Barrio Libre is a neighborhood in Tucson, Arizona notable for its existence as a relatively unchanged 19th-century Hispanic neighborhood of close-packed row houses. Houses in the barrio are typically adobe with very plain detailing, reflecting the area's history as a district of townhouses for Mexican ranching families.[2]
Barrio Libre | |
.jpg) Building in Barrio Libre in 2012 | |
   | |
| Location | Roughly bounded by 14th, 19th, Stone and Osborne Sts., Tucson, Arizona |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 32°12′51″N 110°58′22″W / 32.21412°N 110.97282°W |
| Area | 77 acres (31 ha) |
| Built | 1885 |
| Architectural style | Bungalow/craftsman, Queen Anne, Sonoran Adobe |
| NRHP reference No. | 78000565[1] |
| Added to NRHP | October 18, 1978 |
The location of the district shifted through history. In 1881, Barrio Libre was directly south of Tucson's business district. It was known as being where "the lower class of Mexicans and the Papago [Tohono O'odham] and Yaqui Indians held high or low carnival without being interrupted by officers of the law."[3] By 1940, Barrio Libre had shifted south, and the former area was known as La Calle Convento or La Calle Meyer. In 1960, James Officer moved the neighborhood's boundary north to Broadway. Thomas Sheridan's 1986 map of local barrios put Barrio Libre further south, on the other side of 22nd street, though Sheridan noted the vague determinations of Barrio Libre's location.[3]
The district, as delineated by the National Park Service, includes more than 200 contributing structures, with relatively few non-conforming buildings. The district is bounded by 14th and 18th streets to the north and south, and by Stone and Osborne to the east and west. Meyer Avenue runs through the center of the barrio.[2]
It is also known as Barrio Viejo or the Barrio Histórico.[4][5]
In the late 1960, the Tucson Convention Center was built, obliterating much of the neighborhood.[6]
Barrio Libre has a dense population of murals.[7]
The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 18, 1978.[1]
Notable structures
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ a b Fisher, Tim (September 26, 1977). "Inventory – Nomination Form: Barrio Libre". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. Retrieved June 27, 2015.
- ^ a b Otero, Lydia R. (November 15, 2010). La Calle: Spatial Conflicts and Urban Renewal in a Southwest City. University of Arizona Press. ISBN 978-0-8165-2888-2.
- ^ "Barrio Viejo - History". www.barrioviejo.com. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
- ^ Otero, Lydia R. (October 1, 2016). La Calle: Spatial Conflicts and Urban Renewal in a Southwest City. University of Arizona Press. ISBN 978-0-8165-3491-3.
- ^ Morrissey, Katherine G.; Jensen, Kirsten (October 2005). Picturing Arizona: The Photographic Record of the 1930s. University of Arizona Press. ISBN 978-0-8165-2272-9.
- ^ VŽlez-Iba–ez, Carlos G. (November 1996). Border Visions: Mexican Cultures of the Southwest United States. University of Arizona Press. ISBN 978-0-8165-1684-1.
External links
edit- Barrio Libre at the National Park Service
- Tucson's Barrio Libre online chapter from Barrio Historico Tucson, University of Arizona
- Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) No. AZ-73, "Barrio Libre, West Kennedy & West Seventeenth Streets, Meyer & Convent Avenues, Tucson, Pima County, AZ", 13 photos, 28 measured drawings, 19 data pages, 2 photo caption pages, with additional surveys of individual houses in the district [1], [2], [3], [4] and many others