Arizona, Historic Florence Walking Tour Historical Markers
A 1½ mile self-guided tour through the Florence Townsite Historic District.
You can pickup a brochure at the Florence Visitor's Center, 291 N. Bailey St.
By Bill Kirchner, January 16, 2010
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church
On East 8th Street, on the right when traveling east.
Completed in 1912, the Church of The Assumption is an example of the Mission Revival style of architecture. The third church built for Assumption Parish, it replaced the second church built on this site in 1884, which burned down in 1893. This . . . — — Map (db m26687) HM
On North Main Street near 8th Street, on the right when traveling south.
Town founder Levi Ruggles built a store on this site in 1876. In 1882, it became Peter Will's Brewery. It was demolished for the construction, in 1915, of the C. G. Powell People's Store, a single-story, commercial building. Prominent Phoenix . . . — — Map (db m26734) HM
On North Main Street, on the right when traveling north.
This mid-1870 commercial building was built on the corner of Main and 7th streets. This Sonoran style building is the most intact of the four remaining untransformed examples of the adobe-walled, earth-roofed Sonoran traditional design which still . . . — — Map (db m26718) HM
On North Baily Street near 8th Street, on the right.
This two-story red-brick commercial building was constructed in 1890 for Conrad Brunenkant. The bricks were locally made, and the rock-faced cut lintels and sills are from locally quarried stone. The exterior was altered in 1973 when the porch with . . . — — Map (db m26682) HM
On North Baily Street, on the right when traveling north.
The western portion of this adobe brick house was built for Frank and Isabella Cosgrove in 1878. It was originally constructed with dirt floors, roof and a Sonoran corner fireplace.
During the 1890s, Theophile Nicholas "Americanized" the . . . — — Map (db m26800) HM
On West 12th Street near North Main Street, on the left when traveling east.
Built in 1890, the store originally had unplastered adobe walls, a gabled roof, and a large, commercial-style glass display front. After Denier & Richmond, the building housed the C.R. Michea Store from 1897 to 1907, and then the Michea-Arballo . . . — — Map (db m26790) HM
On North Main Street, on the right when traveling north.
Built in 1874 of unplastered adobe with pitched roofs, this second Edward Nye Fish mercantile store in Florence changed hands to become the, Joseph Collingwood & Co. Store and Wells Fargo office in 1877. Collingwood, Florence's first postmaster, had . . . — — Map (db m26717) HM
On North Quartz Street, on the left when traveling north.
Edward Nye Fish, prominent Tucson merchant, and his partner/manager Joseph Collingwood, first Florence postmaster, opened Florence's first store in this building in 1868.
Building additions from 1867 to 1888 formed a U-shaped complex, and . . . — — Map (db m26708) HM
On North Baily Street, on the right when traveling north.
Built for Pablo and Elena Llescas in the early 1860s, this single-story row house has two exterior walls not parallel with respect to the other walls. This indicates construction prior to the 1866 Ruggles Street Grid. This building is constructed on . . . — — Map (db m26795) HM
This adobe building, which was designed by Levi Ruggles and built in 1878, combines Sonoran and Anglo-American architectural features typical of Territorial Arizona. It was the courthouse until 1891 and then served as a hospital, health center, home . . . — — Map (db m32956) HM
On North Willow Street near 10th Street, on the right when traveling north.
The Florence Woman's Club was organized in 1897. In 1929, architects Lescher & Mahoney designed this Spanish Colonial Revival Style clubhouse. The original light fixtures are suspended from the ceiling, and an ornate Spanish-style fireplace is . . . — — Map (db m26746) HM
On West Ruggles Avenue, on the left when traveling west.
This was originally a flat-roofed Sonoran adobe built in 1875 for George A. Brown, Adamsville saloon keeper. The house served briefly as the Wells Fargo office during a rash of stagecoach robberies. "By God" Brown known for his oft-repeated phrase, . . . — — Map (db m26710) HM
On North Pinal Street, on the left when traveling north.
Built in 1888 for Swiss-born tinsmith Jacob Suter. Constructed of adobe brick with 20-inch-thick outer walls. The house displays a traditional Sonoran floor plan and originally included a zaguan, or breezeway. The wood mansard roof, windows, and . . . — — Map (db m26748) HM
On North Baily Street, on the right when traveling north.
