HISTORY OF GARDEN DISTRICT NEIGHBORHOOD
“Ten minutes from Tucson” the area that would one day become Garden District neighborhood was, in the 1920’s and 30’s, scattered homes, ranches, and farms. In fact, seven time Indy 500 driver, Tom Cheesbourg was born in 1927 and still lives in his family’s adobe home at Columbus and Lee.
In 1931, Bernice and Rutger Porter started Desert Gardens Nursery on the corner of Grant and Maple (Alvernon) Boulevard. The Porters built a lovely home surrounded by an oasis of beautifully landscaped gardens. Bernice donated the property to the City of Tucson and in 1983, the Tucson Botanical Gardens opened for “the development of a botanical garden to serve as a horticultural center, a sanctuary for wild birds, and as a center for education.”
In 1946, in response to the post WWII building boom, Louis Wilson built one of the first subdivisions in Tucson, Frontier Village, at the intersection of Pima and Maple (Alvernon). “150 two and three bedroom homes with front lawns and shrubs” were built by 1950. The streets were curvilinear to slow traffic and create a safe, attractive, landscaped neighborhood for children and families.
During the 1970s and 80s, lot splits and zoning changes created more R2 and R3 properties. Many single family homes were torn down to build inexpensive multi family units. Absentee landlords and ill maintained rental properties became and continue to be an issue in some sections of Garden District.
By the 1990’s, Garden District had become a high-risk neighborhood with issues with crime and poorly maintained properties. Some residents formed a neighborhood association to 1.) Maintain Pima as a residential street, instead of the proposed 5 high speed lanes, and 2.) To build a library with a focus on children. In 1997, the MidTown Neighborhood Association was formed - a one square mile neighborhood with boundaries Grant to Speedway and Alvernon to Swan. The original Board was Martha Cooper, Kha Dang, Brad Holland, and Margaret Leonard.
The Association immediately worked closely with Molly McKasson at Ward VI to write a $150,000 Grant to purchase the property for a new Library. After years of hard work by many residents, the dream became a reality and Martha Cooper Library was built. It is now one of the most used libraries in all of Pima County.
Within a few years, the neighborhood association felt that the name “Mid Town” did not reflect the neighborhood’s values or character. The name was changed to Garden District Neighborhood Association (GDNA), as a nod to Tucson Botanical Gardens, a “gem” within our boundaries, and as a guiding vision for the culture and appearance neighborhood residents wanted to create in the future.
Garden District also worked closely with Wright Elementary School. For years, neighborhood meetings and potlucks were held monthly at the school. Kha Dang, AKA “King of Clubs”, organized many clubs at Wright to benefit the children and families, such as the Bike, Lego, Computer, and Chess Clubs.
Over the years, residents wrote grants and worked hard to improve the appearance, safety, and quality of life in Garden District. Major projects with far-reaching impacts were a grant for construction of sidewalks on both sides of Columbus and building the Pima Pedestrian Path by replacing a frontage road on Pima with sidewalks and vegetated water harvesting basins. Other grants included: playground equipment for Wright, traffic calming roundabouts and speed tables, home repairs for low income residents, and hundreds of trees planted. In 2011, Brad Holland donated a portion of his property at 1933 Bell to create a Community Garden.
Now, in 2020, Garden District residents still consider the Tucson Botanical Gardens, Martha Cooper Library, and John B. Wright Elementary as our “gems” and the heart of our neighborhood, Over 7,000 residents from 3500 households live in GDNA. There is a large immigrant and refugee population and it is a highly pedestrian neighborhood with a variety of services and businesses within easy walking distance. The neighborhood has rental rates varying from 40% in Frontier Village, which is predominantly R1 properties, to 70% in the other three quadrants. Preservation of our R1 properties is a major priority, as is improving safety and stability of residents.
Garden District has become known as a vibrant, active neighborhood. Now we are recognized for our engaged residents, annual Porch Fest, community-wide yard sale, Holiday party at the Botanical Garden, Child-centered events, grant funded improvements, green infrastructure, monthly crime meetings with police, five Little Free Libraries, a weekly e-newsletter, and twice a year plant swaps.
GDNA PROJECTS AND IMPROVEMENTS OVER THE YEARS
MAJOR INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS
Pima Pedestrian Path – Funded with a $500,000 Federal Traffic Enhancement Grant written in 2008 and built in 2016, we removed an asphalted frontage road and replaced it with vegetated water harvesting basins and sidewalks. Location: north side of Pima between Columbus and Alvernon.
