TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — A historic home built in the 1800s in downtown Tucson has reopened its doors after more than two years of renovations.
The Sosa-Carrillo House, located off Broadway and Granada, has seen Tucson change for generations. Built in the late 1870s, the home is one of three buildings from Tucson’s barrio landscape that was saved during urban renewal in the 1960s.
"If our buildings are destroyed, if our spaces of congregation that mean something to us as Mexican-Americans are gone, or we don't have access to those places anymore, the memories are forgotten, and when we forget the memories, those traditions go with them," Alisha Vasquez said.
Vasquez is the co-director of the Mexican American Heritage and History Museum, which is located inside the Sosa-Carillo House. Los Descendientes de Tucson, a local non-profit, runs the Mexican American Heritage and History Museum.
"The fact that this building is still here is that reminder of what was lost, but also that the families who built this place are still here," Vasquez said.
For many, the connection to this home runs generations deep.
"My great-great-grandfather, Adolpho Vasquez, came here from Altar, Sonora in 1880, and he opened up a carriage and blacksmith shop that would have been on the northeast corner of what is today the convention center," Vasquez said.
Vasquez says the effort to restore the home began in 2022 when it was announced that Rio Nuevo was going to purchase the property.
"Rio Nuevo agreed to put $1.3 million into renovating the house and giving $200,000 to the Arizona Historical Society," said Vasquez.
By 2023, additional grant money helped expand the project, turning what was expected to be a six-month renovation into a much longer process.
"Los Descendientes was approached by the Mellon Foundation, and we received a $750,000 Humanities in Place grant. Then, Rio Nuevo gave us an additional half a million dollars," Vasquez added.
"So, in total, over $2,000,000 were put into the renovation of this house that brought us greater accessibility, ADA compliance, best practices, but also air conditioning," Vasquez said. "And it gave us one and a half staff that has enabled us to continue our programming even when these doors were shut for renovation."
With doors open once again, Vasquez says the work continues.
“Yeah, so because that Mellon Foundation grant runs out next month, come June 1, we're going back to an all-volunteer organization," Vasquez said.
Vasquez tells me if these walls could talk, they'd have a lot to say. The Sosa-Carrillo House was inducted to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.
"This house has seen the railroad come through. It has seen street cars pass right in front of it. It's seen electricity come. It's seen its neighbors, its friends, its other buildings being demolished in the name of urban renewal in the late 1960s. And so, I think it would thank us for saving it and renovating it and keeping its memory alive," Vazquez said.
Vasquez also notes some of the history behind the house.
"But also importantly, I think it would thank us for telling the complete story. For understanding that what we thought was true—in the 1970s that Governor [John] Frémont owned this house—only to find out that actually it never left the hands of the Carrillo family. And so, uplifting the Mexican-American history and experiences that this building represents, and how it was a living house and how what exists today is a more curated version of the past, but it's also that reminder that we created beauty in the barrio," she added.
Vazquez says exact hours of operations will be announced soon and adds that she is excited for people to enjoy everything the Sosa-Carrillo House has to offer. The last time it was renovated was in the 1970s.
"I want them just to walk in here and just listen. I think, this place is pretty quiet compared to the busyness of downtown Tucson. It has, you know, 18-inch adobe walls that keep out the sun and noise. I want them just to feel more than anything, feel the love and intention that has gone into everything from the paper flowers hanging from the roof or the exhibits that have been curated to tell our collective story," said Vasquez.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
——
Jacqueline Aguilar is a multimedia journalist at KGUN 9. Born and raised in Yuma, AZ., she is no stranger to the unforgiving Arizona heat. Now this U of A wildcat is excited to be back in Tucson and is looking forward to involving herself in the community. Share your story ideas with Jacqueline by emailing jacqueline.aguilar@kgun9.com or connecting on Facebook, Instagram or X.
