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Casas Adobes, Arizona

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Casas Adobes, Arizona
CDP
Garden in Tohono Chul Park
Garden in Tohono Chul Park
Location in Pima County and the state of Arizona
Location in Pima County and the state of Arizona
CountryUnited States
StateArizona
CountyPima
Area
 • Total22.6 sq mi (58.6 km2)
 • Land22.6 sq mi (58.6 km2)
 • Water< 0.1 sq mi (< 0.1 km2)
Elevation
2,411 ft (735 m)
Population
 (2000)
 • Total54,011
 • Density2,389.9/sq mi (921.7/km2)
Time zoneUTC-7 (MST (no DST))
FIPS code04-10670
GNIS feature ID0037210
Moorish garden detail, Tohono Chul Park, Casas Adobes

Casas Adobes (Adobe Houses) is a census-designated place (CDP) located north of Tucson in Pima County, Arizona, United States. The population was 54,011 at the 2000 census. Casas Adobes is situated south and southwest of Oro Valley, and west of the community of Catalina Foothills.

The attempted assassination of Representative Gabrielle Giffords, and the murder of chief judge for the U.S. District Court for Arizona, John McCarthy Roll on January 8, 2011 occurred in Casas Adobes, just across North Oracle Road from Casas Adobes Plaza at the La Toscana Village.

History

Though Casas Adobes is an unincorporated community, it is older than both the towns of Oro Valley and Marana. [1] Casas Adobes has the Northwest Tucson area's most unique shopping center, Casas Adobes Plaza, its only shopping mall, Foothills Mall, a mjaor hospital, Northwest Medical Center, and the only botanical park, Tohono Chul Park.

Established in the 1940s, the Casas Adobes community has grown to encompass a 23-square mile area inhabited by nearly 60,000 residents. [2] The area takes its name from a large subdivison begun in the 1950s by the Nanini family. Most of the homes in the subdivision are large ranch-style homes built with adobe bricks. [3]

While Casas Adobes' neighbors Oro Valley, Marana and Tucson continue to build new homes and shopping centers, Casas Adobes is mostly built out. An attempt to incorporate the area failed in 1997, and it is likely that one or all three of the neighboring cities will annex portions of the area. [4]

Casas Adobes gets its name from a subdivision built by developer Silvio "Sam" Nanini. [5] Nanini was not the first to begin living in Casas Adobes. The area bordering the Cañada del Oro and north of the Rillito River was primarily used by cattle ranchers.

The area remained mostly cattle ranches and cattle until the 1920s, when Tucson had grown far enough north and the advent of the automobile made the area more easily accessible. [6]

One of the first to build a home in the area was Maurice L. Reid, who came to Tucson in 1923 seeking a "walking cure" for tuberculosis. In the late 1920s Reid bought a 1,500-acrs former ranch, bounded by North Oracle Road, Orange Grove and Ina roads, and North La Cholla Boulevard. Reid planted more than 200 acres of citrus trees and date palms, that became the heart of Tucson's citrus industry. [7] Over the years, Reid sold parcels of land for home sites, and in 1950 he sold the last of his land.

Leonie Boutall, from Tennessee, decided to build a guest ranch in the early 1930s. The dry climate, her doctor told her, would relieve her bronchial troubles. Boutall bought 100 acres of ranch land just west of North Oracle Road, and south of a narrow dirt track now called Orange Grove Road. She built rancho Nezhone, a luxury guest ranch that drew the rich and famous to the sparsely settled area far north of Tucson. [8] Kate Smith, Liberace, Gen. John Pershing and William "Hopalong Cassidy" Boyd were guests of the desert retreat. Boutall sold out in 1948. [9]

Further north along Oracle road, Nanini would make his mark. Nanini and his wife Giaconda moved to Tucson in 1948 seeking to cure Mrs. Nanini's bronchial asthma. [10] Beginning in the mid-1950s, the Italian born, transplanted Chicagoan developed three subdivisions on about 300 acres that became the heart of the Casas Adobes community and was considered by many to be Tucson's first suburb. All of the homes were built with adobe, or mud, bricks. Nanini also built the Casas Adobes Plaza. Nanini and his son William later built the world-class Tucson National Golf Club and the million-dollar home subdivision, the Tucson National Estates. [11]

The area has continued to add subdivisions and today nearly 60,000 people call the community of Casas Adobes home.