Columbus sidewalks – Funding from a $500,000 Pima County Neighborhood Reinvestment Grant. Sidewalks on both sides of Columbus from Grant to Speedway. Previously, it had been dirt and gravel for the pedestrian right of way.
LITTLE FREE LIBRARIES
SE corner of Justin and Lester (original LFL for the neighborhood and second one in Tucson 8 years ago. There is a Mess Mitt box beside it.)
4044 E. Pima (cute little blue one, right on Pima)
SW corner Bryant and Fairmount (one of our two kiosks are beside this one)
North St between Isabel and Marion (cutest one – mounted on a bicycle and the cabinet is decorated with bike parts.)
MURALS
The wall on Columbus of the house on the NW corner of Lester and Columbus, painted by a local resident.
Wright Elem, 4311 E Lester. This magnificent mural was painted by professional muralist, Karlito Miller Espinosa and funded by The Solar Commons. It is on the north end of the building, beside the primary playground.
OTHER
GD2 Community Garden – 2011 Brad Holland dedicated property for a community garden. Brad was a personal friend of Gabby Giffords and Gabby lived across the street from the location of the garden. When Gabby was shot, Brad donated his lot as a community garden in her honor.
Garden District designation sign at NE corner of Speedway and Alvernon. Colorful flower tiles and lettering.
Water harvesting basins with curb cuts funded by a Tucson Water Green Infrastructure grant written by residents on Jusitn. On the west side of Justin from Pima to Alvernon.
Decorated Information Kiosks – one at Linden and Catalina, one at Bryant and Fairmount. We also use the program Constant Contact to do a weekly email newsletter that is distributed to almost 1200 residents.
Mess Mitt Boxes – Decorated boxes to hold plastic bags for dog walkers to grab to clean up after their dogs. There are numerous locations throughout the quadrants of the neighborhood. Boxes are painted by GDNA residents and nearby residents keep the boxes stocked with bags.
Playground Equipment at Wright Elementary- In 1996 the neighborhood purchased playground equipment for Wright Elem with $150K grant. It was replaced the summer of 2020 with new equipment funded by Prop 407.
Tree Planting – In 2018 Rotary Club of Tucson and Trees for Tucson planted 120 trees in the neighborhood. In the 90s, the neighborhood tried to plant 2,000 trees by 2000. We did not make it, but we planted over a thousand trees. In 1995, the neighborhood also planted 24 trees on the Wright playground. They are now large mature shade trees.
Vegetated Bus Stop on Alvernon, north of Justin – funded through a Watershed Management Group grant. Water Harvesting basins, wildflowers, shrubs, and trees.
Slow Streets improvements: Traffic island at Linden and Catalina, Speed hump on Linden between Catalina and Columbus, Flush Median Island on Catalina between Seneca and Waverly, Flush Median Island on Belvedere between Linden and Waverly and one on Belvedere between Duncan and Seneca.
OLDER PROJECTS:
Martha Cooper Library - The Garden District Neighborhood Association wrote a Community Development Block Grant for $150,000 to purchase the property for the Martha Cooper Library. We worked hard to get a library in the neighborhood and then worked with the City and Pima County to design a building and program to meet residents’ needs. At the time, we were told that our neighborhood did not have the population or numbers to sustain a library. We proved them wrong. Martha Cooper is one of the heaviest used libraries in Tucson and is slated for expansion soon.
Michele Obama’s CPPW grant funded trees and water harvesting features on the west side of Tuscany Apartments on Pima, east of Columbus and at other locations south of Pima. We also did water harvesting features in a vacant lot to the west of Martha Cooper Library and planted at least 20 trees and lots of native bushes. It thrived for many years and the trees grew tall to provide shade, but, unfortunately, when Martha Cooper got solar panels, much of it was destroyed.
" Green Retrofit Program" - a Back to Basics type grant that helped low and Moderate-income families do sustainable repair to their homes and it also had a Capital improvement aspect that helped with traffic calming. Through the grant, vegetated chicanes and traffic circles were built and have been continuously maintained by the neighborhood for years and years. (Traffic circles are at Bellevue and Bryant, Desmond and Village, Justin and Village) Chicanes are on Bellevue between Alvernon and Columbus and on Justin between Village and Alvernon.
