Tag Archives: Tucson

The Performing Arts in Tucson / Exhibition (2015)

I put this exhibition together for display in the Main Library. All of the material comes from Special Collections, which has an amazing collection of performing arts-related holdings. The exhibition, although small, was well received, and was a pleasure to work on. I don’t have photographs of every section, but I did save some.

Description:

“Special Collections has a growing number of collections about the performing arts. This exhibit will draw on these collections to provide a look at Tucson’s history of performing arts from the 19th century to the present day. Included will be recordings, photographs, programs and other ephemera.

Tucson has been home to a rich arts scene encompassing music, dance, theater and cinema. The Tucson scene has thrived in part because of its inclusive nature, which has included classical as well as popular offerings. For instance, music offerings span symphonic and opera offerings at one end of the spectrum to street music and folk festivals at the other.

Tucsonans are fortunate that our community has so many arts and cultural organizations that sponsor performances, not the least of which is the University of Arizona. The exhibit will include materials from UA Presents, the “Saturday Morning Music Club” and Tucson Meet Yourself among other collections.”

THE PERFORMING ARTS IN TUCSON

Native peoples of Southern Arizona included chants and drumming in their ceremonial lives long before the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century. Shortly thereafter, as the missions were built, the Spanish priests trained the local people in the music of the Church. Choral music and voice lessons provided by the local friars were a regular part of mission life during the 18th and 19th centuries. 

After Mexico won its independence from Spain in 1821, the local people continued many of the traditions that the Spanish brought with them. Tucson was a small outpost on the northernmost frontier, so entertainment by outsiders was sporadic. Small local Mexican performing groups existed, and their infrequent work consisted of serenades and performing at parties.

When the Gadsden Purchase was signed in 1854, Tucson became part of the United States, and its population gradually increased. Easterners brought with them their own European-based cultural activities. However, visiting performing groups came mostly from Mexico.  El Teatro Royal, later called the South Main Theater, was one of Tucson’s first entertainment venues. Traveling musical groups and theater troupes entertained the locals with plays in Spanish, and even opera. It is said that the world famous Mexican opera star, “La Peralta” even performed there once.

Angela Peralta, one of the greatest Opera stars of the Nineteenth Century.

The following story comes from the book, “Tucson Incunabula”, by Alexandra Maria Diamos.

In the 1870s, Levin’s Park was the home of Tucson’s first “Opera House”, which hosted traveling musical and theatrical shows. It didn’t last long, but soon other venues were created for entertainment. Military bands stationed at Ft Lowell also provided countless hours of entertainment for the local community at this time.  

In the 1880’s, St. Augustine’s Cathedral was soon joined by other churches representing the Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist and Episcopalian faiths. Choral music and other religious music thus increased.  Along with this, the local schools (public and private) that were opened also emphasized the importance of the arts, music in particular. The University of Arizona, founded in 1885, played an important role in Tucson’s musical life. By 1906, the department of music and dance was training students in choral music and lessons were given to students learning instruments such as the violin and piano.

Tucson Daily Citizen, April 7, 1911.
Arizona Daily Star, April 12, 1911.
A scene from “Camille” with Sarah Bernhardt in the title role.

At the turn of the century, a new Tucson Opera House was built on Congress, as were other venues, including the Broadway Theater and Elysian Grove, which was located at the present site of Carrillo School on S. Main and was the former home of The Carrillo Gardens. One can only imagine what it was like attending Buffalo Bill’s Traveling Minstrel Show or seeing the great Sarah Bernhardt on stage. Both appeared in town in the early 1900s.

By 1910, what one would call “more refined” entertainment in Tucson began to increase.  The Tucson Opera House hosted everything from Shakespearean drama to nationally renowned singers and other classical musicians, while theaters such as El Teatro Carmen, established by Carmen Soto Vasquez, continued to host travelling groups from Mexico that offered both musical and theatrical entertainment.

Teatro Carmen, circa 1918.

CLASSICAL MUSIC IN TUCSON

Tucson High School was the home of many early classical concerts up through the late twenties. The auditorium was a beautiful space, and a favorite of the Tucson Symphony and other local performing groups in the 1920s.

This concert program is from 1920 and features an orchestra from Mexico.

Madeline Heineman Berger, who co-founded the Saturday Morning Music Club in 1906, also founded the Temple of Music and Art. Built in the late 1920s, it became the home of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra as well as to local theater groups that performed there. From 1929 through the late 1960s, the Temple served as a major center for Tucson’s performing arts community. The Temple fell on hard times in the 1960s and 1970s, and changed ownership a number of times, but never completely closed its doors. Today, it continues to be a thriving performing space and is home to the Arizona Theatre Company.

