Self-Guided Walking Tour on April 7, 12 noon to 5 p.m.
5 Private Residences & Numerous Points of Interest
Including 5 Alternative Living Arrangements

Tickets – $20 each
March 28 – April 6 at Arte de la Vida, 37 N. Tucson Blvd (just north of Broadway Blvd.) or
April 7th at Rincon Market, 2513 E. 6th Street – 9a.m. – 3p.m. (NE corner of Tucson Blvd and E. 6th St.).

For further information, contact: former board member Susan Peters – 520-343-3798 or www.samhughes.org

This tour is held every other year, and features lovely homes in the historic Sam Hughes neighborhood (between Speedway and Broadway, and between Campbell and Country Club – just east of the University of Arizona). 2013 paid members of the Sam Hughes Neighborhood Association can purchase $10 tickets on the day of the tour.

And I hear that some of the “alternative living arrangements” included in this year’s tour are a hotel, a monastery, an elderly living complex, and a fraternity. Enjoy the tour this Spring.

SAM HUGHES 2013 HISTORIC NEIGHBORHOOD AND HOME TOUR by Denice Blake, SHNA home tour committee

Welcome to the 2013 Sam Hughes Historical Neighborhood and Home Tour. Bounded by Speedway/Broadway Boulevards and Campbell/Country Club Boulevards, our neighborhood is named for an early Tucson merchant whose reward for his support of public schools was to have a school named after him in 1927, ten years after his death. It was around that school, the Spanish Eclectic building at 700 N. Wilson, that the neighborhood emerged. Several years ago, when the school was due for an addition, the neighborhood rallied and used proceeds from previous home tours to guarantee that the work would be sympathetic to the original school.

Our one square mile neighborhood is composed of over 2,000 residences, businesses, schools, and places of worship. Some of the homes you’ll see today are close to their original condition; others have been tastefully remodeled. “Green” architecture is the new mantra. Descriptions in this brochure will note where the sites you visit today have used water thrift, reuse, locally-sourced products, and other elements of sustainability.

As you walk and drive around our neighborhood, you will see much evidence of diversity, especially in the age and economic range of both our residents and residences.
Restaurants sit next to student rentals; nine year olds live next to ninety year olds. Within walking/biking distance, businesses and professional offices supply almost every need: overnight accommodations, an independent film theater, restaurants, grocery/deli stores, professional services, and Himmel Park which includes a mid-century-style swimming pool, tennis courts, dog run, exercise equipment, a library, and a Sunday food truck round-up. Running east/west is Third St., officially designated a bike path straight to the mall of the University of Arizona, and then onto popular Main Gate Square. Running north-south, Treat Ave. has recently been designated a bike path. There is very little that one might need that can’t be serviced within a mile and a half of Sam Hughes’ borders.

It is, however, primarily the homes you have come to see. In these, too, you will find a marvelous mix: varied architectural styles and landscaping, adaptation to modern needs, price-range, size, and age. While the National Register of Historic Places recognizes this architectural diversity with designations as obscure as Egyptian Revival, the majority of the “contributing” houses are designated as Spanish Eclectic (63%) and Ranch (15%). Each, of course, represents the personality and style of successive owners.

In addition to the homes and gardens, we are featuring five non-traditional types of residences, three businesses and four restaurants serving refreshments and samples.

Please enjoy your visit and help preserve the kind of neighborhood we think there is a longing for.

Celebrate Youth. Celebrate community. Join in the fun at the 4th annual Pennington Street Block Party on Friday, April 20 from 4:00-7:00 p.m.

Fun for all:
–musical performances
–teaching demos
–interactive booths
–one-act plays
–art installations
–carnival games & more

Plus this block party will feature a food truck roundup as well. Got an alert that Shaka Shave Ice (delicious Hawaiian style shave ice wagon) will be there.

The PENNINGTON STREET BLOCK PARTY: a family-friendly event in the heart of Downtown Tucson celebrating what young people do to make our community a better place. Fun for all ages! Musical performances and teaching demos, interactive booths, one-act plays, art installations and exhibits, carnival games, and more. An annual event showcasing youth creativity, learning, and service, as part of Global Youth Service Days.

For more information about the Block Party and to register, please visit
http://cityhighschool.org/community/blockparty/. For questions contact Julie Richelson at julier@cityhighschool.org or 623-7223 x221.

My husband and I have been to this urban block party in the past, and have enjoyed the teens’ enthusiasm and creativity, with art, performances & their quest for knowledge. Pennington Street is usually closed between Stone Avenue and Scott Avenue for this event, which is located west of 6th Avenue downtown.

Four brave teams entered the inaugural Great Tucson Iditarod race today, April Fool’s Day in Tucson, under bright sunny skies, a bit of wind, at about 78 degrees F. I was there to witness some of these teams check in at the starting line at Bentley’s House of Coffee & Tea at Nob Hill (1730 E. Speedway, west of Campbell).

The 4 teams that competed for $100 prizes (in order at check in):

1) “3 Blind Mice” (Rena Ikeda, Wendy Martin, Ben Young, Ruben Moreno, and child Sabin Enos -riding in the cart). Ruben is a local artist whom I’ve blogged about before (click here). “Farmer’s wife” Rena (photo below) had a large carving knife to cut off the 3 blind mice’s tails as in the nursery rhyme.

2) “The Dive Bar” (Tesa Mayorga, Mari Galup, Mamta Popat, Jessica Kranz, Elva Dela Torre, all taking turns riding in the shopping cart). They even had snorkeling (dive?) equipment attached, along w/ a bar for drinks/cocktails.

3) “Divinity by Design” (Christina Russell, Angelica Russell-Johnson, Enid Moore-Cranshaw, Kimiko Crawley (in the cart), Tileka Russell). This family team name was derived from their websites –Tileka website’s: www.Design-Amazing.com, and Enid’s: www.divinitysalonaz.com.

4) “Nessie & the Cryptids” (Sarah Trainor as “Jackalope”, Ben Harper as “Trunko”, and Chris Perez as “Amazing Bat Boy”). Probably the most unusual entry of legendary land & sea creatures.

Photos below courtesy of Audrey Dela Rosa and more on their Iditarod Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Great-Tucson-Iditarod-Race-April-1-2012/348140168539406

"Farmer's wife" Rena Ikeda with knife to chop off mice tails

Team "Three Blind Mice" getting ready to start the race

Serving cocktails by "The Dive Bar" team

"The Dive Bar" team leaving Bentley's starting line on Speedway

Athletic "Divinity by Design" team at Bentley's

"Divinity" team members enthusiastically start off jogging

Shopping cart "Nessie" being unloaded

"Nessie & the Cryptids" Team of 3

I bicycled along the route from Bentley’s Coffee shop down to the UA Mall on University Blvd. and over to Time Market, where I witnessed team # 3 “Divinity by Design” overtake team #2 “The Dive Bar”.

According to organizer David Aguirre here’s the order of the teams as they came in at the Food Truck Roundup finish line: 1) “Divinity by Design” 2) “3 Blind Mice” 3) “The Dive Bar” and 4) “Nessie & the Cryptids”. Monetary awards were presented at 5:30 p.m. today to all 4 teams at the Food Truck event near Benjamin Plumbing.

Congratulations to Dinnerware Artspace director David Aguirre for creating this 1st time event in Tucson. And congratulations to the 4 teams of enthusiastic, hardy entrants for finishing the race & for their creativity in designing their shopping carts.