Arizona 2008 Official State Visitor's Guide - (Page 13) METRO Light Rail buildings here, and you’ll see those native, Spanish, Mexican and Anglo influences. Start chronologically by touring Tumacácori National Historical Park, just south of Tubac. Here, you’ll see partial ruins of three Spanish missions established by Father Kino, including Tumacácori itself, constructed by native builders in 1691. Up the road, Tubac Presidio State Historical Park preserves the ramparts of a Spanish presidio, established in 1752 to protect colonists and missionaries. Tubac itself is filled with plenty of photo-worthy adobe buildings, some dating to the 1800s, which now house galleries and boutiques. One of Arizona’s architectural icons is visible on the highway outside T ucson. The whitewashed walls of San Xavier del Bac, a Spanish mission built in the late 1700s, glow in the sun. The mission, designed in a Spanish baroque style, was also constructed by native craftsmen. Open to the public, it is still used for masses. The best way to see the Mexican architectural influence in Arizona is to poke around downtown Tucson’s Barrio Historico and Presidio neighborhoods (and yes, there once was a Spanish presidio here, too), where you’ll see blocks of 19th-century, flush-to-thestreet, whitewashed adobe row houses, now used as private residences, galleries and restaurants. Time travel to the present by visiting two favorite T ucson attractions, the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum and Biosphere 2. While you’re strolling the grounds of the outdoor desert museum, duck into the dramatic glass and stone restaurant and gallery complex, designed by T ucson’s Line and Space architectural firm. And, glass – 7 ,200,000 cubic feet of it – is the primary building material of Biosphere 2, completed in 1991 as a grand environmental experiment. Now a part of the University of Arizona, the enormous terrarium once housed several groups of scientists who tried to live in a self-sustaining system. Pick up more of T ucson’s architectural vibe by spending the night at the gracious Arizona Inn, built in 1930 by Congresswoman and social activist Isabella Greenway, who had workers match the color of its adobe walls to the hue of her sunburned forehead. Y ou’ll find more contemporary digs at Loews Ventana Canyon Resort, where textured block walls link the resort to its spectacular site at the base of the Santa Catalina Mountains. By the time you come home from your Arizona architecture tour, your camera’s memory card – not to mention your own memory – will be filled to capacity with images of great buildings, old and new. l You’ll find stories on arts and culture, as well as other niche topics, such as astrotourism and archaeology, on the state’s official travel-planning website, arizonaguide.com. Click on the What to Do tab to find out more. In late 2008, you’ll be able to get around metro Phoenix in a brand new way. As a “green” means to ease pollution and traffic, Arizona’s first light rail system will begin quietly whooshing passengers along a 20-mile route. The METRO Light Rail route starts in north-central Phoenix, goes through downtown, past Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport, into downtown Tempe and the campus of Arizona State University and ends in Mesa. You can get off near numerous attractions, including the Phoenix Art Museum, Chase Field and, in Tempe, the popular Mill Avenue District. Along the way, check out each station’s public art, created by some 25 local and regional artists, with every installation unique to the neighborhood. The bridge over Tempe Town Lake includes a fiber-optic light system that will light up in millions of color combinations and patterns. Just want to go for a ride? It takes about 55 minutes, end to end. Rula Bula, Downtown Tempe ©TCVB w w w.ari zonaguide.com • 13 http://www.arizonaguide.com http://www.arizonaguide.com
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