Old Tucson Studios facts for kids

A street view from the entrance of Old Tucson Studios

Old Tucson is a cool place in Tucson, Arizona, where movies are made and families can have fun! It's like stepping back in time to the Wild West. This famous spot is near the Tucson Mountains and Saguaro National Park. It was first built in 1939 for a movie called Arizona. Since then, many famous westerns and TV shows have been filmed here. Think of movies like Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957), Rio Bravo (1959), and the popular TV series Little House on the Prairie from the 1970s and 80s. Even the funny movie Three Amigos! (1986) and the classic Tombstone (1993) used Old Tucson as a backdrop.

Old Tucson opened to the public in 1960. Visitors can take tours to learn about the movies filmed there. They can also enjoy live shows with stunt performers, exciting shootouts, and fun can-can dances. It's still a popular place for Hollywood to film movies today!

Meet Nick C. Hall, Old Tucson's "Mayor"

A man named Nick C. Hall was super important in creating Old Tucson. He arrived in Tucson in 1934 and managed a hotel. Nick quickly saw that Tucson would be a perfect place for Hollywood to film Western movies. He wanted to help people find jobs during the Great Depression.

Nick often traveled to Hollywood to convince movie companies to film in Tucson. He helped bring movies like The Gay Desperado and Let Freedom Ring (film) to the area.

His biggest success was with the movie Arizona (1940 film). This film was about a pioneer woman named Phoebe Titus during the U.S. Civil War. In 1939, the director and writer for the movie stayed at Nick's hotel. Nick suggested they film the movie about Tucson right there in Tucson, instead of California.

Nick worked hard behind the scenes, even visiting Columbia Pictures executives in Hollywood. By July 1939, his efforts paid off! It was announced that Arizona would be filmed in Tucson. Local newspapers gave Nick all the credit for this big change.

Nick helped the movie crew in many ways. He took care of the actors and crew at his hotel. He also helped them travel to the Old Tucson site as it was being built. The set was made to look just like Tucson did in the 1860s.

In August 1939, the movie cast jokingly, but also seriously, "elected" Nick the mayor of Old Tucson. They were thankful for him bringing the movie to town and for taking care of everyone. A few months later, the Governor of Arizona even made Nick the honorary mayor of Old Tucson!

The movie Arizona finally premiered in Tucson on November 15, 1940. Nick C. Hall is still known as the honorary mayor of Old Tucson today. A special area called the Nick C. Hall Ramada was named in his honor.

How Old Tucson Began

Old Tucson was built in 1939 by Columbia Pictures. It was a copy of what Tucson looked like in the 1860s. Workers built over 50 buildings in just 40 days for the movie Arizona. Many of these original buildings are still standing!

After Arizona finished filming, the movie set was quiet for a few years. Then, other movies started using it, like The Bells of St. Mary's (1945) with Bing Crosby. In the 1950s, many more Westerns were filmed there. These included Winchester '73 (1950) and Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957).

Opening to the Public

The fictional Pima County Bank used in the daily bank robbery show

In 1959, a businessman named Robert Shelton leased the property. He started to fix up the old movie set. Old Tucson reopened in 1960 as both a film studio and a fun theme park. More buildings were added as new movies were filmed there. For example, when John Wayne filmed Rio Bravo (1959), a saloon, bank, and doctor's office were built. Later, for McLintock! (1963), the McLintock Hotel was added.

In 1968, a large soundstage was built. This made it easier to film movies indoors. The first film to use it was Young Billy Young (1968).

Old Tucson also started offering fun things for visitors to do. These included tours, rides, and exciting shows. The most popular shows were the staged gunfights performed by stunt actors in the streets. There's also a cool narrow gauge train ride that goes around most of the park.

Many TV shows used Old Tucson too. The ranch house from NBC's The High Chaparral (1967–1971) is still there. Little House on the Prairie and Kung Fu also filmed scenes here. The church set was used in the comedy movie Three Amigos in the 1980s. Later, the main street appeared in movies like Tombstone (1993).

The Big Fire

Old Tucson buildings in 1984, before the 1995 fire

On April 24, 1995, a big fire sadly destroyed a lot of Old Tucson Studios. Many buildings, movie costumes, and special items were lost. This included the clothes from Little House on the Prairie. A unique film about Old Tucson's history, with rare footage of stars like John Wayne, was also lost. The Reno, a old steam train on display, was badly damaged.

Strong winds made it hard for firefighters to stop the blaze. Many buildings were not required to have sprinklers because they were considered "temporary." Firefighters also had to deal with a large propane tank and black powder used for shows. The fire caused about $10 million in damage, and 25 buildings were destroyed. Luckily, no one was hurt.

After 20 months of rebuilding, Old Tucson reopened on January 2, 1997. The lost sets were not rebuilt exactly the same. Instead, new buildings were constructed, and the streets were made wider. The Reno train was fixed up for the movie Wild Wild West. After the fire, filming at Old Tucson slowed down. In 2003, Old Tucson changed its hours and focused on seasonal events. One popular event is "Nightfall" for Halloween, which runs through October.

Old Tucson Today

In 2011, Old Tucson started a project to build new movie-quality sets. The goal was to bring back the feeling of a real old west town from the 1860s to 1900. This "Heritage Square Project" added three new streets and 12 new buildings. These included dressmaker shops, a general store, and a blacksmith. The project also added more programs about different cultures, like Tohono O'odham Native American, Hispanic, and Chinese cultures. A new exhibit shows a Tohono O'odham village from the 1860s.

On September 8, 2020, Old Tucson closed for a while. This was because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The park said that health rules and limits on visitors made it hard to stay open. Pima County took over the park and looked for new people to run it. In August 2021, the famous Reno locomotive was moved to Virginia City, Nevada.

In April 2022, Pima County chose American Heritage Railways (AHR) to be the new operators of Old Tucson. The park reopened on October 6, 2022, with the popular "Nightfall at Old Tucson" event. A new Christmas event called "Yuletide at Old Tucson" also started in November 2022. The new operators plan to use Old Tucson not just as a theme park, but also as a place for filming movies again. They want to add new sets and sound stages.

In July 2022, Arizona passed a new law to encourage more movies to be filmed in the state. This law is helping Old Tucson bring back film productions. In 2023, two films were shot on location at Old Tucson.

Movies Filmed at Old Tucson

Many movies have been filmed at Old Tucson Studios. Here are some of them:

TV Shows Filmed at Old Tucson

Many TV shows and movies made for TV have also filmed at Old Tucson. Here are some of them:

See also

In Spanish: Old Tucson Studios para niños