Tucson
Created | Updated Jan 21, 2005
Tucson, Arizona is located 115 miles South of Phoenix (a 2 hour drive on Interstate 10) and 60 miles North of the United States Mexico border.
People have lived in the region for 12,000 years. The Spanish Presidio was built in 1775 as a way station to California. (The site of the Presidio is now the Tucson Museum downtown. There are older homes in neighborhoods such as Barrio Historico, just South of Downtown.
Tucson became part of the United States in 1853, with the Gadsden Purchase. This was land bought from Mexico, so the railroad could go to Los Angeles.
Growth was slow until air conditioning came in and Davis Monthan Air Force base grew during World War II. Many people retired here for better health in the dry climate. The city is growing rapidly because of job growth backed by the University of Arizona, founded in 1881.
The city has been under the flags of Spain, Mexico, The Confederate States of America during the Civil War and the USA.
There are many museums in the city, such as the Arizona Heritage Museum, the Univ. of Arizona Art Museum and the Tucson Museum of Art.
There are many plays and concerts here, many of them free. The Thursday Caliente section of the Arizona Star discusses this. There are outdoor places to hike and bike. Sabino Canyon and Mount Lemmon are favorites. Mount Lemmon also has winter skiing.
Nearby are the Pascua Yaqui and Tohono O'Oodham reservations. A interesting place to visit on the edge of Tucson is the San Xavier Mission, the original Spanish mission.
The region is a unique blend of Native American, Mexican and American.
People have lived in the region for 12,000 years. The Spanish Presidio was built in 1775 as a way station to California. (The site of the Presidio is now the Tucson Museum downtown. There are older homes in neighborhoods such as Barrio Historico, just South of Downtown.
Tucson became part of the United States in 1853, with the Gadsden Purchase. This was land bought from Mexico, so the railroad could go to Los Angeles.
Growth was slow until air conditioning came in and Davis Monthan Air Force base grew during World War II. Many people retired here for better health in the dry climate. The city is growing rapidly because of job growth backed by the University of Arizona, founded in 1881.
The city has been under the flags of Spain, Mexico, The Confederate States of America during the Civil War and the USA.
There are many museums in the city, such as the Arizona Heritage Museum, the Univ. of Arizona Art Museum and the Tucson Museum of Art.
There are many plays and concerts here, many of them free. The Thursday Caliente section of the Arizona Star discusses this. There are outdoor places to hike and bike. Sabino Canyon and Mount Lemmon are favorites. Mount Lemmon also has winter skiing.
Nearby are the Pascua Yaqui and Tohono O'Oodham reservations. A interesting place to visit on the edge of Tucson is the San Xavier Mission, the original Spanish mission.
The region is a unique blend of Native American, Mexican and American.
