Amphi Neighborhood Profile
Amphi Neighborhood by Marlene Avelino
Amphitheater neighborhood, commonly known as Amphi, is a neat square; Roger Road to the north, 1st Avenue to the east, Ft Lowell Road to the South, and Oracle Road to the west. It has 5 churches, a library, a neighborhood park, Fire Department Station 8, the office of Az Department of Economic Security, Literacy Connects (written about previously)and Amy’s Donuts- to name a few of the landmarks.
Amphi has its own school district established in 1893 as Amphitheater Public School District. It was named by rancher and one of the founding board members, Joseph D. Andrews, who was inspired by the geography of the Tucson basin; the Tortolita Mountains and Santa Catalina Mountains to the north, Rincon Mountains to the east, the Santa Rita Mountains to the south and Tucson Mountains to the west reminded him of an enormous amphitheater. The board pushed for its own high school as well and in 1939 Amphi High opened, making it the second high school in Tucson. Today, Amphi District has 22 schools, 13,500 students, and 64 languages spoken.
Amphi High has a public pool managed by Tucson Parks and Recreation. It is a competitive, Olympic-size, 50-meter pool featuring 25-yard courses at each end, a diving bay with 1 and 3 meter boards in the middle. Unfortunately, it is not scheduled to open this season due to a shortage of lifeguards.
Woods Memorial Library with a peek of the flying books!
Woods Memorial Public Library has been serving the community since 1968 and is the second busiest library in Pima County. It was named after George Freeman Woods, a former Tucson City Councilmember. Renovated in 1998, the front of the building was adorned with 101 metal, flying books by artist Simon Donovan. The most recent renovations at the end of last year included new shelving to support the library’s growing snack program. They also have a seed library; you can check out a seed, plant and harvest the fruit, then return a seed saved from your harvest!
Amphi Neighborhood Park
Amphi Park is 1.8 acres at the corner of Los Altos Avenue and Navajo Road. It has a children’s play area with big, shady trees overhead, picnic tables with overhead ramadas, an open field, walking path, and a basketball court.
Kevin Larkin and Ernesto Velazquez grilling up some food at the Amphi Neighborhood Association Memorial Day BBQ!
The Amphi Neighborhood Association recently hosted elections and a new board has hit the ground running. They have big plans for clean up events, social gatherings, and neighborhood resources. Erica Prather is the newly elected President, “I look forward to building community with every walk of life within Amphi boundaries and use that community as a mechanism for us to advocate for what we deserve.”