Murphy-Wilmot Library to celebrate 60 years!

(Tucson, AZ) On Saturday, October 18 from 10 am to 4:30 pm, Murphy-Wilmot Library will mark its Diamond Anniversary with a free, all-ages celebration! The event schedule is as follows:

  • 10 am to noon
    Enjoy family friendly, intergenerational arts and crafts inspired by the 1960s.
  • 10 to 11:30 am
    Crawl inside the portable planetarium and revisit the 1960s Space Race. Please note, seating is limited.
  • 10:15 to 11:15 am
    Join retired teacher and history lover Yvonne Flores as she guides us back 65 years to Tucson's Eastside. Learn what it was like to be a student at the all-girls Saint Joseph’s Academy – Villa Carondelet High School. Hear how Ms. Flores became Saint Joseph Hospital’s first (unofficial) patient. Ms. Flores will paint a visual picture of her early life as she shares her precious memories of 1960s Tucson. Come explore this time of economic prosperity and social and political change.
  • Noon to 1:30 pm
    Bring the family to watch a 1960s cartoon.
  • 3:30 to 4:30 pm
    Listen to the Hardscrabble Road Trio play favorite songs from the 1960s.

The Murphy-Wilmot Library was the third library built in Tucson. It was designed by architect Nicholas Sakellar and received the Distinguished Accomplishment in Library Architecture award from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the American Library Association shortly after its 1965 opening. According to the Society of Architectural Historians (SAH), the Murphy-Wilmot Library design was part of an exhibit that toured the country, including a stint in Washington D.C. during National Library Week, in Denver at the AIA’s Annual Convention, and in New York at the annual meeting of the American Society of Landscape Architects.

In 1982, the library was remodeled by Nicholas Sakellar and his son, Dino, expanding the library from 15,380 square feet to 19,265 square feet. A second expansion project was designed by Dino Sakellar, adding more than 4,000 square feet for the public to enjoy. Learn more about the library's architectural history on the SAH website. Murphy-Wilmot Library also features a stone archway at the entrance. It was created by Tucson sculptor James Savage and includes almost two dozen carvings of symbols from various cultures.