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The Turquoise Trail Comes of Age
by Gayle Hartmann
This year, 2026, the Turquoise Trail (originally called the Presidio Trail) turns 20 years old. How did the Turquoise Trail come to be? In part, it began when City of Tucson employee Randy Emerson introduced me to my future friend and fellow Tucson Presidio Trust Board Member, attorney Marjorie Cunningham. In the spring of 2005, she came to me with an idea after a recent trip to Boston. She had walked the brick path that is called the Freedom Trail, which highlights Boston’s Colonial history. She had the idea that a similar trail could be created in downtown Tucson to highlight our unique, multicultural past.
With the help of Tucson Presidio Trust volunteers, especially Sybil Needham, we finalized a route through downtown and wrote text for a brochure. The result was a loop trail about 2½ miles in length that highlights historic structures and locations. We wanted the trail to be very user-friendly, so we identified about twenty local restaurants on or near the trail. We then located a superb local artist, Wolf Forrest, who drew a unique rendering of downtown Tucson as a map, and we hired graphic artist Lori Lieber, who designed the brochure.
Funding…always a challenge. We started by just asking our friends and collected about a dozen generous donations to get the project started (thanks, Tucson friends!) In fact, for the first printing, the only public money we received was from what was then the Metropolitan Tucson Convention and Visitors’ Bureau (MTCVB, now called Visit Tucson). Even today, the printing of maps every few years is funded mostly by Presidio Museum donors with some support from Visit Tucson.
Then we went to Tucson Mayor Robert Walkup and the Tucson City Council to present the idea of a painted line on downtown sidewalks. We received unanimous support, and the Mayor and Council authorized the Tucson Department of Transportation to paint the line. Completely by happenstance, the available paint that they had was blue. Thus, although the original name was the Presidio Trail (because the trail started and ended at the site of the about-to-be constructed Presidio Museum), the Arizona Daily Star started to refer to it as the Turquoise Trail, and the name stuck.
Highlights along the trail are the Mormon Battalion and Soldado de Cuera statues in Presidio Park, signs that point to Tumamoc Hill and “A” Mountain, Carrillo Gardens, Armory Park, where soldiers camped during and after the Civil War, and the Hotel Congress.
At age 20, the Turquoise Trail is alive and well; over 200,000 brochures have been printed and distributed to visitors and locals. The maintenance and upkeep of the trail have been stewarded by Presidio Museum staff, including our recently retired Marketing Director, April Bourie, and now our staff historian and walking tour guide, Mauro Trejo, along with walking tour guide Dorothy Yanez.
Although there have always been guided walks downtown, we like to think that the Turquoise Trail is the “mother” of them all, including the many popular walks currently offered through the museum. It is our hope that the Turquoise Trail and its several offspring will live long into the future, sharing information and celebrating our unique heritage.
Click here to learn more about the Presidio Museum’s walking tours.
A Side Story
Tucson tourism has changed a lot in twenty years, in our opinion, for the better. We like
to share the story of our pitch to the Metropolitan Tucson Convention and Visitors Bureau (MTCVB). After securing an appointment with the CEO and COO, Margie and I presented the Presidio Trail map and asked for their support. They seemed to perceive us as two “kooky” ladies and politely declined saying, “Well, Tucson tourism is about sun, golf, and resorts. Who would want to do this?”
Thankfully Felipe Garcia, a staffer at the Bureau who had a tiny budget for “Mexico trade”, took on the project and contributed a portion of the printing cost to help it launch. We owe a big thanks to Felipe, who even 20 years ago, saw the potential of the project to promote cultural tourism here in Tucson. Others saw it too, and today, Felipe is CEO of Visit Tucson (formerly MTCVB).
Another Side Story
While the Presidio Museum staff have stewarded the upkeep of the Turquoise Trail, the truth is that the many walking tours now offered through the Presidio Museum were partly a Covid accident. During Covid, everyone wanted to get out and do outdoor activities. Outdoor walks including guided Turquoise Trail walks became very popular and we quickly realized there was so much
more to add.
In partnership with talented local tour guides Mauro Trejo, Dorothy Yanez and
Alan Kruse, the museum offers many guided tours including of Barrio Viejo, Main
Avenue, Downtown Murals, Fort Lowell Historic Sites and many more. Click here to learn about them all!
About the Author and her Project Partner
Gayle Hartmann was a long-serving Trustee of the Board of the Tucson Presidio Trust (TPT) and served as its fourth President; she is still a museum member. Her daughter, Amy, is the Executive Director of TPT (the Presidio useum and Fort Lowell Museum), following her mother’s path.
Gayle’s partner on the Turquoise Trail project, Margie Cunningham, was also a long-serving Trustee of the Board of the Tucson Presidio Trust and served as its fifth President, she is also still a museum member. Her son, Paul, continues the family tradition of community activism, currently serving on
the Tucson City Council.