Editor’s note: This is the next in our series exploring Tucson neighborhoods – the homes, the vibes, the people. Look for the Where We Live series in the Home + Life section of the Arizona Daily Star.
Ancient Hohokam built dwellings, crafted pottery and lived off the land. Soldiers sought protection behind the adobe walls of a military fort. Mexican settlers tended crops and raised families in the El Fuerte village that rose from the ground after the fort was abandoned, and priests ministered to the faithful.
They were the people who once walked the land of what is now the Old Fort Lowell Neighborhood.
Set near the foothills of the Santa Catalina Mountains and the once flowing Rillito River, the neighborhood today is populated with an eclectic mix of artists, families and those seduced by its laid-back charm and rich history.
“What I love about this neighborhood is that it takes care of its own, it’s full of creative people and it has a wonderful history of interesting folks who have lived here,” said Michael Bell, an artist and retired landscape architect who has lived in the neighborhood since 1998 with his wife, Carol Cribbet-Bell.
The neighborhood – which feels as though it’s in the country but is minutes from just about everything – was home to the Hohokam starting in about A.D. 300.
The soldiers of Fort Lowell took up residence from 1873 to 1891. Families, craftsmen and historians have made the neighborhood home since the 1890s, and the priests of the San Pedro Chapel populated the neighborhood for decades.
A rich array of architectural styles dot the neighborhood, including Sonoran Ranch, Santa Fe-Sonoran Ranch, Bungalow Vernacular and Sonoran Military. Remnants of the fort, mesquite groves along the Rillito and Hohokam archeological sites offer reminders of the original setting and the people who came before us.
Michael Bell and his wife were drawn to the artist-colony feel of the neighborhood, and had looked for a home in the neighborhood for years. They found a territorial-style home that was built in the 1980s using salvaged items and wood from Mount Lemmon.
“I was just sold walking into this room,” Carol said, sitting in the living room with its giant fireplace and saguaro rib ceiling. “The house is a piece of artwork. It’s like walking into a cocoon when you come home. You feel warm and comfortable.”
Of course there are issues that come with adobe homes. “Every time it rains we find a new leak,” Michael said.
But they keep on patching and enjoying the rustic-ranch feel of their home, with towering ceilings and views of nature from every window.
They immediately became friends with neighbors Domingo and Hortencia Romero, who had lived in the neighborhood for decades. Hortencia would make tortillas on an outdoor grill, and share stories of the past.
“They were wonderful neighbors,” Michael said of the couple that has since passed away.
Oil painter Bob Brisley has lived in the neighborhood since 1986.
“I did not know it was an enclave of creative people, but I soon discovered it was,” Brisley said. “I love the fact that it is so rural. You can be almost anywhere in the neighborhood and see the mountains. The architecture is inspiring and the people of Fort Lowell are a terrific bunch of very creative people. It’s like Laguna Beach in Arizona.”
He and Michael Bell are among the dozen or so neighbors who will take part in a showing of their art Friday and Saturday.
Fort Lowell is a neighborhood of about 1,200 residences. It’s a place where neighbors know one another, and many are involved in historic preservation and other activities, including the annual Fort Lowell Day Celebration, held in February.
On the edges of the neighborhood are businesses, a few churches and The Gregory School – formerly St. Gregory College Preparatory School – where some neighbors take part in a community garden.
Frank and Kate Flasch have lived in the neighborhood since 2001, and Frank is president of the Old Fort Lowell Neighborhood Association. The group formed in 1981 and incorporated in 1984.
“The idea behind it was to establish a neighborhood group, establish a vision and protect some of the treasures of the neighborhood,” Frank said.
Among those treasures is the San Pedro Chapel, which had been owned by Tucson artist Nik Krevitsky. The association purchased the chapel in 1993 after his death.
Said Kate Flasch, “The neighborhood is almost bucolic, which is hard to find in the city these days.”
Dave and Pat King have lived in the neighborhood since 1980, moving from Winterhaven. They live in an enclave of about a dozen homes. Their favorite room is the living room, with high ceilings and windows looking out on the courtyard.
“We wanted something Southwestern, something with a different character,” said Dave, a retired professor from the University of Arizona School of Renewable Natural Resources and a black-and-white photographer.
Their sun-dried adobe home, designed by Bob Barnes, provides a refuge from the busy world.
“People are the salt of the earth here,” Dave said.
The Kings walk the banks of the Alamo Wash – which is part of the trail system throughout the neighborhood. They particularly enjoy their walks after the rains.
“The swift water and the smell of the creosote after a storm are priceless,” Pat King said. “And the migration of birds is wonderful. It seems like every morning we see something different. It’s quite exciting.”
Living in a neighborhood with great history “gives one a sense of place. It grounds me. It’s spiritual,” Pat said.
Ann Hughart Branham originally came to Tucson in 1944 to attend the Potter School for Girls. She became familiar with the Old Fort Lowell Neighborhood when her mother lived there from 1953 through 1977. “She really came into her own in this neighborhood as an artist,” she said.
After her mother passed away, she returned to Tucson in 1984, and saw the home across the street from where her mother had lived was for sale.
Ann lives in a home originally built in 1939, first as a two-room mud adobe with dirt floors. It has been added on to over the years, retaining its Old World charm, with a chinaberry tree in the lovely courtyard.
“It’s the sense of tradition, the memories of the good times we have had here that I enjoy,” she said, gazing at the mountains from her living room window. “I can’t imagine living anywhere else.”
