Tucson Origins Heritage Park and Mission Garden

The Mission Garden is a re-creation of the Spanish Colonial walled garden that was part of the Tucson historic San Agustin Mission

The City of Tucson and Pima County collaborated to set aside the historic walled Mission Gardens and the San Agustin Mission sites founded in the early 1770s. The purpose was to create a new Tucson Origins Heritage Park, a 25-acre cultural campus and community park.  Joy Lyndes and her team led the research, programming and design of the Heritage Park which included the Mission Garden.

The budget was reduced and the Heritage Park was removed from the City Capital Improvement Program. However, the residents and advocates for the Mission Garden continued the garden construction, programming and operations under a nonprofit called Friends of Tucson’s Birthplace.

We designed rainwater harvesting, recreation of the acequia channel design for irrigation, fruit trees, agricultural crops, ramadas and raised beds.

The Mission Garden is a re-creation of the Spanish Colonial walled garden that was part of the Tucson historic San Agustin Mission. It grows heirloom Sonoran Desert-adapted fruit orchards and vegetable gardens, interpreting 4,000 years of agriculture in Tucson. The garden is influenced by the Early Agricultural period and continues through the Hohokam, Pre-contact, Post-contact O’odham, Spanish, Mexican, Territorial and Statehood Chinese, Yaqui, Anglo- and Afro-American farming.

The Mission Garden is an extraordinary educational and tourism destination, and is an UNESCO World City of Gastronomy and contributes to the city’s economic development.

Location
Tucson AZ

Owner
Pima County and City of Tucson

Prime
BWS Architects; Friends of Tucson’s Birthplace

Total Cost
$1,000,000

Size
Four acres