4th Ave is a street in Tucson located near the University of Arizona campus. Its landscape is painted by many buildings (most of which used to be houses) brightly colored and range in business types from tattoo parlors and "organic gardening" shops, to vintage clothing boutiques and coffee shops. The entire space of 4th ave thrives on its diversity.
4th Avenue is a very unique street in Tucson, and it’s not afraid to show it. There is a gap in between the sidewalk and the street. In a way, that gap is a significant separation because once one steps off the physical road and onto the “Avenue” they become immersed into a completely different scene other than just a mere street. Having two bright statues that are at the boarder your property shows what you have to offer to the area as an individual/business/whatever you are, it’s very much a competition to attract the most attention to oneself so that they can show how they might be the most different subject on the street. The sign on the light pole is an advertisement to the public showing them what they might find on their venture down 4th Ave such as works of art that incorporate a culture. The larger statue itself also shows diversity, but how different groups can work together. It contains a white woman and a colored man working together to support the world, showing unity despite gender and race are needed to keep the world going. The paint job on the mushroom is extremely colorful, similar to the wide variety of people that make up a certain place such as 4th Ave. The statues show that there are no boundaries between the types of people that walk the street and that all the different cultures can come together in a common space but still have their individuality.
One would think that a bright blue house building would stand out and attract a lot of attention, but not on 4th Ave. It is very common to see brightly colored businesses with funky signs or architecture. On 4th Ave it’s essentially a competition to see who can stand out the most and attract the most attention from tourists and locals. At first, someone wouldn’t even notice what the business is inside this place. The building just sucks in your attention and makes you curious. With its sign full of detail, yet hard to read words, this place traps you with it’s encompassing mystery. A bright and flashy place (sometimes even considered gaudy) catches the eye, and as humans there is an innate feeling to find the meaning of things or "why" something has happened. Now that someone’s interest is grabbed they might walk closer to satisfy their need for knowing why this building caught their eye, go inside maybe, and learn that this business is a hair salon. The individual may not be interested in getting their hair cut walking in, but luring people inside helps their business. When the person that stumbled upon this salon does actually need a haircut, they’ll remember that brightly colored and funky place they discovered on 4th Ave and will want to try it out. Each place needs to be as different as possible so people will remember the business and return someday. As a result of this, 4th Avenue is a landscape of businesses with spunk.
Desert Vintage and Costume is one of the first buildings you see walking down 4th Ave as it changes from a residential street to an area of business and culture. Judging by the display of costumes both hanging on the porch and visible through the window, mostly women shop there. Once again the business is trying to be diverse and lure in your curiosity, you can see such an odd costume on the mannequin. The display shows a wide variety of costumes as well, 1930s flapper costumes, marching band outfits, a large poofy gown, and belly dancing costumes can all be seen in the entrance way. It looks like this vintage costume boutique has almost anything a woman might want when searching for a costume. The mannequin is posed in an interesting way. Sassy, as if the costume she’s wearing gives her this awesome personality. Women want to be reassured that they’re going to feel good and confident in what they’re wearing so having such confidence portrayed on an inanimate object allows women to break their comfort boundaries and dare to be different. Some women would be timid towards wearing a hot pink cheetah print dress, a pink wig, and a cat mask. The mannequin has successfully pulled it off, so it’s a given that a real woman would. Just like shopping at the mall except this store isn’t suggesting that one needs to be trendy, but rather that daring to be different is the best choice one can make.
Some people would view the scene of 4th Ave from the perspective that only young college kids go down there to get wasted on a Saturday night. But no, this picture tells us differently. On older man and woman are taking a stroll down the street in the middle of the afternoon. They appear to be looking into shops and enjoying the atmosphere 4th Ave has to offer. The sign behind the building on the left once again reveals more diversity in the space. The place is called “La Indita” which indicates a Hispanic cultural theme that is present in much of Tucson, still lurking on the Avenue. People of all sorts come down to 4th Ave to see what there is, there is a car on the right of the picture that seems like it is pretty expensive indicating that the wealthy come down for the experience as well and get tossed into the array of people and businesses that make up the space. 4th Avenue is probably the most diverse sect of Tucson and the area is ready to proclaim that statement from the rooftops. All different groups are attracted to it, from people who want to get a tattoo and smoke hookah, to someone who would like to eat lunch at a small café and look for something to add to their art collection. Some people are overwhelmed by it, and some people embrace the idea head on, but either way there is something on this stretch of road that caters to everyone’s wants and needs. People who don’t like the idea of going down to 4th Ave to see what it’s about are probably afraid to step outside their boundaries and experience something new and different.
