Few times do I drive Broadway Boulevard to downtown Tucson; however, recently I did, noticed construction equipment and a “Historic Bungalow Relocation” sign. I stopped to take some photos, talked with a couple of people in the area, and returned home to research the project.
According to the sign, “moving seven Rincon Heights historic district contributing structures ahead of the Broadway widening project”. The homes were moved off their current foundation and onto concrete slabs to be part of a future retail center.
These buildings date back to the 1930’s and other demolished buildings are from WWII till 1975. Much money has gone into buying and demolishing buildings for this project. City planners first discussed Broadway in the 1980’s with a possible 8 lanes, but the project was not approved till the 2006 voters decided four lanes would become 6 lanes. The project’s goal is to take buildings viewed as assets and convert them to community value. Future merchants and planners are in those discussion stages.
I wondered about “The Sunshine Mile”. In 1953 there was a contest to name the strip between Campbell Road and Country Club Road. Of the 5,000 entries, the winner to name the strip was “The Sunshine Mile”. In 2012, added on was Euclid Road to Country Club Road and all on the list of endangered historic places.
May 26, 2020, the Sunshine Mile District is officially on the National Register of Historic Places. I look forward to seeing what happens in this area in the upcoming years.