El Paso & Southwestern Depot and Park

When the El Paso and Southwestern Railroad, a Phelps Dodge copper line, reached Tucson in 1912, it announced itself with a handsome depot: a classical building with a rotunda under a stained-glass dome, opened in 1913. Between the passenger and freight depots the Douglas family laid out a park planted with rare trees. It was a statement that Tucson had two railroads, not one. In 1924 the Southern Pacific absorbed the line, but the depot and its greenery still mark the southern edge of downtown.

What the plaque says

The El Paso and Southwestern Railroad, originally owned by the Phelps Dodge Company, was extended from El Paso into Tucson in the fall of 1912. The handsome depot of classical design, featuring a large rotunda with a stained glass dome, was completed in December, 1913. A park commissioned by Mr. and Mrs. Walter Douglas separated the passengers and freight depots. Landscaped by Cammillo Fenzi, it featured many rare and unusual trees and shrubs. In 1924 the E.P. and S.W. Railroad became part of the Southern Pacific System.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Tucson — 0.3 mi
  The Old Pueblo — four thousand years of farming under the sky islands
• Mission San Xavier del Bac — 8.0 mi
  The White Dove of the Desert — the finest Spanish Baroque church in the country
• Saguaro National Park — 21 mi
  The giant cactus, and the O'odham who count it as kin

More markers nearby

• Arizona's First Public School — steps away
• Edward Nye Fish House — 0.2 mi
• The First Presbyterian Church in Tucson — 0.3 mi
• Commemorating the Raising of the First American Flag within the Walled City of Tucson — 0.3 mi