Downtown Tucson

We attended the weekly meeting here at the park this morning about the planned happenings for the week.  Things are beginning to wind down as the snowbirds are starting to leave for home.  We had a conversation with someone who recommended eating at the downtown location of El Charro as well as the neat walking tour of downtown.  Sounded good to us.  We had eaten at an El Charro location in Marana last year and enjoyed it.  We were wanting to go downtown anyway so this was as good a reason as any to go.  If you are into Gringo food, don't waste your time here.  The flavor and presentation of the food is wonderful.   Another good indication is their salsa - both their red and green salsa were very good..    Here is a shot of the outside of their downtown location. 

After lunch, we took a stroll around the downtown area and ultimately landed at the Visitor's Center where we picked up some information on the sights around town.  The building architecture is very 1950's along with some more modern designs.  I sure like the cloud formations in this shot.

The downtown area is loaded with history, has a lot of green lawn areas, pedestrian footbridges that go over the busy streets so getting around without having to stop at every corner is nice, and uniquely colored buildings.  A mixture of old and new and rather eclectic - we enjoyed the feel of downtown.  While at the Visitor's Center, one of the items we picked up was a brochure on The Presidio Trail.  The brochure details a historical walking tour of downtown.  We would like to take the trail but today it was just too warm and too late in the day to start. 

One building we thought was unique is the Pima County Courthouse.  It was built in 1929 in the Spanish Colonial Revival style.  The eye catching mosaic-tiled dome is impressive as you are looking at it from the back.  The front has a very nice courtyard.

Behind the courthouse is a large park with memorials listing all the citizens of Tucson who lost their lives while serving their country.  Always a very sobering reminder that freedom is not free.

We took this shot from one of the footbridges.  We think it is a nice view as you are looking towards the mountains towards the west and I-10.  Also, can you see the wooden boats on one of  the parked vehicles?  We built a tandem (double) kayak in 2001 so we have much appreciation for the amount of time and hard work that goes into building one.  What we want to know is where are they going to use the boats around here?