<body><div>TUCSON, AZ (September 27, 2024) -- A project fueled by volunteers and local business owners would like to see El Presidio Historic District become a pedestrian haven with sidewalk dining, adult and children’s playgrounds, and murals to replace bland walls, This is Tucson reports.The oldest neighborhood in Tucson, El Presidio is bordered by Sixth Street, Alameda Street, Granada Avenue and Church Avenue, the district is about 12 blocks from downtown and home to over 80 architecturally significant homes built between the mid-1800s and 1912, historic records show. It is also home to the Presidio San Agustin del Tucson, a reconstruction of the original Spanish fort.The project, called Activate El Presidio, hopes to draw more people to the local businesses and highlight Tucson's history within the project's borders of Church Avenue, Main Avenue, Alameda Street, and Franklin Street.Washington Street, between Court and Meyer avenues, will be closed to traffic with movable furniture on the north side for emergency vehicle access.An adult playground will feature games such as horseshoes and cornhole, and a children’s playground will be the centerpiece so parents can sit at a table with a cup of coffee and keep an eye on the kiddos, said Jannie Cox, who headed up the five-year effort on behalf of Rio Nuevo along with Amy Hartmann-Gordon, chairman of the working group, to get the project done.The historic Tucson Presidio District is where the City of Tucson was established as a Spanish military fort in 1775. With three-foot-thick adobe brick walls, 10-to-12 feet tall, along a huge square about 700 feet on a side, the Presidio San Agustín del Tucson was built on land previously occupied by an ancient Native American community. A 2,000-year-old prehistoric pit house and an original 150-year-old Sonoran row house are among the highlights at the Presidio San Agustín del Tucson Museum, a reconstruction of the original Tucson Presidio. Docent tours provide a glimpse of what life in the Presidio was like for soldiers and other residents. The museum is a starting point for the Turquoise Trail, a 2.5-mile loop trail through downtown Tucson highlighting historic structures and sites.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=4bBBv2_0vlXGS8y00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4bBBv2_0vlXGS8y00" width="962" height="538" ></figure><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1mskxo_0vlXGS8y00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1mskxo_0vlXGS8y00" width="963" height="496" ></figure></div></body>

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Overlooked for years, Tucson’s oldest neighborhood may soon be rediscovered.

TUCSON, AZ (September 27, 2024) -- A project fueled by volunteers and local business owners would like to see El Presidio Historic District become a pedestrian haven with sidewalk dining, adult and children’s playgrounds, and murals to replace bland walls, This is Tucson reports. The oldest neighborhood in Tucson,...