Graffiti at special park saddens many
Neighbors fought to acquire site of Hohokam village
By Patty Machelor
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 03.02.2007
advertisementWhen Sandy Glockner drove by her neighborhood park last weekend, she was disheartened by what she saw there: Graffiti everywhere, including huge red and blue marks along the pillars of the park's new ramada.
The four-acre Vista Del Rio Cultural Resource Park, 7575 E. Desert Arbors St., isn't an ordinary community park.
In addition to being a restful spot for the residents of the area's 225 or so homes, it also preserves what is left of a large, prehistoric Hohokam village inhabited between A.D. 950 and 1150.
Glockner and many of her neighbors have been involved in turning the once empty lot into a cultural park. They are looking forward to a related educational and cultural event planned for March 10, and don't want to see a repeat of the vandalism.
"There's a long history that goes back to our neighborhood, a real sense of stewardship, of trying to protect and preserve the site,'' she said. "I'm guessing this has to be the third or fourth time in the last few months we've been hit. They tagged just about every surface."
She said it makes her sick to think someone could "show up the night before and do this.''
Still-buried archaeological features of the park include 15 pit houses, 12 pits, and two thermal spots indicating cooking or heating areas.
The Hohokam, a name given by archaeologists to people living in the Phoenix and Tucson regions from A.D. 650 to 1450, lived in semi-subterranean homes referred to as pit houses, according to an informational sign at the park. The park also contains the remains of at least four cremations.
"This is very concerning because this is an ancient Hohokam burial ground and is considered sacred," said Tucson Vice-Mayor Carol West, whose ward includes the park.
The latest vandalism appears to have been done by a different group than previous hits, said Midge Irwin, an East District superintendent with the city's Parks and Recreation Department
"This was really extensive by comparison, and very destructive,'' she said.
Options for the neighborhood include increased patrols, motion detection lights and increased vigilance, West said.
West said if young people are doing this, she has some art projects in her ward that need to be completed.
The land where the park now sits was previously owned by the Tucson Unified School District.
The Vista del Rio community mobilized in the 1990s, when residents discovered that TUSD intended to sell the property to developers after realizing the lot was too small to build a school on.
Community members — some of whom have found artifacts in their yards — signed petitions and began working with the Tohono O'odham Nation to save the land.
After surveying the land, TUSD sold some of it but held off on the archaeologically sensitive four acres, which it donated to the city.
The park includes a ramada, concrete and asphalt paths, landscaping, a drinking fountain and masonry seating.
City bond money, a federal grant, Back to Basics money and donations from the public and private sectors paid for the $217,600 project.
The neighborhood also received a $65,000 grant from the Tohono O'odham Nation for taking care of the park and hosting events such as the one scheduled for March 10.
Pat Wiedhopf, president of the Vista del Rio Residents' Association, said the graffiti from last weekend is among the worst she's seen since she moved into the neighborhood in 1980.
"It just broke my heart,'' she said.
Last year, there were a few small attacks, she said, but nothing like what has been happening lately.
"We don't know who is doing it, we don't know what age (the perpetrators) are,'' said Wiedhopf. "It's just a commentary on how disrespectful people are of something that's there for everyone to enjoy.''
east side