Rollings Family Will Receive Mayor's "Heart of Downtown" Award on August 4

Date: August 2, 2005
For Immediate Release
Contact: Andrew Greenhill, 791-4201

The Rollings family will receive the “Heart of Downtown Award” from Mayor Bob Walkup on Thursday, August 4 at 10:00 a.m. The ceremony will be held at Cushing Street Bar & Restaurant, located at 198 West Cushing Street in Downtown’s historic Barrio Viejo. The business is housed in an historic 1860s adobe building that the family purchased and restored, along with several other nearby adobe structures.

The Mayor’s “Heart of Downtown Award” was established to honor an individual, group, organization or business that provides exceptional contributions to the improvement of Downtown Tucson. The award is given quarterly and is an element of the Río Nuevo project that is revitalizing our Downtown - the “Heart of the City.” This is the first time an entire family has been honored with the award.

“The Rollings family has played a major role in preserving what’s unique about our Downtown,” said Mayor Walkup. “Thanks to their passion for historic architecture, many irreplaceable structures in Barrio Viejo have been beautifully restored and preserved for future generations to learn from and enjoy. I’m honored to present them with the Mayor’s ‘Heart of Downtown Award.’”

The Rollings family has been purchasing and restoring adobe buildings in Downtown’s Barrio Viejo, located within the national historic district Barrio Libre, for more than 30 years. Kelley Rollings was born in Downtown Tucson in 1927 in a building located just six blocks north of his current office on Meyer Avenue. In 1949 he returned to Tucson after earning a degree in history at Princeton University. He spent the next 30 years working in his family’s car dealership before embarking on a new endeavor that combined his formal training in history with his passion for Tucson’s historic architecture.

In 1971, Kelley and his wife, Sally, began buying adobe buildings – most dating from the 1860s – that were threatened by development or neglect. Today, Rollings Corporation and Bacon Industries, Inc., own more than 30 buildings in Downtown’s Barrio Viejo neighborhood. Each was purchased and restored to its original appearance, in many cases using salvaged materials, to achieve the highest degree of authenticity. The properties are leased to commercial and residential tenants.

“The area south of the Convention Center was considered a very out-of-the-way part of Downtown at the time that we began buying properties,” Kelley said. “I found it interesting because it’s where most of the oldest adobe buildings were located. In fact, Tucson has more remaining 19th century adobes than any other city in the United States. To me, that’s as much of an attraction as our golf courses and other tourist spots.”

Today, Kelley runs his restoration businesses with the help of his four children, Donald, Brad, Betsy and Anne. While Kelley oversees architectural designs and restoration planning, Donald manages the day-to-day operations of the business, including leasing and maintenance. Betsy owns and manages Cushing Street Bar & Restaurant, one of the family’s restored properties. Brad is involved with accounting and financial planning, and Anne handles marketing and public relations.

Donald Rollings said receiving the Heart of Downtown award is a proud achievement for his family. “The Rollings family is honored to be recognized by the greater downtown community for its 30-plus years spent restoring historic structures in this unique Downtown neighborhood,” Donald said. “It is encouraging to know that the Downtown community values the preservation of the city's historical architecture and rich cultural heritage. The outcome of present-day efforts to mix preservation and revitalization projects downtown will impact the quality of life in our larger community.”

Previous winners of the Mayor’s “Heart of Downtown” award include Mary Lou Focht, owner of Old Town Artisans; Albert M. Elias, owner of Old Pueblo Printers; ceramic artist David Aguirre; UA English professor Chris Carroll; Johnny Gibson, Downtown business entrepreneur; Carlotta Flores, Chief Operating Officer of El Charro Café; Herb Stratford, Executive Director of the Fox Tucson Theatre Foundation; and Richard Oseran, owner of Hotel Congress.
Río Nuevo is the comprehensive Downtown revitalization project funded by the State of Arizona, the City of Tucson, and private enterprise. Its goals are to create a vibrant experience in Downtown Tucson for citizens and visitors through the development of new attractions, shops, restaurants, office space and housing, and to ultimately make Downtown Tucson into the “Heart of the City.”

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