News
Ajo landmark school earns national HUD award
By Jim Lamb, Green Valley News
Ajo, Ariz., is a small community in Pima County’s northwest corner, a copper mining town that went boom and bust, but is still home to some enterprising people.
They and others have helped Ajo’s Curley School receive the U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 2008 award for excellence in historic preservation.
A news release said the Architecture Company of Tucson “created the design that transformed the aging school into a modern, thriving environment.”
The school has been converted to 30 affordable live-work spaces for artists and artistans, plus some classrooms, offices, a computer lab and an indoor-outdoor auditorium that’s a popular place for community events.
Ajo was developed by Phelps Dodge in the early 1900s as it operated a successful copper mine.
Phelps Dodge built many of the town’s buildings, including the Curley School, an anchor for downtown Ajo.
But as the copper reserves played out in the 1980, hard times befell the community.
Some buildings suffered or were left to ruin.
According to the news release, Ajo’s largest employer today is the U.S. Border Patrol, and the tax base is but a fraction of what it once was.
The International Sonoran Desert Alliance, ISDA, got together with the Architecture Company ot Tucson to see about renovating the old Curley School.
Richard Fe Tom, Architecture Company co-owner, said “The Curley School is a beautiful historic building, located in a downtown plaza that harkens back to a time when central districts were formal, grand and the hub of every day life.”
Tom added, “There is so much value to be gained from restoring beautiful buildings like the Curley School. It is the ultimate example of sustainable architecture.
“We were able to take the energy from the structure and the heritage — the memories, histories and past of the people of Ajo—and transform it into a new force that is going to help revitalize the community.”
Although somewhat out of the way, some tourists pass that way on trips to the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument or Mexican beaches at Puerto Penasco, Rocky Point.
The work in Ajo has gathered other recognitions, including some from the National Association for County, Community, and Economic Development, the Sonoran Institute and Gov. Janet Napolitano’s 2008 Grand Winner Governor’s Heritage Award.
Tom, co-owner of the Architecture Company, said “I hope other rural communities will see the Curley School as an example of how heritage preservation can positively impact economic development and community revitalization.
jlamb@gvnews.com | 547-9749
They and others have helped Ajo’s Curley School receive the U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 2008 award for excellence in historic preservation.
A news release said the Architecture Company of Tucson “created the design that transformed the aging school into a modern, thriving environment.”
The school has been converted to 30 affordable live-work spaces for artists and artistans, plus some classrooms, offices, a computer lab and an indoor-outdoor auditorium that’s a popular place for community events.
Ajo was developed by Phelps Dodge in the early 1900s as it operated a successful copper mine.
Phelps Dodge built many of the town’s buildings, including the Curley School, an anchor for downtown Ajo.
But as the copper reserves played out in the 1980, hard times befell the community.
Some buildings suffered or were left to ruin.
According to the news release, Ajo’s largest employer today is the U.S. Border Patrol, and the tax base is but a fraction of what it once was.
The International Sonoran Desert Alliance, ISDA, got together with the Architecture Company ot Tucson to see about renovating the old Curley School.
Richard Fe Tom, Architecture Company co-owner, said “The Curley School is a beautiful historic building, located in a downtown plaza that harkens back to a time when central districts were formal, grand and the hub of every day life.”
Tom added, “There is so much value to be gained from restoring beautiful buildings like the Curley School. It is the ultimate example of sustainable architecture.
“We were able to take the energy from the structure and the heritage — the memories, histories and past of the people of Ajo—and transform it into a new force that is going to help revitalize the community.”
Although somewhat out of the way, some tourists pass that way on trips to the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument or Mexican beaches at Puerto Penasco, Rocky Point.
The work in Ajo has gathered other recognitions, including some from the National Association for County, Community, and Economic Development, the Sonoran Institute and Gov. Janet Napolitano’s 2008 Grand Winner Governor’s Heritage Award.
Tom, co-owner of the Architecture Company, said “I hope other rural communities will see the Curley School as an example of how heritage preservation can positively impact economic development and community revitalization.
jlamb@gvnews.com | 547-9749
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