Lauren Rabb , owner of The Gallery at 6th & 6th, chats with Michael Pollard about the works of Ralph Rosenborg on display at her gallery, the newest in the Warehouse District. It just opened last weekend.

Mamta Popat / Arizona Daily Star

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When artists and gallery owners look at Downtown Tucson's Warehouse District, the aged brick buildings transform into a thriving arts district gaining momentum.

Never mind the whistles from the train. That's part of the charm, say those who are relocating or opening new art galleries in renovated industrial buildings.

"When I first saw it (the Firestone Building), I knew this is where I wanted to be. I didn't consider anywhere else but Downtown," said Lauren Rabb, owner of The Gallery at 6th & 6th, 439 N. Sixth Ave., which opened last weekend. "There are a lot of artists working and living here. They get these rickety places to rent and transform them into incredible places."

Rabb's gallery is the latest to open inside the 71-year-old building at the southwest corner of North Sixth Avenue and East Sixth Street, where two other galleries, an arts studio and retail store, and a coffee shop are open.

Within the last three years, Platform Gallery, Fala Gallery, Santa Theresa Tile Works and the Flying Saucer Coffee Shop have moved into the building, part of an area designated as Tucson's arts district.

At its Tuesday luncheon, the Metropolitan Tucson Convention & Visitors Bureau invited David Aguirre, president of Dinnerware Contemporary Arts, to talk about the growing Warehouse District and arts community.

"There was lull in the mid-'90s, when nothing was happening. Now it's picking up," Aguirre said.

The Convention and Visitors Bureau is gearing up its efforts to send tourists to more galleries in the area.

"We're glad to see more partners moving Downtown," said Kimberly Schmitz, spokeswoman for the bureau. "Visitors want to see something unique and culturally stimulating. It's also very kitschy and cool."

As part of its efforts to promote cultural tourism, the visitors center is also working with the arts community to get the word out about the arts district, Aguirre said.

Over the last six years, about 10 new galleries have opened in the area, he said, including Dinnerware Contemporary Arts, which moved from its Fourth Avenue location in August to its new digs at 101 W. Sixth St.

Located inside the former warehouse for Steinfeld's department store, the gallery made the move to be closer to the Warehouse District arts community, said Sarah Hardesty, Dinnerware's executive director.

Tucson's Museum of Contemporary Art and a string of other galleries are within walking distance, she said.

"It feels like there is a lot of momentum, creatively," she said. "This place is growing. It's ready to open up."

At the Firestone Building, owners of the businesses said more people are starting to discover the Warehouse District.

"This corner is the best for an afternoon of art and fun," said Phoebe McDermott, owner of the Platform Gallery.

McDermott was among the first to move into the building two years ago.

"All the windows were covered with plastic, none of the walls were up" when they first moved, she said. "We had to use a lot of imagination to fix it up."

Said Rabb, of the Gallery at 6th & 6th: "It's a little bit of a hippie area. But it's fun and there is a lot of creativity around here."

Hopes remain high to develop the area as more visitors — including tourists— stop by to check out the galleries, said Susan Gamble, owner of Santa Theresa Tile Works, 440 N. Sixth Ave.

"With each new exhibit opening, we have an interesting crowd of young people and older people coming to the area," she said.

Gamble also owns the Flying Saucer, a coffee shop at the corner of Sixth and Sixth, where more customers are stopping by for their fix of java or sushi.

"As a small business, it's meeting the needs of the neighborhood. Growth depends on the area growing," she said.

"It will happen," she added, while knocking on a wooden table. "We are being discovered."