Downtown Lowdown
{Downtown Lowdown is written and photographed by Jamie Manser, jamie@downtowntucson.org}
Big Rumble at Pennington and Scott
Demolition is well underway at the corner of Pennington and Scott, where the former City Hall Annex building is being razed to make way for a new 570-space parking structure. The new Pennington Street Garage will provide parking for daytime office workers, as well as free nighttime parking for visitors to area restaurants, shops and clubs. In addition to the new parking, the new garage will have ground floor retail along Pennington, and possibly a rooftop restaurant. The garage will occupy the area from 6th Avenue to Scott, including the Annex site and what had been a surface parking lot.
While demolition moves forward, City officials are in the process of selecting a Design/Build team to construct the garage for a January 2005 opening. The project is a partnership between the City of Tucson and The Colton Company.
Phoenix Rising
Continuing in its effort to awaken the 70-year-old sleeping behemoth, the Fox Theatre Foundation submitted its rehabilitation plans to the City of Tucson for review and launched a “Friend of the Fox” campaign last month.
The rehabilitation planning began in August of 2002, and the 16-month design process was completed by project architect Erickson Leader Associates, general contractor Concord General Contracting and construction manager Creative Construction Solutions.
“With the rehabilitation plans for the theatre under review by the city, the next step is to finalize the funding so the theatre can reopen in 2005,” said Fox Tucson Theatre Foundation Executive Director Herb Stratford.
The foundation needs to raise an additional $5 million to restore the historic building.
“We’re excited to be launching this phase of the campaign, now that we have nearly reached the $6 million point in the $11 million campaign,” Stratford said.
The goal of “Friend of the Fox” is to raise $3 million, with the remaining $2 million to be solicited from private foundations, grants and other large gifts.
The director also explained that the drive “has a way for nearly everyone in the community to support the Fox, with pledges spread out over 2 years for gifts ranging from $250 to $10,000.”
Seats in the theatre will be dedicated to donors who contribute between $250 and $7,500; those who donate $10,000 are recognized with a Sidewalk Star outside of the theatre.
For more information about the foundation’s fund-raising effort, contact Herb Stratford at 624-1515.
Something Old, Something New…
This month, the Tucson Museum of Art is recommencing its Adult Art classes, as well as welcoming new curator of the Latin American art collection Stephen Vollmer.
Vollmer has organized over one hundred changing exhibits emphasizing border culture, and has served as a consultant to the Denver Museum of Art and the Holocaust Museum in El Paso, Texas. A masters degree holder in Art History from the Universidad de las Américas, the curator was also an advisor and vice-president of the University Council on Cultural Affairs for Fundación Universidad de las Américas in Puebla, Mexico.
“I have dedicated my career to this field of study and to the development of exhibitions and programs emphasizing the cultural wealth and fusion found throughout the region,” Vollmer said.
“In the United States, the cultural grandeur of Latin America is not that well known beyond the states bordering Mexico. This, however, creates a greater opportunity for the Tucson Museum of Art to bridge that gap.”
The museum is also continuing in its 80-year effort to educate the Tucson community by offering classes that incorporate its collection and special exhibitions as educational tools to enhance the students’ comprehension of the art process.
Since 1924, the museum has offered courses taught by local artists. Among the fifteen professional artists on staff this year, students can be taught figurative sculpture by Susan Kay Johnson or acrylic painting by Cynthia Miller. Other classes include lithography, bookmaking, oil painting, watercolor, drawing and more.
Beyond that, the school offers a dark room, a print room and five studio classrooms.
Sessions run from January 12 to May 6 and registration is currently open. For more information or to register, contact Terra Feast at 624-2333 x111 or log on at www.TucsonArts.com.
On A Higher Echelon
Products of ShopNatural.com, the online version of Toole Avenue Market at 350 S. Toole Ave.,will soon available on the well-established Amazon.com website.
“ShopNatural.com has enjoyed tremendous success since its inception and our new relationship with Amazon.com will serve to broaden our exposure to consumers interested in natural foods,” said ShopNatural.com General Manager Reggie Smith.
ShopNatural.com offers more that 4,500 natural and organic products on Amazon.com that include thousands of food items, vitamins and supplements. The company carries over 6,500 products on its site, inclusive of food, pet supplies, health and beauty aids, vitamins, supplements and household accoutrements.
Moving In
Ar Mystics Designs
Before Peter Jackson’s recent releases of J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” on the Silver Screen, reverence of Old World motifs and accessories was seemingly confined to gameres of Dungeons and Dragons, MERP (Middle Earth Role Playing) or medieval professors. In this niche market were also revelers of the Renaissance Festival and members of the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA).
Jackson’s trilogy, which still doesn’t cover everything in the books, is a collection of blockbusters that have blown open the doors to a world that the majority of the American populace has never experienced.
Those unread bastards…
Anyway, the Old World has a cool style and a renewed interest that new downtown business Ar Mystics Designs is catering to.
Proprietor, Custom Designer and Craftsman Reagan True is selling custom-made jewelry, leather, chain mail and clothes along with goose feather roses, pewter stem goblets and intricately designed sheaths and daggers at her 113 E. Congress St. storefront.
True said she opened up shop on Congress Street because the “medieval and antique feel (of the store),” was appropriate for downtown and “the aura I want to put off.”
Planning on “expanding in every direction,” True said she wants the business to be a one-stop shopping place that gives people big name products without big name prices.
“The number one thing is to stay in competition with the mass producers, by getting people anything they are looking for.”
Seeking to fill the negative wall space, True is interested in artists of any medium to hang their work.
Contact her at 623-9976.
Nexo Communications
Relocating to 416 N. Herbert Ave. is public relations, event management and international Spanish-language business communication firm Nexo Communications.
President Mónica Contreras cited convenience and character as top reasons to purchase the property in Tucson’s Downtown Warehouse/Arts District.
“The new location offers easy access to downtown and major clients and is in the middle of a busy shopping, arts and entertainment corridor,” Contreras said.
“It was great to find a charming property in an area that is seeing and will continue to see significant improvement in terms of accessibility and security, while conserving its architecture and character.”
Nexo Communications can be reached at 622-2440.
Another Shop is Simply Convenient
After almost a year of running Simply Convenient at 25 N. Stone Ave., proprietor Harold McCadden has opened a second location. Simply Convenient at the Radisson, 181 W. Broadway, opened last month.
The gift shop carries souvenirs, shirts, candy, soda, toiletries, dream catchers and more.
McCadden said he felt there was a need as the hotel did not have a gift shop.
Thank Yaaah, Thank Ya Very Much!
Muchos gracias and kudos to all the folks who organized and participated in December’s Parade of Lights, for putting on an enjoyable event!
Over 20,000 Tucsonans congregated Downtown to cheer on the 54 entrants.
Of the 54, seven were recognized as recipients of the following awards:
