Holt Modern sells mid-century modern furniture on Tucson's historic mid-century thoroughfare, the stretch of East Broadway from Euclid to Country Club that was dubbed the Sunshine Mile in 1953.
Holt is housed in a 1954 building at 2934 E. Broadway that has been owned by the Tucson Historic Preservation Foundation since 2016, when its original occupant, Hirsh’s Shoes, closed. The building, named a Tucson historic landmark in 2018, was designed by Bernard Friedman, a prominent local architect between the 1940s and 1970s.
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Customers browse the collection of mid-century modern furniture for sale inside Holt Modern, 2934 E. Broadway.
Christopher Holt, the owner of Holt Modern, took over the spot a year ago. He sells and refinishes mid-century modern furniture, focusing on pieces from the 1950s to the 1970s. He sources most of his pieces in Arizona.
Christopher Holt, owner of Holt Modern.
Holt Modern sells vintage furniture and decor with an emphasis on mid-century modern pieces from the 1950s to 1970s.
Customers browse inside Holt Modern, 2934 E. Broadway.
Holt Modern lives inside the former Hirsh's Shoes building on Tucson's Sunshine Mile.
“It’s a 1950s building, and I sell primarily 1950s, ’60s, ’70s furniture. I think the furniture suits the building. I feel like they belong to each other,” Holt said.
Many of Tucson's houses were also built in the post-World War II boom of the ’50s and ’60s, he noted, and owners of those homes often want their decor to match the aesthetic.
“A lot of people want to retain that character of when the house was built, so they might like mid-century because it looks so good in those spaces," he said.
Today, “people like to look at it as a trend," he said of mid-century modern decor, "but I think it’s lasted so long because this furniture is so simple and so well made.”
Demion Clinco, chief executive officer of the Tucson Historic Preservation Foundation, says Holt Modern aligns with the organization's goals for the Sunshine Mile.
“We were looking for someone like Chris Holt and Holt Modern, who would bring to the district something that is thematically connected,” Clinco said.
The building’s exterior has been preserved while the inside, which needed updating, has been refreshed with polished concrete and bright walls.
The sign that reads Hirsh’s Shoes outside is still fully functional, lighting up every day around 7 p.m.
Holt Modern is open Thursdays through Sundays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
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