Pima Pedestrian Path – Funded with a $500,000 Federal Traffic Enhancement Grant written in 2008 and built in 2016, we removed an asphalted frontage road and replaced it with vegetated water harvesting basins and sidewalks. Location: north side of Pima between Columbus and Alvernon.
Columbus sidewalks – Funding from a $500,000 Pima County Neighborhood Reinvestment Grant. Sidewalks on both sides of Columbus from Grant to Speedway. Previously, it had been dirt and gravel for the pedestrian right of way.
LITTLE FREE LIBRARIES
SE corner of Justin and Lester (original LFL for the neighborhood and second one in Tucson 8 years ago. There is a Mess Mitt box beside it.)
4044 E. Pima (cute little blue one, right on Pima)
SW corner Bryant and Fairmount (one of our two kiosks are beside this one)
North St between Isabel and Marion (cutest one – mounted on a bicycle and the cabinet is decorated with bike parts.)
MURALS
The wall on Columbus of the house on the NW corner of Lester and Columbus, painted by a local resident.
Wright Elem, 4311 E Lester. This magnificent mural was painted by professional muralist, Karlito Miller Espinosa and funded by The Solar Commons. It is on the north end of the building, beside the primary playground.
OTHER
GD2 Community Garden – 2011 Brad Holland dedicated property for a community garden. Brad was a personal friend of Gabby Giffords and Gabby lived across the street from the location of the garden. When Gabby was shot, Brad donated his lot as a community garden in her honor.
Garden District designation sign at NE corner of Speedway and Alvernon. Colorful flower tiles and lettering.
Water harvesting basins with curb cuts funded by a Tucson Water Green Infrastructure grant written by residents on Jusitn. On the west side of Justin from Pima to Alvernon.
Decorated Information Kiosks – one at Linden and Catalina, one at Bryant and Fairmount. We also use the program Constant Contact to do a weekly email newsletter that is distributed to almost 1200 residents.
Mess Mitt Boxes – Decorated boxes to hold plastic bags for dog walkers to grab to clean up after their dogs. There are numerous locations throughout the quadrants of the neighborhood. Boxes are painted by GDNA residents and nearby residents keep the boxes stocked with bags.
Playground Equipment at Wright Elementary- In 1996 the neighborhood purchased playground equipment for Wright Elem with $150K grant. It was replaced the summer of 2020 with new equipment funded by Prop 407.
Tree Planting – In 2018 Rotary Club of Tucson and Trees for Tucson planted 120 trees in the neighborhood. In the 90s, the neighborhood tried to plant 2,000 trees by 2000. We did not make it, but we planted over a thousand trees. In 1995, the neighborhood also planted 24 trees on the Wright playground. They are now large mature shade trees.
Vegetated Bus Stop on Alvernon, north of Justin – funded through a Watershed Management Group grant. Water Harvesting basins, wildflowers, shrubs, and trees.
Slow Streets improvements: Traffic island at Linden and Catalina, Speed hump on Linden between Catalina and Columbus, Flush Median Island on Catalina between Seneca and Waverly, Flush Median Island on Belvedere between Linden and Waverly and one on Belvedere between Duncan and Seneca.
OLDER PROJECTS:
Martha Cooper Library - The Garden District Neighborhood Association wrote a Community Development Block Grant for $150,000 to purchase the property for the Martha Cooper Library. We worked hard to get a library in the neighborhood and then worked with the City and Pima County to design a building and program to meet residents’ needs. At the time, we were told that our neighborhood did not have the population or numbers to sustain a library. We proved them wrong. Martha Cooper is one of the heaviest used libraries in Tucson and is slated for expansion soon.
Michele Obama’s CPPW grant funded trees and water harvesting features on the west side of Tuscany Apartments on Pima, east of Columbus and at other locations south of Pima. We also did water harvesting features in a vacant lot to the west of Martha Cooper Library and planted at least 20 trees and lots of native bushes. It thrived for many years and the trees grew tall to provide shade, but, unfortunately, when Martha Cooper got solar panels, much of it was destroyed.
" Green Retrofit Program" - a Back to Basics type grant that helped low and Moderate-income families do sustainable repair to their homes and it also had a Capital improvement aspect that helped with traffic calming. Through the grant, vegetated chicanes and traffic circles were built and have been continuously maintained by the neighborhood for years and years. (Traffic circles are at Bellevue and Bryant, Desmond and Village, Justin and Village) Chicanes are on Bellevue between Alvernon and Columbus and on Justin between Village and Alvernon.