Cabrini Neighborhood Profile
Cabrini Neighborhood by CJ Boyd
Saint Frances Cabrini Catholic Church on E Presidio Rd
Named after Saint Frances Cabrini Catholic Church, the Cabrini neighborhood became an officially recognized neighborhood association in 1999, although residents had been building homes in the area since the 1930s.The Cabrini neighborhood is part of an area that was annexed into Tucson in 1959, and was previously part of the Granada Park subdivision, dating back to 1936. The full name of the neighborhood used to be “St. Frances Cabrini”, but was shortened to “Cabrini” in 2006. According to 40 year resident and long time Cabrini neighborhood association board member, David Fossdal, “We changed the name because many thought we were tied with the church.”
Cabrini stretches from Country Club Rd to Palo Verde Ave, and from Fort Lowell Rd to Glenn Street. Like many neighborhoods in the ward, it’s mostly residential with businesses along the thoroughfares that make up its edges. Some favorite local restaurants include D’s Island Grill, which serves up Jamaican fare, and The Egg Connection, a local breakfast spot. Both are located on the northwest corner of Country Club and Fort Lowell in Winterhaven Square, which is also home to the Wild Bird Store, the Racquet Shack and a nail salon.
The Catholic Church at the center of the neighborhood is unusual in that its congregation merged with another parish last August. St. Francis Cabrini was losing members and in danger of closing due to financial insolvency until it merged with Our Lady of La Vang parish. Our Lady of La Vang parish serves mostly Vietnamese immigrants, including Vietnamese refugees who were resettled in Tucson during the 1970’s with aid from the diocese. With one congregation losing members and another one out growing it’s house of worship, the merger was a win-win. There is still one weekly Mass in English while also serving the growing Vietnamese community.
Besides the namesake church, the neighborhood also features Vineyard Church on Fort Lowell. There are no schools in its bounds, though it does include Outer Limits School, a day care center.
Diablo the donkey, on E. Presidio Road circa 1985
Up until fairly recently, much of Cabrini was still designated as “horse property”, land where it is legal to keep horses or other farm animals. Though the area is not zoned for that anymore, neighbors tell of some properties that were grandfathered in well beyond the rezoning. Fossdal has fond memories of a mule named Diablo (pictured above) who used to live in the 3200 block of East Presidio. “I lived across the street in the apartments in the early 1980's. I fed Diablo carrots. He could be heard throughout the area in the morning, calling out for his breakfast. There were a lot of open lots and desert back then. Still somewhat rural within the city. Now mostly filled in with apartments or family homes.”
Winterhaven Health Center on Country Club, which is located in Cabrini despite sharing a name with the Winterhaven neighborhood, has a mural by Michael B. Schwartz (pictured below). Unlike many of the other iconic murals in Tucson, this one is more abstract and can give many different impressions. At first glance, I thought it was of a tarantula, though other neighbors have described it as a bird or a woman giving birth.
Asked what she loves about living in Cabrini, recent resident Suzy Jacobs said, “We picked Cabrini because it's centrally located. We wanted to benefit from university events and live so close we can go on a whim. We can walk to Winterhaven.”
Mural by Michael B. Schwartz, located on the south wall of Winterhaven Health Center on N. Country Club Road.