Bienvenidos
Welcome to yet another Baja Arizona Kossacks Open Thread. As most of you know by now, our next Meet-Up will take place in Barrio Historico at Cushing Street Bar and Restaurant on Saturday, Feb. 8 starting around 6 p.m. When we first started planning this it looked like Winter was over and Spring had sprung, so I made the reservation for the patio outside. Unfortunately, an icy blast of winter weather is predicted. It may only get up into the 60s that day. Not to worry, they have those outdoor propane heater things at Cushing Street so we'll probably be OK.
This is a street in the old barrio. You can see the typical Sonoran architecture; parapet-roof, adobe row houses with their front doors right on the sidewalk. It's about all that's left of the real Old Tucson, the Mexican town that has been here since before there ever was a U.S.A. This part of town fairly reeks of history. I thought I would explain a little of it so I won't be tempted to bore you with it Saturday night. More below ...
The TCC
The Tucson Convention Center was built in 1971, a couple of years before your humble diarist arrived in town. It was originally called the Tucson Community Center; I suppose the name change has something to do with some kind of cultural shift but I'm just guessing. The TCC was not built on vacant land, there were neighborhoods there with houses, shops, pool halls and theaters. In the name of Progress and Urban Renewal those neighborhoods had to be torn down and so they were. A couple of streets were spared and that's why there's a Barrio Historico.
Cushing Street and Main Street
Cushing Street runs east and west along the south side of the TCC complex. According to the Star it was named for a Lt. Howard B. Cushing who died in the service of his country. Seems he and his unit were chasing some Apaches down in the Whetstone Mountains near Sierra Vista. Unfortunately for the Lieutenant, they caught them. Cushing Street Bar is on the corner of Cushing and Meyer. The next street over, a block west of Meyer, is Main St. which, I imagine, actually was a main street at one time. On the corner of Cushing and Main is El Minuto Cafe, not the best Mexican in town, in my opinion, but among the most popular. Next door to El Minuto is El Tiradito, an old shrine where they say you can leave an offering and make a wish come true. We tried once, it doesn't work. South of El Tiradito on Main is La Pilita Museum. They've got some interesting exhibits there and it's definitely worth a visit if you're ever down there when they're open. A self-guided walking tour of Barrio Historico starts in the museum's parking lot. South of La Pilita on Main is Carrillo School. Mrs. Zello was a kindie-wrangler there for many years which is why I've spent so much time in that part of town. Carrillo School was built on the site of Carrillo Gardens (pdf), an amusement park operated by Tucson pioneer Leopoldo Carrillo. There were little lakes there back when the Santa Cruz River actually had water in it.
Rainer Ptacek
Anybody remember Rainer ? He was a local blues player. One time me and the missus were down at Cushing Street Bar when Rainer was playing there. It wasn't very crowded, it must have been a weeknight. There was just us, another couple, the bartender and Rainer. We got to talking with him. We asked if he knew any Robert Johnson, a silly question of course, since every blues player knows every Robert Johnson song. He did Stop Breakin' Down for us on guitar then walked down to the piano at the other end of the room and banged out Sweet Home Chicago. Helluva' nice guy. Rainer died a few years back. A lot of local musicians did benefits for him when he got sick. Rainer had no health insurance. He could play Delta style, like RJ, but he was probably at his best when he was channeling Son House, gut-bucket style.
Here's another good Rainer video,this one won't embed. ☛ Worried Spirits - 1992
And finally ...
As some of you may remember, one of my favorite sources for Tucson history is George O. Hand's Saloon Diary. I like to see what was happening in the Old Pueblo on significant dates. Here's an entry from 1876:
Feb. 8, 1876 - Cloudy. John Sweeney came around quite early and paid me $15. I went with him to Foster's and he paid me $29 there. Then we went to the store of Velasco & Roca and got some mescal. From thence to the land office. Then we took several drinks. Went to Levin's and had lunch. John paid for everything, he being full as well as myself. We walked out to Mr. J. B. Allen's house and looked around. The old man showed us around and treated us to custard pie. We stayed there a couple of hours, then came back and went to drinking mescal. John slept in my bed until dark. I was full. Had some female company. Finally went to bed at 11 o'clock.
I'll close with this one:
Feb. 8, 1877 - Stage came - no mail for me. I was sober all day. The Democrats are to meet this evening.
Well, that's all I got. Check in and say Hi if you're not too busy, I'll respond if I'm not too busy either.