The story
Nick C. Hall, "founder" and "mayor" of Old Tucson
According to historian David Leighton, of the Arizona Daily Star, the person most responsible for the creation of Old Tucson was Nick Hall.
Nick C. Hall, a native of Missouri, arrived in downtown Tucson in late 1934 to manage the Santa Rita Hotel. He soon recognized the potential his new hometown had to offer the movie producers of Hollywood, particularly in the Western genre. He wanted to not only fill guest rooms in his hotel but bring work to the unemployed during the Great Depression.
By 1936, if not earlier, Hall was taking trips to Hollywood in order to entice film companies to make their movies in the Old Pueblo. He convinced production firms like Pickford-Lasky to shoot The Gay Desperado and M-G-M Pictures to film Let Freedom Ring (film) in town.
His biggest contribution to the Tucson film industry, however, was connected with the film Arizona (1940 film) starring Jean Arthur, based on the novel of the same name by Clarence Budington Kelland about pioneer Phoebe Titus in Tucson during the U.S. Civil War.
In early 1939, Wesley Ruggles, the director of the film and Claude Binyon, the script writer, both of Columbia Pictures, came to Tucson to do historical research for the upcoming filming and stayed at his hotel. This was likely when Hall first learned about the future filming of the movie, Arizona, then planned to be made in California, and likely when he first suggested filming the movie about Tucson should be done in Tucson.
After this, Hall worked behind the scenes to carry out his plan to ensure the film was shot in town, which included trips to Hollywood to meet with executives of Columbia Pictures. By July 1939, his work had paid off and it was announced that the filming would take place in Tucson and the local newspapers gave full credit to Hall for being responsible for this change in venue.
Hall would assist the production in many ways, from taking care of the cast and crew of the film at his hotel, to chaperoning Columbia crew members to and from the hotel to the future Old Tucson site as it was constructed as a replica of what Tucson looked like in the 1860s, and even acting as public relations person in dealing with the news media.
In August 1939, the cast of the film “elected” Hall the mayor of Old Tucson, half in jest and half in seriousness because he had been responsible for bringing the filming of the movie Arizona (1940 film) to Tucson, which resulted in the construction of the Old Tucson movie set and in appreciation for taking care of the needs of the cast and crew. A couple months later, Arizona Gov. Robert Taylor Jones proclaimed Hall the honorary mayor of Old Tucson, which at this point was an adobe ghost town since the start of World War II, had delayed the start of filming.
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After several months, in April 1940, the cast and crew returned to the Santa Rita Hotel and essentially took it over, setting up production, timekeeping and business offices, along with camera dark rooms, cutting rooms and even a projection theater.
The same month, at the official dedication of the Old Tucson movie set, Hall as mayor of Old Tucson presented the key to the city to Ruggles. A month later, acting in the same role he presided over the opening of the real but temporary Old Tucson Post Office.
After several months of filming it was completed and on November 15, 1940, the world premiere of the movie Arizona occurred in Tucson at four movie houses — Rialto Theatre, State Theatre, Fox Theatre and the Lyric Theatre.
Nick C. Hall, still to today is considered the honorary mayor of Old Tucson. Mr. Hall will be honored by Old Tucson with the naming of the Nick C. Hall Ramada, an idea originally conceived by historian David Leighton.
Early history
Old Tucson was originally built in 1939 by Columbia Pictures on a Pima County-owned site as a replica of 1860s’ era Tucson for the movie Arizona (1940), starring William Holden and Jean Arthur. Workers built more than 50 buildings in 40 days. Many of those structures are still standing.
After Arizona completed filming, the location lay dormant for several years, until the filming of The Bells of St. Mary's (1945), starring Bing Crosby and Ingrid Bergman. Other early movies filmed on this set included The Last Round-Up (1947) with Gene Autry and Winchester '73 (1950) with James Stewart and The Last Outpost (1951) with Ronald Reagan. The 1950s saw the filming of Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957), The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold (1958), Cimarron (1960), Last Train from Gun Hill (1959), and Rio Bravo (1959) among others.
