Fort Lowell Park has the usual playgrounds, picnic sites and ball fields, but something more, too: a fascinating trove of history.
The centerpiece of the park, at North Craycroft Road and East Glenn Street, is an adobe building that housed the hospital at historic Fort Lowell, which served as an army post with cavalry and infantry units from 1879 to 1891.
Other sites featuring history include the Fort Lowell Museum, with free admission, and a huge statue honoring soldiers who served during the Apache Wars in the 1870s and 1880s.
Visiting those sites adds a sense of our area鈥檚 colorful past to other park attractions including a pond with ducks, turtles and tree-shaded benches.
THE POST HOSPITAL
The hospital site is enclosed with fencing to keep people from entering the unstable building remains. But it鈥檚 possible to get a good look from outside the fence.
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An information panel in front of the building provides these details:
鈥淭he Fort Lowell hospital had 13 rooms and accommodated 16 beds. The building was 60 feet wide and 120 feet long. The facility also contained an isolation ward, a surgeon鈥檚 office, a dispensary, storerooms, a wash room, morgue, and quarters for the enlisted men on the hospital staff.
鈥淔ireplaces heated the building in winter. In summer the long hallways encouraged breezes, and shutters, porches and cottonwood trees shaded it. By the 1880s, a tin roof reduced leaks; plaster and white paint adorned the walls; and wood floors replaced dirt. Behind the hospital, to the east, sat a 20-by-78-foot kitchen building.鈥
The Fort Lowell Museum.
FORT LOWELL MUSEUM
Located in a reproduction of the 1880s鈥 adobe officer quarters, the 蜜柚直播 Historical Society鈥檚 Fort Lowell Museum features exhibits chronicling army life during the Apache Wars.
It鈥檚 sited on the original parade grounds with original structures associated with the fort nearby.
The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays. Admission is free.
THE CHIEF TRUMPETER
A large statue 鈥 14 feet high and weighing 3,000 pounds 鈥 called 鈥淭he Chief Trumpeter鈥 was created by artist Dan Bates and cast in bronze by Desert Crucible Inc. of 蜜柚直播.
Erected at the park to honor soldiers who served during the Apache Wars, it depicts a trumpeter on horseback with a uniform and equipment as used in 1884.
A plaque at the base of the statue notes that contributors paid the entire cost, with no taxpayer money used in the project.
Archive photos of Fort Lowell Park:
Archive photos of Ft. Lowell Park in 蜜柚直播
Fort Lowell and Fort Lowell Park
The remains of the Fort Lowell Park hospital were partially covered from above on June 17, 1953 but the walls were exposed allowing people to scratch their names on the adobe walls. (Editor note: the markings along the skyline are from a damaged negative.)
Fort Lowell and Fort Lowell Park
Visitors crowd around the reproduction of the new commanding officer's quarters during a dedication of the Ft Lowell Historical Museum on Veteran's Day, November 11, 1963. Located on Cottonwood Lane (note the trees in the background) the territorial military outpost was once located in the downtown area but it was later moved. The once territorial Army post was made
Fort Lowell and Fort Lowell Park
A 1963 photo of Gilbert Ray, left, of the Pima County Parks and Recreation Dept. and J. R. Sims, president of the Woodmen of the World, at a plaque for Ft. Lowell, the calvary fort at Craycroft and Ft. Lowell roads in 蜜柚直播.
Fort Lowell and Fort Lowell Park
The officer's quarters at Fort Lowell Park went through renovation in March 1963 order to recreate authentic appearance of the structure during its heyday. Several cottowood trees were also planted to recreate Cottonwood Lane. Behind the quarters stands the former bakery.
Fort Lowell and Fort Lowell Park
People started filtering in on opening day for the brand-new Fort Lowell at North Craycroft Road on Saturday, August 12, 1967. The $123,000 facility was L-shaped which allowed for a diving area that measured 12-feet deep, 50-feet wide and 75 feet long. Off to the side was a wading pool, lounge and snack bar. Admission was 20-cents for children under 16 and 40-cents for adults.
Fort Lowell and Fort Lowell Park
The remains of the Ft. Lowell hospital. Photo looking northwest and taken in March 1937.
Fort Lowell and Fort Lowell Park
Boy Scouts at work on a barrack, at Ft. Lowell ca. 1947.
Fort Lowell and Fort Lowell Park
Colors Ceremony at pre-camporee training course at Ft. Lowell, October 1950
Fort Lowell and Fort Lowell Park
Trading Post and Health Lodge at Ft. Lowell. Ca. 1950.
Fort Lowell and Fort Lowell Park
Making Trails at Camp Fort Lowell in April, 1949 (Buddy Street) on the bulldozer.
Fort Lowell and Fort Lowell Park
The remains of the Fort Lowell Park hospital were partially covered from above on June 17, 1953 but the walls were exposed allowing people to scratch their names on the adobe walls. (Editor note: the markings along the skyline are from a damaged negative.)
Fort Lowell and Fort Lowell Park
In this 1963 photo, Jerry Ogle, left, of the Pima County Recreation Department shows members of the advisory committee for Restoration of Ft. Lowell how to make adobes. From left, standing, Winston Reynolds, Mrs. Charles Crary, Carlos Ronstadt and Pima County Supervisor Dennis Weaver. The adobe military post at Craycroft and Ft. Lowell roads is being restored. Picnic areas, playgrounds and historical exhibits will be provided.
