Tucson's First Historic Neighborhood
The historic Armory Park neighborhood owes its unique architectural character to the arrival of the transcontinental railroad to Tucson in 1880. The neighborhood had been surveyed in 1872 as a part of a town plan for Tucson, originally centered around the existing Military Plaza, and with the arrival of the railroad, the neighborhood began to grow primarily along Third and Fourth Avenues. In 1902 portions of the original Military Plaza were sold by the city, and the remainder became Armory Park, from which the neighborhood took its name.
Armory Park developed into a stable, progressive neighborhood, consisting mainly of prominent and well-to-do families associated with the nearby railroad and most frequently arriving from the vast area east of Arizona. With the arrival of railroad workers came construction and architectural styles popular in the East Coast and Midwest, including Victorian, Queen Anne and Greek Revival styles. Railroad transportation also brought the building materials, such as wood and brick, that made these architectural styles possible. The design styles evident throughout the Armory Park neighborhood feature wide, deep verandas and high pyramidal roofs, intricate carved wood detailing and peaked shingle roofs.
As Tucson expanded away from the downtown center in the 1950's and 1960's, the Armory Park neighborhood, and the downtown area in general, suffered from inattention and neglect. However, due to the efforts of several conscientious residents, Armory Park was incorporated into a Historic Zone in 1974, and is now on the National Register of Historic Sites and Places, the first such Tucson neighborhood. Recent private and public investment in nearby revitalization projects, such as the Rio Nuevo plan, has also sparked renewed interest in the downtown area.
Loving restoration of the neighborhood's architectural treasures and the proximity to Tucson's arts and cultural center, have made Armory Park one of Tucson's most sophisticated and desirable neighborhoods.
