Tour: Tucson Modernism Week 2026 Home Tour

Event Details

Join us for the 15th Annual Tucson Modernism Week Home Tour, a rare opportunity to step inside some of Tucson’s most remarkable examples of midcentury and desert modern architecture.

The 2026 tour brings together six exceptional private residences spanning the formative years of Tucson’s postwar modern movement, along with four special bonus stops exploring the connections between architecture, art, craft, and design. Together, these sites reveal the extraordinary range of modernism that developed in Southern Arizona in response to the desert landscape, climate, materials, and changing ideas about modern living.

The featured residences include the Udall-Stewart Residence (1950) by William and Sylvia Wilde, the Wolf Residence (1954) by Paul Buehrer, the Pinky Lee/Kivel House (1958) by Chesin Construction, the Gerald S. Adelman House (1961) by Nicholas Sakellar, FAIA, Wingspan, the Willis Burdick House (1962) by Art Brown, and the Lew Place Home (1963) by Lew Place. From the experimental residential architecture of the early 1950s through the increasingly sophisticated desert modernism of the 1960s, these houses trace more than a decade of architectural innovation in Tucson.

The Home Tour also includes four special bonus locations that expand the story of Tucson modernism beyond the private residence: the Bondante House by Charles Clement, the Ball-Paylore House by Art Brown, Solot Plaza, and the University of Arizona Print Studio. These additional sites explore the wider creative culture that surrounded Tucson’s modern architects, including art, craft, commercial design, and the relationship between artists and the built environment.

Date & Time

Sunday, November 8, 2026
Tour Hours: 9:00 AM–3:00 PM

The tour is self-guided. Participants are responsible for driving themselves between locations and may visit the tour sites in the order they choose.

Ticket Map Pick-Up

Tour maps, admission bracelets, and shoe covers will be distributed only on the day of the tour.

Guests may check in at or after their designated ticket time on Sunday, November 8. Check-in closes at 11:00 AM.

Home addresses and tour information will be provided with the official tour map at check-in.

Ticket Information

Tickets: $40 per person

Tickets are limited, and advance purchase is strongly recommended. If tickets remain available, they may be purchased at the check-in location before 11:00 AM on the day of the tour.

Admission to the Home Tour is also included with a Tucson Modernism Week Cocktail Party ticket.

Tour Guidelines

• The tour is self-guided, with knowledgeable docents stationed at each residence and participating bonus stops.
• Tour bracelets are required for admission.
• Shoe covers must be worn where requested.
• No interior photography is permitted in private residences.
• No food or beverages are permitted inside the homes.
• Comfortable clothing and walking shoes are strongly recommended.
• These are private residences and historic sites. Many are not wheelchair accessible.
• Guests should expect steps, inclines, uneven surfaces, and, at some locations, longer driveways or walks.
• Docents will provide assistance whenever possible.
• Please respect all areas identified as private or closed to tour participants.
• All ticket sales are final. No refunds are available.

Special Thanks

The Tucson Modernism Week Home Tour is made possible through the generous support of our sponsors, including TEP, Benjamin Supply, Copenhagen Imports, Rio Nuevo, Tim Hagyard / Long Realty, Catalina In-Home Services, and Sol Block, as well as the extraordinary generosity of the homeowners and institutional partners who open these remarkable places to the public.

We also thank our dedicated committee members, docents, and volunteers whose work makes the Home Tour possible.

Experience Tucson modernism from the inside and discover the remarkable houses, architects, artists, and ideas that helped make Southern Arizona one of the most distinctive centers of modern design in the American Southwest.