Conservation Lands & Resources wins 2 Governor’s Heritage Preservation Honor Awards

Pima County’s Conservation Lands & Resources Department isn’t even a year old but is already being recognized for award-winning work.

The department, officially formed on July 1, 2024, was awarded two Governor’s Heritage Preservation Honor Awards by the Arizona Preservation Foundation and Arizona State Historic Preservation Office for its work on the Teatro Carmen & Black Elks Façade Restoration and the Juan Santa Cruz Picnic Area Rehabilitation Project. 

“These projects reflect Pima County’s deep commitment to preserving the stories and places that define our shared history,” said Ian Milliken, the Historic Preservation Officer for Conservation Lands & Resources. “It’s especially meaningful to see both rural and urban preservation efforts recognized together.” 

The façade restoration of the Teatro Carmen, built in 1915, and the Black Elks Lodge, built in 1947, has been essential in returning Tucson’s Barrio Libre Historic District to its original state for the neighborhood and visitors to enjoy. Known locally as Barrio Viejo, the district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. The façade restoration is just the first phase of a multiyear, multimillion-dollar project to make Tucson’s oldest performing arts venue useable once again.

“From the rich, multicultural legacy of the Teatro Carmen & Black Elks Lodge to the Civilian Conservation Core-era stonework of the Juan Santa Cruz Picnic Area, these restorations reconnect us to the past while revitalizing spaces for future generations,” said Milliken. 

The Juan Santa Cruz Picnic Area was one of eight picnic areas constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) from 1933 to 1941. A signature design element of CCC-era projects — the use of local, rustic materials — can be seen at the picnic area in the use of saguaro ribs.  

The location, long in need of rehabilitation, was nominated to the National Register of Historic Places in 2018 as part of the listing for the Tucson Mountain Park Historic District, the first step in planning for the rehabilitation of the site, and was named to that register in 2021. Completed in 2024, the rehabilitation of the site included restoration of the CCC-built shelter house and ramada, repair of all picnic tables, fireplaces, and other standalone CCC-built features. 

“These projects illustrate the County’s leadership in innovation, stewardship, and inclusive storytelling through preservation,” Milliken said. “These honors celebrate not just restored structures, but the many hands — public, private, and nonprofit — that came together to bring new life to some of Pima County’s most treasured historic landmarks.”