Tucson Inn Informations

The Tucson Inn is a motel located in Tucson, Arizona, in an area now known as the Miracle Mile Historic District. The motel was built in 1953 in the Googie architecture and Modernist style, and is an example of historic 1950s Mid-century modern highway motel architecture.

Intended to attract tourists and overnight motorists crossing the country on U.S. Route 80 and U.S. Route 89, the building was one of Tucson's largest motor hotels when it was constructed. The luxury inn was designed by Anne Jackson Rysdale, the only registered female architect in Arizona at the time. The architecture typifies classic, clean modernism paired with the boisterous exuberance of midcentury industrial design as exemplified by the monumental neon sign. Amenities enhanced the attractiveness of its sixty-five guest rooms, included a heated swimming pool, formal restaurant, and a diner/coffee shop. The construction of Interstate 10 and the subsequent additional off-ramp exits reduced the relevance and robust economic power of Miracle Mile. Nevertheless, the Tucson Inn and its iconic neon sign survived the corridor's decline.

Architect Anne Jackson Rysdale conceived the Tucson Inn as a two-story, U-shaped motor hotel typical of national motel design trends developing across the country following World War II. American prosperity led to increased mobility and national optimism during the 1950s. Artists and industrial creators expressed this new confidence in the design of American cars and architecture. Americans were on the road, traveling paved highways to romantic parts of the country; the proliferation of motels was a natural extension of this highway experience. Before the appearance of now ubiquitous "motel chains," The Tucson Inn was developed as part of a growing movement of improved amenities competing for motor tourist.

The opening of the Tucson Inn was a city milestone. Multiple newspaper articles detailed the property and its opening. According to Micheline Keating of the Tucson Daily Citizen, three months before the property opened on November 8, 1952:

In the days leading to the opening of the Tucson Inn, numerous articles detailed the various amenities available to guests in the January 30, 1953 Tucson Daily Citizen:

By 1954 the owners began planning for the expansion of the property with the Tucson Inn Annex. By 1956, the 65-unit motor hotel substantially expanded with a second outer "U", encircling the original, increasing the number of rooms to 205. The Manger Hotel Corporation purchased the Inn in 1960 for two million dollars. By 1960, the motel contained four dining rooms, two kitchens, a coffee shop and cocktail lounge, but within a few decades, however, the corridor was in severe economic decline. The large expansion was demolished, leaving only the original buildings.

The motel was home to the Bagdad Room, a bar and restaurant that featured celebrity performers of the mid-century era. The motel's guests included Western film stars shooting movies at Old Tucson Studios, and thought leaders including author Ernest Hemingway and painter Waldo Peirce.

The motel is a contributing property within the Miracle Mile Historic District. and saved from demolition in 2018, when it was purchased by Pima Community College who made public commitments at the time of purchase their plan preserve and restore the building.

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