The Old Pueblo Mexican Orchestra, in front of the Temple of Music and Art

The Tucson Symphony Orchestra began its long life at the end of the 1920s and performed not only at Tucson High and the Temple of Music and Art, but also at the University of Arizona auditorium, well into the 1960s. In the early 1970s Tucson Community Center Music Hall became its permanent home.

By mid-century, the University had a well-established annual visiting artist series, and hosted many talented musicians and groups, including dance troupes such as the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. The students and faculty of the School of Music also provided concerts for the public on a regular basis. Theater was taught both in the public schools as well as at the University level, and performances of plays, musicals and opera were held on a regular basis by both local and visiting performers.

This postcard is from my personal collection. What an amazing line-up of talent!

A Look at Medicine & Medical Facilities in Early Tucson / Exhibition, June 12-December 31, 2012

Promotional material designed by Marty Taylor, University of Arizona Libraries

Introduction: This was the second exhibit I curated at the Science Engineering Library. Once again, I found a treasure trove of information in Special Collections, including photographs, news clippings, books, pamphlets and brochures as well as advertisements in local magazines, directories and other sources. I learned a great deal about the topic, including some very interesting facts about tuberculosis and its treatment. Finding information on the Pima County Hospital was also very enlightening, as was learning about the various sanitariums that existed across the community. Another fun project!

News Release:

A new exhibit at the University of Arizona (UA) reviews 100 years of health care history in Tucson. “A Look at Medicine and Medical Facilities in Early Tucson” showcases Tucson’s system, and business, of health care from the mid-19th century to the mid-20th century. The exhibit is on display from June 19 – Dec. 31, 2012 at the UA Science-Engineering Library, 744 N Highland Ave.

“A Look at Medicine and Medical Facilities in Early Tucson” reviews the history of Tucson health care through three categories: physicians, hospitals, and Tucson’s approach to treating tuberculosis.

Included in the exhibit are profiles, photographs, and biographical information of 9 early Tucson physicians. One of Arizona’s most colorful and distinguished physicians, Dr. George E. Goodfellow, earned his medical degree in 1876 and became a self-taught expert on bullet wounds. He went on to make medical history in Tucson for performing the world’s first successful prostate removal surgery.

Tucson’s hospitals

Of interesting note for Pima County physicians was a county ordinance passed in 1875 that required local physicians to file their diplomas from accredited schools with the county recorder or face a fine up to $50. The Territory of Arizona did not take similar action until 1881.

The exhibit also offers a brief historical review through photographs, books, and ephemera of Tucson’s early hospitals including St. Mary’s Hospital, Pima County General Hospital, and the Veteran’s Administration Hospital.

The patient population at Tucson area hospitals ballooned in the early 20th century, an increase brought on by patients seeking treatment for tuberculosis which, by that time, was responsible for 12 out of every 100 deaths in the United States. Up to 25% of all newcomers to the Southwest over that period arrived in the region to recover their health, choosing the Southwest for its warm, dry air and their faith in its healing properties. Notable among those who came for the healing climate are Governor A.P.K. Safford, Sam Hughes, Hiram Dodge, “Doc” Holliday, and Harold Bell Wright.

More hospitals

Tucson sanatoriums, including Whitwell Hospital, the Desert Sanatorium, Comstock Hospital, Pastime Park, focused on treating tuberculosis patients. While wealthy patients were received care at resort-like sanatoriums, those without financial means were treated in Tentville, a “squalid ghetto” located in the area north of Speedway Blvd. between Park and North First Avenues. Photographs and ephemera included in the exhibit offer a brief history of Tucson’s sanatoriums.



“A Look at Medicine and Medical Facilities in Early Tucson” was curated to coincide with Tucson’s 237th birthday, an occasion where Tucsonans are encouraged to recognize our community’s history, culture, arts and environment.

Treating tuberculosis in the desert….
A room at the Desert Sanatarium in Tucson.

   

Tucson’s sanitariums
Tucson’s earliest physicians
Tucson’s VA Hospital
Medicine at Ft. Lowell
                                                                            

A Look at Tucson’s Cultural & Architectural Treasures/ Exhibition and Program (2012)

Promotional material designed by Marty Taylor, University of Arizona Libraries

A List of materials used in this exhibit

This exhibit was housed in the Main Library. I enjoyed putting it together. Dr. Brooks Jeffery graciously agreed to give a lecture on the architecture of Tucson. It was a fun project.

