Annie Lester, born Anna Marie Stattelman in Bavaria, Germany, arrived in Tucson in the 1890s and bought a large tract of land that is now a majority of the Jefferson Park neighborhood, according to documents from the Arizona Historical Society. Lester was the first immigrant to buy land in this area north of the University of Arizona.
One of these homes on this land, known as the Annie Lester house, on 1177 E. Lester St., was demolished in February. Excavators and trucks tore it down in the afternoon of Feb. 17, said neighbor Sharon Milan.
“It was really fast and kind of violent how it went down and without a lot of warning for us to know that it was going to be torn down,” Milan said.
Pima County Assessor records show the houses on this lot were built in 1918. A small guest house and the bigger two-story home sat there until they were both demolished earlier this year.
John Pattison partially owns the lot behind this in a family trust. He told AZPM that his father had known Annie Lester since the 1920s. His house is actually where Annie Lester first lived in the early 20th century, before his family bought it from her.
He lived there for twenty years, and now renovates the home when he visits Tucson. He does not want this home on Santa Rita Avenue to be demolished as the house on Lester Street was.
“Whether we could get this on the National Historic Register, which would prevent any change to it, demolition or so on, it's an open question,” said Pattison standing in his home, which he hopes to fully renovate soon.
For the houses on Lester Avenue, it’s a slightly different story. Neither Annie Lester, nor the Bryant family that owned it after her, ever registered the home as a historic landmark.
Ina Ronquillo, a representative with the City of Tucson’s Planning and Development Services confirmed in an email that it was never filed with the City to become a Historic Landmark. This can affect whether a property is vulnerable for demolition.
“The property is located within a National Register Historic District, however, it is not located in any of Tucson's five designated Historic Preservation Zones (HPZs),” Ronquillo explained.
Records show the company Asset Assistance LLC got the demo permit last July. Michael A. Goodman owns this development company, along with the company 100 UA Rentals.
Property developer Richard Studwell told AZPM that Goodman has close to 130 properties. Studwell made sure to stress that Goodman purchased the Annie Lester house legally.
However, neighbors object to the communication, and lack of it, surrounding the demolition.
One neighbor, Jimmy Vitt, said that he doesn’t mind students moving in, but he cares about the look of the neighborhood.
“Just kinda maintain the history of the neighborhood to some degree versus putting in a multi story dorm,” said Vitt walking his dog in front of the demo site. “Especially here - It just doesn’t make sense. I can’t see any of these people wanting that, who live in the vicinity.”
Vitt has lived in Jefferson Park for 10 years, and on his nightly walks, he has seen the house slowly becoming more dilapidated. He remembers looking up at owls in the chimneys at night.
Milan, who has lived in Jefferson Park since the 70s and Pattison, whose father lived there since the 20s, do not want their historic homes to have the same fate.
“My wishes are to turn [my home] into an educational kind of a neighborhood community space where young students, artists, engineers, musicians can live while they're attending the university and have a place that's amiable to the creative arts,” said Pattison.
The Jefferson Park Neighborhood Association and other neighbors in the area are hoping to push back and fight before other historic properties become a demolition site.
“Well, for all the reasons that people have said for many years, it's important to preserve the past. You learned something from it, but I think the most important thing is that people need to know that you can fight City Hall, you can push back,” said Pattison.
