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The
Arts
Cited as a "mini-mecca" for the arts
by The Wall Street Journal, Tucson presents a diverse range of
cultural activities. Concerts, theater, musicals, dance and
opera companies can be enjoyed throughout the city. The Temple
of Music and Art, a renovated Spanish Colonial-style building
built in 1927, hosts a variety of events. 330 S. Scott Avenue,
520/884-8210. Spring through fall performances take place at De
Meester Outdoor Performance Center in Reid Park, 22nd Street and
Country Club Road, 520/7914079. And, Centennial Hall at the
University of Arizona, University Boulevard and Park Avenue,
520/621-3341, is another site for a wide variety of
entertainment. Museums
The Arizona Historical Society/ Tucson Museum's
exhibits focus on state history from Spanish times to the
present and include costumes and a collection of nineteenth
century glass. Also there an Arizona mining hall complete with a
mine shaft and an extensive research library. 949 E. 2nd Street
(near entrance to the University of Arizona), 628-5774.
The society's Sosa-Carrillo Fremont House has been restored to
its 1880 appearance when it was occupied by Territorial Governor
Fremont. Period furniture, memorabilia and changing displays are
exhibited. 151 S. Granada (in the Tucson Convention Center
complex), 622-0956.
Fort Lowell Museum is also a branch of the historical society
and is located in Old Fort Lowell Park. The museum is a
reconstruction of the commanding officer's quarters and features
three rooms that are furnished as they were in 1885. It is
surrounded by the ruins of the fort's hospital and enlisted
men's barracks. 2900 N. Craycroft Road, 885-3832.
A fascinating museum is the International Wildlife Museum.
Housed in a replica of a French Foreign Legion fort in Africa's
Sahara Desert, the 38,000-squarefoot museum features dioramas
depicting over 300 species of animals and birds from around the
world in their natural habitats. Wildlife films are shown and
guided tours are offered. 4800 W. Gates Pass Road (off Speedway
Boulevard), 629-0100.
Children will enjoy the Tucson Children's Museum which features
hands-on activities and programs in science, health, technology
and the arts. Everything from a doctor's office with real and
pretend equipment plus a life-like anatomical model which can be
taken apart to a Newton's Cradle (in the Science and Mathematics
Gallery) which illustrates the laws of motion can be found here.
Also a Natural History Gallery and the Kidspace play area add to
the fun along with a children's theater and special programs.
200 S. 6th Avenue, 792-9985 (activity hotline - 884-7511).
Emphasizing the archaeology and ethnology of Arizona, the
Arizona State Museum's collections illustrate the cultures of
the Southwest and are considered the most comprehensive in
existence. Dioramas depict ancient and modern Indian lifestyles.
University of Arizona, Park Avenue and University Boulevard,
621-6302.
Also on the university's campus in the Geology Building is the
Mineral Museum. The exhibits emphasize the vast variety of
Arizona's minerals plus displays of fine gem stones and fossils
from around the world. North Campus Drive, 621-6024.
Pima Air Museum displays over 180 vintage aircraft representing
the nation's aviation history. A fullscale replica of the Wright
Brothers' 1903 plane plus several rare planes are featured. 6000
E. Valencia Road (10 miles southeast of Tucson), 574-9658. The
world's only ballistic missile complex that has been preserved
as a museum is the unique Titan Missile Museum. Guided one-hour
tours of the facility are conducted daily. W. Duval Mine Road,
Green Valley, 625-7736 (Tucson phone 791-2929).
Art Museums/Galleries
Pre-Columbian artifacts and Western American art can be
viewed at the Tucson Museum of Art along with Spanish Colonial
and twentieth century European and American art. In addition to
the main museum building is La Casa Cordova, housing the Mexican
Heritage Museum, and the Casa Romero Art School. 140 N. Main
Avenue, 624-2333.
