The home and art studios were built by the MacPhersons with handmade adobe bricks formed out of native soils found on the site. A charming adobe cottage with attached garage was the first structure on the property. It was completed in 1934 and now serves as the La Hacienda mechanical equipment area. In 1935, the spacious main house was completed. After substantial research and careful attention to architectural detail, the classic southwestern structure has been renovated to serve as the weightlifting/exercise room and activity center of La Hacienda. In 1939, two adobe artist studios were added to the property. They now serve as the laundry room and television lounge. These two studios reflect the ambience of the old estate and their large clerestory windows fill the rooms with natural light that long ago provided the perfect environment to painting.

It was in 1937 that J. Harvard MacPherson and Beatrice Edgerly MacPherson moved from Pennsylvania to Tucson’s beautiful Sonoran Desert and made these buildings their home for close to half a century. It was here they raised their family and pursued their love of art. J. Harvard was well-known for his landscape watercolors and oils and Beatrice was renowned for her pen and ink drawings and oil paintings. Beatrice served as the art critic for the Arizona Daily Star and authored “The Hunter’s Bow”, a well-received book researching the history of musical instruments. The MacPhersons were joined for many years by their close friend, Charles Golden, who is famous for his watercolor portraits. Together the three artists founded the Southern Arizona School of Art which became the gathering place for local artists and winter visitors inspired by the glorious desert landscape.

In the early years when the MacPhersons first lived on the site, Tucson Boulevard was the eastern edge of the Tucson city limits. All roads reaching this far east were dirt and the only neighboring residences were the gracious Frith Home (now Hooter’s Restaurant), the elegant Pond Estate (now Charles’ Restaurant), and the Harold Bell Wright Estate (an elegant ten-room hacienda on 8 acres between 5th and Speedway.) Also nearby was the beginning of the Tucson Medical Center. Life was simpler and more rural then. The desert around the house was alive with quail, cottontails, coyotes, and cactus wren. It was not uncommon for the MacPhersons to spy a sassy roadrunner in their kitchen, stealing some cat food or a colorful Gila monster napping on a sunny rock.

The MacPhersons loved their rambling home and enjoyed such rural activities as javelina hunting, horseback riding, and archery. For a bit of culture, they would take the bumpy trip to downtown Tucson for an evening at the Tucson Little Theater or a dinner at the Pioneer Hotel.

The old windmill that used to provide water from the well on the site is gone. So, too, are many other traces of another time. Over the years Tucson has grown and now we find the MacPherson Estate and our new La Hacienda community are no longer miles out of town, but surrounded by homes and businesses in the center of the most exciting and beautiful part of Tucson. What remains of the past is the beauty and grace of the southwestern house and art studios. Their presence at La Hacienda gives us all a chance to enjoy the character and charm of a gentler time.

Join us and enjoy the comfort of the new, the feeling of the old. Live and play in La Hacienda of Tucson.