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Old Tucson.

Old Tucson: Wild West Town Movie Set

Field review by the editors.

Tucson, Arizona

"Spend a day in the Old West." Old Tucson was built as a film set in 1939 to resemble an adobe town from 1860, specifically for the film Arizona. Depression-era workers made 350,000 mud blocks and 50 building in 40 days. The desert air preserved the fake town, making it a useful location for hundreds of subsequent movies, TV shows, and commercials (and eventually music videos). Old Tucson opened as a tourist attraction in 1960 (Its supposed 100th birthday). Even a massive fire on April 24, 1995, failed to kill the town, which was quickly rebuilt.

Today, Old Tucson has pretty much everything you'd want in a fake Wild West town that's still a working film set: gunfights, dance hall girls, trail rides, "living history" actors, an Olde Timey dress-up photo studio, a saloon, an Indian village, a haunted mine, a miniature train ride into the desert hijacked by robbers, and a tour of Old Tucson spots featured in its most memorable Hollywood productions. "John Wayne chased Maureen O'Hara right through this doorway."

Visitors are asked not to bring any pets or weapons with live ammunition.

Old Tucson: Wild West Town Movie Set

Old Tucson Studios

Address:
201 S. Kinney Rd, Tucson, AZ
Directions:
Old Tucson Studios. West of the city. I-10 exit for W. Speedway Blvd, which turns into W. Gates Pass Rd. Head west about nine miles. Jct of Gates Pass Rd and S. Kinney Rd.
Hours:
Tours daily. (Call to verify) Local health policies may affect hours and access.
Phone:
520-883-0100
Admission:
Tours $14 and up.
RA Rates:
Worth a Detour
Save to My Sights

Nearby Offbeat Places

Garden of GethsemaneGarden of Gethsemane, Tucson, AZ - 9 mi.
Wishing Shrine of El TiraditoWishing Shrine of El Tiradito, Tucson, AZ - 9 mi.
Pancho Villa, U.S. InvaderPancho Villa, U.S. Invader, Tucson, AZ - 9 mi.
In the region:
Ignite Sign Art Museum, Tucson, AZ - 11 mi.

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