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A look at what life was like in Tucson in the 1930s
- Updated
Take a step back in time with these photos that show the people and places of Tucson 90 years ago.
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Tucson in the 1930s
Broadway Road underpass construction in Tucson, ca. 1930s.
Arizona Historical SocietyTucson in the 1930s
The soda fountain at Steinfeld's Department Store in the 1930s.
Arizona Historical SocietyTucson in the 1930s
Goodyear Tire Store in Tucson, ca. 1930s.
Arizona Historical SocietyTucson in the 1930s
Tucson street scene, ca. 1930s. Tucson Public Market is at left.
Arizona Historical SocietyTucson in the 1930s
Northwest corner of Stone and Pennington in downtown Tucson, ca. 1930s.
Arizona Historical SocietyTucson in the 1930s
Joe Tang's Market in Tucson, ca. 1930s.
Arizona Historical SocietyTucson in the 1930s
Baffert and Leon wholesale grocery company on Toole Ave, near 6th Ave., Tucson, ca. 1930s. The company obtained an injunction against construction of the Stone Avenue Subway (railroad underpass) in 1934 claiming extensive damage.
Arizona Historical SocietyTucson in the 1930s
Stone and 3rd Pharmacy and Lee's Market in Tucson, ca. 1930s
Arizona Historical SocietyTucson in the 1930s
Promotion for "The Gay Divorcee," a 1934 movie musical, shown at the Fox Theatre in Tucson, ca 1930s.
Arizona Historical SocietyTucson in the 1930s
Sale at the White House Department Store in Tucson, ca. 1930s.
Arizona Historical SocietyTucson in the 1930s
Western Auto Supply Co. in Tucson, ca. 1930s.
Arizona Historical SocietyTucson in the 1930s
Drachman School in Tucson, ca. 1930s.
Arizona Historical SocietyTucson in the 1930s
Lyric Theatre in Tucson, ca. 1930s.
Arizona Historical SocietyTucson in the 1930s
Newspaper photo of the Tucson Police officers involved in the arrest of John Dillinger in 1934.
Tucson CitizenTucson in the 1930s
In this Jan. 25, 1934, photo, members of the Dillinger outlaw gang, from left, Russel Clark, Charles Makley, Harry Pierpont, John Dillinger, and girlfriends Ann Martin and Mary Kinder are arraigned in the old Pima County Court House.
Associated PressTucson in the 1930s
Steinfeld Hardware in the 1930s.
Arizona Historical SocietyTucson in the 1930s
Tucson Mayor George K. Smith gets fitted for shoes at Steinfeld's Department Store. in the 1930s.
Arizona Historical SocietyTucson in the 1930s
A Coca Cola delivery truck with a touch of Budweiser on the hood in the 1930s.
Arizona Historical SocietyTucson in the 1930s
Steinfeld's Department Store display window on Shirley Temple in 1930s.
Arizona Historical SocietyTucson in the 1930s
Tidmarsh Company selling the new Zenith radio in 1936.
Arizona Historical SocietyTucson in the 1930s
O'Rielly Chevrolet in the 1930s.
Arizona Historical SocietyTucson in the 1930s
Undated photo of the original El Charro Restaurant, Tucson, at what is now the La Placita office complex at Church and Broadway.
Arizona Historical SocietyTucson in the 1930s
Steinfeld's Department Store in the 1920s.
Arizona Historical SocietyTucson in the 1930s
The Rialto Theatre shows off its talking pictures in the 1930s.
Arizona Historical SocietyTucson in the 1930s
founded by Richard C. McCormick with John Wasson as publisher and editor on October 15, 1870. It became the Arizona Weekly Citizen in the 1880s and finally, the Tucson Citizen sometime between 1901-1920. At the time of its closure in 2009, it was the oldest continuously published newspaper in Arizona.
Arizona Historical SocietyTucson in the 1930s
Straw hat display in a J.C. Penney Department Store window, Tucson, in 1930s.
Arizona Historical SocietyTucson in the 1930s
A cooking school at Tucson Gas, Electric Light and Power Co. in the 1930s. In 1979, Tucson Gas and Electric sold it's gas division and became Tucson Electric Power.
Arizona Historical SocietyTucson in the 1930s
Miniature golf in Tucson, 1930s. Simon Kivel developed two miniature golf courses in Tucson, on 4th Ave. north of 3rd Street and the other at Park and Speedway.
Arizona Historical SocietyTucson in the 1930s
An ice cream shop in Tucson in 1930s.
Arizona Historical SocietyTucson in the 1930s
The Lyric Theatre, Tucson, in the 1930s. It was built in 1918, then demolished in the 1960s take make way for urban redevelopment.
Arizona Historical SocietyTucson in the 1930s
North Stone Bowling alley in the 1930s.
Arizona Historical SocietyTucson in the 1930s
Jacome's Department Store in the 1930s.
Arizona Historical SocietyTucson in the 1930s
Yellow Cab drivers at the ready in Tucson, 1930s.
