DESCRIPTION: Neat pictorial map of Tucson, Arizona, filled with historical facts and illustrated with simple sketches related to the city's long and colorful history. Bernice Walkley Porter, a Vassar graduate, is credited with creating a map "About and Roundabout Tucson" in 1936 (1). Though untitled, the map here is apparently Porter's and was issued as an folded untitled insert in a guide book by the same name that was published by the Junior League of Tucson in 1936. Verso with a road map of the state of Arionna.
During the 1930s, Bernice Walkley and Rutger Porter operated Desert Gardens Nursery on the same property as their small adobe house in Tucson. Rutger's love for desert plants earned him the nickname "Kactus Kid". Together Bernice and Rutger expanded their home and created the garden surrounding it. Over the years, their garden evolved into a beautiful oasis of winding walks, adobe walls, fountains, and greenery that reflected the sturdier choices for the Tucson climate.
The Porters closed their Desert Gardens Nursery in 1958. However, Bernice had a dream of turning their beloved property into a public garden, and donated it to the City of Tucson in 1968. By the early 1970s, the Tucson Botanical Gardens and the Porter property became a reality, with the City passing a resolution to develop the property into a horticultural center, sanctuary for wild birds, and a center for education. The Porter's adobe house now serves as the Gift Shop for the Tucson Botanical Garden
Many of the original plants from the Porter estate, including citrus, roses, privet, and jasmine, are still preserved in the Historical Garden, which represents the oasis style typical of large Tucson gardens dating from the 1920s to the mid-1960s.
(1) Griffin, Dori. Mapping Wonderlands: Illustrated Cartography of Arizona, 1912–1962. United States, University of Arizona Press, 2013. p. 192.
PUBLICATION DATE: 1936
GEOGRAPHIC AREA: United States
BODY OF WATER: N/A
CONDITION: Good.
 On brown paper with a crisp finish. Some damage to the right side paper's edge where it was attached to a brochure, well away from the neatline.
COLORING: None.
ENGRAVER: 
SIZE: 21
" x
15 "
ITEM PHYSICAL LOCATION: 86
PRICE: $250
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