The Mountain House Gift Shop

The Civilian Conservation Corps built the Tucson Mountain House in the 1930's. Nestled in the Tucson Mountains 14 miles west of Tucson, the large, adobe building first served as a guest ranch and restaurant and later as an overnight retreat for scout, church and other local groups who enjoyed the beautiful view of Avra Valley, Kitt Peak, and Baboquivari (the sacred mountain of the local Tohono O'odham tribe).

William Carr and Arthur Pack co-founded the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum in 1952. When Carr first saw the Mountain House, he wrote: “... this... beautiful structure...consisted of a large dining room and kitchen, a living room with a ceiling of exposed pine logs and saguaro ribs... and a large patio which was almost a veranda” (*Larson: 2002, 6).

Much of this space described by Bill Carr in the 1950s is now the Mountain House Gift Shop and Collector’s Room, which today can be found just inside the museum's main entrance.  (A third shop, the Ironwood, can be found adjacent to the Ironwood Terrace Restaurant on the museum grounds). Together, these three shops contribute hundreds of thousands of dollars each year to the Museum's annual budget, thanks to our guests!

But the gift shops at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum began as an afterthought to the founders' original plans in the 1950s. After a vendor proposed such an endeavor, a small gift shop and snack stand were placed under the original south-facing porch of the Mountain House. At that time, the gift shop and snack stand were exposed to the elements on the west, south, and east with only a roof to keep out the rain.  When Jim Hills and his partner, Amelia Hernandez (who we are sad to say passed away in April, 2008)  took over the operation of the gift shop in 1985, that original porch had been enclosed and the retail space amounted to under 900 sq. feet. 

Today the Mountain House Gift Shop rambles over three levels and into several rooms of the original Mt. House, filling over 2,500 sq. feet of space. The upper level (which was the original porch) now houses our Southwestern Bookstore, our extensive jewelry selection, and many of our Native American arts and crafts products.  The lower level (which used to be the Museum's restaurant) is where we display museum apparel; kitchenware; cactus plants; toys, books and educational products for children; and mineral items. The third area, our Collector’s Room, was the original living room of the Tucson Mountain House.  It is open to guests by invitation only. 

(*For more information about the history of the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, see The Desert Museum Scrapbook by Peggy Larson)