On Saturday April 24 we had our final mural unveiling. The celebration featured individual artworks created by neighborhood youth, food, drinks and music. We were honored to have our Tucson City council member Karen Ulrich attend, as well as many of the project participants, representative from the neighborhood 
association and YES network. Students from the Blue Chip program attended moving about the group asking people how the mural impacted them. The event was cover briefly on Channel 4 news KVOA News, as well as in the Tucson Citizen (now online).Throughout this mural project people would come up and comment on our progress. Neighbors such as Jeff commented that the mural “really changes the place, it makes it look better, and brightens up our days”. More than 40 neighborhood residents participants were directly involved in the design and production of the mural. Hundreds more were indirectly impacted. One resident commented; “we have been waiting a long time for this mural, it’s nice to see some good things happening”. She explained that her mother had passed during the project, and had been looking forward to it's completion. "She would have been proud." She finished, before walking back to her trailer.
The Miracle Manor Neighborhood has been plagued by poverty and crime in past years. This started to
change a few years ago as residents organized projects that would beautify and bring people together. This mural was dialogue based, that means that there were many conversations and meetings to discuss content. These conversations were divergent, and stories emerged of every day life. A neighbors’ cat who would go fishing in the bird-bath, watching movies on the outdoor Biltmore Theater from roof tops, the man who had a deer living at his house. These stories were shared during elder shares, during the after school workshops for youth, and at the mural site. Older residents explained that many of the people who worked on films at Old Tucson studios would stay at the neighborhood hotels on Miracle Mile. All of this is reflected in the mural.This project brought together neighbors and community members in a new and memorable way, building cultural capital and preserving some of the memories and stories that bind us together as a community, and as a nation.
Neighborhood Leaders Jim and Marcia Quinn
