House detail, El Presidio Historic District.

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Presidio Historic District

Tucson


The Tucson Museum of Art is part of this low-key neighborhood, bounded by W 6th St, W Alameda St, N Stone Ave and Granada Ave, and embracing the site of the original Spanish fort and upmarket 'Snob Hollow.' This is one of the oldest continually inhabited places in North America: the Spanish Presidio de San Augustín del Tucson dates back to 1775, but the fort itself was built over a Hohokam site that has been dated to AD 700 to 900.

The original fort is completely gone, although there's a short reconstructed section at the corner of Church Ave and Washington St. The historical district teems with adobe town houses and restored 19th-century mansions.