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.

It’s October 31, Halloween 2012, and lots of children (and adult parents and families) will be trick or treating today.

First off, it’s all happening at the zoo:

On Wednesday, October 31st the animal residents of Reid Park Zoo will receive special Halloween treats. A schedule will be provided at the front gate for guests. Pumpkins will be delivered from 9 – 10:30 a.m.
Otters may nibble them, lions may roll them, and elephants will smash them. Many animals will have the opportunity to enjoy the unusual surprises. Staff will be on hand (some in costume!) to answer questions as animals discover the new items. There will be treats for the kids too!

Keepers regularly introduce a variety of foods, changes in physical environment, smells, and even sounds as enrichment. Items that are not part of a daily routine can improve an animal’s wellbeing by increasing exercise, and providing behavioral and mental stimulation. Creating a varying environment for Zoo residents has become an important aspect of animal care. For some animals, the pumpkins will be a tasty, healthy snack. For others, the source of enrichment is the presence of a new smell, shape, or texture.

Reid Park Zoo is open 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Regular admission fees apply.
For more information, visit www.tucsonzoo.org or contact
Kristen Metzger
Education Supervisor
837-8088 x 12

If you have children, enjoy a Halloween Extravaganza at Himmel Park branch library, 5 to 6:30 p.m., 1035 N. Treat Ave. (SW corner of E. 1st St.), in the NE corner of Himmel Park.

“Enjoy making your own treats and spooky crafts; listen to howling good stories and trick-or-treat around the library.”

Himmel library website: http://www.library.pima.gov/locations/himmel/

And if you don’t have kids and want to get in the Halloween mood, here’s a photo gallery of Zombie Walk 2012 held on the 13th of October in spooky downtown Tucson, click here. Warning for parents: these are graphically bloody photos of zombies/”undead” people taken by me and former Tucson’s Birthday photographer Jon Scanlon, so please exercise caution & discretion. (I don’t want to cause nightmares for your children.)

Hellfire Pizza Co. food truck at Zombie Walk 2012

Happy Halloween to all — children, youth, parents, elderly, even animals & zombies. Trick or treat?

Several lovely gardens and a phenology trail demonstration site will be featured on the first Sam Hughes Neighborhood Garden Tour on Sunday October 21, 12 noon to 5 p.m. From their website, www.samhughes.org:

The self-guided tour features eight private residences and two public properties. It includes a demonstration site for the Sam Hughes Neighborhood’s “first in the nation” phenology trail. Phenology is the study of the timing of plant and animal life cycles. The garden tour’s Title Sponsor, Solar Solution AZ, LLC, 520-216-7198, will be available at the garden tour to answer all of your solar energy questions.

The gardens and outdoor spaces feature a variety of elements including water harvesting, solar, water feature, xeriscaping, hardscape, raised beds, a rooftop view, hummingbird garden, gazing balls, outdoor cooking areas, use of color, sculptures and other unique features.

Tickets are $10 per adult. Children are free when accompanied by a paying adult. Sam Hughes Neighborhood Association Members tickets are FREE! (Bring your Certificate of Membership.) Get tickets the day of the tour from noon to 3:00 PM at Sam Hughes School, 700 N Wilson Ave.

Thanks to the homeowners who have so graciously opened their gardens, sponsor Solar Solution AZ, LLC, the volunteers who have given their energy and time, Sam Hughes School Principal Janet Jordan, and the Sam Hughes Neighborhood Association Board of Directors.

Sam Hughes Neighborhood’s boundaries are Campbell to Country Club, Speedway to Broadway. This fundraiser is to raise funds to restore the historic water tower which is located at SW corner of E.1st St. and Tucson Blvd., across from Himmel Park.

For more info about this garden tour, contact SHNA Vice President Rick Bell (Chair of the garden tour committee), at bellinsurance@cox.net or 520-907-3425 (c).