Lots of Fun in Downtown Tucson AZ - Darren Jones Interview with The Open House Show Tucson

Well, even though it seems like a lot of what we've seen happen in downtown Tucson happened kind of overnight, it's really been like 30 years in the making. People have been working for a long time to work out a viable downtown for Tucson because it did get to a point where there really wasn't a good reason to come downtown. Uh, however, with some private funding and some positive individuals, a lot's happened over the last 5 to 10 years, and we're seeing a lot of development, and Tucson has now become a a real center and a model for that trend across the country. This is a prime example of some of the development that's happened downtown Tucson. Maynard's Market was certainly not here. The café was not here. It was a basic train station. The building was not great. None of the infrastructure, the parking, everything that you'd see out from the streetscape now, none of that existed. And so they've created this beautiful park-like setting, and in the evenings you come out here, you can have a nice cocktail, you can have a snack, dinner with friends. They put out the heaters if it's cold, and you have this great environment. You have the beautiful Amtrak train station and the market, and it's a great space for craft shows and other types of events. The Hotel Congress has been here for many, many years. It's probably one of the old— well, it's the oldest continuously running hotel in Tucson. Uh, it's mostly famous for having captured the Dillinger Gang, and so, you know, it was a thriving hotel back in the '20s. It's still operational today, and it's a great central point. They have a great breakfast there. They have a nice lounge area there.

So with the light rail, which landed around 4 years ago, the city came back to life with new chefs and new excitement with new retail, and there's restaurants that have all different flavors and craft cocktails.

So if you're visiting Tucson, you need to come downtown. You need to see the Congress Hotel. You need to visit some of the great restaurants. You need to visit our museums. And also, we happen to be an award-winning festival city. We tied this last year with Abu Dhabi. Okay, so, you know, there's a lot going on. We have the International Gem Show. We have so many festivals throughout the year. Check your calendar.