 Post Office
Fairbanks, AZ
Photo courtesy Gorb70
Sitting quietly beside Highway 82 is the old Fairbank Post Office, looking every bit like a forgotten building from Arizona’s territorial days. The post office shared space in a large adobe commercial building dating back to 1882. Over the years, the place also held a general store, saloon, restaurant, railroad freight office, jail, and even a gas station. That is quite a lineup for one old adobe. 02-07
Fairbank’s post office opened in May 1883, when the little settlement was a busy railroad stop along the line between Benson and Nogales. Fairbank was the closest railroad connection to Tombstone, so passengers, mail, mining supplies, and plenty of other business passed through town before continuing by stagecoach or wagon.
 Post Office
Fairbanks, AZ
Photo courtesy Gorb70
One of the merchants associated with the building was Joseph Goldwater, the great-uncle of future Arizona senator and presidential candidate Barry Goldwater. For a while, the mercantile and post office must have been one of the busiest spots around. A person could pick up the mail, buy supplies, arrange some freight, and perhaps wander into the saloon without ever leaving the building.
As mining declined and railroad traffic moved elsewhere, Fairbank slowly faded away. Businesses closed, families left, and the once-busy adobe became another silent reminder of the boomtown years. The post office finally shut down in the early 1970s after serving the community for nearly 90 years.
UPDATE: The building was not abandoned to the desert after all. The Bureau of Land Management acquired the Fairbank townsite in 1986 and stabilized the old adobe walls as part of the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area. It now survives as a stop along the self-guided walking tour through the Fairbank Historic Townsite. 09-26 |
 Marist College
Tucson,
AZ
Photos courtesy Gorb70
By the time these photos were taken, Marist College had already been sitting vacant for years. Crumbling adobe walls and monsoon damage caused growing concern that one of Tucson’s most unusual historic buildings might eventually be lost. 02-07
The school traces its beginning to 1914, when four Marist brothers who had fled religious persecution in Mexico began teaching boys in Tucson. Classes initially met in temporary quarters, while the permanent three-story school building was completed in 1915.
Constructed from unfired mud adobe, the building rises about 52 feet and is often described as the tallest surviving adobe structure in Arizona. Its design combines Italian Renaissance and Spanish Colonial Revival details. Two sculpted figures resembling Atlas support the balcony above the north entrance, giving the old school a surprisingly grand appearance.
Marist College remained a Catholic grammar and junior high school until closing in 1968. After later uses ended, the building sat empty and deteriorated. Heavy monsoon rains caused portions of several corners to collapse, and by 2012 the Diocese of Tucson was considering demolition because of safety concerns and restoration costs.
 Marist College
Tucson,
AZ
Photos courtesy Gorb70
Preservation groups, Rio Nuevo, and the Foundation for Senior Living eventually developed a $25 million rescue plan. Engineers installed a concealed steel frame inside the old school to carry much of the structural load. Craftsmen then rebuilt the damaged corners with newly made adobe bricks and restored the windows and exterior details.
The former classrooms were converted into eight affordable senior apartments surrounding a ground-floor community space. Additional apartments were constructed in a separate new building nearby.
UPDATE: The restored school reopened in 2019 as part of The Marist on Cathedral Square senior housing community. Instead of slowly collapsing, Tucson’s towering adobe landmark is occupied and protected once again. 09-26 |
 Arizona State University
Tempe,
AZ
Photos courtesy Gorb70
Take a walk around Arizona State University and there is quite a mixture of buildings to check out, from stately brick halls to modern classrooms and some pretty unusual architecture. The school was founded in 1885 as the Territorial Normal School, back when Arizona was still a territory. After several name changes, it officially became Arizona State University in 1958. 02-07
Old Main is the grand old-timer of the campus. Construction began in 1894, and the building was dedicated in 1898. It was the first building in Tempe wired for electric lighting, which must have been quite a sight at the time. Theodore Roosevelt even delivered a speech from its steps in 1911 after attending the dedication of Roosevelt Dam.
 Arizona State University
Tempe,
AZ
Photos courtesy Gorb70
Other early survivors include the 1907 President’s House, now the Virginia G. Piper Writers House, and the old Science and Administration Building from 1909, now used as the University Club. Old Main received a major restoration completed in 2000, including the return of its original Victorian-style porch and stairways.
UPDATE: Arizona State University remains open and bustling, while Old Main and several other buildings from the early campus have been preserved as reminders of the school’s territorial beginnings. 09-26 |
 Scottish Rite Cathedral
Tucson,
AZ
Photo courtesy Gorb70
The stately Scottish Rite Cathedral has been standing in downtown Tucson for more than a century. Designed by noted Southwest architect Henry C. Trost, its grand Neoclassical facade looks more like a government building or old theater than a Masonic meeting hall. The cornerstone was laid in December 1915, and the building was completed and dedicated only five months later. 02-07
There are plenty of interesting details hiding inside. The auditorium still has original hand-painted stage backdrops dating from 1915, while the historic pipe organ was ready in time for the cathedral’s 1916 dedication. Even the basement had a special purpose, with enough open space for the Knights Templar to practice their marching drills.
The cathedral was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. It may also be the only non-residential Trost building in Tucson that is still owned and used by the organization that originally commissioned it.
UPDATE: The Scottish Rite Cathedral remains home to local Masonic organizations and continues to serve as a meeting hall and special-event venue. 09-26
 Patagonia Train Depot
Patagonia, AZ
Photo courtesy Gorb70
The old Patagonia Train Depot is a fine-looking two-story wooden survivor from the days when trains rolled through this little southern Arizona town. Built in 1900 by the New Mexico and Arizona Railroad, the depot served the local mining and ranching country for 62 years. 03-07
The last train came through in 1962 as mining declined and trucks began handling more of the region’s freight. The rails were later pulled up and reportedly sold to the Gillette Company to be recycled into razor blades. Now there is a bit of railroad history you probably never expected.
The depot nearly disappeared during a State Route 82 improvement project in 1964. Instead, the community saved it by moving the entire building about 45 feet away from the old railroad bed.
UPDATE: The depot remains standing and now serves as Patagonia Town Hall. The former railroad right-of-way through town has also been preserved as a linear park. 09-26
|
