Thanks for the correction on the address of Pago Pago, Ports O Call, and Aku Aku! I knew there had been a change over the years, but didn't know the details, and then with the fire information I thought that definitely made it a different location. Thanks for clearing that up, great article got me into doing some research :) When I worked on a survey for downtown I wasn't aware of the change on Congress years ago when the center of town changed. Odds and evens were opposite from what they were later, gave me a heck of a problem for awhile. Appreciate the history!
Ooh, another thing! Probably more than you need/want to know...in the 10/13/1973 Tucson Daily Citizen, there is a great article about the history of the Crying Onion and the neat old papers that went back to the late 1800's that were on some old interior walls that were uncovered in some remodeling. The owner in the 70's kept the memorabilia up for folks to read. Another article from 1960 had the owner fighting to keep the address, 3936 E. Ft. Lowell, in a business zone as she had had the restaurant since 1940! I couldn't find any older articles, but the restaurant was in her family's old farmhouse! Neat!
Great article! One change - Ports O' Call which was operating at least in 4/1967, was at 2201 W. Miracle Mile. Aku Aku was actually at 2201 N. Oracle Road. Easy to mix up, same time frame in the 60's until 4/28/1967 when Aku Aku had a huge fire that destroyed the building. It doesn't appear that they ever reopened. Ports O' Call did serve a "flaming Aku Aku volcano" that sounds really cool! Thanks for the cool article, if I find any other info I'll pass it on, love to look up the old stuff!
As a member of MAPP, its a great joy to be involved in bringing awareness to a style of architecture that is so easy to appreciate. Being in the largest group of generations, the tail end of the baby boomers, I still remember several of the key ideas of the modern movement, and so will most of the people attending the tour this weekend. Who can forget the matching bathroom accessories, the asphalt tile floors, the shiny popcorn ceilings? I hope to see a lot of Tucsonans (and visitors) at the tour this Sunday, to enjoy going back to their childhood and raising money for a great cause!
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Catherine Westergaard
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