Tucson continues to celebrate it’s 233rd birthday with festivities throughout town.   The official birthday of the 48th state is August 20, and throughout the month, various celebrations including a huge birthday cake for the public are taking place.

    Continuously inhabited since 900 BC, Tucson is a wealth of colorful history and has had the mark of various indiigenous peoples which is reflected in its unique culture.  The flags of five countries have flown over the once territorial capital of Arizona including the Spanish, the Mexican, the Confederate, the United States and the Arizona Flags.  

     Look at the truly historical buildings built before the railroad – which incidentially was build in part by the “slave labor” of the Chinese imported expressedly for that purpose.  The historical long houses, built of adobe mud, were long and low and thick, architectually designed to stay cool in the summer and warm in the winter, and also designed so that as the family increased in size, more rooms could be added conveniently.    Good examples are on Meyer and Convent Streets.   People are now returning to building adobe homes because of the energy efficiencies.

      Listen to the music of Tucson and the strong Mexican beat, or the haunting flute played by  R. Carlos Nakii, a Native American.   View the Southwestern Art which encompasses the traditional cowboy -western tradition as well as the mural art of people such as David Tineo, or the work of Ted DeGrazia.

      Look at the colors which abound in Tucson – a reflection of the vibrancy of the city.  The intricate mosaic dome in blues and turquoise and yellows of the Old Courthouse Building, itself a beautiful display of territorial architecture.  

     The history of Tucson is a tapestry of cross culturaliam.  Once a part of Sonora, Mexico, Tucson only became a part of the Gadsden purchase because it was the flattest route to the California gold mines.  And prior to the Mexican and Spanish occupation of Tucson, it was home to the Apaches, the the Yaquis, the Tohono O’odham, the Yumas, and the Pimas.   It was a thriving agricultural community with trade routes to what is now Northern Arizona as well as south into Mexico.

   Although we are officially celebrating 233 years, Tucson’s history is nearly 3,000 years old.  Happy Birthday Tucson!

Resources: 

Tucson History               http://www.ci.tucson.az.us/tucson_history.html

DeGrazia Gallery                http://www.degrazia.org

Chicano Murals                http://parentseyes.arizona.edu/folkarts/murals.html

Historical Walking Tours:
                    http://www.ci.tucson.az.us/planning/resources/publications/turquoisetrail.pdf

Tucson Birthday:             http://www.tucsonsbirthday.org/

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