Presidio San Agustín del Tucson Dedication Ceremony – May 19, 2007

Experience life in Tucson during the Spanish occupation and Mexican era. A new interpretive center is opening on the site of Tucson’s original adobe-walled fortress (presidio), which was established by Spain in 1775 and in use until 1856. Presidio San Agustín del Tucson will be dedicated on Saturday, May 19, with a public ceremony and all-day street fair, beginning at 9 a.m. at the corner of Church Avenue and Washington Street in the heart of downtown. The dedication ceremony will include tours of the Presidio,, live music and living history demonstrations. More music, historic reenactments, Native American culture, children’s activities, food and additional fun will take place throughout the day as part of the street festival.

The Presidio is a replica of the northeast corner of the original walled fortress, and includes a 20-foot-tall torreón (battlement), 10-foot-high adjoining walls, barracks, and other buildings. Interpretive information, displays and artifacts will provide insight into daily life inside the walled compound. The attraction is part of Tucson Origins Heritage Park, one of the City of Tucson’s major downtown redevelopment projects. The Presidio’s programs are a joint venture of the City of Tucson Parks and Recreation Department and the Tucson Presidio Trust for Historic Preservation. For more information about the Presidio, please contact Marty McCune, City of Tucson Historic Preservation Officer, at 791-4505. For more information about the dedication celebration, please call Priscilla Fernandez at 885-9009.