Recently the Nile Theater was selected as one of the first buildings to undergo Mesa's downtown colonnade removal. Work
City of Mesa Historic Preservation Issue 3, December 2017
What’s Happening?
Bi-monthly
Historic Home Tour January 27, 2018
Mesa supports historic tax credits The City of Mesa promotes the retention of Historic Tax Credits! HTCs are in jeopardy of being diminished or removed from our nation’s tax code, currently under revision in the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee in Washington, D.C. Mayor Giles has written to Washington, D.C., encouraging the Senate and House to retain these important Historic Preservation credits. Historic Tax Credits were recently used on the rehabilitation of the Alhambra Hotel at 43 S. Macdonald. Mayor Giles joins mayors from Phoenix, Dallas, Chicago and Los Angeles—to name a few—in urging that this powerful economic and community revitalization tool be preserved.
The 18th Annual Historic Home Tour in Mesa will be held on Saturday, Jan. 27, 2018, from 10am to 4pm. This year our featured districts are West Second and Wilbur with special oneof-a-kind homes. Special stops include the Sirrine house and Mesa Historical Museum on Main Street featuring the Making Mesa Home exhibit. Please visit for more details and a map of the tour. Tickets will be available the day of the tour at 9:30am at the Sirrine House or tickets may be purchased in advance, online with a credit card. Booklets and maps will also be given out the day of the tour at the Sirrine House. Tickets are $20 and all proceeds benefit the Mesa Historical Museum.
More News on Buckhorn Baths Despite minimal maintenance over the last decade or so, the Buckhorn Baths has a potentially positive future ahead of it. It has a new owner, Urban Fabric Builders, who not only respects preservation, but has a history of adaptively reusing structures. The site is a challenge, but UFB has stepped up to the plate! Also, the Buckhorn Baths is receiving a lot of publicity due to the recent publication, Buckhorn Mineral Baths & Wildlife Museum, by Jay Mark and Ron Peters. A publicity tour is underway and residents pack the rooms to hear about this iconic and historic site.
Nile Theater Mortar Analysis Historic Preservation offers a variety of important tools that can help residents and business owners retain the historic character and integrity of the built environments we inhabit. One tool is the analysis of materials, particularly mortar. Recently the Nile Theater was selected as one of the first buildings to undergo Mesa’s downtown colonnade removal. Work will include the removal of stucco and the restoration of the brickwork underneath. To accomplish this successfully, it is important to know the original mortar recipe. Mesa’s Historic Preservation Office sampled and analyzed the mortar. It turned out to be one part lime to four parts angular sand, which is perfect for the soft brick of the theater. To learn more, visit: and click on the Nile Theater photo.
Mesa’s Historic Districts During the Holidays Our Historic Districts make their character and integrity shine during the holidays. Evergreen Historic District (left) and Fraser Fields (right) were ablaze during a recent walkabout.
