12:30 AM MST
12:00 PM MST
About Our Lecture and Guided Home Tour
Tucsonans might be forgiven for failing to appreciate the humble ranch house. Thousands were built to accommodate the post-World War II boom, and they marched east across the city in such numbers that by the early 1950s, the Ranch was the dominant style in single-family housing.
For many, it represents the cultural, economic and spiritual home of the Baby Boomer generation.
And yet no other architectural style is more iconic of one of the most important periods of national and local history. We’ll explore the dichotomy of the ranch house: Fueled by mass marketing and mass production to accommodate an incredible demand for housing, it was simultaneously emblematic of the concept of rugged western individualism and self-reliance, driven in large part by a growing car culture and changing economics.
Some of these subdivisions have now matured to be eligible for historic designation and with it, a newfound respect for what makes this common architectural style simultaneously special.
Join us Saturday, April 5 as we explore some of the factors that drove post-war growth and how they uniquely shaped the ranch house. Arizona Daily Star columnist, David Leighton, who writes the “Street Smarts” column will also have a contributing lecture. Registration opens at 9:30 a.m. at the Fountain of Life church on Kolb Road between Broadway and 22nd Street. We will begin promptly at 10 a.m. for the lecture, followed by a guided home tour of four homes to help enhance the points from the lecture. The event is a fundraiser for the Palo Verde Park Neighborhood Association. We’re also selling posters as part of our fundraiser.
About Palo Verde Park Neighborhood Association
The Palo Verde Park Neighborhood Association was founded in 2018 by midtown neighbors seeking to build a stronger community through civic engagement, collaboration and connection.
Our neighborhood draws its name from Palo Verde Park, which is the central core and heartbeat of the neighborhood. It reflects the importance we place on quality of life, from our ability to engage with nature to our ability to interact with one another in a shared space. Art is a key feature of our neighborhood as one of the ways we celebrate what's distinctly unique about our area.
