Toole Avenue will have an extreme make-over consisting of the installation of more than 100 plants and trees and creative contributions from local artists, arts organizations, and businesses this weekend.

 

On Saturday, October 22, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., the Tucson community will come together on National Make a Difference Day to completely transform the street at the heart of the Historic Warehouse Arts District.

 

During the past several months, Toole Avenue between 6th and Stone avenues has been getting spruced up here and fixed up there. Now, the community will finish the transformation in a day packed full of arts activities and performances that highlight the artists, art spaces and businesses along the refurbished Toole Avenue Artwalk and throughout the Tucson Historic Warehouse Arts District.

 

“We have pulled together a committed group, including the City of Tucson, Warehouse Arts Management Organization, property owners and community partners, to rehabilitate this important part of the Historic Warehouse Arts District,” says Michael Keith, CEO of the Downtown Tucson Partnership, which helped organize the event. “This kind of collaborative effort can be utilized to contribute to other infrastructure projects that are key to downtown.”

 

When completed, Toole Avenue improvements will include decorated planters with trees and shrubs, sidewalk repairs, the addition of ADA-compliant crosswalk ramps, installation of a bus shelter and bike racks, new fencing, and patio, lighting upgrades, and public artworks on both public and private spaces.

 

“The Toole Avenue Streetscape Project is the culmination of years of work by many people to preserve historic warehouses as spaces for the arts,” says Elizabeth Burden, president of WAMO. “The October 22 event is an opportunity for all Tucsonans to make a difference in this part of downtown, and to learn more about all that is happening in the Warehouse Arts District.”

 

For more information about the Toole Avenue Streetscape Project, visit www.DowntownTucson.org, contact the Downtown Tucson Partnership at (520) 837-6504 or info@downtucson.org.  For more information about the Tucson Historic Warehouse Arts District, visit TheWarehouseArtsDistrict.com.

 

Note: Groups participating in the Streetscape Project include:  Downtown Tucson Partnership, Office of Mayor, Ward 1 Council Office, Ward 6 Council Office, ParkWise, Dunn Edwards, Pima County, Warehouse Arts Management Organization, Norris-Design, Peach Properties, Fenton Investments, Arizona Autoparks, Skrappys, Providence Corporation, AAA Landscape, Cox Communications, Santa Teresa Tile Works, Poster Frost Mirto, Bens Bells, BICAS, Borealis Arts, Borderlands Brewery, Citizens Artists Collective, Dinnerware Art Space, Solar Culture, Mat Bevel Institute, Siobhan Clothing, Toole Shed Art Studios, Trees for Tucson, Tucson Arts Brigade.

 

Participating Warehouse District Artists include:  Elizabeth Albert, Ariel Diaz, Simon Donovan, Salvador Duran, Steven Eye, Susan Gamble, Jorge Gonzalez, Susan Kay Johnson, Carolyn King, Sally Krommes, Jodi Netzer, Joe Pagac, Michael Ritzenthaler, Ned Schaper, Paul Schwam, Marvin Shaver, Charlie Spillar, Paco Velez, Wilson, and Liz Weibler.

 

This entry was posted on Monday, October 17th, 2011 at 10:09 am and is filed under Off Topic. Tags for this post: Arts District, Chalk Paintings, Downtown Tucson Partnership, make-over, murals, Toole Ave, trees, Tucson, WAMO, Warehouse Arts Management Organization. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.