[Source: Brooks Jeffery and Marty McCune] -- With many baby boomers well into their 50s, post-World War II architecture is also getting up there in age. In Tucson, historic preservation advocates are working to save and preserve the latter.The Modern Architecture Preservation Project (Tucson) was created in 2003 to raise awareness of the value of modern architecture as a significant chapter of Tucson's architectural heritage. This volunteer group has conducted tours in collaboration with the local chapter of the AIA, initiated a survey of modern resources, and has acted as an advocate to preserve buildings and environments of the modern movement in Tucson.
The context study, "Architecture of the Modern Movement in Tucson, 1945-1975" by Chris Evans and R. Brooks Jeffery, defines the various themes of significance that apply to Tucson's modern architectural heritage and forms the foundation for the nomination of individual buildings of Tucson's modern movement to the National Register of Historic Places.
In conjunction with the context study, students from the Preservation Studies program at the University of Arizona have drafted nominations for ten buildings to the National Register of Historic Places, based on their significance and potential threat. These buildings include:
- 1st National Bank (now Chicanos Por La Causa), 200 N. Stone Avenue, 1966 by Cain Nelson Wares
- 1st Christian Church, 740 E. Speedway, 1948 by Arthur Brown
- Wilmot Public Library, 530 Wilmot Road, 1964 by Nicholas Sakellar
- Tucson Clinic, 116 N. Tucson Blvd, 1954 by Scholer, Sakellar & Fuller
- Catalina Baptist Church, 1900 N. Country Club, 1960 by Charles Cox
- Mettler Dance Studio, 3131 N. Cherry, 1963 by John Howe (pictured above)
- Ball-Paylore House, Catalina Vista neighborhood, 1952 by Arthur Brown
- Ramada House, Catalina Foothills, 1975 by Judith Chafee
