Tucson, AZ-- The cooler temperatures are right around the corner, and there are many way to experience fall and its spookier side at the Presidio Museum, which has new extended operating hours this month. Beginning Oct. 1, the museum will be open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 am to 4 pm.
Two cemetery tours and our popular Death After Dark Tour provide a spooky offering this month. Led by tour guide and historian Mauro Trejo, the Death After Dark Walking Tour will be held every Friday through Oct. 25 from 7-9 pm. It is a unique and macabre tour that covers some of the most memorable deaths that have taken place in Tucson’s history. From executions to suicides, gunfights to accidents, this two-mile tour will take participants back in time to some of Tucson’s most fascinating tragedies. The cost for the tour is $30/person or $20/Presidio Museum member. Pre-registration is required at www.TucsonPresidio.com/walking-tours.
After a general overview of Tucson’s cemeteries, Presidio Museum tour guide Alan Kruse will lead attendees through several Evergreen Cemetery gravesites and tell the stories of a number of historical characters including Sam Hughes, Henry Buehman, Larcena Pennington, Harry Arizona Drachman, Sarah Herring Sorin and Thomas Jeffords. This tour will be held on Saturday, Oct. 12, from 9-11 am. The cost for the tour is $30/person or $20/Presidio Museum member. Pre-registration is required at www.TucsonPresidio.com/walking-tours
On Oct. 20, from 10-11:30 am and 1-2:30 pm, Archaeologist Homer Thiel will lead a walk through the Court Street Cemetery, where about 8,000 people were buried between 1875 and 1909. When it was closed, about half were reinterred but the other half were left in place. The tour will lead attendees through the cemetery, show them where bodies have been found and reveal the history of this forgotten place. The cost for the tour is $30/person or $20/Presidio Museum member. Pre-registration is required at www.TucsonPresidio.com/walking-tours
From Oct. 19-Nov. 3, several Dia de los Muertos Ofrendas will be on display at the Presidio Museum, honoring groups and individuals that have passed. The museum’s ofrendas will honor veterans, Presidio Museum friends and family, and pets. The public is welcome to leave mementos on these ofrendas, but they will not be returned. In addition, community members and organizations also create ofrendas to honor passed friends and family members. Anyone interested in creating an ofrenda to include in the display must apply by Oct. 11 at https://tucsonpresidio.com/dia-de-los-muertos-ofrendas/. The display is included in admission.
Those feeling crafty will want to participate in the workshops being offered this month at the Presidio Museum. Participants in the Paper Flower & Crown-Making Workshop will be able to enjoy the Ofrenda display while making paper flowers and creating a paper flower crown suitable for wearing at the All Souls Procession. Attendees will also learn about the history of ofrendas and the rold that paper crowns played in Tucson mortuary customs from historian and archaeologist Homer Thiel. The workshop will be held on Saturday, Oct. 19, from 10 am-12 pm. The cost is $20/person or $15/member. Pre-registration is required at https://tucsonpresidio.com/civicrm/event/info/?reset=1&id=750.
Kathleen Vance, Tohono O'odham potter, will lead attendees during the Tohono O'odham Utilitarian Vessel Pottery Workshop. Participants will make a small clay vessel made from white clay, which Kathleen digs and processes on her own. The vessel is known as paddle and anvil using coils to build the walls of the vessel. The workshop will be held on Saturday, Oct. 26, from 10 am-12 pm. The cost is $65/person or $55/member. Pre-registration is required at https://tucsonpresidio.com/civicrm/event/info/?reset=1&id=793.
Our Salon & Saloon Lecture this month is Tales of Crime in Downtown Tucson. Downtown Tucson has been the location of many rather unsavory events. The stories of these crimes have come to light as archaeologist and historian Homer Thiel combs through old newspapers and court records. His talk will expose the lurid, largely forgotten events that took place close to the Presidio Museum. The lecture will be held on Saturday, Oct. 19, from 2-3:30 pm in the Monsoon Room at JoJo’s Restaurant, 201 N. Court Ave. The cost is $5/person at the door, or pre-registration is available at https://tucsonpresidio.com/civicrm/event/info/?reset=1&id=811.
Travelers’ Tales Demonstrations will be held each Tuesday from 10 am-12 pm and then again from 1-4 pm. Learn how people found their way around the region before GPS. Navigational objects on display will include maps, compasses, and an astrolabe. Visitors will also hear stories of historic figures of the time who used these instruments from a re-enactor dressed as a Spanish civilian in the New Spain era. This demonstration is included in admission.
On Oct. 12, from 10 am-1 pm, the museum will host a Blacksmith Demonstration. Attendees will learn about the Blacksmith's role at the Presidio San Agustín del Tucson and watch as they make the types of tools that would have been needed and used by Presidio residents and soldiers. They may even get to pump the bellows! This demonstration is also included in admission.
The rest of our popular walking tours will continue this month. The cost is $30 for non-members and $20 for Presidio Museum members unless otherwise noted. Pre-registration is required at https://tucsonpresidio.com/walking-tours/.
Mainly Murals – Oct. 5, 8-10 am
Mainly Murals + Wine Tasting – Oct. 5, 5-8 pm, $60/person, $50/member
Barrio Viejo – Oct. 5, 5:30-7 pm AND Oct. 20, 10-11:30 am
Turquoise Trail – Oct. 12, 7:30-10 am
Presidio District – Oct. 18, 10 am-12 pm
Mansions of Main Ave. – Oct. 19, 9-11 am
Santa Cruz River History – Oct. 25, 9-11 am ($35/non-member, $25/member includes admission to Mission Garden
History of Congress Street – Oct. 25, 9:30 am-12 pm
Public Art & Murals (Standard Tour) – Oct. 26, 9-11 am
Public Art & Murals (With Wine Tasting) – Oct. 28, 1-4 pm ($65/non-member, $55/member includes wine tasting)
Murals & More of the 4th Avenue District – Oct. 27, 4:30-6 pm
The Presidio San Agustín del Tucson Museum is located on the northeast corner of the original Presidio at 196 N. Court Ave. The Presidio Museum is a reconstruction of the original Tucson Presidio built in 1775. Docent tours give visitors a glimpse of what life in the Presidio was like for soldiers and other residents. Additional highlights include an original 150-year-old Sonoran row house and a 2,000-year-old prehistoric pit house. Admission is $9 for adults, $6 for children ages 6-13 and free for children five and under and Presidio Museum members. Pima County residents, seniors 65+ and members of the military receive a $3 discount with ID. The Presidio Museum is managed by the Tucson Presidio Trust for Historic Preservation, a not-for-profit entity whose mission is to guide and aid in the interpretation of history at the Presidio San Agustín through research, education and living history experiences.
--####—