Here's a look at life in Tucson in 1954 and 1955
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Tucson Boys Chorus
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Tucson Boys Chorus board a Dutch airliner for London via Amsterdam in June, 1955.Β
Colossal Cave
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Visitors explore Colossal Cave in January, 1954.Β
Southern Pacific
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Southern Pacific's 75 years of service to Tucson was celebrated in 1955. The event commemorated the arrival of the first train to town in 1880.Β
Tucson Fire Department
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Tucson Fire Department working a fire in an undisclosed area in 1955. Note the uniforms used to fight fire at the time.Β
Bear Down Gym aerial
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Aerial of Tucson taken January 31, 1955. The University of Arizona is on the lower left including Bear Down Gym and Old Main.Β
'It Happened One Night' filming
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Shivering, as thousands of Tucsonans were during the passing of a cold front over the Old Pueblo today, actor Jack Lemmon wraps up in blankets on location for the filming of "It Happened One Night," near Patagonia. Lemmon was forced to spend long periods of time in the water yesterday for the "dunking" scene in the new musical version of the famous old movie.Β
Hopalong Cassidy
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Hopalong Cassidy in Tucson. 1954.
'Operation Skywatch' at Davis-Monthan
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"Operation Skywatch" at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in 1955. The around-the-clock aircraft tracking project used 130 civilian obeservers at posts throughout Arizona and New Mexico to track enemy aircraft.
Legal Tender Bar
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Eduardo Jacobs, left, and son Eddie Jacobs, second from left with others at the Legal Tender Bar circa 1955.Β
Pima County Fair
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Kids climb aboard the train at The Pima County Fair October 23, 1955.Β
Davis Monthan Air Force Base
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Bomber flight crews are monitored during their time in a high altitude chamber at Davis-Monthan AFB in Feb. 1955.
Downtown buildings
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Downtown Tucson buildings, housing S. Kress and Steinfeld's, taken January 1955.Β
Old customs house in Nogales, Sonora
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Old customs house in Nogales, Sonora, Mexico taken on January, 9, 1954. The traintracks enter the United States at the border, about 300 yards to the right.Β
Kerr-Parker-Kerr Mortuary
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It was located in the 200 block of North Stone Avenue and torn down in early 1961
The Lavender Pit
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The Lavender Pit mine in Bisbee, 1954.Β
Santa Rita Hotel
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A photo of the Santa Rita Hotel in 1954.Β
The American Legion building on Pennington
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The American Legion building at 112 W. Pennington St., built in 1937. The photo was taken in 1955.Β
Corbett's Lumber
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A photo of Corbett's Lumber on May 20, 1955
Davis-Monthan Air Force Base
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Pilots stand in front of a jet called the "City of Tucson II" at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base
Shamrock Dairy
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Dick Oxnam and his wife Betty Oxnam standing next the Shamrock Dairy milk truck that Dick used for work in Tucson in 1955.Β
Armed Forces Day
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As Davis-Monthan Air Force Base celebrated Armed Forces Day in 1955, 6,000 Tucsonans saw planes such as this C119 drop parachutists. The observance also featured a full division review, an impressive jet fly over, a fire fighting demonstration, weather ballon releases and a series of special displays.
New Beach T-34
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Not only is this the first time a student has started his Air Force flying training in the new Beach T-34, but it is the first time the student has ever been in an airplane. The student in the cockpit is Charles F. Srull and briefing him is Walter F. Jones, one of 150 instructors at Darr Aero Tech.
Mount Lemmon recreation
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On skis made especially for her, 3-year-old Lee Lawrence practices a snow plow stop under the expert tutelage of her father, Renn Lawrence, instructor in military science and tactics at the University of Arizona. Lee was born in Austria while her father was on duty here. But starting her in "almost as soon as she could walk." Lawrence hopes to develop Lee until she may one day become an Olympic ski champion.
Mount Lemmon recreation
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From the 1955 cutline: Only about 30 miles from the desert floor of the Tucson valley, the heights of Mount Lemmon offer year-round attractions for residents and winter visitors alike. Presently, the main attraction atop the mountain is winter recreation with hundreds of ski enthusiasts using the tow, dotting the run. The area has been developed by the U.S. Forest Service in recent years for winter and summer use; further development is planned.
Downtown shot
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The corner of Stone and Alameda in 1955.
Blakely's gasoline station
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A new parking lot was set to be built on the 25,000 square feet occupied by the Blakely service station on East Alameda Street in 1955.
