Summer camps were not an option in the pioneer west; however, summer recreation was an important part of Arizona desert life. Early “water holes” were man-made lakes located at Carrillo Gardens, where picnic grounds, band enclosures and boathouses could be found – complete with small boats to rent and paddle across what must have seemed like an ocean.
In 1903 the family of Emanuel Drachman, one of 10 children of Jewish pioneer Phillip Drachman, purchased Carrillo Gardens. Its new name, Elysian Grove, was likely inspired by the Elysian Fields of Greek mythology. To this day, residents refer to their neighborhood as El Jardin in memory of the lovely gardens at the park.
The outdoor entertainment included the first swimming pool in Tucson. A wooden-floor pavilion was large enough for parties and formal dances with an accompanying orchestra. When the adults were not monopolizing the floor, young and old roller- skated across the surface. Roy Drachman remembers his father taking him as a 4-year-old to hear Teddy Roosevelt speak from the pavilion and being instructed by his father to “Remember this historic moment.”
There was good reason to ride the mule trolley to the Grove.
Elysian Grove was home to the first motion picture machine in Arizona. In 1903 “The Great Train Robbery” was the first movie shown. Filmed in New Jersey, it starred the first Wild West cowboy star, the very Jewish Max Aronson, alias “Broncho Billy” Anderson. The show at the Grove was outdoors using a hand-cranked projector. The center of outdoor activities in Southern Arizona, Elysian Grove hosted barbecues, greyhound races and baseball games. In 1906 the city celebrated the opening of the first electric streetcar system with much fanfare at the Grove.
In 1910 the first dog race took place in front of an overflow crowd on the newly built dog track. During the race a dog caught the fake rabbit and wandered off with the cloth ear.
The amusement area opened in May each year, usually for Cinco de Mayo. Live entertainers and production companies from the western United States and Mexico performed there from May to February each year.
Emanuel Drachman was a business promoter his entire life. In 1910 he brought the first airplane to Tucson. The bi-wing was disassembled and brought by train on a flatbed car to Tucson. The fuselage was wheeled from the train station through the streets of Tucson to Elysian Grove; the wings and propeller followed by wagon. At the Grove the aircraft was reassembled, and on Feb. 20, 1910, Charles “Birdman” Hamilton took off from the adjacent dry riverbed of the Santa Cruz. The crowd roared approval as Godfrey Sykes, a research member of the Tucson Carnegie Institute, immortalized the event on a wooden box camera. The plane reached the staggering speed of 35 mph and an altitude of 900 feet. There were four crashes, however, into a low fence. Profits were undermined by the fact that folks could see easily over the fence … so why pay admission?
While the Grove was family friendly, the entertainment seldom made the Drachman family any money, and the Elysian Grove beer gardens and saloon supported the entertainment ventures.
In 1915 the temperance movement and specter of Prohibition, along with a shifting population, put Elysian Grove out of business. Emanuel Drachman then partnered with a Jewish businessman from Mexico City, Benjamin Goldsmith, and built the Opera House on the corner of Broadway and Stone avenues in downtown Tucson. There was no air-conditioning in the early 1900s, and it did get very hot in the summer. The theater was designed with sides that could open using ropes and pulleys that moved the side walls up into the ceiling. A great number of oscillating 16-inch fans were installed to move the air and the mist of water emanating from a primitive overhead sprinkler system hooked to a garden hose. This Rube Goldberg contraption is possibly the first cooling system in Tucson.
At the Opera House, Tucsonans could enjoy the fruits of the new industry movie-making brought to the Southern Arizona region. The first movie made in Southern Arizona was “Heading South” starring Douglas Fairbanks, the Brad Pitt of the early 1900s. Opening night of the film was scheduled at the Opera House on May 23, 1918. The building was packed with dignitaries and moviegoers, and since it was May, the walls were closed when the film started to roll. The movie had just started when the celluloid film got stuck, and the images of flames in the projection room flashed on screen. Everyone got out of the theater with only a few minor bumps, but the theater burned to the ground and the partners had no insurance. Undaunted, the partners rebuilt the building, which provided summer fun for multiple generations.
