Photos: What life was like in Tucson in the early 1990s
From visiting politicians and flooding to college sporting events and obedience classes for pigs, here is a look at what was going on in Tucson three decades ago.
Flooding in Tucson
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Cars sit flooded on East Tanque Verde Road near Agua Caliente Wash. The area is where officials estimated 2,500 residents were trapped. January 9, 1993.Β
George Strait in Tucson
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George Strait performs in concert at TCC October 8, 1992.
Tucson's first female police chief
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On March 3, 1992, Elaine S. Hedtke received congratulations from her father, David Smith, after she was sworn in as Tucson's first female police chief. Hedtke, who had been with the Tucson Police Department since 1975, replaced Peter Ronstadt as chief. After a stormy 20 months, which included a no-confidence vote by the police union, Hedtke resigned to run a new city annexation program.
Hillary Clinton in Tucson
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Hillary Rodham Clinton, wife of then-presidential hopeful Bill Clinton, answered questions from several children during a brief campaign stop at La Frontera Center on March 2, 1992. Seeking support for her husband in the upcoming Democratic caucus, Mrs. Clinton appeared at a rally at Pima Community College, in addition to the stop at La Frontera, a behavioral-health clinic. The state caucus was held on March 7. Bill Clinton lost the vote count, including Pima County, to former Massachusetts Sen. Paul Tsongas.
El Casino Ballroom
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The buckled wood on the ballroom dance floor at El Casino Ballroom is due to water that leached through holes in the ceiling on Feb. 21, 1992.Β
New University of Arizona president
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It was about a year late, but Manuel T. Pacheco was formally sworn in as the 17th president of the University of Arizona on May 9, 1992. Congratulating Pacheco after his inauguration at Centennial Hall was then- Tucson Mayor George Miller, left. When Pacheco took over the presidency in the summer of 1991, he was concerned about the cost of an inauguration ceremony. A committee appointed to study whether such a ceremony was needed concluded it was an important UA event and should take place. The UA Foundation raised private funds for the festivities, budgeted at $20,000. About 1,500 faculty and others attended the inaugural address at which Pacheco declared, "Our most basic need is ... for organizational renewal."
Pig manners
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Pixi, Pea Wea, Lulu and Snorkie may have been pigs, but their owners still were hoping they could acquire some good manners. So these porkers, of the Vietnamese potbellied variety, were enrolled in Karyn Garvin's eight-week-long pig-obedience class, held at Reid Park's Handi-Dog Pavilion. The students were taught how to heel, sit, wait and come, just like their canine counterparts. They even had to sit still for one minute, as well as lie down and stay down for 30 seconds. While attending class on April 12, 1992, Snorkie, in the foreground, received a treat for obeying a command while the rest of the class lined up. Snorkie placed second in the graduating class.
Quail Creek, Green Valley
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Signs mark empty lots at the Quail Creek development near Green Valley, Arizona Daily Star on July 14, 1992.
Rehearsals at the University of Arizona
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Rehearsals were under way on April 1, 1992 for John Dahlstrand's upcoming master-of-fine-arts project "Songs of Ishmael." Dahlstrand was preparing a concert that would feature dances by and about men to complete his studies at the University of Arizona. The works would be performed later that month by eight men, primarily non-dancers, between the ages of 17 and 59. Shown leaping are Kevin Daily and Derek Chisum while Don Eckerstrom, Bill Harlan and Michael Craig hit the floor.
Quayle at Cactus Bowl
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Vice President Dan Quayle came to Tucson on March 16, 1992, to raise money for the upcoming presidential campaign. But while he was in town, he stopped off at the Cactus Bowl on South Alvernon Way. Although he threw only one ball and left four of 10 pins standing, Quayle said, "If I had my bowling shoes, I would've thrown a strike." Here, he is asking server Sandra Maza about her T-shirt, which says, "Still perfect after all these years."
