TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — There is a 13-story building next to the Tucson Convention Center that has been vacant for the past 14 years. It is now an active construction site.
The old Hotel Arizona is being given new life and will open late next year as a Hyatt Regency Hotel. But if you go back 53 years, you will discover the building's very colorful history.
"Certainly, in the early to mid-'70s, it was a gem for Tucson," said Jerry Fischer, project manager of the Hyatt Regency Tucson Downtown.
That gem was the Braniff Place Hotel on Broadway near the Tucson Convention Center. The hotel opened on Dec. 3, 1973.
Now, Jerry Fischer is helping restore the 53-year-old building, bringing it back as a luxurious high-rise hotel.
To better appreciate the history of the Braniff Place Hotel, you have to look back at the uniqueness of Braniff International Airways.
Braniff was well known for its vibrant "Flying Colors" fleet and high-fashion uniforms.
"No one had ever taken an airplane and turned it into, made it basically an artist board, and painted them bright solid colors or mid-century modern type colors," said Ben Cass, CEO of Braniff International.
Cass is a retired pilot and historian for Braniff International. In 1970, Braniff formed a hotels division to mirror what Pan Am was doing. One of their first projects, the Braniff Place Hotel is in downtown Tucson.
"It was a unique hotel, very uniquely built," Cass said.
When it opened in December of 1973, the 13-story high-rise was the tallest hotel in Tucson.
"When you come to Braniff there's always just something a little bit special about that," said Cass.
Advertisements called the Braniff Place Hotel 'ultra modern with a general theme of elegance and premium service.'
It was unique because Braniff International didn't even serve Tucson for the first five years of the hotel. Braniff added flights in 1978, connecting Tucson with Houston, Dallas, San Antonio and Las Vegas.
"They were actually very good routes for us and were routes with the company until the air operations closed down in 1982," explained Cass.
"It was cool," said Fischer.
Like many people old enough to remember Braniff, Jerry Fischer flew on the colorful airline as a child.
"We would actually dress up for a flight, right," said Fischer. "That was kind of the era of travel, which was great. Braniff really created that kind of an atmosphere when they flew."
Today, Fischer is in charge of bringing back that era of travel to the old Braniff Place Hotel. HSL Properties is spending $7 million to remediate and demo the interior of the building.
"We're working with a structure that's (an) amazing structure and we get a blank canvas to create on," Fischer said.
That blank canvas includes the lobby of what will become the 291-room Arizona Hotel HSL Hyatt Regency.
It looked quite different when it opened in 1973.
Renderings show what it will look like in a year and a half.
"Construction's on time, which is nice, and under budget, which is even better for us," said Fischer.
Fischer told KGUN off the lobby will include an upscale bar and restaurant with patio seating. He says they feel the Hyatt brand is the best fit for this downtown hotel.
"They do great convention hotels," Fischer said. "We have a lot of meeting space in here, north of 22,000 (square feet). We'll work directly with the Tucson Convention Center to book those large groups and conventions."
Both Fischer and Ben Cass tell me they plan to work together to put some type of installation into the hotel, honoring the history when it was the Braniff Place Hotel.
As Fischer puts the finishing touches on the design elements of the new hotel, he plans to keep the spirit of Braniff.
"That midcentury architecture, we love that," Fischer said. "I think we're going to combine that original architecture with kind of that refresh, right. But it's really going to have that uniqueness that it did when it opened."
The Hyatt Regency Tucson Downtown is scheduled to open in late October of 2027.
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Pat Parris is an anchor and reporter for KGUN 9. He is a graduate of Sabino High School where he was the 1982 high school state track champion in the 800 meters. While in high school and college, he worked part-time in the KGUN 9 newsroom. Share your story ideas and important issues with Pat by emailing pat.parris@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
