Pondering Tucson’s Sidewalks

When I met up with a friend to have lunch recently, I walked on a sidewalk that was 100 years old. That might not seem unusual, but I don’t tend to think of Tucson as being that old. The neighborhood in Marana where I used to live was only established about 20 years ago, and ours was one of the oldest houses.

However, Tucson has just celebrated 250 years since the establishment of the Presidio San Agustín del Tucson, a fortress that became the “founding structure” of the city. The city itself wasn’t incorporated until a century later, in 1877. And of course, Indigenous people had been living in the area for thousands of years before that.

In the scope of things, perhaps hundred-year-old sidewalks aren’t that much to write home about—or write a blog post about. Yet seeing the century-old pavement stamp pictured above got me wondering what life in Tucson was like one hundred years ago. I looked up the name of the construction company and found a fairly typical American “success” story of hardship, perseverance, and eventual flourishing.

Lee Moor’s parents divorced when he was a child, and he began working for the railroad as a water boy at just ten years of age. He went on to own vast cattle and sheep ranches and thousands of acres of mostly cotton farmland, including here in Pima County. His contracting company was in business for 40 years. During that time, he built several air bases in three states. I don’t know whether he ended up putting in sidewalks near the University of Arizona a century ago because he was constructing the local air base or because of his landowning leadership presence in the area…but clearly he had his hand in several endeavors.

As an editor, I couldn’t help but notice that all the Ns are backward on the Lee Moor stamp. (Did you notice?) That led me to wonder how well-schooled his workers were, or if they were just too busy to pay attention to details. The concrete sidewalks themselves are in good shape for being one hundred years old. Of course, they benefit from not being salted in the winter, as snow doesn’t stick here in Tucson!

The neighborhood where this sidewalk is located is named for Sam Hughes, a city leader and philanthropist who, like so many (including my father), came to Tucson for his health. I wonder how many ailing people walked slowly along these sunny sidewalks as they recovered their strength. These days, students, professors, and early morning joggers are more likely to be pounding this pavement!

I could go on…but instead I’ll invite you to contemplate your own nearby sidewalks. What do you notice when you walk? Do you know who constructed or walked your sidewalks? What stories might they tell?