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My partner and I discussed this while we were there; he was actually expecting Tucson to have more of a southwest look to it, like Santa Fe. The only thing "Southwestern"-looking that we saw was Barrio Viejo. And it seems only recently that the look of Barrio Viejo and its historic significance has become more appreciated. I'm not even sure that it's even considered a protected historic district. In fact, I'm guessing no, because we didn't see signs that indicated that it was a historic district, just El Tiradito Wishing Shrine was a landmarked thing. Quote:
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We ate at Boca Tacos Y Tequila, Seis Kitchen, and Reforma. You can Google the complete list of certified Tuscon UNESCO Restaurants of Gastronomy. There's like 20-something of them, all meeting some kind of criteria. And just an FYI, the UNESCO City of Gastronomy designation doesn't mean that Tucson is full of fine dining restaurants or "Michelin-rated" places (which I think is subjective crap, BTW); it's about the whole food culture of a place, how a city values its food, the authenticity, the originality and creativity of its cuisine. When Tucson applied for the designation, they mentioned how people in the Tucson area have been continuously doing agriculture there for about 4,000 years, or something; Tucson claims to be one of the oldest continuously inhabited areas in the US, or maybe even North America. The fact that they've been doing agriculture there for thousands of years helped it get the UNESCO City of Gastronomy designation, I think. Looking it up on Wikipedia, this is the criteria: -Well-developed gastronomy that is characteristic of the urban centre and/or region -Vibrant gastronomy community with numerous traditional restaurants and/or chefs -Endogenous ingredients used in traditional cooking -Local know-how, traditional culinary practices and methods of cooking that have survived industrial/technological advancement -Traditional food markets and traditional food industry -Tradition of hosting gastronomic festivals, awards, contests and other broadly-targeted means of recognition -Respect for the environment and promotion of sustainable local products -Nurturing of public appreciation, promotion of nutrition in educational institutions and inclusion of biodiversity conservation programmes in cooking schools curricula |
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Regarding the Civil War, I am not sure of the antebellum period. Southern Arizona may very well have been settled by southerners. During the Civil War, southern Arizona and southern New Mexico were briefly the Confederate Arizona Territory. Northern Arizona and northern New Mexico were Union-held. The Confederate territory was short-lived, though; the Union won it back in the Battle of Glorieta Pass in 1862. Like much of the US, there was a split. From what I remember, Anglos mainly sympathized with the Union, and Hispanics and Native Americans mainly sympathized with the Confederates. The sympathy with the Confederates was born out of their distrust or disdain for the US Government, not that much unlike the British support for the Confederacy. |
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Tucson's Barrio Viejo looks much more authentically Spanish/Mexican colonial than any large district that I can think of here in California, but I'm always open to learning about such places. |
i had very little idea of the history of this area in the civil war era and also had zero idea of unesco world heritage gastronomy, i thought it was just for buildings and neighborhoods. all very interesting, so err, gracias amigos!
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The "southerners" that moved to AZ would have been in relatively tiny numbers back in the late 1800's and other than the names of streets (which has a shockingly Irish flare) their influence was long since bred out by masses of Midwestern Transplants over the last 60+ years and now California Transplants. |
This is a great tour! Thank you.
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On the other hand, outside of town, you will find plenty of private homes and businesses that DO "embrace the whole adobe style and aesthetic". The adobe style is very common in private architecture. In my area, you see a lot of this kind of thing: https://photos.zillowstatic.com/fp/2...-cc_ft_768.jpg https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2.../8647103_zpid/ https://photos.zillowstatic.com/fp/5...1344_1008.webp https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/9...zpid/?mmlb=g,2 Houses in my own neighborhood go more for the "Territorial" look: http://www.esperanzaestates.net/images/st-2.JPG http://www.esperanzaestates.net/images/st-2.JPG |
Yes to Demonstrate
The oldest of the old, Wild West times buildings late 1800's (only a handful exist) https://historicphoenixdistricts.com...t-in-1900..jpg Legitimate old school stucco & Craftsmen styles from 80-100 years ago (about as old as Phoenix Gets in any quantity) https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.town...6cc1.image.png Mid Century, if Phoenix has a dominant style its Mid-century https://cdn.photos.sparkplatform.com...94000000-o.jpg 80's and 90's "stucco" Mediterranean/Spanish/ Adobe styles This is probably the 2nd most common type of style in the Phoenix Metro :yuck:. Not my favorite https://i2.wp.com/www.extraspace.com...95%2C328&ssl=1 Slightly less awful Stucco from late 90's to roughly 2010 https://i.insider.com/5cf19b9011e205...jpeg&auto=webp And modern styles have taken a totally sideways move completely away from southwestern styles into something more Mid-century/universal style. Most new communities are either still some form of stucco but increasingly its this: (which I like but I am a basic bitch) https://cdn.tollbrothers.com/communi..._2673_1920.jpg https://www.arizonafoothillsmagazine...se-750x542.jpg |
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Of course, the "gimmick" was done back around the 1910s/20s, so the quality of finish was very high, and the result in Santa Fe is something beautiful and unique. But, it was cultural appropriation done at a mass scale, something many local New Mexicans don't view in a positive light. For more insight, read "The Myth of Santa Fe", and look up John Gaw Meem, the anglo architect that popularized the pueblo revival style. The "look" of Tucson is actually much more representative of the Sonoran-Hispanic culture than Santa Fe, which is not only anglicized but based on northern New Mexico (Old Spain) and puebloan influences. |
^Santa Barbara did the exact same thing in the 1920’s. It used to be quite Victorian. Now it has its own made up architectural style.
