Category Archives: Historic Downtown

a worthwhile sidetrip in the downtown area

Half-Day Trip #2: Historic Downtown Tucson

Mural at El Presidio de Tucson.

You don’t even have to leave Tucson to enjoy this half-day trip. In fact, you can easily break up the following attractions, restaurants, and historical sites into multiple half-day trips. There are so many things to see & do in the 4 distinctly different downtown districts: (1) Presidio, (2)Congress, (3) FourthAvenue, & (4) University. And, hopefully, by 2014, you will be able to take our new Modern Streetcar to within a block or three of every place of interest we recommend here. 1. Presidio District Today, Tucson is a vibrant metropolitan city of a million souls. We don’t have an Empire State Building, a Space Needle, or an Arch. We do have a rich and complex history, plus the heritages of several distinctly different cultures: American Indian (Pima, Tohono O’odham, Apache), European (Spanish) & modern North American (Hispanic and Anglo). In 1776, as our Founding Fathers were busy founding, 2400 … Continue reading

Tucson Arizona: 1887

Downtown Tucson ca 1887

This is the main commercial district of Tucson Arizona in 1887. Here you see Congress Street looking west toward the Santa Cruz River and Sentinel Peak (now A Mountain).

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El Presidio Inn Bed & Breakfast – Tucson Historic Neighborhood

El Presidio B&B Courtyard

The Presidio Inn Bed & Breakfast IS authentic Tucson. A real 1886 Victorian adobe example of high-class 19th century Territorial architecture. I want you to experience this unique home for several reasons:
It is not a replica. This was the home of a wealthy family living in a dusty village on the outer edge of the American frontier more than 125 years ago. This at a time when most people here lived in shacks, tents, or dirty, dreary boarding houses.

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AHS Tucson History Museum

AHS-Downtown

The Arizona Historical Society’s Tucson History Museum is about life in early Tucson. This is a small but very worthwhile museum if you want to understand the history and cultural heritage of Tucson.

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Old Pueblo Trolley

 BULLETIN. After 18 ½ years of serving the community, Old Pueblo Trolley’s operation of historic streetcars was suspended at the end of October for construction of the modern streetcar project. When finished in about two years, OPT plans to resume operations.  The initial project work will provide an improved drainage system on 7th Street and 8th street necessitating removal of the track and overhead electric conductor began in early November. This work is scheduled to be followed by replacement of the single existing track and overhead on 4th Avenue and University Blvd. with new double track and overhead electric supply system. We look forward to operating with the modern streetcar when it commences operation in 2013. In preparation, volunteers will continue restoration and maintenance work on the trolleys.  VOLUNTEERS are needed for this important work. If you are interested in volunteering, please see our form. Tours of the ongoing work at the trolley barn and … Continue reading

Southern Arizona Transportation Museum

Steam Engine

Located at the west end of the restored Train Depot is the Transportation Museum. I know. When I first heard about it I wasn’t in any hurry to go either. But there is no way to understand the history of Tucson until you witness the incredible impact the arrival of the Southern Pacific Railroad had on, what was then (1880), a tiny (mostly) Mexican village. This museum is small, free, and worthwhile. Another reason to visit the Transportation Museum is at the other end of the Depot: Maynard’s Market & Kitchen. Very good food; indoor or patio dining. For ambiance, you get the occasional deafening roar of a hundred-car freight train passing a few yard from your table. The ground shakes. The tables rock ‘n roll. Quite exciting! 14 N. Toole Ave, Tucson Visit the Website. … Continue reading