My favorite place: Casas Adobes Plaza

Some might think my favorite space in Tucson would be one of my father’s designs, such as the Wilmot Library. But growing up in the northwest of the city, I spent most of my time in a small neighborhood shopping center that for more than 60 years has been one of the most charming and enduring spaces in Tucson.

In  the Casas Adobes Plaza I had my first job at Bullard’s Hardware store, my second job at the Coat of Arms restaurant, and spent much of my delinquent youth roaming its many patios and passageways. Fries at the drugstore counter, Kiwanis spaghetti dinners in the main plaza and kisses in the tower were delicacies of my youth.

Sam Nanini, an Italian immigrant, came to Tucson in 1948 from Chicago for his wife’s health. He immediately began work on the shopping plaza perched in the far northwest part of town. His goal was to mimic the quaint neighborhood markets of his hometown in Italy that have a plaza as the focal point.

Architect Gordon Lupeke, a protégé of renowned Swiss architect Josias Joesler, designed the plaza in the late 1940s. I remember a story that Sam Nanini wanted a fireplace in the lobby of the gas station and Gordon had to explain to him why that wasn’t such a good idea.

So why is this my favorite space? Beyond the nostalgia, it represents the essence of architectural spaces: scale, endurance and delight. The complex has mastered the human scale.

As you look closely at the older areas of the building, you will notice wood that has endured more than 60 years because it was properly detailed and maintained.

In many ways the outdoor experience of the plaza is just as enjoyable as the shops themselves, the outdoors and indoors blending together in a public way that is extraordinary. Too many of our public spaces focus on the exterior or interior spaces.

Great architecture enhances the experience by creating them as one. The next time you walk by a building, notice if it draws you in and invites you to explore. If it does, accept its invitation.