Newt Gingrich in Tucson
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A group of Young Republicans greets then House Republican Whip Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) at a Trunk βN Tusk meeting in Tucson. Speaking at the Feb. 1, 1992 event, Gingrich talked of his βpeaceful revolutionβ that would sweep the GOP into a congressional majority.Β
Century Gateway 12 on North Kolb
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Before any alien creatures from science fiction appeared on the screens at the Century Gateway 12 theaters, this otherworldly scene set the stage. On April 16, 1992, one of the four domed roofs was lowered into place on the complex at 770 N. Kolb Road. The complex closed recently.
Main Gate Square area
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Looking east on University Blvd. toward the University of Arizona where Tucson Electric Power Co. workers are stringing lines for trolley car No. 10. The photo was taken Jan. 16, 1993.Β
Carlos Santana
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Carlos Santana performs at the Pima County Fairgrounds in 1992.
Pueblo High School
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Pranks are plentiful at Pueblo High School on the last day of school, May 20, 1992.Β
17th annual La Vuelta de Bisbee
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Racers tested their mettle on the final day of the 17th annual La Vuelta de Bisbee bicycle stage race on April 26, 1992. Alexi Grewal was the overall men's title winner that year and the women's title was captured by Inga Thompson. The race, which covers a grueling course over the steep hilly streets and roads in and around Bisbee, consists of a six-stage, five-day event. La Vuelta de Bisbee draws top riders from around the world.Β
New technology
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Robert LaRoche, a volunteer with the Tucson Association for the Blind, holding a set of numbers which the visually impaired and blind use at bus stops to let the bus drivers know which bus they need to catch. The photo was taken on March 27, 1992.Β
Old Pueblo Club comes to an end
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Old Pueblo Club's last day on Feb. 28, 1992 after being around for 85 years.Β
University of Arizona bed races
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Phillip Nevarez, a 19-year old freshman at the University of Arizona, blows a horn as fellow members of Phi Kappa Psi fraternity push their way toward the finish line at the third annual Bed Races on March 29, 1992. The event is a fundraiser for the Arthritis Foundation. Teams raced beds or other home-made wheeled contraptions.Β
Last game for the Cleveland Indians
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It was the end of a 46-year era on March 31, 1992, when the Cleveland Indians played their last game at Hi Corbett Field and defeated the Chicago Cubs 8-2. Tucson had been their spring-training home since March 1947, but the team was packing it up and heading to Homestead, Fla. In the stands for the final game was Arizona basketball coach Lute Olson, and on the field, as a Cleveland Indian outfielder, was one of Olson's former players, Kenny Lofton. Lofton played guard for the Wildcats from 1986 to 1989 but switched to professional baseball when his UA days were over.
Ski Valley Iron Man Biathlon
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It wasn't quite the black lava fields of Hawaii's Ironman competition, but these endurance racers were taking on the challenges on top of Mount Lemmon for the Ski Valley Iron Man Biathlon which took place on May 31, 1992. The race consisted of a 21/2-mile run and a 71/2-mile mountain bike race in the cool pines northeast of Tucson. David Peters won the men's race in 1 hour, 10 minutes and 56 seconds. Patricia Mahon was first among the women with a time of 1:45:27.
Arizona Theater Company
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Kathy Kish of the Arizona Theater Company measures an actor for a costume while Justy Hagan takes down the measurements at the Temple of Music and Art in Feb., 1992.
