Behind Mercado San Agustin…a little bit of Italy?

They swept the ground down to bare earth in this old Menlo Park neighborhood, now called the Mercado District. Unlike in Barrio Viejo, all homes and stores that were located on this blocks long chunk of land on Congress St. across from downtown Tucson are gone.

Who did it? I’m not sure, but I suspect the city government had a lot to do with what’s being created in the Mercado District. Two tall buildings on Congress St. are already occupied: one, right beside the Santa Cruz River walkway, is housing for Seniors. The second building, next door and larger, is for low income families–probably the same number of low income families that were displaced by the demolition of housing previously located here. Both have long waiting lists for prospective residents. Both these buildings are very pedestrian architecturally.

Built in 2010, the Mercado itself is nifty. Designed as an old world market square, it houses shops and restaurants and is a great place for people watching– mostly youngish, sorta hip people. In this photo, left, it appears almost empty because of people staying home due to Covid 19. Normally, it is so crowded you couldn’t see across the center plaza.

A little Italy…a little Mexico…a little austere modern

For me, however, the real surprise was what lies behind the Mercado and west of the tall buildings: a small neighborhood of newish, charming two story homes on winding streets.

And as I wandered around this pocket of upscale townhomes, I was struck by how Italian some of them looked. Others were clearly contemporary Mexican inspired. Others very austere modern homes.

So here is a walk around this newish area. You decide if some of the homes look more Italian than Mexican. I’ll start with the two simple stark white buildings right behind the Mercado parking lot. See front and back. I think it is residential, but I’m not sure.

Turn the corner and suddenly there is a Tucson version of a tree-lined street complete with mesquite and tasty prickly pear cactus.

Then comes a triangular “square” with contemporary townhomes, some in historic architectural styles, cheek-by-cheek. The red building on the right gives the impression of being an artist’s loft, with its large north facing windows. But wait…there is more on this square…

Rome? Or San Miguel Allende? These are obviously family homes as the little truck tells you. Those white marks on the wall are a child’s drawings in chalk.

Another view of this square. Notice the Little Free Library near the walkway at the back. Behind this complex of homes another tall building is rising. It appears to be a condo development.

Across the street is yet another townhome, this one with a custom mural on the mustard colored façade. And a half a block away, photo below, is a home clearly inspired by historic adobe homes here in Viejo Barrio.

One of the things I found charming about this area are the doors and windows. Here is a slide show of a few. The last door, located on a house almost directly across from the Mercado, has the words “Private Residence” written on the bottom pane of glass.

Okay. That’s it for this post, but in a future one I’ll show you another residential area built in 1990 that’s tucked into a corner of this space. Not all the buildings were demolished. Some, just to the west, survived, as did a few businesses in the area, although many appear to be appealing to a new demographic for customers. More to come…

Rain. Blessed rain is falling in Tucson. The monsoon this last year failed but we have already had more rain in the past few days than during the entire monsoon season, our summer rainy season.

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