Happy Birthday Tucson: A Look at Tucson’s Cultural and Architectural Treasures

This exhibit celebrates Tucson’s 237th birthday. It includes a selection of books and other items about Tucson,  and a variety of materials on music and architecture. The section on classical music features music programs going back over 100 years, plus photos of the Temple of Music and Art and the original Tucson Symphony Orchestra. The mariachi music section features local musicians, including Lalo Guerrero, Linda Ronstadt and Los Changuitos Feos as well as other local groups and singers. Featured in the architecture section are a number of churches, including the San Xavier mission. A special section is devoted to photos taken of the Fox Theatre back in the 1930s by the Campbell and Pereira Studios.  Included is the original program for the opening of the movie, Arizona, for which the Old Tucson movie set was built. Most of the materials on display are either from the private collection of Joseph R. Diaz or from Special Collections.

Mexican Music in Tucson

Mexican music has long been a staple of Tucson’s cultural life. Today,  the Old Pueblo is known as one of the premiere centers for the study and performance of mariachi music, which is taught from the primary grades through the college level in many of the schools in the region. In addition, every April,  hundreds of students from throughout the country  gather here to participate in the Tucson International Mariachi Conference to learn music from some of mariachi’s top musicians, such as Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlan, Mariachi Los Camperos de Nati Cano, and Tucson’s own Mariachi Cobre.  Tucson is also the hometown of the legendary  Lalo Guerrero and Linda Ronstadt.  Los Changuitos Feos, one of the nations’s first  youth mariachi groups,  was formed in Tucson in the early 1960’s, and is still going strong. The recordings featured in this exhibit are all of local musicians and are from the private collection of Joseph R. Diaz

Classical Music in Tucson

Tucson’s love for European art music goes back over 100 years. Some of the genre’s greatest orchestras and conductors have graced the stages of the Tucson Opera House, the Rialto Theatre, The Tucson High School auditorium and the Temple of Music and Art (shown in the photo on the right). The Tucson Symphony has a long standing history in the community and the photo in this exhibit is of the original group, founded in the 1920s. The Saturday Morning Music Club, a group of enthusiastic classical music supporters, was for a long time the primary force behind providing the community with rich musical  experiences. The programs featured in this exhibit are from UA Special Collections.

Religious Architecture and Sculpture  in Tucson

Over the years, Tucson has been home to a number of beautiful church buldings, the best known of which is the San Xavier Mission, a National Historic Landmark which  was founded by Father Eusebio Kino in 1692. Contruction of the current church began in 1783 and was completed in 1797. The oldest intact European structure in Arizona, the church’s interior is filled with marvelous original statuary and mural paintings. A renovation of the structure and interior was recently completed. It is truly a Tucson treasure!

More churches of Tucson

The Fox Theatre

Originally budgeted at $200,000, the Fox Theatre would eventually cost $300,000 including furnishings. Designed as a dual vaudeville/movie house, the Fox featured a stage, full fly-loft, and dressing rooms beneath the stage. The combined effects of “talkies” and the Depression limited the opportunities for live performance, and the dressing rooms were never completed.

Opening night, April 11, 1930, proved to be the biggest party the small community of Tucson had ever seen. With Congress Street closed and waxed for dancing, four live bands, a live radio broadcast and free trolley rides Downtown, the party was one not to be missed.Those lucky enough to have bought tickets in advance—3,000 or so people—enjoyed the show inside as well as out. The film “Chasing Rainbows,” a MovieTone short, and a Mickey Mouse cartoon were well received by both audiences that evening, and the Fox Theatre began its 40 ­year life as the center of Tucson’s entertainment world.

The photos in this exhibit, taken in the early 1930s,  are from the Campbell and Pereira Collection, housed in Special Collections. The program to the movie, Arizona, is  from the private collection of Joseph R. Diaz.

Architecture in Tucson

Tucson has a number of beautifully constructed buildings. Featured here are The Pioneer Hotel building, The Geronimo Apartments building, The Pima County Courthouse, the El Conquistador Hotel and the Santa Rita Hotel, as well as a number of private residences and postcards of hotels. For more information on Tucson’s architecture, see  A Guide to Tucson Architecture, by R. Jeffery Brooks and Ann M. Nequette. (Science-Engineering Library and Special Collections NA 735.T8 N46 2002).