At Assurance Relocation Systems, we\u2019re proud of who we are and where we\u2019re from. So, naturally, our eyes lit up when we found an article in The New York Times about Tucson titled \u201cAn Unsung Architectural Oasis.\u201d This descriptive piece, penned by Guy Trebay, lays out the gorgeous Tucson landscape and its modernist architecture in an enticing and relatable tone. We have to be honest, seeing an article about Tucson in the NYT was exciting enough, but after the trip Guy Trebay takes us on with his acute perceptibility and honest retelling of his time in Tucson, we appreciate our great city just a little bit more. In this blog, we\u2019ll take you through some of the finer points Trebay mentioned about his experience with what he calls \u201ca landscape wondrous and yet seemingly inhospitable\u201d \u2013 the desert that Tucson calls home.<\/p>\n
Treblay mentions the first time he noticed the significant examples of mid-20th century architecture in Tucson, something the city secretly has in abundance. It all began at an annual American Gem Trade Association fair, where Treblay found himself less interested with the hordes of rock enthusiasts filling the parking lots of the fair, and more absorbed in exploring the streets of Tucson in search of hidden architectural treasures. He speaks of the beauty of cascading glass walls, blank fieldstone walls forming the facades of cool interior caves, and cathedral-like shapes of buildings that decorate the Tucson skyline.<\/p>\n
Trebay notes the difference between the cookie-cutter homes you find on the East Coast, and the dense neighborhoods that contain hidden gems of modernist architecture in the Southwest. Every autumn brings with it Tucson Modernist Week, which features a guided tour to find the works of architects such as Tom Gist, Anne Rusdale, Robert Swaim, or Arthur T. Brown. Trebay resorts to a written guide to find the mid-century holdouts, peppered amongst the corner stores and stucco strip malls.<\/p>\n