Here's another grab bag of Tucson history photos
We've stumbled across another 28 photos of Tucson history. Often, we're looking for one thing and find something else that looks intriguing. We do a little research (sometimes there's not much to go by) and post a gallery for your viewing pleasure. Hopefully, it will bring back some good memories.
If our information does not seem accurate, please contact photo editor Rick Wiley at rwiley@tucson.com
Rancho Sin Vacas, 1980
Empty streets trail into the Santa Catalina Mountains behind the entrance to the Ranch Sin Vacas custom home development north of Tucson in 1980. At that time, lots were advertised for as low as $40,000. Seems like a bargain, but that's about $125,000 in today's dollars. The arch was taken from the historic El Consquistador Hotel, built in 1928. It was demolished to make way for El Con Mall.
Selby Motors, 1956
The new Selby Motors Mercury dealership at 2200 E. Broadway Road, Tucson, in 1956. The business moved from 820 S. 6th Ave. What replaced the modern, round glass building? A convenience store.
Roller skater, 1982
Tucson High School senior Sharon O'Brien roller skates down North Campbell Ave. at 7th St., Tucson, in 1982. She made the four-mile trip home from school each day.
Ranch House Bar
Pima County Sheriff's deputies parked outside the Ranch House Bar at 4950 N. Casa Grande Highway (I-10 frontage), north of Ruthrauff, in February 19, 1982, less than a day after the bar manager shot and killed undercover Tucson Police Officer Jeffrey Ross during a cocaine deal. The manager was shot and killed by police. The storied bar was also the scene of a fatal shooting in 1976 and a double-fatal shooting in 1979. In 1983, Pima County Sheriff's deputies raided the bar and arrested the owner on drug charges. He died that same year and his widow finally closed the business. The lot is now part of the I-10 frontage. It may have been acquired by the state as right-of-way.
Plaza Palomino, 1985
Plaza Palomino at Ft. Lowell Road and Swan Road under construction in 1985. The project was estimated to cost $12-15 million and included 60,000 square feet of retail space and 25,000 square feet of office space. It was developed by the James Presley Co. Most of the land where the plaza was built was largely vacant for years.
Pleasure World in 1990
Pleasure World Adult Video & Arcade at 174 E. Toole, downtown Tucson, in 1990. The Arizona Dept. of Transportation acquired the property for the Aviation Parkway project. It was leased to the business owner and met all zoning requirements. Many downtown redevelopment advocates were none-too-happy when the business opened. Not to worry: It's now an art gallery.
Corbett's Lumber, 1955
Corbett's Lumber at 4545 E. Speedway in Tucson in 1955. The building is still there. It's now a carpet business. The longtime Tucson business was originally located at 6th Ave. and 7th St. That historic building, designed by Roy Place, is still there and awaiting restoration.
Coronado Hotel
The historic Coronado Hotel at 4th Ave. and 9th St. in Tucson, had seen better days by 1987. The 42-unit hotel, built in 1928, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A non-profit group saved the hotel from the wrecking ball in 1989. They used grant money and converted it to 41 apartments for low-income disabled or elderly residents. The Coronet Cafe, which replaced the Coronado Cafe, opened in 2014, but closed in 2019. It moved to the former Cushing Street Bar.
Garden of Gethsemane, 1964
Volunteers from the Tucson Jaycees and Junior Chamber of Commerce finish restoration of the statues and grounds of the Garden of Gethsemane along the Santa Cruz River in May, 1964. The statues were ravaged by vandals and weather. The city parks and recreation department worked with the volunteers to finish the project. Artist Felix Lucero began sculpture project in 1938 and finished it nine years later.
Pioneer Paint, 1986
A waste pond behind Pioneer Paint and Varnish Co., 438 W. Congress St., Tucson, in 1986. The business was adjacent to the old El Paso & Southwestern RR, near the historic EP&SW train depot. The company was founded by Harry Bacal in 1934. It closed after the city purchased the property in 1989. The company cleaned up the site. It's now an empty lot.
Randolph (Reid) Park
The city's new 4.5 million gallon lake and storage basin at Randolph (now Reid) Park, Tucson, in December, 1959.
Randolph (Reid) Park
A U.S. Air Force IM99 Bomarc air defense missile on display at Randolph (now Reid) Park near the 22nd Street entrance, Tucson, in December, 1959. The missile was on a 30-day tour of Arizona, California and New Mexico to show taxpayers what they got for their money.
Randolph Golf Course
Randolph Municipal Golf Course, Tucson, from the air in 1962. Hi Corbett Field is upper left. The historic, original El Conquistador Hotel is upper right, along with the El Con Mall prior to expansion. Where's the Reid Park Zoo? Well, it's not there yet. A very small version of the zoo opened in 1965.
Randolph North Golf Course, 1986
The 15th hole at Randolph North Golf Course in 1986. Improvements to the course in the PGA tour years made it a better, more-challenging course for amateurs.
Seven-Up Bottling
Undated photo of Seven-Up Bottling Co., probably early 1960s, at 2640 N. Flowing Wells Road in Tucson.
Randolph Park Golf Course, 1952
An aerial of Randolph Park Golf Course, Tucson, in 1952. The Colonia Solana neighborhood is in the foreground. Hi Corbett Field, and cars parked for a Spring Training game, is lower right.
Reid Park Lake
Jerry Brooks of the B&W Fish Hatchery in Safford wades into Gene Reid Lake at Randolph Park (now Reid Park), Tucson, with a bucket of fish, part of a re-stocking with 1,000 bluegills, 100 catfish and 100 bass on July 5, 1963. Radio station KTUC appealed to listeners for the money to purchase the fish. The city had issued more than 3,000 licenses for children to fish in the lake.
Rose Garden, 1960s
The Rose Garden at Randolph Park (now Reid Park), Tucson, ca. 1960s. The original Rose Garden was located east of the Zoo, but had to be moved west to make way for a new police/fire communications center.
Randolph Park Pool
Randolph Park Pool at Broadway Road and Alvernon Way, Tucson, in September, 1961. It is now closed.
Redondo Towers
Redondo Towers in downtown Tucson, July, 1961.
Zody's Department Store
An estimated crowd of 12,000 people await the grand opening of Zody's Department Store at 5720 E. Broadway, Tucson, on Aug. 24, 1977. Eleven off-duty Tucson Police officers kept the peace. Nearly 5,000 shoppers waited to see Debbie Reynolds cut the ribbon during opening ceremonies. The California-based company had 37 stores. It filed for bankruptcy in the early 1980s and disappeared by 1986.
Zody's Department Store
Debbie Reynolds at the Zody's Department Store opening at 5720 E. Broadway, Tucson, on Aug. 24, 1977.
UA astronomers, 1967
University of Arizona astronomers, from left, Dr. Beverly Lynds, Barbara Middlehurst and Dr. Elizabeth Roemer at Steward Observatory on the University of Arizona campus on July 20, 1967. Lynds published "Dark Nebulae, Globules, and Protostars" in 1971. She was appointed assistant to the director Leo Goldberg of Kitt Peak National Observatory the same year. They married a year before Goldberg's death in 1987. Middlehurst was co-editor with Gerald Kuiper on several books on the solar system and associate editor of a nine volume series, "Stars and Stellar Systems." She died in 1995. Roemer discovered the two main-belt asteroids 1930 Lucifer and 1983 Bok and co-discovered Themisto, one of the 67 moons of Jupiter. She died in 2016.
Thomas O. Price Service Center, 1970
The main building City of Tucson Thomas O. Price Service Center under construction on Park Avenue at Ajo Way in August, 1970. The service center began operation in 1972. It became the primary fueling facility for city vehicles. In 1980, several of the 12,000-gallon underground fuel tanks were found to be leaking fuel into the soil. The city installed extraction wells to treat the contaminated water below the site behind fire station 10 to the north. The Julian Wash slices diagonally through the photo.
Thomas O. Price Service Center, 1970
The City of Tucson Thomas O. Price Service Center at Park and Ajo under construction, left, and the Apache Drive-In, 1600 E. Benson Highway, at right in August, 1970. The drive-in opened on May 12, 1955, according to cinematreasures.org. Car capacity was 1,200. Two additional screens was added in 1974. The drive-In closed in 1994. You can still see the evidence of the drive-in on Google maps.
Apache Drive-In, 1974
Workers hoist one of the three new screens into place in a major renovation of the Apache Drive-In Theater, 1600 E. Benson Hwy on July 5, 1974.
Pima College, 1970
The $10.3 million "Pima College" campus under construction on Greasewood Road (entrance in foreground) at Anklam Road, looking east, on Aug. 27, 1970. The campus came during a boom time in the city, which gained 16,000 new residents in 1969 alone. TUSD schools graduated more than 12,000 seniors in 1969.
Golden Dragon Restaurant, 1982
The Golden Dragon Restaurant, 6433 N. Oracle Road, in 1982. To the left is Baskin Robbins ice cream (and a pay phone). The Golden Dragon is still there. The pay phone is not.
Rick Wiley
Photo editor
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