Barrio Blue Moon Neighborhood Profile
Barrio Blue Moon By Marlene Avelino
Barrio Blue Moon is the southernmost neighborhood in Ward 3. From the corner of Speedway and Main the neighborhood heads north about 10 blocks to Flores, Oracle on the east and 15th ave on the West complete it’s boundaries. Barrio Blue Moon is a small neighborhood with a mix of industrial properties and business to the North and residential to the South with Tucson House as the dividing line. The majority of residents in Blue Moon are renters with homeownership in the neighborhood around 22%. Barrio Blue Moon Neighborhood Association is an active part of the community.
Barrio is Spanish for neighborhood and although many present day barrios no longer have Spanish speaking neighbors, Barrio Blue Moon remains to this day a stronghold of Chicano identity with multi-generational families still calling it home. “In the 90's my nana and her vecinos chose the name Barrio Blue Moon as part of a City initiative called Back to Basics. The name Blue Moon comes from our history; a ballroom that burned down. There is a lot of lore around this ballroom, my nana says that after the fire, the owners continued to host events in a roofless building, under the Blue Moon, giving the iconic site even more memorability,” Sharayah Jimenez, Barrio Blue Moon Neighborhood Association President.
The Blue Moon Ballroom was once located where Tucson House now stands and was a social club, performance space, and dance hall serving the needs of Chicano and non-white residents of Tucson that were barred from entering the city’s Whites Only dance halls. The ballroom burned down in March of 1947 but is remembered dearly by those that danced within its walls and honored by the neighborhood that has taken on its name.
Tucson House is the most visible landmark in Barrio Blue Moon, maybe even most of Tucson, with 17 floors, 411 units, and patio railings painted in rich blues, greens, and yellows that seem to fade into each other. It was built in the early 60s as luxury condos, complete with a restaurant on the top floor and all the hip architectural details of the time. Now owned by the City of Tucson it is our largest public housing project serving mostly elderly, low-income residents.
Ward 3 Council Aides Marlene Avelino and Kristin Woodall in the Blue Moon Community Garden.
Blue Moon Community Garden is located next to Tucson House and is considered a jewel among gardens. It has a 15,000 gallon water harvesting cistern used to irrigate individual plots and includes raised garden beds to accommodate wheelchair bound gardeners and varying levels of mobility. Plots are available to all community members and prices are based on income to ensure that everyone that wants to grow can. Just across the parking lot from the community garden is Francisco Elias Esquer Park with 6.3 acres of open space. There’s a basketball half-court, two play areas for kids, and a few ramadas with picnic tables and benches. Bronx Wash cuts through the park heading west and plans are in the works for a dog park, more walking paths, and a pedestrian bridge to access the north side of the park. These plans are part of the Prop 407 - Tucson Delivers initiative, allocating 500k to this project. “Today, the once rural Barrio has been swallowed up by the sprawling urban landscape; it is a mixed neighborhood of industrial, commercial and residential land, Anglo, Yaqui and Chicano households, truly a mezcla. True to Barrio identity, it is not regulated by an HOA or any type of historic guidelines, but a free formed organism allowed to grow and change. And change it will, as is and always will be…”, Sharayah Jimenez.