The University of Arizona Museum of Art houses the Kress
Collection of more than fifty European paintings from the
Renaissance through the seventeenth century, including the
twenty-six gilded, fifteenth-century Spanish paintings by
Fernando Gailego that make up the "Retablo of the Cathedral
of Ciudad Rodrigo". The museum's twentieth-century
collection of art and sculpture features models by Jacques
Lipchitz and works by Picasso, Rodin, Henry Moore and Andrew
Wyeth. Visiting exhibits are also on view. Park Avenue and
Speedway Boulevard, 621-7567.
Another unique museum at the university is the Center for
Creative Photography. With over 50,000 photographs of about
1,400 photographers, the center houses one of the most
comprehensive collections in the world. Featured are the
complete sets of photos by Ansel Adams, Edward Weston and
Richard Avedon. 1030 N. Olive Road, 621-7968.
DeGrazia Gallery in the Sun is a memorial to Tucson artist Ted
DeGrazia. His paintings, bronzes and ceramics are displayed in
the unique adobe building which he designed. Works of local
artists are also on display. 6300 N. Swan Road, 299-9199.
In the center city area is the Tucson Arts District which is
filled with galleries, studios and shops featuring works of
every type. Old Town Artisans in the El Presidio Historic
District is where hundreds of regional and Latin American
artists exhibit. And, on the first and third Saturdays of the
month, Downtown Saturday Night - a celebration of both visual
and performing arts - takes place. Galleries and shops remain
open and the atmosphere is festive with music and imomptu
performances.
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Historic Districts and Dwellings
Tucson has a number of historic neighborhoods
that create interesting walking tours. The Armory Park Historic
District is located west of Stone Avenue between 12th and 19th
streets. Developed in the late 1800s by the Southern Pacific
Railroad, this residential area features Queen Anne Victorians
and a regional style called Anglo Territorial - a blend of
Spanish Colonial, Mexican materials and American design
features.
South of Cushing Street between Stone Avenue and the railroad is
the Barrio Historico Historic District (also called Barrio
Viejo). More than 150 adobes are located here and many have been
restored. This district is part of the original Barrio Libre,
the oldest area of the city. The 100-year-old Cushing Street Bar
displays photographs of the old neighborhood.
North of Armory Park is the Pie Allen Neighborhood which is
south of 6th Street between Park Avenue and 6th Avenue. This is
a residential area named after an apple pie salesman, John
Bracket (Pie) Allen, who laid claim to the land, knowing housing
would be needed for railroad workers. Anglo Territorial, Sonoran
adobe and Revival-style homes predominate.
Farther north, south of Speedway Boulevard between Tydall Avenue
and Stone is the West University Historic District. This is
another residential area developed around 1900 with a mix of
architectural styles.
The most interesting historic district is El Presidio south of
6th Street between Granada and Church avenues. This area was
Tucson's original neighborhood established in 1775 around the
Spanish presidio. The Tucson Museum of Art complex and Old Town
Artisans are in this district along with other magnificent
buildings.
The Tucson/Pima County Historical Commission can confirm hours
and assist with tours of these districts. 791-4121.
Flora and Fauna
The desert is filled with unique plants and Tucson has several
locations where they can be seen. Tucson Botanical Gardens has
over 500 different native desert plants, herbs and flowers. Over
five acres are covered with a collection of gardens including a
historical Tucson garden, herb garden, cactus and succulent
garden, spring wildflower garden and an iris garden among
others. Also, there is a tropical greenhouse and lecture tours
are available. 2150 N. Alvernon Way, 326-9255.
Tohono Chul Park is another site where cacti and other
succulents can be observed in a natural desert environment. This
private park has ramadas, various gardens, a stream and nature
trails. There is an exhibition hall and guided tours are
offered. 7366 N. Paseo del Norte, 575-8468.
A living museum, the 12-acre Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
displays over 1,200 kinds of plants and 200 animal species
native to the Sonoran Desert. Underground limestone cave
galleries exhibit subterranean life and geology. The Congdon
Earth Sciences Center has exhibits depicting the Earth's
history. Guided tours of the grounds are provided. 2021 N.
Kinney Road, 883-2702.
Seventeen acres of the 160-acre Gene C. Reid Park are devoted to
Tucson's Reid Park Zoo. Over 350 exotic animals, fish, reptiles
and birds from all around the world can be observed in
naturalistic settings. East 22nd Street between Country Club
Road and Alvernon Way, 7913204.