Antigone Books
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Kate Randall and Trudy Mills, co-owners of Antigone Books since 1990, pose for a photo in 1993.Β
Josias Joesler home
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This home designed by Josias Joesler was part of the large-scale development in the River Road and North Campbell Avenue area. Homes were placed on enormous lots. Photo taken in 1993.Β
Canyon Ranch swimming
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One of many (there were three in 1993) pools at Canyon Ranch that provided different types of activities like aerobics. Another pool was set up for volleyball.Β
Savannah Guthrie
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Savannah Guthrie in 1992 as a University of Arizona journalism student. The photo was taken for a guest column in the Tucson Citizen.Β
Stefan George
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1993 photo of Tucson musicians Lavinia White and Stefan George.Β
The Book Mark
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1992 Star file photo of Anne Underhill at The Book Mark. The Book Mark, 5001 E. Speedway, closed in 1999.Β
Agua Caliente Wash
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The Agua Caliente Wash erodes Tanque Verde Road during flooding on January 8, 1993.Β
Holiday babies
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Babies born through January 1st at St. Joseph's Hospital went home in holiday style tucked into Christmas stockings. Cina and Brad Fell are the parents of Maxwell, born Tuesday, December 22, 1992.Β
Blackwell House clean-up
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University of Arizona architecture students clean up the Blackwell House on Gates Pass Road near Tucson in Nov, 1992.Β
Border Patrol in 1992
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Border Patrol supervisor Franklin Gunter sits along a quiet section of road outside Nogales, Ariz. on a moonlit night on April 24, 1992. Agents often use moonlight to watch and capture smugglers.
Fire at Cathey's Vacuum and Sewing
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Tucson firefighters battle a two-alarm fire at Cathey's Vacuum and Sewing at 5701 E. Speedway on July 24, 1992.
First day of school around Tucson
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Preston Ellis, 6, worried about first grade, gets encouragement from his kindergarten teacher on the first day of school at Copper Creek Elementary on Aug. 2, 1993.
Fort Lowell Shootout
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A couple of soccer players battle over a ball during a game at the Fort Lowell Shootout on February 2, 1992.Β
Tucson Gem and Mineral Show
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Nickolai B. Kuznetsov and Alexander O. Agafonoff from Russia prepare their exhibit in a room at the Best Western Executive Inn in Tucson in 1993.Β
University of Arizona Homecoming
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Members of Sigma Pi Epsilon fraternity raise their beers during the 1992 UA Homecoming Parade on the UA Mall on Nov. 7, 1992.
University of Arizona Homecoming
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Anne Marie Hall dons her UA game sweatshirt on Nov. 2, 1993. At the time, Hall was 90-years-old and had been to every UA game for the previous 50 years.
Horse racing at Rillito Park
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Chariot races at Rillito Park in 1993, organized by Ty Cobb of Sierra Vista.
John Denver at Tanque Verde Elementary
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In Tucson for the Northern Telecom Open golf tournament, singer John Denver participated in the Royal Readers program at Tanque Verde Elementary School. Celebrity readers were given the royal treatment with a cape and a crown. On Feb. 11, 1992, one of the books Denver selected to read to the class was one he wrote, called "The Christmas Tree." By the way: For more than eight years beginning in 1949, Denver lived in Tucson and attended school here while his father was stationed at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. At that time, he was known as Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. While he lived here, little Henry John sang in the Tucson Arizona Boys Chorus.
Pima County Fair
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Rides at the 1993 Pima County Fair were fun, even in black and white.Β
Pima County chase
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Pima County Sheriff's Deputy G. Burns holds to auto theft suspects on A Mountain after a brief chase on July 1, 1993.Β
Southside protest
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Merchant Florence Cates (far right) yells at cars and passersby during the march to protest the building of the TCE pipeline. She owns the Beverage Barn near Drexel on 12th,(center) is Jesus Portillo, center, and (left) is Raul Encinas...all business owners on South 12th Ave.
Hohokam Dig
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High school students Tracy Rowse, left, and Josh Glasheen carefully sift dirt at a Hohokam dig site in 1993.Β
Boeing 747
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Aerial view of a Boeing 747 stranded in floodwaters at the end of the runway at Pinal Airpark. January 8, 1993.Β
Tucson flooding
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The meandering Santa Cruz River comes within a few feet of flooding North Silverbell Road yesterday before receding. January 20, 1993.Β
Arizona vs. UCLA in 1992
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Stunned fans at UCLA at Arizona basketball at McKale Center on Jan. 11, 1992. UCLA won, breaking a 71-game UA win streak at McKale.Β
