the time you would be correct. BUT I HAVE been to events at the Emerson where we TOTALLY LOST TRACK OF TIME and looked at a clock and realized we had been there for 4 or 5 hours. Yeah... There are some fun event there! (But most of the time 1 or 2 hours will be as long as you'll stay there!)
Please do not risk getting fined or having your vehicle towed. There are restaurants and other businesses in the general area that have parking, but their parking is reserved for customers of those businesses - not for people attending events at the Emerson. These businesses can tow a vehicle from their parking lot. When that has happened, it has cost vehicle owners significant money to retrieve their vehicle. Fines and costs for retrieving a vehicle after it has been towed from a neighboring business, or towed from the Emerson when a vehicle parks without registering with the ParkMobile app can reach $450.
So we strongly encourage visitors to the Emerson and downtown locations to park using the official mobile app or website, or park on the street at a meter, or carpool, or use public transportation, or walk if you leave close enough.
Sundays: Anyone may park at meters for free on Sunday. But parking in the parking lot underneath the Emerson still requires payment on Sundays.
More Free Parking:
The City Hall Parking garage just east of Tempe City hall is free after 6pm.
Basically its free after 7pm with one hour free. So in essence its free from 6:00 pm Monday through Friday.
It is only 2 blocks east of the Emerson:
117 E 5th St, Tempe, AZ 85281
Below: Photos of parking at the Emerson. Photos taken 12 August 2023.
[Click on the images below to see full-resolution images:]
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