The parking lot was to be built for the new Mayer building.Β
Power poles removed
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The removal of power poles made a difference in the appearance of the downtown business area. Here is a photo from the intersection of Pennington Street and Scott Avenue, facing east.
Tucson Citizen construction
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Construction progress at Tucson Newspapers Inc. on March 3, 1954.Β
Tucson Rapid Transit
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Homer Frost (center, back to camera), manager of Tucson Rapid Transit Co., talks hurriedly with Walter Ryglisyn (center, wearing glasses), company auditor, at the start of a crowded bus strike hearing in City Council chambers in 1954.
Homecoming float
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Homecoming float of the Sigma Chi fraternity.
University of Arizona homecoming parade
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1955 Sigma Alpha Epsilon homecoming float
1955 UA Homecoming parade
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Homecoming parade in 1955
'Bockscar'
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"Bockscar," the Boeing B-29 bomber that dropped the atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan, in 1945, shown in storage at Davis-Monthan AFB, Tucson, in 1955. It was transferred to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in 1961.
Perkins Motor Co.
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Perkins Motor Co., pictured here in 1955 at the northwest corner of Stone and Alameda, occupied the site for 15 years until it was demolished to make way for the Arizona Land Title Building, which was converted to Pima County Public Works Center in early 2000s.Β
Horse racing at Rillito Park
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Rillito Park Race Track sign in 1955.
Cleveland Indians in Tucson
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Cleveland Indians at the Tucson train station in 1955.
S.H. Kress Co.
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Mrs. Howard Cline, stewardess of the S.H. Kress Co's soda and lunch department, descends the escalator in the company's new store at 97 E. Congress, in 1955.Β
Lavender Pit mine opening
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Joint committees of the Bisbee and Douglas Chambers of Commerce arranged for a formal opening ceremony Aug. 7, 1954, of Phelps Dodge's $25,000,000 Lavender Pit mine at Bisbee.Β
Saguaro National Monument
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The Saguaro National Monument visitors center in 1955.
Saguaro National Monument
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The Saguaro National Monument cactus garden in 1955.
Albert Steinfeld and Company Wholesale Hardware building
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This is a September 30, 1954 photo of the Albert Steinfeld and Company Wholesale Hardware Division building near the northwest corner of North Stone Avenue and West Pennington Street. By then the Steinfeld grocery store building next door was sold to the Jacome family and it was where they built their new department store.Β
Mount Lemmon Highway
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The Mt. Lemmon Highway on May 18, 1955.Β
S.H. Kress building
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This is a January 1955 photo of the S.H. Kress & Co. building at 97 E Congress St. It was demolished to make way for a more modern Kress building which would have the city's first escalator that descended to the basement selling floor, according to the Tucson Citizen.Β
Veterans Hospital
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Southern Arizona Veterans Hospital in Tucson in June, 1954.
Jones and Speedway
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Jones Boulevard at East Speedway, looking south, in 1954.
Tucson General Hospital
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Tucson General Hospital, which was located on East Allen Road and North Campbell Avenue, first opened in 1949 as a 15-bed facility at Grant and Country Club roads. In 1954, the hospital was expanded to a 30 bed site at 3838 N Campbell Ave. The site had once been the Harding Guest Ranch and the hospital was a group of converted adobe buildings, according to the Tucson Citizen.Β
Old adobe buildings downtown
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On April 9, 1955, it was announced the old adobe buildings on East Jackson Street near South Scott Avenue, which were more than 60 years old at the time, were to be razed to make way for a parking lot. The property extended all the way to East Broadway Boulevard.
Oury Park Pool
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Oury Park Pool in Tucson in August, 1954.Β
Duke Ellington at El Casino Ballroom
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Hector La Desma sings along with Duke Ellington, right, at the piano and smaller, 15-piece Ellington band during a one-night stand at El Casino Ballroom, 443 E. 26th St. in Tucson on Sept. 17, 1954.Β
Tucson Fire inspections
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Tucson firefighters from Engine 2 visit a duplex at 121-123 North Second Ave. for a voluntary fire inspection in October, 1955. The program continued for three months.Β
Tumacacori National Historic Park
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Archaeologists excavate a primitive Pima Indian site at TumΓ‘cacori National Historic Park in 1954.
The Twin Flames
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The Tucson Citizen called the Twin Flames, 5150 E. Speedway, a "fancy nitery" when it opened in Oct. 1955. The glowing brazier in the background is flanked by rocking chairs.Β
Twin Flames
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The bar at the Twin Flames, 5150 E. Speedway, in Oct. 1955, which featured a landscape painting behind the bar and what looks to be a pretty good selection of liquor.Β
