On Tuesday we took the Tucson Historical Walking Tour. Its a 2 1/2 mile hike through the downtown with a self-guiding map and a turquoise line painted on the sidewalk to follow. Despite that we still managed to take a wrong turn or two and spent some time trying to find where the turquoise line went.
The Tour is somewhat underwhelming but that is in comparison to some of the wonders of nature that we have been witnessing. Perhaps not a fair comparison.
The Tour did yield some good pictures though so I will take you through at least some of the tour via my pics.
This building was originally the PIMA County Courthouse. It was built in 1929 in the Spanish Colonial Revival style with a beautiful mosaic-tiled dome and an elegant courtyard.
This was the Mormon Battalion Sculpture which commemorated the day in 1846 when Mormon soldiers entered Tucson on their way to California to fight the Mexican War.
I must admit I know very little about the history of this area. In school, which was a long long time ago, we learned mostly about the conflict between the French and English. Not much about the Spanish/American conflicts.
Another statue which I don't have a picture of depicted a Spanish soldier dressed for battle. He had leather armour made of 7 layers of deerskin, a rawhide shield and a 9 foot-long lance. In the Arizona heat, I'm thinking, if the arrows didn't kill him he would have died of heat stoke.
This bridge commemorates Father Francisco Garces which is all fine and good but I took the picture for the pretty colours.
This block in downtown Tucson is a series of buildings housing offices and shops. The area was part of a 1970 neighbourhood urban renewal project with shaded courtyards and restaurants. Very well done.
This house was built in the 1850s and used as a residence by members of the family of General John C Fremont who was appointed Territorial Governor in 1878.
This is "A" mountain. Originally used as a lookout by Spanish and Native American sentinels. The "A" was added in 1915 by students of the University of Arizona after a football victory. Still a source of pride for the University of Arizona Wildcats who, finishing 2nd in the Big 12 Conference, will play in the Fiesta Bowl on Dec 31/14
This is typical of many shrines found in and around Tucson, the Southwest and Mexico. People come to burn candles and pray.
This elementary school was built in the 1930s and still operates as a school. It was built in the Mission Revival style and has a red tile roof so typical of both old and new construction.
This adobe home was built in the 1860s and the original owners were instrumental in building the first synagogue in Arizona.
Charlie just wanted to jump in and wade in the fountain but had to settle for Lori splashing some water on her face.
This is the Temple of Music & Art was built in 1927 in the Spanish Colonial Revival style.
Not part of the official historical tour however interesting none the less. The truck had dice hanging from the mirror and a wreath on the front bumper. I don't get the wreath thing but perhaps it was to lead a funeral procession, who knows.
The skyline of Tucson. Not many tall buildings in Tucson and very few street lights. All part of the lobbying being done by the Kitts Peak Observatory who try to keep lighting of the night sky to a minimum.
We noticed that many residential subdivisions have no street lights.
This is the Hotel Congress, built in 1919. A very prominent hotel in its day and still very popular. It was made famous in 1934 when John Dillinger's gang rented rooms. While they were there, the building caught fire and the gang paid firemen to carry their bags outside. The firemen didn't open the bags but wondered why they were so heavy. The bags contained submachine guns and bulletproof vests. The gang was recognized and soon arrested.
The Fox Theatre, built many years ago and after being closed for 30 years it was recently restored to its original Art Deco design. Originally designed for vaudeville and silent movies this became Tucsons preeminent movie theatre and site of the world premier in 1940 of the film "Arizona" staring William Holden and Jean Arthur. It now hosts both screen and stage events.
So there you have it. Not all of the sights we saw, but a good sampling. The downtown is actually a nice area to walk around in. Complete with interlocking brick sidewalks and street cars which make up part of their light rail transit system. The rails imbedded in the pavement bring me back to visits to Winnipeg as a child.
We got up Tuesday morning and had planned to take the Sabino Canyon hike. We slept through the alarm and decided that since we had been on the go every day for the past couple of weeks that we would have a do nothing day. We went for our morning hour walk and saw our first snake and some kind of lizard. Both of which moved too fast for me to get my phone out of my pocket to take a picture. We aren't sure what kind of snake it was. It was small and looked slightly larger than a large garter snake at home. Probably 2 feet in length. It slithered under a small bush and wouldn't come out and since it very well might have been poisonous I wasn't about to coax it out with my foot. Were going to say it was a rattle snake cause it makes a better story.
Tomorrow Sabino Canyon, if we get up when the alarm goes off.
Later
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