Seven years ago it was a trashed park and an abandoned-building-turned-haven for drug users and the homeless.
Today it's a museum, gift shop and teaching opportunity for students right next door at Carrillo Elementary School.
La Pilita, as it's come to be called, is also one of 23 landmark stops along the Presidio Trail Tour, Tucson's newest Downtown walking tour.
Which brings us to today's dictum: Never underestimate the power of a teacher — especially multiplied by three.
In 1981, Virginia Gray, Carol Cribbet-Bell and Joan Daniels all came to Carrillo School — Gray and Daniels as teachers, Cribbet-Bell as librarian.
Across the street from the school were the park and the little adobe, which was built as a home in the late 1940s.
People are also reading…
"I was in it as a young girl," says Marti Vargas, who grew up in the neighborhood — one of Tucson's oldest.
Eventually, says Vargas, the home became a tiny restaurant. "They sold hamburgers, ice cream cones, and people would come with buckets and get their menudo."
Later, it became a youth center and meeting space for barrio residents. But eventually it fell into disuse and then abuse.
As luck would have it, Gray's third-grade classroom looked out at what had become the trashed park and abandoned building.
"I said something to Carol about getting the kids to help clean up the park," says Gray. So she went to Carrillo Principal Henry Vega.
"I knew something had to be done," says Vega, now assistant principal at Blenman Elementary. "Carol and Virginia and Joan were always coming up with new things. I trusted their judgment."
A year later, 1999, the teachers formed a committee of neighbors, parents and other teachers and asked the city for permission to adopt the park.
"We were just thinking of the park, but they gave us the building too," says Cribbet-Bell.
"We were overwhelmed," says Gray. But not, it would appear, for long.
After the city swept the lot clear — save for the fountain that had been installed years before — they got busy.
"We created a nonprofit and wrote a grant," says Cribbet-Bell. They got it — all $38,000 — which went for new heating, plumbing, windows and roof.
"Inside was a mess," says Cribbet-Bell. "The refrigerator was unhooked and full of food."
For most of 2000, they cleaned up the place. Daniels, who is their main grant writer, also put that talent to work.
Altogether, she's secured about $250,000 in grants. Local merchants, the city of Tucson, and Tucson Unified School District have also contributed time and money to the cause.
Retaining walls now stem flooding at the park, and new lighting and a computer system have come on board.
Altogether, about 40 volunteers have worked to make La Pilita what it is today. Gray, Cribbet-Bell and Daniels are now retired, but not from La Pilita, where Gray serves as treasurer, Cribbet-Bell as executive director and Daniels as education and program director, as well as grant writer.
Two years ago, La Pilita opened to the public. A gift shop sells everything from T-shirts to the art of children and local artists.
Students from Carrillo also get involved, doing archaeology and history projects and serving as docents.
"We show people around the building, give tours," says Javier Gomez, a fifth-grader at Carrillo.
Says Vargas, now on La Pilita's board: "It's taught the children to appreciate the neighborhood."
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