Geography

Casas Adobes is located at 32°20′47″N 111°0′35″W / 32.34639°N 111.00972°W / 32.34639; -111.00972 (32.346368, -111.009844).Template:GR

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 22.6 square miles (58.6 km²), of which, 22.6 square miles (58.6 km²) of it is land and 0.04% is water.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 54,011 people, 22,066 households, and 14,718 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 2,386.7 people per square mile (921.5/km²). There were 23,655 housing units at an average density of 1,045.3/sq mi (403.6/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 88.67% White, 1.65% Black or African American, 0.66% Native American, 2.18% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 4.47% from other races, and 2.31% from two or more races. 13.76% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 22,066 households out of which 29.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.3% were married couples living together, 9.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.3% were non-families. 26.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.93.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 23.0% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 24.6% from 45 to 64, and 16.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 90.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.7 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $49,736, and the median income for a family was $57,926. Males had a median income of $40,323 versus $29,892 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $24,230. About 3.9% of families and 5.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.2% of those under age 18 and 5.0% of those age 65 or over.

Points of interest

Casas Adobes was the first suburb of Tucson, begun in the mid-1940s. The area boasts unique attractions.

The Casas Adobes Plaza is a historical retail destination, dating back to 1948. The Plaza is situated on the southwest corner of North Oracle and West Ina roads, and features some of the most authentic Mediterranean architecture in the area. Original Italian vignettes, statues, and fountains are incorporated into Casas Adobes Plaza. The Plaza also features a historic Mediterranean observation tower.

Casas Adobes is also the location of one of southern Arizona's largest and most biologically diverse nature preserves. Tohono Chul Park is a private nature park located northwest of North Oracle and West Ina roads on North Paseo del Norte. Tohono Chul, Tohono O'odham for "desert corner," was created in 1985 after Richard and Jane Wilson dedicated their home and property to the preservation of the desert and the education of visitors on the splendor of the native plants and wildlife. [12]

Westward Look Resort is also located in Casas Adobes. Westward Look began in the early 1900s as a dude ranch in the foothills of the Santa Catalina Mountains north of Tucson.

Casas Adobes is home to a nationally-prominent golf resort built in the 1960s, the Omni Tucson National Resort. While Casas Adobes remains unincorporated, the community has distinguished itself from the other suburbs to the north and northwest of Tucson as the oldest community.

2011 Tucson shooting

Main article: 2011 Tucson shooting

At 10 a.m. MST on Saturday, January 8, 2011, 20 people were shot during a Congresswoman's meeting in a Safeway grocery store parking lot in Casas Adobes.[13] Six people were killed, including a congressional aide and Federal Judge John Roll. U.S. Representative for Arizona's 8th congressional district Gabrielle Giffords was shot in the head at close range and is in critical condition.[14] A 22-year-old local man named as Jared Lee Loughner has been arrested in connection with the incident.[15]

References

  1. ^ http://the-chamber.com/casas-adobes-northern-pima-county-communities.html
  2. ^ http://the-chamber.com/casas-adobes-northern-pima-county-communities.html
  3. ^ http://the-chamber.com/casas-adobes-northern-pima-county-communities.html
  4. ^ http://the-chamber.com/casas-adobes-northern-pima-county-communities.html
  5. ^ http://the-chamber.com/casas-adobes-northern-pima-county-communities.html
  6. ^ http://the-chamber.com/casas-adobes-northern-pima-county-communities.html
  7. ^ http://the-chamber.com/casas-adobes-northern-pima-county-communities.html
  8. ^ http://the-chamber.com/casas-adobes-northern-pima-county-communities.html
  9. ^ http://the-chamber.com/casas-adobes-northern-pima-county-communities.html
  10. ^ http://the-chamber.com/casas-adobes-northern-pima-county-communities.html
  11. ^ http://the-chamber.com/casas-adobes-northern-pima-county-communities.html
  12. ^ http://the-chamber.com/casas-adobes-northern-pima-county-communities.html
  13. ^ "Arizona congresswoman among 19 shot at Tucson grocery". CNN. January 8, 2011. Retrieved 8 January 2011.
  14. ^ "US congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords shot in Arizona". BBC News. 2011-01-08.
  15. ^ "Jared Lee Loughner Identified As Gabrielle Giffords Shooter". huffingtonpost.com. January 8, 2011. Retrieved 8 January 2011.
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