Where is winterhaven tucson

Residents of Winterhaven who decorated for the festival had the potential to win awards for their creative displays, including the "Best Dressed Vehicle' award. Perched atop the shoulders of her dad Matt Griebel, three-year-old Grace Griebel basks in the fluttering snow scene at the corner of Kleindale Road and Forgeus Avenue during the first night of the 67th Annual Winterhaven Festival of Lights on Saturday, Dec. Get ready to feel the Tucson holiday cheer this weekend as the neighborhood of Winterhaven kicks off the 69th annual Festival of Lights.

This midtown event is a must-do if you're new to town or just want to feel some yuletide magic. And because we want you to have a wonderful time ohhh-ing and ahhh-ing at some twinkle lights, here's a list of everything we think you should know about this beloved Tucson tradition before heading out and experiencing it for yourself. Each year folks, from the midtown Winterhaven neighborhood decorates their homes with bright lights and elaborate holiday displays for the whole city to enjoy.

The event was started in by Winterhaven's original developer, C. Richards, after he visited some similar neighborhood light displays in Beverly Hills, Cali. In fact, the whole neighborhood was designed in hopes of one day being able to host a big holiday festival like the one we see today. Read more about the Winterhaven neighborhood here. The festival is free to attend, however it's also a fundraiser for the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona — bring money and food donations and drop them off on your way in.

From Saturday Dec. Just be sure to wear some comfortable shoes — this is a park-and-walk-in kind of deal with the exception of Dec. Strollers are okay to bring into the event. Dogs are also allowed but they must be on a leash and owners should bring baggies just in case. Biking around Winterhaven is discouraged due to the large number of people walking during the festival. As would be done later at Winterhaven, residences in Shaker Heights had to meet a minimum construction cost and to blend with the overall neighborhood aesthetic.

Winterhaven appropriated a layout of curving streets and irregularly shaped lots that had been used previously in Tucson at the affluent Colonia Solana and El Encanto neighborhoods. However Winterhaven was to be unique in Tucson for the dominance and uniformity of its green landscape, which was dictated by Richards to recreate the Midwestern environment that he sought to emulate.

Winterhaven original plan also included such ultimately unrealized amenities as a community clubhouse, playground, and pool; although it is unclear where these amenities were to be located. The plan also included un-built commercial space along Ft. Lowell in the area presently occupied by Site Richards himself named all of the neighborhood's streets except the one that bore his own name, Richards Row, which was likely named by Tony Blanton.

Ultimately residences were constructed in Winterhaven, due to several homes that occupied more that one lot. William O. Winterhaven was advertised to include lots that were on average 70 to 80 feet across and to feet deep.

The neighborhood was also marketed on the basis of its million dollar "distinctive improvements" that included the paved streets, curbs, street lights, water hydrants, parkway landscaping and the right of the residents to operate their own waterworks "Subdivision to Open Sunday for Inspection," Other points advertised during the sale of Winterhaven's lots were its access to good schools and adequate bus service.

Winterhaven's first homes were completed in , initiating eight years of consistent home construction. By , all but seven of Winterhaven's residences had been built. Four residences were built in the remaining years of the s, two in the s and the final construction being an apartment complex along Fort Lowell in Winterhaven's last single family residence was constructed in The majority of this construction was on scattered lots throughout the neighborhood, the exception being two adjoining residences on Treat Circle built in Most of the single family residences constructed after were built consistent with the ranch style typology, though the building forms, materials and details distinguish these homes from the earlier development representing the period of significance.

Winterhaven homes have lush green lawns in the front and many mature trees boarding the streets. This is principally due to the fact that Winterhaven has its own private water system. One of the great traditions of the Winterhaven community is its annual festival of lights.

The Winterhaven festival of lights was initiated in by Mr. CB Richards, the developer of Winterhaven and its water company.

We will do our best to make it the best Festival ever. Winterhaven Festival Chair, John Lansdale. Copyright Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved.