The Miracle Mile Historic District, located on North Stone Avenue, Drachman Street, Oracle Road and Miracle Mile in Tucson, Arizona, United States, was listed as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017.

History

Located north of downtown Tucson, the Miracle Mile Historic District is a significant commercial corridor connected to the development and alignment of Tucson's northern segment of

U.S. Route 80 U.S. Route 80 or U.S. Highway 80 (US 80) is a major east–west United States Numbered Highway in the Southern United States, much of which was once part of the early auto trail known as the Dixie Overland Highway. As the "0" in the rou ...

, U.S. Route 89, and

Arizona State Route 84 State Route 84, also known as SR 84, is a east–west highway in south-central Arizona, with its western terminus at Exit 151 of Interstate 8 and its eastern signed terminus at its junction with State Route 387 and State Route 287 in Casa ...

.https://www.tucsonaz.gov/files/preservation/Oracle_Area_Context_Study.pdf Throughout the mid-twentieth century, this commercial strip, known as “Miracle Mile,” functioned as the northern vehicular gateway of Tucson for travelers traversing the nation. The Miracle Mile Historic District follows the alignment of the following extant arterials: Stone Avenue, Drachman Street, Oracle Road, and Miracle Mile. Also included in the district and associated with the highway site is a two block segment of Main Avenue lined with trucking transfer warehouses and roadside commercial buildings, as well as four blocks of Flores Street containing a cluster of small motels. The bulk of the contributing resources, facing or within one block of the historic highway alignment, relate to mid‑century auto culture and were constructed in 1920 through 1963 during the district's period of significance. While the district has been rendered discontiguous by development, the identified segments have sufficient significance and integrity to meet National Register criteria.https://maps2.tucsonaz.gov/preservation/NOMFORM/MiracleMileNRHPFinal.pdf Two designated highways are routed down the Miracle Mile Historic District. The Stone Avenue, Drachman Street and Oracle Road segments of the Historic District are part of Historic U.S. Route 80, while the West Miracle Mile segment is part of

Arizona State Route 77 State Route 77 (or SR 77) is a state highway in Arizona that traverses much of the state's length, stretching from its northern terminus at the boundary of the Navajo Nation north of Holbrook to its junction with I-10 in Tucson. Route descriptio ...

. The Miracle Mile Historic District represents four visually and historically linked groups of buildings connected by the alignment of historical U.S. Route 80/89, which is also a contributor to the district. In total, the Miracle Mile Historic District includes 102 individual properties, many with multiple buildings, structures, and objects. Within the Miracle Mile Historic District are 279 individual resources, including 215 buildings, 1 site, 34 structures, and 29 objects. Of these resources, 258 are contributors to the district, including 198 buildings, 31 structures, 28 objects, and 1 site, while 21 are non-contributors, including 17 buildings, 3 structures, and 1 object. The district includes important buildings including the 1953

Tucson Inn The Tucson Inn is a motel located in Tucson, Arizona, in an area now known as the Miracle Mile Historic District. The motel was built in 1953 in the Googie architecture and Modernist style, and is an example of historic 1950s Mid-century mode ...

, and African American Beau Brummel Club.

Important buildings

* AAA Branch Office, 234 West Drachman Street, 1960 * De Luxe Motel, 1650 North Oracle Road, 1948 * Duke's Drive Inn & Beau Brummel Club, 1148 North Main Avenue, 1947 * El Rancho Motor Hotel, 225 West Drachman Street, 1948 * Frontier Motel, 227 West Drachman Street, 1941/48 architect: George J. Wolf * Flamingo Hotel, 1300 North Stone Avenue, 1954 * G. D. F. Frazier Service Station, 648 North Stone Avenue, 1937 * Ghost Ranch Lodge, 801 West Miracle Mile, 1941 * Golden Pin Lanes, 922 West Miracle Mile, 1950 * Hacienda Motel, 1704 North Oracle Road, c.1940 * Highland Tower Motel, 1919 North Oracle Road, 1941 * Oracle Court, 2649 North Oracle Road, 1940 * Pago Pago Restaurant & Lounge, 2201 North Oracle Road, c, 1945 * Riviera Motor Lodge, 515 West Miracle Mile, 1953 * Monterey Court, 505 West Miracle Mile, 1952 * Motel El Corral, 2725 North Oracle Road, 1949 * La Siesta Motel, 1602 North Oracle Road, 1941 * Sun Land Motel, 465 West Miracle Mile, 1952 * Thunderbird Lodge, 1941, architect: George J. Wolf * Terrace Mote, 631 West Miracle Mile, 1949 * Tidelands Motor Inn (Sahara Motel), 919 North Stone Avenue, 1960 * Tucson House, 1501 North Oracle Road, 1963 *

, 143 West Drachman Street, 1953 * Wash Well, 2 West Drachman Street, 1955 * Wayward Winds Motel, 707 West Miracle Mile, 1958

References

{{Reflist Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Arizona Geography of Tucson, Arizona National Register of Historic Places in Tucson, Arizona Buildings and structures in Pima County, Arizona Historic district contributing properties in Arizona National Register of Historic Places in Pima County, Arizona U.S. Route 80 U.S. Route 89

History

Important buildings

See also

References