Arizona Historical SocietyTucson in the 1930s
Oliver Drachman built Tucson’s first drive-in refreshment stand next to his fuel yard on the southeast corner of North Fourth Avenue and East Eighth Street.
Arizona Historical SocietyTucson in the 1930s
Opening of the Tucson branch of Valley National Bank, constructed in 1929 for Consolidated National Bank of Tucson. Valley merged with Bank One in 1992 and is now Chase Bank.
Arizona Historical SocietyTucson in the 1930s
The Southern Pacific RR depot in Tucson, 1930s. It was restored to its 1940s Spanish Colonial style in 2004.
Arizona Historical SocietyTucson in the 1930s
KVOA Radio studios on East Broadway above Al Buehmann Photography in Tucson in the late 1930s.
Arizona Historical SocietyTucson in the 1930s
The church bus for Saints Peter and Paul Parochial School in the 1930s.
Arizona Historical SocietyTucson in the 1930s
The beautiful tiled soda fountain at Fred Fleishman & Co., Druggists, in the 1930s.
Arizona Historical SocietyTucson in the 1930s
Patsy's, Peoples Barbershop and the French Cafe at 55 W. Congress St. in Tucson, 1930s. The French Cafe opened on July 3, 1920. It's ads claimed it was "the most sanitary cafe" in Tucson.
Arizona Historical SocietyTucson in the 1930s
Mulcahy Lumber on West Congress Street in Tucson in the 1930s.
Arizona Historical SocietyTucson in the 1930s
Desert Sanatorium near Grant and Craycroft, ca. 1930s. It was a tuberculosis treatment center and health retreat. It closed in 1943 and become Tucson Medical Center in 1944.
Arizona Historical SocietyTucson in the 1930s
The Circle Z Ranch in Patagonia, ca. 1930s. It started as a sheep-herding operation in the 1880s, then become a dude ranch in the 1920s. It is still in operation as a dude ranch today.
Arizona Historical SocietyTucson in the 1930s
The Circle Z Ranch chuck wagon in Patagonia, ca. 1930s. It started as a sheep-herding operation in the 1880s, then become a dude ranch in the 1920s. It is still in operation as a dude ranch today.
Arizona Historical SocietyTucson in the 1930s
The Tavern Cafe, 127 E. Congress St., ca 1930s. One night in 1934 featured Miss Betty Gordon singing and dancing, accompanied by Mr. Roy Gordon, noted pianist and accordionist. The block now is home to the Screening Room and other businesses. But the motif is long gone.
Arizona Historical SocietyTucson in the 1930s
The old Pima County Courhouse in the 1930s. It was at the time the premier government building in Southern Arizona. It dwarfs the old Tucson City Hall behind.
Arizona Historical SocietyTucson in the 1930s
Elite Ice Cream, Tucson, ca. 1930s.
Arizona Historical SocietyTucson in the 1930s
The Fox Theatre Tucson in the 1930s, before the big makeover and massive lighted marquee.
Arizona Historical SocietyTucson in the 1930s
The Circle Z Ranch in Patagonia, ca. 1930s. It started as a sheep-herding operation in the 1880s, then become a dude ranch in the 1920s. It is still in operation as a dude ranch today.
Arizona Historical SocietyTucson in the 1930s
Snow falling in downtown Tucson in the 1930s.
Arizona Historical SocietyTucson in the 1930s
Sunshine Grocery at 803 E. Helen St., Tucson, ca. 1930s. The building is still there at the corner of Euclid and Helen.
Arizona Historical SocietyTucson in the 1930s
French Cafe, 55 W. Congress, interior in the 1930s.
Arizona Historical SocietyTucson in the 1930s
Owner George A. Vance tending to his garden at the Mobilgas in Tucson, ca. 1930s.
Arizona Historical SocietyTucson in the 1930s
The Consolidated National Bank of Tucson lobby in the 1930s. The building opened in 1929 and was the city's tallest building. Valley Bank and Trust of Phoenix bought Consolidated to form Valley National Bank of Arizona.
Arizona Historical SocietyTucson in the 1930s
Aerial view of then University of Arizona campus, with Old Main at the center, in 1939. View looking east from Park Avenue.
Arizona Historical SocietyTucson in the 1930s
Douglas & Sons grocery in the 1930s. The locally-owned grocery had five Tucson stores.
Arizona Historical SocietyTucson in the 1930s
Stone Avenue, Tucson, in the 1930s.
Arizona Historical SocietyTucson in the 1930s
Downtown Tucson in the 1930s, looking north. The major street in the center of the photo is Stone Avenue, with Valley National Bank and the Pioneer Hotel.
Arizona Historical SocietyTucson in the 1930s
Steinfeld's Grocery at Stone and Pennington in the 1930s.
Arizona Historical SocietyTucson in the 1930s
Desert Sanatorium near Grant and Craycroft, ca. 1930s. It was a tuberculosis treatment center and health retreat. It closed in 1943 and become Tucson Medical Center in 1944.
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