About Tucson's Downtown

You CAN see a Drive-In Movie In Tucson, AZ!  Things to do in Tucson

The last drive-in theater (De Anza) might be gone in Tucson, but the Cactus Foundation is alive and well.

The Cactus Foundation sponsors "pop-up" theater and their newest location is between Stone and Scott, downtown Tucson.

This weekend, The Three Amigos will be playing!  Sound for the movie can be found on 103.1 FM.

Come early for a parking place, as there is limited room.  There is also seating available up front, or bring your own chair!

For more things to do in Tucson, follow the link to see more about past programs sponsored by the Cactus Foundation.

Suggested donation is $10 a car or $4 a person.  Popcorn and soda will be available.  Alcohol and Smoke free family event.  Your donation goes to help the Cactus Drive In Theater Foundation, working to bring back a permanent drive-in location.

See The Three Amigos this Saturday, November 19, 2011 from 5:30 to 9:00p.m.  Gates open at 5:30.  Movie begins at 7:00 p.m.

Last Saturday, in the middle of a major monsoon storm, the Tierra Antigua Realty's Downtown office went across the street to welcome our new neighbors, The University of Arizona! We've been watching the rehabilitation for a while and were anxious to see the end result.

First, a little history of the building. It's located on the southeast corner of Stone and Pennington in the historic Roy Place building. Roy Place was a very influential Tucson architect in the early 1920's. He designed the Pima County Courthouse -

And our office headquarters, the Pioneer Hotel -

He also designed more than 20 buildings on the University of Arizona campus such as Centennial Hall and the Arizona State Museum.

The Roy Place building was built in 1929 and is where Mr. Place had his offices. It became a Montgomery Wards -

In 2009, the building had lost much of its charm...and clientele

However, that has all changed.

The University of Arizona has, in essence, run out of room on the main campus. It is landlocked with nowhere to go or grow so it was a natural for the powers that be to take a look at other locations. With the growth of Downtown Tucson, it was a natural fit.

Beginning in 2013, the Modern Streetcar will begin running and the route takes it a block away from this building. The streetcar will actually run all the way to the main campus so students needing to get downtown or back to campus will have transportation ready to go.

In addition to the streetcar, 3 new residential 'towers' are going up in downtown, along the streetcar route, bringing in nearly 2,000 student beds. Other projects will bring an additional 3 to 400 beds in the next few years. All of these will be walking distance from this location and the streetcar.

Today, the Roy Place building looks beautiful -

The corner portion of the building along with the sidewalk front on Stone has been restored to how it looked so many years ago. Plans are underway to restore the rest of it along Pennington.

Now - about the school! This will be home to:

College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture:
Drachman Institute
School of Architecture
School of Landscape Architecture and Planning
Heritage Conservation
Sustainable City Project

College of Social and Behavioral Sciences
School of Government and Public Policy
School of Geography and Development

There will also be a library and a small bookstore.

I can't tell you how exciting it is to have this addition to an already vibrant downtown landscape. We're looking forward to attending exhibits put on by the students as well as adding to our U of A wardrobe at the bookstore!

Welcome to Downtown, University of Arizona!!

And, for those of you in the Tucson area, please come by our office this Friday from 3 to 6pm for our monthly 3rd Friday gathering. We'll have special guests from the school on hand as we welcome them to downtown.

I like to brag a lot about the amazing downtown office I'm in. Aside from the fact that this is the only residential and commercial real estate office in downtown Tucson, it's just a really cool place to work and play.

I've posted this picture before - the view out my office window. Those are the Catalina Mountains in the distance. Downtown Tucson is alive and well and growing by leaps and bounds daily. New businesses are moving in as is the University of Arizona. The Drachman Institute - The College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture is across the street from our office in the historic Pioneer Building.

The thing I love about working down here is that there is SO MUCH TO DO! There are some amazing restaurants within easy walking distance - down Congress Street and on 4th Avenue. Some of my favorites:

I love the name of this place! It's at 135 E Congress - just around the corner. Hungry? Check out their yummy menu. The place is beautifully decorated, the service is ALWAYS spot on and the food is amazing. They have an open kitchen and you can see your meal being prepared. I've always liked watching the chef in action.

Oh HUB. How I love your delicious burgers and your out of this world ice cream. HUB Restaurant and Ice Creamery opened earlier this year to much fan fare. I've been a few times and haven't had a bad meal there. Great burgers, my kind of fries, great decor and ice cream. Yes. Let's talk ice cream.

If you're expecting run of the mill chocolate, vanilla and strawberry - sorry. Instead you're going to find flavors like Chile Lime Sorbet, White Chocolate Passionfruit, and I believe there was a Bacon kind of concoction at one point. It's fun, it's hip, it's where us business types eat lunch and where the cool kids hang in the evenings.

Over on 4th Avenue are the funky places like Bumstead's. Don't expect white table cloths here. Expect humongous sandwiches like the Dragon's Breath, and hamburgers like the Mullet and the Ape Drape (this one has peanut butter, a fried egg and the burger). Then there's the meatloaf...oh my goodness the meatloaf - most appropriately named after songs by, yes, Meatloaf.

Brooklyn Pizza and Skybar and next door to each other and are fantastic partners. The pizza is great - grab a slice, some garlic knots and then head next door to Skybar for a nice, cool beverage.

Sky Bar hosts nightly special gatherings like karoke, bands and DJ's and, what I think is a great event, Family Night every Tuesday with an Educational Astronomy night. There are telescopes on the patio, slide shows inside and usually experts from the University of Arizona will be by as well.

The coolest thing about these two businesses is the fact that they are SOLAR POWERED. Yes. Solar Powered pizza ovens, lighting and so on. This past year, they installed solar panels on the roof and in the parking lot, creating shaded parking which is so nice to have during the hot Tucson summers! Look at this graphic that I pulled from the Brooklyn Pizza website about 15 minutes ago:

I could sit here all day and talk about other great places to eat - Monkeyburger, Magpie's Pizza, The Chocolate Lizard, Lindy's...but, quite honestly, it's lunchtime now and I've worked myself into a hunger frenzy!

What's happening in your downtown area? Have you been there or has it been a while? You might be missing out on some of the best places in your city!

After my post yesterday, I thought I would dedicate some time to highlighting local businesses in Tucson and Las Cruces. And what better way to kick it off than with a small business that is in the lobby of my building in downtown Tucson - Desk Couture.

Opened in 2010, Helen Gutierrez is a former book buyer for Pima County Libraries. She worked across the street from the Pioneer building in the main branch. She wanted to do something new and different. The one thing Helen always wanted was to see an upscale pen and stationary shop in the downtown area. Well, when one didn't surface, she and her husband Shawn took matters into their own hands.

Her inventory is beautiful. You'll find pens from manufacturer's like Cross, Retro 1951, Visconti and others. You'll also find refills for your pens, desk accessories, journals and more.

My dad has had the same Cross pen for as long as I can remember. It's a thin, gold model that has never let him down. There's just something about having a great pen in your hands. In this day and age where physically writing something more than a signature is getting rare, fine pens seem to be harder and harder to find. Helen and Shawn have picked the perfect spot to set up shop.

I always stop by during my day to say hello and see what is going on. Helen is one of those really cool and nice people who always has a smile on her face and a kind word to say. She and Shawn will do their very best to help you find that perfect pen or gift.

They're Local - They Support Downtown - Go Support Them!