Recent history
In 2011, Old Tucson embarked on a project to build new movie-quality sets that fill out the park, and restore the pre-fire feel of close-together buildings, providing the look and depth of a genuine old west town circa 1865–1900. “After the rebuild of Old Tucson following the 1995 fire, the town just didn’t have the same look and feel,” says Old Tucson CEO and General Manager Pete Mangelsdorf. “We started discussions with Bob Shelton several years ago to develop a plan to fill the empty space in Town Square with movie-quality sets that bring the magic back.”
The Heritage Square Project, a 5,000-square-foot spread with three new streets lined with 12 new buildings, was completed in November 2011 at an estimated cost of $300,000. The design and construction of the new sets was led by Production Designer Gene Rudolf, credited with creating sets for movies including Young Guns II (1990), The Great Gatsby (1974), The Right Stuff (1983), Raging Bull (1980), Marathon Man (1976), and Three Days of the Condor (1975). The project added dressmaker shops, a general store and a blacksmith, and are part of "living history" presentations. One of the goals of the Heritage Project was to add "more programs that have to do with the different cultural aspects, the Hispanic culture, the Chinese culture, the Native American culture," said Mangelsdorf. Along those lines, another new exhibit now open to the public features a Tohono Oʼodham village as it would have appeared in the 1860s. It includes traditional houses, a garden and other facets of village life.
On Tuesday, September 8, 2020, Old Tucson, the Western-themed attraction that was the filming location of more than 400 feature-films and television shows, closed indefinitely, with its future to be determined by Pima County.
The decision to close the Arizona landmark "was made with a heavy heart," according to Old Tucson general manager Terry Verhage, who said in a news release that the theme park would have remained in business "if not for the COVID-19 pandemic."
“We know how important Old Tucson is to our community, guests and employees,” he said. “We did everything possible to keep our loyal fans safe when we were open, but the ongoing COVID-19 public health protocols and restrictions limited park attendance to the point where Old Tucson could no longer stay in business.”
Pima County took over responsibility for the theme park on September 14, 2020, and "will seek ideas from potential operators and lessors about what Old Tucson could be in the future," the news release said.
On August 24, 2021, the steam locomotive Reno was acquired by the revived Virginia and Truckee Railroad and was trucked off the property. It arrived in Virginia City, Nevada, for the first time since 1938, two days later.
While closed, Pima County Administrator said the county has invested over $1 million on upgrading the site and repairing neglected items to prepare the facility for a new operator.
On April 5, 2022, Pima County selected American Heritage Railways (AHR) as the new operators of Old Tucson, a.k.a. Old Tucson Studios. It would be operated as Old Tucson Entertainment, LLC. The famous sister-site, Mescal Movie Set, was not part of the deal and will not be operated by the new AHR operators.
This historic movie location and theme park reopened on October 6, 2022, with the popular "Nightfall at Old Tucson" event followed by a new Christmas-themed event called "Yuletide at Old Tucson" on November 25, 2022. John Harper serves as vice president and Chief Operating Officer of American Heritage Railways and will oversee the property's Executive Team, General Managers, and key employees. John has over 10 years in the historic preservation industry as well. They plan to utilize the facility not only as a theme-park but also reinstate its history as a filming location with the addition of sets, backdrops, sound stage, and pre- and post-production facilities in 2023.
In July 2022, the Arizona state legislature passed the Arizona Film Tax Incentive bill which would encourage productions to return to facilities like Old Tucson. The passage of this bill is likely to increase film production at Old Tucson. In September 2022, they began fielding offers for film and TV series and had two films shoot on location in 2023.
In June 2026, American Heritage Railways (AHR) opted not to renew their lease. Pima County states the remaining scheduled events will continue through the end of 2026 with AHR officially ending their lease by April 2027. Pima County has begun the process of finding another operator for this historic movie location.
From Wikipedia’s article on Old Tucson Studios, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4