Old Tucson
Picture taken from: https://www.google.com/search?q=old+tucson+pictures&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwji6bnV6ePdAhXs54MKHdyWD24Q_AUIDigB&biw=1134&bih=643&dpr=2#
General Facts
Old Tucson serves as an old movie studio/set as well as an amusement and theme park located in Tucson, Arizona. This historical site creates the ultimate Wild West experience with massive stunt shows of famous gun fights, saloon girls to serve amazing food and old-fashioned sarsaparilla while they dance and have plenty of shops to browse for your very own western attire to take a black and white photo. People get the full experience with Old Tucson's horse led carriage rides, panning for gold, and fun arcade gun games. Old Tucson was voted “Best Western Movie Set” by True West Magazine and voted the “Top Ten Things to do in Tucson” by US News. It was first built in 1939 by Colombia Picture on a Pima site that was turned into a replica of the 1860's for the movie that was called “Arizona”. Once the movie was complete it was unused for many years due to laws that made filming in Arizona more expensive and discouraged studios from choosing the location. However, there were more than 400 movies and commercials filmed there. Eventually the studio was turned into a tourist site that is frequently visited by hundreds of people every year including during the fall months for their Halloween event “Nightfall” which turns the park into multiple haunted houses and other scary attractions.
The Old Tucson Experience
Pictured: Billboard for the 1940's movie Arizona starring Jean Arthur, William Holden and Warren William.
History
Old Tucson was built for the set of the movie Arizona (1940) by Columbia pictures in 1939. They built it to replicate the scene of a 1860's Arizona town, workers worked relentlessly building 50 buildings in 40 days. Since then there have been over 400 television shows/ movies shot there, including “Three Amigos”, “Gunfight at OK Corral” and the TV series “Little House on the Prairie”. To see a full list of projects shot at the studio click here. Some famous actors such as John Wayne, Kurt Russel and Sharon Stone have filmed at the park. During the 1960’s the set was expanded into an amusement park by Robert Shelton. This park included dining, carriage rides, stunt shows, and activities. Some activities included dressing western and taking black and white photos, panning for gold, or eating homemade fudge. In 1968, Shelton had a soundstage build to increase the versatility for movies at the park. The stage measured a whopping 13,000 square feet. In 1990, the park opened a new kind of attraction called Nightfall. Nightfall transformed the usual family friendly western town into a scary haunted wasteland for Halloween. All actors are transformed into bloody monsters and wander the park scaring guests. Haunted houses are created from old buildings, stunt shows continue but are much more twisted, and a haunted train ride weaves through the park.
On April 25, 1995, a fire was reported in Old Tucson's very own building 74, a building that served as a sign shop. The fire had started abruptly and due to the west wind, it rapidly spread, burning 40 buildings, estimating over 10 million in damages. Sprinklers and other fire safety tools were not required by law, so the park suffered a heavy blow. Luckily, all 300 people in the park were quickly evacuated and no one was hurt. Fireman arrived quickly but unfortunately the fire had spread far beyond what equipment could handle. Over 100 pieces of equipment and 200 firefighters were used to eventually put out the blaze after four hours. It was concluded, after several investigations by The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms/ Explosives, that a man had intentionally started this fire, and several others around the area in the month after. This man was questioned and identified as he had knowledge of the park and its layout. It was revealed he has tried to become employed but was denied. This person invoked his rights and the case was never solved. After the devastatingly destructive fire, it was decided to be rebuilt in the following 20 months. Many of the buildings destroyed by the fire were lost and to never be replicated during the reconstruction, but instead the set was recreated as a historical landmark of what it once was, but fire hydrants were included in the rebuild to prevent another disaster. After reconstruction was complete, they reopened their doors on January 2, 1997.
Old Tucson has seen many hardships over the years, including declining attendance to the park. The Levy and Pitt families that owned the attraction adapted by upscaling dining and creating a Zip Line to increase ticket sales. Old Tucson held many special events to also hype the park up, such as the Heritage & Harvest Festival, Wild West Days, Cowboy Music Festival, and the Steampunk Festival. During the COVID-19 pandemic the park faced yet another struggle, to avoid the spread of the virus it closed Memorial Day weekend, and as more rules and regulations came out for the state it could not stay open. Old Tucson took a loan between 150,000 to 350,000 to try and save jobs and keep the doors open. Unfortunately, this local gem was overtaken by hardship and closed indefinitely. On September 14, 2020 it was relinquished to the county, which has not made any statement on the plans or future for the park.
John Wayne on the Old Tucson set
Source: https://azmemory.azlibrary.gov/digital/collection/histphotos/id/26470/
Rare Footage of Old Tucson Before the 1995 Fire
Location
Old Tucson is located at 201 S. Kinney Road, Tucson, AZ. 12 miles west of downtown Tucson in a 360-acre lot near both the Tucson Mountain Park and Saguaro National Park. It neighbors the Sonoran Desert Museum. Being that Old Tucson is located on the outer end of Tucson in the desert area, it is able to give off a very wild west vibe to all it attracts. Its location, being not too far from the University of Arizona campus, attracts many visitors/ tourists a year contributing to the regional tourist revenue. It cannot be accessed as of closure.
Sources:
http://oldtucson.com/films-producers-directors/film-history/
https://tucson.com/news/local/old-tucson-announces-indefinite-closure-pima-county-to-decide-parks-future/article_ad03568a-f1f9-11ea-add1-2327f31aa0b1.html
https://webcms.pima.gov/cms/One.aspx?portalId=169&pageId=195710
https://www.theazweekend.com/nightfall-at-old-tucson-is-back-for-its-29th-year/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Tucson_Studios
https://oldtucson.com/film_history/
