Teatro Carmen's extreme makeover

The old entrance to Teatro Carmen, under the arch, is gone. A new mural is in its place. There's much more news about the makeover after these photos:

Let's look back two years and 16 years with Google Street View:

April 2022

January 2008

You can see that the right (north) building used to have windows next to the sidewalk and a door behind the big arch. There was also a mural on the left (south) building, which you can see better on our August 8, 2006 post Downtown Culture. A reader named Claire wrote in that post's comments: “I noticed on February 13, 2024, that this mural is now painted over. Are there any plans to replace or replicate the previous mural?”

As of this writing — November 9, 2024 — there's lots of info and photos on the home page of Teatro Carmen's website teatrocarmen.org. Also, a Tucson Weekly article from October 27, 2022, Teatro Carmen renovation is close to fruition, has more details and history. A July 15, 2024 Tucson Sentinel article, Teatro Carmen gets restoration funding from Pima County, says that roof reconstruction would start this fall after the monsoon ends. And you can check Instagram @teatro_carmen. (You don't need the Instagram app; you can use a web browser to glance through after clicking that link, but don't click on any photo unless you're logged into Instagram from the browser.)

Finally, a note about the turquoise line and number in the first photo. I made this closeup in my photo editor:

The Turquoise Trail is a 2½ mile loop through downtown Tucson that takes you past historic sites and classic architecture. It's the turquoise line on the sidewalk you can see above. Although the trail officially starts and ends at the Presidio San Agustin del Tucson museum, you can start and return from any point along the way. (For instance, there's currently free street parking not too far from Teatro Carmen, though the parking time limit may be too short for you to walk the whole trail.) The Presidio's Turquoise Trail page has a link to a PDF map/description, a list of places you can pick up printed guides, and a list of walking tours (I think the dates may need updating?).

Dorothy N. Yanez leads mural, public art, and Turquoise Trail tours; her website is www.dyaneztours.com. I've met her once; she knows a lot about downtown.

Update (November 21, 2024): Arizona Illustrated recently aired a 4 1/2 minute segment, Teatro Carmen: Restoring Tucson's Historic Cultural Gem in the Nation’s Oldest Barrio. Click there to watch it on YouTube.