Photo by Jamie Manser
Nostalgia for the glorious heydays of Route 66 and cross-country road trips is as American as apple pie and the automobile.
Dar Dobrosalvic made it clear, however, that Monterey Court is, “nostalgia moving forward. We can honor the past, but we can’t live in the past.”
Last August, Dobrosalvic and I sweated under the summer sun and walked amid the construction and dust as she described the layout with excitement and sweeping arm gestures. I wondered where the beds were in the previous motor court’s casitas, but Dobrosalvic wouldn’t indulge me. She did concede with,
“Well, if these walls could talk… It was difficult finding information on this place. At one point, there were 17 different owners in a short period of time.”
Dobrosalvic, the marketing, events and music coordinator, worked with property owner Greg Haver on the vision for the once dilapidated 80-something-year-old motel at 505 W. Miracle Mile.
She describes it as: “Distinct, renovated 1930s studio galleries and retail spaces clustered around a shady court yard, Tucson’s newest outdoor stage with up to 200 seats, a daily open air market for up to 20 vendors completely under shade, sustenance at the Monterey Cafe with an eclectic progressive menu and a community meeting room for the gallery owners to teach out of as well as the general public to teach or meet in.… a mix of art, food and music. Just off Oracle Road or I-10 on what is the only official part of historic Miracle Mile left.”
When asked what the impetus was to buy and remodel the motel, owner Greg Haver said he doesn’t seem to have enough time to enjoy Tucson events, so he “decided to create a space where it’s all encompassing and I get to restore a piece of Tucson and move it beyond its checkered past.”
Monterey Court is a shiny gem amid the Miracle Mile corridor; its transformation over the last year is pretty incredible. The venue launch this month will surely kick things into gear.
The weekend of January 28-29, Monterey Court hosts “Mercury Portal,” described in the press release as “an interactive art and music extravaganza inspired by: atomic-auto adventurism and kitsch, western motif rocketing into the nuclear space-age, and a millennium of mid-centuries. The festival celebration will feature contemporary performance and installation art, live music and DJs, variety and characters, and is made of Tucson’s fantastic creative community with guest performers from NYC, Mexico City and beyond.”
Sounds cool, doesn’t it?
If you enjoyed Parasol Project’s Atomic #10 event at the Flamingo Motel back in June 2009, this is the follow-up to that off-the-hook party.
Morrighan Clinco, a founding member of Parasol Project and Mercury Portal’s Artistic Director, said she had been looking for a viable space to do such a follow-up.
“I heard about the renovation of the Monterey Court into galleries, retail and a café/bar, and event space and proposed to hold a boutique festival to celebrate the 1930s motor court revival into a space of artistry and music.
“Parasol Project has taken on the creative design of this show and is bringing in a fantastic line-up of local bands, artists and performers for both days, Saturday and Sunday, and Saturday night entertainment.”
Saturday’s headliners include Mexico City’s Camilo Lara from Mexican Institute of Sound and New York City’s Jim Allen, a musician/entertainer described by The Village Voice as “the merry music maker of Greenwich Village.” (pictured below)
Other featured artists were not available as of press time, but will be posted at MontereyCourtAZ.com. Events run 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, with a $6 cover; Saturday’s blow-out costs $16 and starts at 5 p.m. Questions? Call 582-0514 or email atomic10tucson@yahoo.com.
