Page 526 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - USA

524  THE SOUTHWEST

g Tucson with its excellent collection of the highest peak, is to the north,
pre-Columbian artifacts, and while to the west is one part of
* 528,000. k £ Amtrak Station,
400 E Toole Ave. @ Greyhound Lines, exhibitions of contemporary the Saguaro National Park (the
2 S 4th Ave. n 100 S Church Ave, American and European work. other is to the east), where
(520) 624-1817, (800) 638-8350. Southeast of the museum, the vistas of the tall saguaro cacti
_ La Fiesta de los Vaqueros (late Pima County Courthouse, built can be seen.
Feb); Tucson Folk Music Festival (May). in 1927, is a fine example of About 14 miles (22 km)
∑ visittucson.org Spanish Colonial Revival style. west of the university lies the
The St. Augustine Cathedral, fascinating Arizona-Sonora
The second largest city in with its imposing sandstone Desert Museum. Covering more
Arizona, Tucson (pronounced façade, is southwest of El than 21 acres (8.5 ha), it includes
too-sahn) is located on the Presidio. Begun in 1896, the a botanical garden, zoo, and
northern boundary of the cathedral is modeled after natural history museum with
Sonoran Desert, in a basin the Spanish Colonial style of displays describing the history,
surrounded by five mountain the Cathedral of Querétaro in geology, and flora and fauna of
ranges. The town’s Colonial past central Mexico. The Barrio the Sonoran Desert.
dates to the 1770s, when strong Historic District, farther south, Nearby is the Old Tucson
resistance from the local Tohono was once a business district. Studios, a Wild West theme park
O’odham and Pima Today, its quiet streets originally built as a set for a
tribes forced the are lined with brightly Western movie in 1939. Some
Spanish to move their painted adobe of Hollywood’s most famous
regional fortress, or houses. On nearby Westerns, such as Gunfight at
presidio, from nearby Main Street is the the OK Corral (1957) and Rio
Tubac to Tucson. “wishing shrine” of Bravo (1958) were filmed here.
The city’s main El Tiradito, where a The Southwest’s oldest and
sights are clustered young man was best preserved Mission church
around the University killed as a conse- lies south of Tucson. The San
of Arizona campus quence of a lovers’ Xavier del Bac Mission,
and the historic triangle. The locals completed in 1797 by
downtown area. Stained-glass window in believe that if a Franciscan missionaries, is built
The Barrio and St. Augustine Cathedral candle lit here burns of adobe brick and is considered
El Presidio historic through a night, their the finest example of Spanish
districts are located downtown. wishes will come true. Colonial architecture in the US.
El Presidio occupies the area The University of Arizona Its highlights include an ornate
where the original Spanish campus houses several Baroque façade decorated with
fortress was built. Today, many museums. The most notable is carved figures of saints, a
of the historic buildings have the Arizona State Museum, glorious painted ceiling,
been converted into restaurants, renowned for its collections of and a spectacular main altar.
shops, and offices. Five of artifacts covering 2,000 years of
El Presidio’s oldest dwellings, Native history. Beyond down- R San Xavier del Bac Mission
including the J. Knox Corbett town, Metropolitan Tucson 1950 W San Xavier Rd, 10 miles (16 km)
House, are located in the extends into the surrounding S of Tucson on I-19. Tel (520) 294-2624.
Historic Block. They form a part mountain ranges. Mount Open 7am–5pm daily. 7 =
of the Tucson Museum of Art, Lemmon (9,157 ft/2,790 m), ∑ sanxaviermission.org
Southwest Architecture Canale (water pipe) Adobe bricks
The Southwest has been witness to
a range of architecture styles from
Ancestral Puebloan adobe to Spanish
Colonial, and 19th- and early 20th-
century Mission and Pueblo Revival.
Colonizers brought their own forms that This adobe home in El Rancho de las Golondrinas
mingled with the Native, creating a Museum in Santa Fe is made of adobe (sun-baked bricks
unique plethora of multicultural styles. that are a mixture of mud, sand, and straw), cemented
with similar material, and replastered with mud.
Framed portal Rounded parapet
window The Santa Fe Museum of Fine
Flat roof Arts was the city’s first building in
Pueblo Revival style, with adobe
walls, rounded parapets, framed
portal windows, and pueblo-style
multitiered stories.
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp550–52 and pp553–5

524-525_EW_USA.indd 524 11/2/16 2:47 PM
Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
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Date 1st October 2013
Size 125mm x 217mm