Rollings, Donald

This interview is part 1 of 3 and was recorded at Donald Rollings’ office in Tucson, Arizona on March 15th, 2018. The interview covers the following themes:

b. 1952

  • Family background, extending to grandparents in 1920s Tucson. History in the auto business.

  • Father Kelley Rollings’ interest in buying and preserving parts of Barrio Viejo.

  • Urban Renewal and the Butterfield Parkway.

  • Father’s sale of his car dealership and transition entirely to real estate and art in 1980.

  • Donald’s childhood. The El Conquistador Hotel and development of El Con Mall. Tennis and the Tucson Raquet Club. Exploring by bicycle in the early 1960s. Etiquette and dancing school. Attending Mansfeld Junior High. Mental map of a young teenager living in midtown Tucson. Old Pueblo Club. Fox Theater.

  • Attending Philips Academy in Andover, MA. Interest in Spanish language and literature. College at Princeton and return to Tucson in 1975.

  • Brief description of Tucson Festival Society and related activities; Pioneer days, Fiesta de la Placita, Writing Festival, Silver and Turquoise Ball. Failure of Tucson Trade Bureau and Festival Society.

This interview is part 2 of 3 and was recorded at Donald Rollings’ office in Tucson, Arizona on March 20th, 2018. The interview covers the following themes:

  • Festival Society, continued: activities and decline.

  • The role of cultural, historic, and architectural preservation in cities.

  • Kelley Rollings’ activity while Donald was living on the east coast. The process of urban renewal and the destruction of La Reforma. Platting of Rancho Sin Vacas in the Catalina Foothills. Purchasing properties in Barrio Viejo. Family’s sensibility of buying, developing, restoring, and renting.

  • The Cushing Street Bar and planned Butterfield Parkway. Change in Barrio Viejo and historic designations. City investment--and lack of investment--in Barrio Viejo area.

  • Being a Caucasian landlord in a non-Caucasian neighborhood in the wake of Urban Renewal.

This interview is part 3 of 3 and was recorded at Donald Rollings’ office in Tucson, Arizona on March 29th, 2018. The interview covers the following themes:

  • The Tucson Trade Bureau in the 1970s and decline of downtown Tucson.

  • Downtown Tucson in the 1980s and 1990s, revitalization efforts, Rio Nuevo. City attempts at revitalization and Donald Rollings’ involvement in civic activities.

  • Renewed vitality in downtown Tucson in the 2010s. Student housing. Contemporary downtown Tucson as residential community and food deserts.

  • Changes in thinking about historic preservation from the 1970s to late 2010s. Infill development and historical preservation concerns. Demolition.

  • Involvement in the Rotary Club of Tucson in 1979. Demographics of Rotary members in the 1980s. President in 1987 and admission of women into a historically male civic organization. Activities of Rotary Club. Declining enrollment of civic groups

  • Increasing costs and barriers to entry for potential homeowners interested in living in Barrio Viejo.

Aengus Anderson