Jesus Martinez, a farmer from New Mexico, began construction on this adobe house in 1872. Completed in 1880, the U-shaped building had a traditional Sonoran flat dirt roof and central patio enclosed on three sides. By 1890 the house was divided for . . . — — Map (db m26683) HM
On East 11th Street at North Baily Street, on the left when traveling west on East 11th Street.
In 1880, Juan Luna built this single-story, Sonoran-style adobe house for his wife and put the title in her name. According to Spanish tradition, it was the polite thing to do. The building's two L-shaped wings are one-room deep, and the original . . . — — Map (db m26791) HM
On East 11th Street near North Baily Street, on the right when traveling west.
Designed by prominent Arizona Architect James M. Creighton, this is the oldest standing fired-brick building in Florence. Soon after completion, French-born rancher-farmer John Nicholas moved his saloon to this building in 1889. Tradition has it . . . — — Map (db m26792) HM
On North Granite Street, on the left when traveling north.
Built in 1878 for John P. Clum, Indian agent, editor of Florence's first newspaper, the "Arizona Citizen" and founder of the "Tombstone Epitaph."
Typical of transitional architecture, the home is a Sonoran adobe with an Anglo-influenced roof. . . . — — Map (db m26744) HM
On North Main Street near 8th Street, on the right when traveling north.
Juan Avenenti, an Italian immigrant who came to Arizona about 1870, purchased this property in 1886 from Frank M. Griffen. Previously, it had belonged to Florence pioneers Levi Ruggles and Charles Douglas. Avenenti, a grocer, butcher and rancher, . . . — — Map (db m26736) HM
On East 8th Street, on the right when traveling east.
This first Catholic Church in central Arizona, built in 1870 by Father Andre Echallier, was called "La Capilla del Gila". In 1883 a larger edifice commemorating the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, was constructed to the west: a convent was . . . — — Map (db m26689) HM
On North Main Street, on the right when traveling south.
Built in 1925, this is an example of early 20th Century Commercial style. One of three structures in Florence designed by George Mauk of Phoenix. He was an architect movie house mogul, and U.S. marshal. This building was used as Arizona Edison and . . . — — Map (db m26733) HM
On North Baily Street, on the left when traveling north.
French-born John Nicholas built this single-story flat-roofed, Sonoran-style, adobe house along the side-street property line. Its raised foundation offered some protection from flooding. Originally rectangular, it was L-shaped in 1890 and square by . . . — — Map (db m26793) HM
On North Pinal Street near 10th Street, on the right when traveling north.
The oldest portion of this adobe was built for Sam Kee in 1882. Typical of Sonoran row houses, this home was built on the property line and was transformed to late-transitional style in 1977 by the addition of the wood-shingled, hipped roof . . . — — Map (db m26747) HM
On North Main Street at Ruggles Avenue, on the left when traveling north on North Main Street.
Built in 1876 for William Long, a partner in the Silver King Mine. Originally an unplastered, L-shaped adobe with gabled roof, the Silver King was renamed the Florence Hotel in 1890. Fire destroyed a portion of the hotel which was replaced by the . . . — — Map (db m26665) HM
On North Baily Street, on the right when traveling north.
This one-story, detached dwelling began as an American Victorian-style building, with walls of locally made brick and a metal-covered, timber-framed hip roof. Brick arches topped door and window openings. Bungalow-style additions included an open, . . . — — Map (db m26802) HM
On North Main Street near 8th Street, on the right when traveling south.
This single-story commercial building includes a partial basement, wide-open interior spaces, and a tall, carefully detailed, Main Street store front of exposed, buff-colored, pressed brick. The other walls are composed of common red brick. A metal . . . — — Map (db m26735) HM
On North Main Street near 10th Street, on the right when traveling south.
Built for Silver King mining engineer William Clark in 1884, this house is a prime example of cultural fusion in architecture.
The Sonoran mud-plastered adobe walls were combined with an elegant Victorian louvered bay window, prefabricated . . . — — Map (db m26737) HM
