Top Things to do in Tucson Arizona United States
Tucson a city and the county right next to Pima County, Arizona, United States, and home to the University of Arizona school. The 2010 United States Census put the population at 521,126, while the 2015 estimated population of the entire Tucson metropolitan statistical area was well above that. Things to do include:
Outdoor Adventure, Attractions, Health & Wellness, Heritage & Culture
,The ArtsSpace, Science & Technology
Golf. Family Fun, Day Trips & Tours, Shopping, Casino Gaming, Hiking
Cycling, Nightlife, Bird Watching
All Souls Procession Weekend
Day of the Dead float, Pima County Public Library, 2017 procession
The All Souls Procession, held in early November, is one of the largest festivals in Tucson. Modeled on the Mexican holiday Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), it combines aspects of many different cultural traditions. The first All Souls Procession was organized by local artist Susan Kay Johnson in 1982 and involved 78 participants; by 2017, participation was estimated at 142,000.
The Procession, held at sundown, consists of a non-motorized parade through downtown Tucson featuring many floats, sculptures, and memorials, in which the community is encouraged to participate. The parade is followed by performances on an outdoor stage, culminating in the burning of an urn in which written prayers have been collected from participants and spectators. The event is organized and funded by the non-profit arts organization Many Mouths One Stomach, with the assistance of many volunteers and donations from the public and local businesses.
A 19th-century adobe house in the Armory Park neighborhood
Similar to many other cities in the Western U.S., Tucson was developed on a grid plan starting in the late 19th century, with the city center at Stone Avenue and Broadway Boulevard. While this intersection was initially near the geographic center of Tucson, that center has shifted as the city has expanded far to the east, development to the west being effectively blocked by the Tucson Mountains. An expansive city covering substantial area, Tucson has many distinct neighborhoods.
Tucson's earliest neighborhoods, some of which are now covered by the Tucson Convention Center, or TCC, include:
El Presidio, Tucson's oldest neighborhood
Barrio Histórico, also known as Barrio Libre
Armory Park, directly south of downtown
Barrio Anita, named for an early settler and located between Granada Avenue and Interstate 10
Barrio Tiburón, now known as the Fourth Avenue arts district − designated in territorial times as a red-light district
Barrio El Jardín, named for an early recreational site, Levin's Gardens
Barrio El Hoyo, named for a lake that was part of the gardens. Before the TCC was built, El Hoyo (Spanish for pit or hole) referred to this part of the city, which was inhabited mainly by Mexican-American citizens and Mexican immigrants.
Barrio Santa Rosa, dating from the 1890s, now listed as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places
Other historical neighborhoods near downtown include:
Iron Horse, east of Fourth Avenue and north of the railroad tracks, named for its proximity
West University, between the University of Arizona and downtown
Dunbar Spring, west of West University
Pie Allen, west and south of the university near Tucson High School and named for John Brackett Pie Allen, a local entrepreneur and early mayor of Tucson
Sam Hughes, east of the University of Arizona, named after a Tucson pioneer
Bikes along Congress Street near Fifth Avenue
At the end of the first decade of the 21st century, downtown Tucson underwent a revitalization effort by city planners and the business community. The primary project was Rio Nuevo, a large retail and community center that has been stalled in planning for more than ten years. Downtown is generally regarded as the area bordered by 17th Street to the south, I-10 to the west, and 6th Street to the north, and Toole Avenue and the Union Pacific (formerly Southern Pacific) railroad tracks, site of the historic train depot and Locomotive #1673, built in 1900. Downtown is divided into the Presidio District, the Barrio Viejo, and the Congress Street Arts and Entertainment District. Some authorities include the 4th Avenue shopping district, which is set just northeast of the rest of downtown and connected by an underpass beneath the UPRR tracks.