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I moved down here to the "Blue Island of the Southwest" 2 and half years ago from "City Of Endless Walls" Las Vegas. I love, love, love this city, shockingly very friendly, after 22 years in the coldest, unfriendliest city of Las Vegas.
Your photo's were award-winning! I always wanted to retire as close to the Mexican Border as I could afford, and this was the place, only 65 miles to Nogales, for dental, medications, brilliant doctors. I live in Midtown, near Crossroads Festival, where most of the homes in this region are all brick. This area has more urban amenities than downtown Tucson. From my home, there's 12 restaurants within 3 blocks of my house, 2 grocery stores, a 9-screen movie house, and Tucson Medical Center, a short walk away. The most paradisical area I've ever lived in. Let the high tech industries go to Phoenix, and leave us be down here! |
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I also get that Tusconians (Is that the proper demonym?) are nice and friendly; I think people in Phoenix are nice too. |
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But Tucsonites and Phoenicians hate eachother :haha: And everyone hates the West Valley, and Flagstaff hates everyone, and Jerome is stoned. |
I'm glad you enjoyed your time in Tucson! As an active member of the Tucson forum here, I'm always on the lookout for local representation in My City Photos, which is unfortunately less frequent than I think the city deserves.
A few notes: You may have seen already but it was announced last week that Maria Mazon, the owner of Boca, is going to be a contestant on the next season of Top Chef. I believe she'll be the first chef from Arizona on the show and she's rapidly becoming a Tucson icon so it's a pretty big deal for us. There's been some good discussion of architectural styles here, which vary from neighborhood to neighborhood around downtown Tucson, so I figured I'd link a brochure the city published a few years back detailing the styles by neighborhood. All of the illustrations are of real homes and you can easily see the progression from our oldest neighborhoods like Barrio Viejo to the more midcentury styles that predominate in midtown Tucson. Finally, one architect, Josias Joesler, was responsible for much of the revival style architecture seen throughout Tucson. He came to Tucson by invitation of a developer in the 1920s upon the recommendation of George Washington Smith. |
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Actually, I did read about Maria Mazon right before we left for our trip, when I was looking up news articles about Tucson. And while we were there, I saw either a promo for Top Chef on TV in the hotel room, or it might've been a local news teaser about her being on Top Chef. Good luck to her! Thanks for posting that brochure link. I definitely wouldn't mind going back to Tucson to explore other areas around the city and other areas just outside the city---and to eat at more restaurants! :tup: |
Excellent thread!! I was blown away by this one!! I visited Tucson back in 86, but I was in high school, so I have very few memories or any kind of appreciation for the time I was there. Today, just on this thread alone, if the unlikely event ever rose up where I moved to Arizona, Tucson would be near the top of my list!! Thank you for showing the true life of this city, instead of what looked like a rather boring downtown skyline!! :cheers:
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Another oddity I love about this city is the "dimness". Due to having a big telescope on top of the Catalina Mountains, there's an effort to keep the lights to a minimum. Having had cataract surgery, everything seems to appear brighter.
In my neighborhood, there are residential streets with no single street light, and if you walk down the street at night, you're at the mercy of porch lights on houses. I love it!:tup: |
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Wow! Tucson has come a long way since I visited in 1994. It was really run down and I am glad to see lots of TLC has gone into Barrio Viejo and the new development in the Downtown area. It has blossomed into a unique and beautiful city. Beautiful pictures!
On the flip side driving though but not staying about 5 years ago I was saddened by all the newly built sprawl into the virgin desert north of the city along Interstate 10. |
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