Sun, Nov 23, 2008
ART GRASBERGER / ARIZONA DAILY STAR 1973

Tucson Region

Tucson Time Capsule : Birth of the Braniff

Tucson, Arizona | Published: 08.08.2008
The new Community Center hotel had literally reached its peak, and it was time to pour the concrete for the roof. On Aug. 8, 1973, workers watched as the new Braniff International Hotel received that final topping. The hotel was on schedule for a Nov. 15 opening. Fourteen stories high, it would have 312 rooms and employ 200 people. The hotel, at West Congress Street and Main Avenue, was part of a major urban-renewal project in the Downtown area. Today it's called the Hotel Arizona. Read more about Tucson's past in Tales From the Morgue at go.azstarnet.com/morguetales. Today's entry is on how the road to Ajo suddenly became two miles longer.