Bronx Park Neighborhood Profile
Bronx Park Neighborhood by Marlene Avelino
Bronx Park neighborhood runs North from Speedway to Grant and is squeezed between Oracle and Stone. Its most notable claim to fame is being a part of Miracle Mile - the entryway to Tucson for those traveling the country during the mid-century automotive culture boom. Motorists coming into town on Oracle Road were welcomed with the glitz and glam of flashy neon signs and fancy motor hotels. The Tucson Inn was a crown jewel when built at 127 W Drachman in 1953 in the Googie architecture and modernist design. It was the city’s first two-story motor hotel with 62 units, a formal restaurant, coffee shop/diner, and a heated pool. Architect Anne Rysdale, the only certified female architect in Tucson at the time, went all out. The Tucson Inn was purchased by Pima Community College in 2018.
The Tucson Inn at night, 1953
The Tucson Inn poolside
Pima Community College is also within the Bronx Park neighborhood. It was opened in 1974 and offers adult basic education for college and career, High School Equivalency testing, immigrant and refugee services, a Veterans Services Center, a Student Life Center, a bookstore, and a café. PCC also has a College of Applied Technology with programs in 3D printing, an Industrial Technology lab, and a high-tech Automotive Technology and Innovation Center.
Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Center on Speedway
Bronx Park neighborhood is home to a variety of faiths: Kidane Mehret Eritrean Orthodox Tewhado Church, Abundant Life Church, BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir - a Hindu Temple, and Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Center. Catholic Community Services also has its offices there.
The area was first established in 1921 with residential development spanning from the 40s through to the 70s. They have an active neighborhood association that has focused on beautification projects such as clean-ups and tree plantings. Their biggest undertaking so far is to create the Bronx Wash Bowtie Park project! The Bronx Wash cuts through the neighborhood running East to West and has a little bend in it that intersects Lee St and 10th Ave, closing it to through traffic. The proposal put forth to the Greenstorm Infrastructure Mini-Grant program would create a bowtie shaped park utilizing the unpaved easement areas on both sides of the wash, giving this neighborhood their only park.
Members of the Bronx Park Neighborhood Association during the weekend clean up on March 27, 2022
My wife (and Bronx Park Neighborhood Association President), Kristina, and I moved here just over five years ago due to its proximity to downtown and the university. We appreciate the Miracle Mile/Route 80 history here, and adore the neon signs that have stood and accumulated here over the decades. We've enjoyed witnessing and contributing to its revitalization. We spend much of our time restoring our 1945 home and supporting local plant nurseries by filling our small corner with native flora - we've planted close to 200 trees, shrubs, and cacti. -J.R. Dodge, Bronx Park Neighborhood Association Vice President