Overlooked for years, Tucson鈥檚 oldest neighborhood may soon be rediscovered.
A project fueled by volunteers and local business owners will see El Presidio Historic District become a pedestrian haven with sidewalk dining, adult and children鈥檚 playgrounds and murals to replace bland walls.
Bordered by Sixth Street, Alameda Street, Granada Avenue and Church Avenue, the district is about 12 blocks from downtown and home to over 80 architecturally significant homes built between the mid-1800s and 1912, historic records show. It is also home to the Presidio San Agustin del Tucson, a reconstruction of the original Spanish fort.
This rendering of the Activate El Presidio project shows Washington Street at Court Avenue.
The project, called Activate El Presidio, hopes to draw more people to the local businesses and highlight the history of 优蜜传媒within the project borders of Church Avenue, Main Avenue, Alameda Street and Franklin Street.
Washington Street, between Court and Meyer avenues, will be closed to traffic with movable furniture on the north side for emergency vehicle access.
An adult playground will feature games such as horseshoes and cornhole, and a children鈥檚 playground will be the centerpiece so parents can sit at a table with a cup of coffee and keep an eye on the kiddos, said Jannie Cox, who headed up the five-year effort on behalf of Rio Nuevo along with Amy Hartmann-Gordon, chairman of the working group, to get the project done.
Jannie Cox headed up the five-year effort on behalf of along with Amy Hartmann-Gordon, chairman of the working group, to bring the project to fruition.
鈥淲e thought wouldn鈥檛 it be amazing to make this wonderful, historic neighborhood more inviting to pedestrians,鈥 she said. 鈥淭his project is so different from anything they鈥檝e ever seen.鈥
Along Washington Street, there will be designs on the sidewalks painted in colors that match the old Pima County Courthouse dome, and there will be five eating stations with 48 seats that dot the sidewalks on the south side, Cox said.
The local businesses in the neighborhood are El Charro, Ceres, 闯辞闯辞鈥檚, Caf茅 a la C鈥橝rt and Dandelion Cafe & Bakery.
El Charro could benefit from more pedestrians feeling comfortable in that neighborhood after dark, Cox said, so festoon lights and planters will be installed leading up the restaurant鈥檚 entrance.
鈥淥ur vision is that when we draw people to that street, people are going to look around and say, 鈥業鈥檓 going to buy that building and put a business in there,鈥欌 she said. 鈥淲e want to draw the people with the temporary improvement to attract permanent improvement.鈥
Two murals have also been commissioned.
The 11-story Transamerica building will be adorned with a giant saguaro mural by Joe Pagac, funded by local philanthropist Jeanne McDonald. The cooling tower at the 优蜜传媒Museum of Art will be walled off with another mural entitled 鈥淟ooking Back鈥 by artist Bill Singleton that shows the view one would have had in the early 1800s from that spot before buildings were there.
The 11-story Transamerica building will be adorned with a giant saguaro mural by Joe Pagac.
Cox said the hope is that people who work downtown will discover this adjacent gem.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just so quiet over there,鈥 she said. 鈥淥ur goal is to bring families downtown after 5 o鈥檆lock.鈥
While the project was ultimately embraced by residents of the El Presidio, there was some hesitation when it was first proposed, said Guy Dobbings, co-president of the neighborhood association.
鈥淭his wasn鈥檛 a slam dunk,鈥 he said. 鈥淭here was some very vocal resistance from residents who thought we don鈥檛 need to be activated.鈥
Donations from neighbors and local businesses that were matched dollar-for-dollar by a donor and a $500,000 boost from the Rio Nuevo board helped keep the conversation moving forward.
鈥淚t will give local residents more fun things to do,鈥 Dobbins said. 鈥淚f you go by JoJos and there鈥檚 20 people there instead of five people, that鈥檚 a great thing.鈥
This rendering shows how the cooling tower at the 优蜜传媒Museum of Art on Alameda St. will be walled off for a mural entitled 鈥淟ooking Back鈥 by artist Bill Singleton. The piece will show the view one would have had in the early 1800s from that spot before buildings were there.
In November 2023, nervous about the final vote on project, the neighborhood voted unanimously to support it.
鈥淲e have some of the best history to offer of the whole city,鈥 Dobbins said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no reason not to share the great neighborhood that it is.鈥
Construction on the Activate El Presidio project is expected to begin within a month and be completed by the end of the year.
Construction on the Activate El Presidio project is expected to begin within a month and be completed by the end of the year.
History of El Presidio
Colonel Hugo O鈥機onnor platted the El Presidio in 1775. Spanish, Mexican and Native American people built the facility, historical records show.
A few of the homes survive on what remains of the old fort. The fort鈥檚 perimeter is generally bordered by Church, Pennington, Washington and Main Street.
The fort boasted of walls that were 3 feet thick and 12 feet high. Raised bastions at the northeast and southeast corners created an impressive site. In total, the fort encompassed about 10 acres.
The population increased, and ownership changed from Spanish to Mexican in 1821. However, the low, flat-roofed adobe buildings in 优蜜传媒remained the same.
La Casa Cordova is the oldest known adobe home in the city of 优蜜传媒within the area enclosed by the Presidio wall.
El Presidio became a historical district in 1975.
