by Pamela Powers Hannley
The Tucson Historic Preservation Association is sponsoring Tucson Modernism Weekend which begins this evening with a reception at the Chase Bank on Broadway (pictured here) and continues throughout the weekend with lectures, a car show, a mid-century modern style show, a pricey Mad Men cocktail party on Saturday night, and much more (schedule here).
No doubt, the preservation group has an ulterior motive for this three-day event focusing on mid-century modern style and architecture.
A stretch of Broadway Blvd. in midtown has been slated for major demolition by the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) under a decades-old plan, which envisioned a different Tucson in 2012. Councilman Steve Kozachik and a group of citizens calling themselves the Broadway Coalition have been fighting the RTA's $71-million-dollar widening project and the demolition of 100 buildings, potentially including the Broadway Village designed by quintessential Tucson architect Josias Joesler (background here). Their goal is to scale back the Broadway project to better align it with Tucson's current needs and to protect historic modernist buildings.
To learn more about mid-century modern style, check out this weekend's events– many of which are free.