I am always excited to visit neighborhoods with history. I am especially excited if that means there are homes to be seen that were once and are still a part of a thriving community. Great if they are rescued again by caring citizens that recognize some legitimate history and a potential for revival. In this case, I was very excited for the adventure of visiting the Barrio Viejo neighborhood of Tucson.
BarrioViejo...A Brief History
Barrio Viejo has its own dense and ongoing controversial history. In its earliest days it was made up of mostly working-class Mexicans. This is not too surprising since Tucson is only 60 to 70 miles from the Mexican border. Then the railroads came in the 1880’s. With them came the new Chinese immigrants, the labor force that it took to build our system of railways. So the work force of immigrants from China stayed, too, just as the large community of Mexicans had stayed before them. More adobe homes and a vibrant community emerged.
In 1971 there was a proposal to build a convention center in Tucson. Barrio Viejo was chosen for that future site. One hundred acres of land in Barrio Viejo and the homes on that land were razed. Luckily, though, the local residents prevented construction of a freeway that was to go through the area. The homes on that section of Barrio Viejo were not razed.
Changes
But Barrio Viejo was having hard times and many of the homes were in disrepair. Step in a more affluent white middle class who bought the homes, repaired, enhanced and beautified the area. The controversy of gentrification arose and continues today.
So that leaves me, an outsider who spent a lovely few hours walking through the neighborhoods. I realize the history here and at the same time feel grateful to know that there is so much beauty that eventually was conserved and I didn’t spend my afternoon walking under a freeway
Above and directly below you can witness two homes. One is with high walls painted in purple. The other is hot pink. Because, after all, this is Barrio Viejo and anything goes, it seems. And because anything goes, at least when painting your own home, it all seems natural and unpretentious to me.
I, as a visitor to Tucson, open my eyes to the startling beauty of this neighborhood, Barrio Viejo. As an outsider I am respectful of the presence of the long evolving history here. But I am grateful that what I see, in its own way has been saved.
And More:
Note: There are several articles to be read about Barrio Viejo. They can give you much past history and current controversies. Here is but one: https://preservetucson.org/stories/barrio-viejo-national-historic-landmark-nomination/
Being the thriving neighborhood that it is today there is a lot going on. And some wonderful restuarants where to eat. We chanced on one that I loved and wrote about in another post. Check it out in the middle of this post below. I loved the food and hope to someday go back to 5 Points Restaurant: https://roadtosuchness.com/category/stay/stay-tucson/ It is right on the edge of Barrio Viejo.
