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Culture

History

Modern-day Downtown Tucson encompasses an area that represented the entire city before 1900. In 1775 the Spanish established el presidio del Tucson, which would become the walled city of Tucson. Remnants of the presidio persist underground below modern government buildings, office towers, and the Tucson Museum of Art complex. But before the European settlements, Native peoples had settled the area for thousands of years, as shown by archaeological evidence.

Tucson was a rough pioneer town that was forever changed in 1880 with the arrival of the railroad, which linked the Old Pueblo with “civilization” and provided an efficient means of moving materials and culture to the Sonoran Desert.

The rich history of Tucson is evident in Downtown’s residential neighborhoods, which include nine National Register Historic Districts and showcase a variety of architectural styles. Each style is a layer that tells a story of successive cultures in Tucson. The commercial core has its historic landmarks as well, including the St. Augustine Cathedral, the old Pima County Courthouse, the Fox and Rialto Theatres, two restored railroad depots, and many others.

This page is dedicated to sharing elements of that history, to offering information to help the visitor explore the area on foot, and to enlighten our visitors to the cultural and architectural heritage of Downtown Tucson.

Presidio Trail Historic Walking Tour

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This historical walk, designed as a loop, begins and ends at the intersection of Church and Washington Streets, the northeast corner of Tucson’s historic presidio. The complete walk (about 2.5 miles in length) takes 1.5 to 2 hours, but it can, of course, be done in segments, beginning and ending wherever you like.

More than 20 restaurants are within a few blocks of the walk, providing plenty of opportunities for lunch or a break. Most of the sites on the tour are marked with historical plaques that provide additional information. Enjoy this walk through the heart of our city, which has expanded out from the adobe fort that was its beginning.

Downtown Landmarks

St. Augustine Cathedral
192 S. Stone Ave.
The cathedral was built in the Romanesque Revival style in 1896, but by the 1920s, its “French style” was considered inappropriate for Mexican and Spanish parishes. Its towers and facade were rebuilt with reinforced concrete and plaster and given a Spanish Colonial Revival look. St. Augustine’s bronze statue on the sandstone facade is complemented by saguaro, yucca, other cacti, and the horned toad. The Cathedral in Queretaro, Sonora was used as the model for the updated cathedral, which still serves parishioners. The cathedral site also includes the 1868 rectory and the 1915 Marist College Building, both adobe structures.

Historic Stone Avenue Temple
564 S. Stone Ave.
The first Jewish house of worship in the Arizona Territory, Temple Emmanu-el was built in 1910 and restored in 2000. The structure features Greek, Moorish, and Roman elements. It is used today as a local cultural center.

El Tiradito
S. Main Ave., between Cushing and Simpson Streets
Known as the “wishing shrine,” El Tiradito has its origins in an 1870s love triangle that ended with the murder of a young sheepherder named Juan. Juan’s grave and a shrine were moved to this site just south of the present-day Tucson Convention Center. El Tiradito means “the castaway,” and it is said to be the only such shrine in the United States dedicated to the soul of a sinner buried in unconsecrated ground.

Old Pima County Courthouse
115 N. Church Ave.
Built in 1929, the Spanish Colonial Revival courthouse is one of Tucson’s most beloved landmarks. Its mosaic dome is one of the Old Pueblo’s most recognizable structures. A portion of the east wall of the original Presidio of Tucson runs through the courtyard and is marked with a strip of granite. The building is still in use with courts and county offices.

James A. Walsh Federal Courthouse
38 S. Scott Ave.
Originally constructed in 1929 as Tucson’s post office, this Neoclassical building now houses the U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Its second-floor courtrooms are undergoing restoration.

Historic Depot
400 E. Toole Ave
Built originally in 1907, renovated in 1941 and recently restored, the depot is the home to Tucson’s Amtrak station, shops, offices, the Southern Arizona Transportation Museum, and a restaurant coming soon. Locomotive 1673, a freight-hauling engine that logged over one million miles for Southern Pacific Railroad in Southern Arizona from 1900-1955 and featured in the film “Oklahoma”, is on-site, housed track-side under a canopy. An 1882 incident on the depot site involving Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday of Tombstone fame, is memorialized with a statue.

