October 9, 2010
Early on a bright sunny October morning in 2010, I was in downtown Tucson to assist Southern Arizona Celiac Support with their first ever booth at the locally-famous Tucson Meet Yourself (or as some call it, Tucson Eat Yourself). A veritable smorgasbord of not only food, but traditions from around the world that have become a part of the Old Pueblo’s ethnic mix. I went early to help the booth get set up, put some volunteers in place and then took off with my camera to see what I could capture. It was early on a Saturday morning so the normally bustling business section was virtually empty. It had been awhile since I had been in downtown Tucson so I did not realize that there had been so many wonderful changes. I was captivated by the colors of southwest section, I started there and worked my way around through Mesilla Plaza (small town USA complete with vintage-look street lights and gazebo), as well as what I call ‘The Alamo’ section, where there is a stucco group of walls with faux windows made of distressed wood and trimmed in bright purple. I then went through the open-air plaza section between the Leo Rich Theater, TCC Music Theater and several restaurants and shops. There is an amazing little man-made stream going through a large part of this section ending in a rock-filled waterfall in front of TCC Music Hall. I then continued north over the wide, pedestrian walkway bridge that leads to the courthouse and other legislative buildings. I ended my tour on the west side of the Pima County Courthouse plaza which has some amazing trees (and more lamp-posts) then through the courthouse arches to where the booth was located. I must state here that I believe our Pima County Courthouse to be one of the most beautiful in the nation…the unusual peachy pink color of the stucco, reminiscent of grand Florida structures. It’s a piece of artwork ~in fact, I did an entire series of photos on just the courthouse itself. I hope this gallery inspires you to get out and explore our hometown!
2013 update note from author: The photos in this gallery are all from 2010 although I have updated my watermark on them. I have since had several wonderful shoots in downtown Tucson as it has become one of my most favorite places to capture images…so I’m sure you will notice it in some of my other galleries. For now, though, this gallery gives you a glimpse into my slice of heaven.
