Picture the barrio named for San Antonio, Anthony of Padua, right here east of downtown Tucson. Bounded by Aviation Parkway, the Arroyo Chico, South Kino Parkway, and South Park Avenue, this neighborhood takes its name from San Antonio, or Anthony of Padua, the Portuguese saint. You can feel how the barrio balances tradition and change: it is a federal empowerment zone and home to multiple downtown Tucson businesses, and a portion of it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2024.
The Arroyo Chico Wash along the northern edge is being reshaped by the United States Army Corps of Engineers into retention basins and public spaces, a reminder that the landscape here is alive and practical as well as beautiful. Nearby you’ll glimpse the Lost Barrio shopping district, the offices of Cox Communications Tucson, Mission Linen, and the Civano Demonstration Project, and you’ll notice why this is a crossroads of bicycle paths in the city. The city’s historic downtown center, other historic barrios, and the Armory Park Historic Residential District all meet this neighborhood.
Notice the Lost Barrio shopping district and the Arroyo Chico Wash being reshaped into new retention basins nearby.