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Pioneer Hotel (Tucson, Arizona)

1929 establishments in ArizonaBuildings and structures in Tucson, ArizonaBurned hotels in the United StatesFires in ArizonaHotel buildings completed in 1929
Hotel fires in the United StatesSkyscraper hotels in ArizonaSkyscrapers in Tucson, Arizona
PioneerTucAZ1
PioneerTucAZ1

The Pioneer Hotel, designed by Tucson architect Roy Place, was one of Tucson's first high-rise buildings. Opened in 1929, the Spanish Revival hotel became the social center of the downtown business district. The property catered to the social elite. In the mid-20th century Harold and Margaret Steinfeld, owners of a large downtown department store, lived in the penthouse. A disastrous fire severely damaged the building in December 1970, and among the 29 victims were the Steinfelds. The building has been converted from a hotel to an office building. Though it adds a rich layer of history to the business district of downtown Tucson, the Pioneer Hotel has not been listed in the National Register of Historic Places because of "irreversible integrity changes" made in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The "modernization" included stripping the building of its ornate cast-stone entryway and adding vertical glass striping in an attempt to up-date the building to reflect design trends popular in the middle to late 20th century. Other changes included the covering of the building's rooftop terrace arcade, changing the storefront window configuration, and reconfiguration of the lobby. The building is 11 stories tall and, when it opened in 1929, it housed the largest ballroom in the country.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Pioneer Hotel (Tucson, Arizona) (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Pioneer Hotel (Tucson, Arizona)
East Pennington Street, Tucson

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N 32.223125 ° E -110.97125 °
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The Pioneer

East Pennington Street
85701 Tucson
Arizona, United States
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Pima County Courthouse
Pima County Courthouse

Pima County Courthouse is the former main county courthouse building in downtown Tucson, Arizona. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was designed by Roy Place in 1928 in Mission Revival and Spanish Colonial Revival style architecture.The building previously housed the Pima County Superior Court (1930–1977) and later, the Pima County Consolidated Justice Court (1977–2015), which handled lower-level state criminal matters and small claims cases. As of February 2015, court proceedings for Justice Court were held in a newer building shared with other Pima County departments, which is located at 240 North Stone Avenue. Superior Court proceedings were held in the Pima County Superior Court building, located at 110 West Congress Street. As this building was projected to be vacant by 2017, as the various departments and court functions relocate to newer facilities, Pima County was, in 2015, planning to convert the historic Courthouse to museum space. The county was in discussions with the University of Arizona and the Tucson Museum of Art to house exhibits; there was to be a new café, and a memorial to the victims of the 2011 Tucson shooting that seriously wounded then-U.S. Representative Gabby Giffords. In 2020 the University of Arizona Mineral Museum (UAMM), formerly located on the campus of the University of Arizona in Tucson, was in the process of moving its location to the Pima County Courthouse in downtown Tucson.

Plaza Theater (Tucson)

The Plaza Theater was the crowning jewel of 1920s development on West Congress Street in Tucson and the only indoor Spanish language theater in Southern Arizona. The theater was designed by renowned local Tucson architect Roy Place in 1930 for A. Kaufman a local commercial developer and pioneer merchant and leased to Los Angeles theater operator Joe Gross. Kaufman declared the night before opening that he; "regarded the Plaza as Tucson's own theater, since all local employes [sic] had been hired for the construction of the building with equipment and contracting coming from Tucson sources whenever possible." Built on the corner of West Congress and Plaza Streets (later Court Avenue) the exterior was constructed in a Spanish Revival style with cast ornamental details framing the upper windows and red clay barrel roof tiles. The ground floor included two commercial storefronts. By the 1940s the original marquee had been enlarged and the lower level window and door configuration changed. The decorative cast terracotta Spanish revival details and original neon sign remained intact. The interior decorations were described at the time of opening as "being typical of the old southwest motif. The auditorium will have seating capacity of 650 and will be modern in every respect with ample heating, ventilating and cooling systems. Acoustic plastering will be used throughout and is designed along the most modern methods for the projection of sound pictures." When constructed the building had a state-of-the-art RCA projector and sound equipment, "the walls lined with a highly absorbent material to insure perfect acoustics." The theater was purchased by Arizona 'theater czar' Nick Diamos, also the owner of the Tucson Lyric Theater and involved in the development of Tucson's Fox Theatre. Artist Ted DeGrazia was the theater manager for three years in the late 1930s. At the time of demolition the Plaza was owned by Abelardo M. Campillo and Jesus M. Granillo. The last owners were forced from their property by the City of Tucson and its urban renewal program. The owners reminded the city "that if the Plaza goes, nothing of the Old City will be left in the area." The plaza was demolished on May 15, 1969.