South Tucson

HISTORY

The tiny town has a definite personality all its own - colorful outdoor murals, outstanding Mexican restaurants, billboards in Spanish, distinctive stucco and red-tiled roof architecture, mariachi bands, low-rider street cars, and the Tucson Greyhound Racing Park.

BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY

Located at the junction of Interstates 10 and 19, and on the Southern Pacific Railroad line between Tucson and Nogales, South Tucson is ideally situated for commerce. Interstate 19 is the main highway into the United States from Nogales, Sonora, and Interstate 10 is the major cross-country highway from Los Angeles to the East Coast. Nearly 300 businesses are located in South Tucson.

STATISTICS:

• Population: 5,550
• Incorporated: 1940
• County: Pima
• Elevation: 2,389
• Total Area: 1 square mile
• Average July High: 99
• Average January Low: 38
• Average Yearly Precipitation: 11.49
• Median Household Income: $14,587
• Median Age: 31
• City Sales Tax: 2.5%
• Cable Internet Service: No
• Fiber Optics: No
• (information current as of 6/2004)

ACTIVITIES AND ATTRACTIONS

South Tucson maintains a festive attitude all year long, and hosts the Annual Nortefio Music Festival in September. Nearby, the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum is an interesting and well-maintained natural animal habitat. Kitt Peak National Observatory to the southwest of town has the most diverse collection of telescopes on Earth for nighttime infrared astronomy and daytime study of the Sun. Old Tucson Studios is a popular Western movie set northwest of town. Nearby San Xavier del Bac, the only Mexican Baroque Spanish mission in the United States to survive the rise and fall of empires, was built in 1700 and often is called the White Dove of the Desert. Saguaro National Park, to the west and east of Tucson, has spectacular views gilded with forests of giant saguaro cactus.