ARMORY PARK - A BRIEF HISTORY

 

The history of the Armory Park neighborhood is closely linked with the larger history of Tucson.  In 1775, the Presidio of San Augustin del Tucson was established as a base of operations for the exploration, exploitation, and settlement of what was then the Northern wilderness of the colonial Spanish holdings in the new world.  Eighty-one years later, just after the Gadsden Purchase made the area part of the westward expansion of the United States, a detachment of the U.S. Army arrived to take over operations at the Presidio.  It wasn't long, however, before the troops were required back east to help fight the Civil War.

 

Shortly after the war, a very long and loud debate over where to place the first transcontinental railroad began. Everyone knew a transportation project of this size would have a big effect on the areas it traveled through. Three basic routes were proposed through the northern, middle, and southern regions of the country.  Various studies were commissioned to investigate the positive and negative points of each.  For a variety of reasons, the southern route, which ran through New Mexico and Arizona, was favored by many.  Ultimately, however, political considerations won out. The government was not willing to put such a large amount of money into the "Southern" region of the country so soon after the war.

 

A little over a decade later, the second transcontinental railroad was built, and this time via the "Southern" route and Tucson.  Reaching the edge of town on March 17, 1880, the first passenger train arrived to Tucson on March 20th. The Southern Pacific Railroad had taken hold, and quickly became a leading employer in the area.   Locating business operations in the Armory Park area, the vast majority of the Southern Pacific employees also lived in the area. Many had housing built and maintained for them by the railroad. The largest and grandest houses, where the top executives lived, were located on South Third Ave and 14th Street.  Further south along 3rd Avenue and 16th Street, bunkers and temporary housing for railroad superintendents and laborers were also established.

 

The railroad also brought with it, numerous cultural changes.  Before it came to town, the nearest cities were at least a three-day stage ride. Now, the ten-day stage ride to San Francisco was only two days by train.  Tucson was no longer a backwards town in the middle of the desert, cut off from the rest of the country by virtue of inaccessibility.  By the turn of the century, it had a well established police and fire department, a University, two daily newspapers, and, depending on the season, a population between seven and eleven thousand. The Armory Park neighborhood was at the center of that development.

 

Armory Park had truly had become a community.  Even through difficult times people banded together.  When the depression struck, Armory Park was no exception.  Business slowed down and the Southern Pacific Railroad had to lay off many workers.  However, those still employed were always paid on time, and when there was work to be had, former employees were the first to be re-hired for the job.  Occasionally, soup lines were set up in Armory Park to supplement those located downtown.  Neighborhood grocery stores also often extended credit to families that had fallen on hard times.

 

As railroad traffic declined, so too did the fortunes of the Armory Park neighborhood. But through it all, through the booms and the busts, Armory Park remains a vital and diverse community. With a little encouragement, it will continue to do so well into its fourth century.

 

For more information about the history of Tucson and Armory Park, please contact The Arizona Historical Society.

 

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Armory Park del Sol
3rd Ave & 16th St.
Tucson, Arizona 85701
520.798.7607