Consisting of many pockets of settlement, the Barrio Viejo was the first residential area to break out of Tucson’s fortified presidio beginning in the 1860s. It is composed of streets with a continuous façade of adobe row houses whose form is aligned with the street and envelopes an inner-block courtyard, typical of the Spanish residential typologies throughout Hispano-America and applied to 18th and 19th century Sonora. Later, late 19th and early 20th century imported styles infiltrated the Barrio in an attempt to Americanize Tucson’s Hispanic neighborhoods. Today, the Barrio, a National Register historic district, has become somewhat gentrified, but still maintains the urban character of its Hispanic roots. The Barrio also lies directly south of the 1970s urban renewal project area and is in distinct contrast to the late 20th century civic and entertainment buildings of the Tucson Community Center. The tour included entrance to select examples of the various building typologies and other sites as pictured below.
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