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Attractions
Built in 1939 by Columbia Pictures for the filming of Arizona,
Old Tucson Studios is a replica of 1860 Tucson. Mock gunfights,
stunt demonstrations, stagecoach rides, saloon revues and
museums filled with plenty of Western memorabilia are the main
attractions. There are also shops, restaurants and an antique
carousel. 201 S. Kinney Road, 883-0100.
Known as the "White Dove of the Desert", Mission San
Xavier Del Bac is a brilliantly white Spanish structure with
carvings, arches, domes and spires. Located on the Tohono
O'Odham Indian Reservation, the mission was completed in 1797 by
the Franciscans and is still active. A 45-minute self-guiding
tour is available. 1950 W. San Xavier Road, 294-2624.
Observatories
On the main campus of the University of Arizona is Flandrau
Science Center & Planetarium featuring star and laser shows
in the Dome Theater. Optical science, astronomy and space
exploration exhibits encourage visitor experimentation and a
16-inch telescope is available to the public for night viewings,
weather permitting. University Boulevard and Cherry Avenue, 621
-STAR.
Also on the University of Arizona Campus is the Steward
Observatory containing a 21 -inch telescope and a 7-inch
photographic telescope. For information about public access call
621-2288.
Fifty-six miles southwest of Tucson in the Quintan Mountains of
the Sonoran is Kitt Peak National Observatory. The world's
largest solar telescope, the 100-foot-high McMath, is housed
here along with twenty others. A visitor center offers one-hour
guided tours, exhibits about the universe and observatory and a
thirty-minute film. Off SR 86, 620-5350.
Special Attractions
Tombstone, "the town too tough to die", is 73 miles
southeast of Tucson and is a National Historic Site. Built in
the 1880s, during the wild west days of Wyatt Earp and Doc
Holliday, Tombstone's attractions include the Bird Cage Theatre,
Boothill Graveyard, the O.K. Corral and the Rose Tree Inn
Museum. The Historama offers a show combining a taped narration
and animated figures on a revolving stage to tell the history of
Tombstone. US 80, 457-2211.
A half-hour south on State Highway 80 is the old mining town of
Bisbee. Here, visitors don miner's caps and slickers to take an
underground tour of the Queen Mine or visit such attractions as
Brewery Gulch, the Mining & Historical Museum and the
Lavender Pit Mine. More than 25,000 items spanning 10,000 years
of cultural history in the Americas can be found at the Amerind
Foundation Museum, 64 miles east of Tucson in the rock
formations of Texan Canyon. The primary focus is on the cultures
of the Southwest, the Pacific Northwest, the Arctic and the
Indian civilizations of Mexico and South America. An art gallery
display works by Native Americans and Western artists including
works by Frederic Remington. Off 1-10 at exit 318, Dragoon,
586-3666.
One of the world's largest dry caverns, Colossal Cave, is 22
miles east of Tucson. Guided tours wind through fascinating
crystal formations illuminated by hidden lights and a formerbank
robbers' hideout. Old Spanish Trail Road, 791-7677.
Tumacacori National Monument, 48 miles south of Tucson, was once
a Pima Indian village. It became a Spanish mission in 1697 when
Jesuit Father Kino arrived. The ruins of a massive adobe church,
which was never completed because of Apache raids, are here
along with a museum where exhibits unfold local history and
mission life. 1-19, 398-2341.
Thirty-five miles north of Tucson is Biosphere 2, a three-acre,
airtight, steel-and-glass structure which is a microcosm of
Earth. A guided tour starts with a film introduction at the
Preview Center where there is a replica of the biosphere.
Afterwards there is a walking tour of the different Biosphere 2
environments including tropical rain forest, savanna, marsh,
ocean, desert, agricultural and human bays. This is a test site
for determining an ecosystem's ability to recycle air, water and
nutrients in order to sustain plant and animal life. Visitor
Center, Highway 77, Mile Marker 96.5, Oracle, 825-6200.
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