El Paso & SW Depot
419 W. Congress St.
The Phelps Dodge Mining Company extended its El Paso and Southwestern Railroad from El Paso to Tucson in 1912, and the depot was built in 1913. By 1924 the railroad was taken over by Southern Pacific, which didn’t need two Tucson depots, so this depot was closed down after just eleven years of service. More recently, the old depot has been a restaurant and office building.

Royal Elizabeth Bed & Breakfast
204 S. Scott Ave.
The 1878 Blenman House, named for its first resident, Judge Charles Blenman, was converted to a lovely bed-and-breakfast in 2000.

Tucson Children’s Museum (Carnegie Library)
200 S. 6th Ave.
Tucson’s Carnegie Library was designed by Henry Trost and opened in 1901. The building has suffered a variety of indignities, including the collapse of its dome and the construction of a massive wall that surrounds and obscures the building. It was home to the public library until the completion of the Main Library on Stone Avenue in 1990. The Tucson Children’s Museum moved in the next year.

Tucson Museum of Art & Historic Block
140 N. Main Ave.
The Tucson Museum of Art main building was constructed in 1974, but the larger complex contains several 19th-century adobe houses and the 1908 Mission Revival-style J. Knox Corbett House. The Fish-Stevens House is used for museum gallery space, while La Casa Cordova—believed to be the oldest structure in Downtown—is home to several historical exhibits. The 1868 Romero House is a “transformed Sonoran row house”, and it may contain portions of the original Presidio wall. The Tucson Museum of Art provides tours.

Hotel Congress
311 E. Congress St.
The Hotel Congress was built in 1919 as a three-story railroad hotel. A fire in 1934 destroyed the third floor and led to the capture of the John Dillinger gang. The building still has 40 vintage guest rooms, a restaurant with sidewalk seating, nightclub, salon, and banquet room. The Congress has a unique Southwest décor, with many reminders of its link to the infamous gangster, and its lobby even features an old phone booth. The lobby serves as an informal gallery of local art, and is a popular hangout.

Rialto Theatre
318 E. Congress St.
The Rialto had the largest stage west of the Mississippi when it opened in 1919, and Ginger Rogers once danced there. The Rialto became the Paramount Theater in 1948; it closed in 1963, reopened, closed again in 1984, and was brought back to life as a concert hall in the 1990s. Restored in 2005, the Rialto hosts a variety of live shows, and is an important anchor in the Congress Street Entertainment District.

Fox Theatre
17 W. Congress St.
Built in 1930 as a vaudeville and silent-movie house, the theatre was part of the Fox national chain, but it was the only one with a unique “Southwest Art Deco” style. The Fox was an important venue in Tucson in the 1940s and 1950s, hosting a Saturday Mickey Mouse Club and the premiere of the film “Arizona”. Closed since 1974, the Fox’s renovation was completed in 2007, reopening for film, live music and performance, children’s events and corporate functions.

Temple of Music and Art
330 S. Scott Ave.
This Spanish Colonial Revival-style cultural center was built in 1926 and served the Saturday Morning Music Club. Its U-shaped courtyard features a fountain and Mexican tile, and the building houses a café, gallery and gift shop in addition to its luxurious 623-seat auditorium. The Tucson Fine Arts Association and Tucson Boys Chorus both got their start at the temple. The temple was renovated in 1990 and is home to the Arizona Theatre Company, whose season runs from September to April.

Stork’s Nest
223 N. Court Ave.
This transformed Sonoran house in the El Presidio Historic District was home to Tucson’s first maternity ward, from 1922 to 1946. The Stork’s Nest’s office tenants still get visits from people who say they were born there.

Charles O. Brown House
40 W. Broadway Blvd.
Dating to the mid-19th century, the Brown House is typical of Tucson homes from the late 1800s in that its Mexican elements were blended with Victorian ornamentation. Mr. Brown was the proprietor of the Congress Hall Saloon, a popular meeting hall for the territorial legislators. The Brown House stands in stark contrast to the modern UniSource Energy Tower, Tucson’s tallest structure, across the street. El Centro Cultural de las Americas shares the Brown House with other offices.

Old Town Artisans
201 N. Court Ave.
This 150-year-old adobe treasure in the El Presidio Historic District is home to unique shops featuring local and regional arts and crafts, a restaurant, cantina, and a lovely courtyard to relax with a beverage.