4th Avenue is a pretty 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 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 almost a competition to attract the most attention to the way in which you are unique. 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 in gender and race are needed to keep the world going. The color diversity in the main, and mushroom statues once again reiterate the idea of being unique. 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, which is a good thing since everyone can relate to something this small section of Tucson has to offer.
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. Now that someone’s interest is grabbed they might walk closer, 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. This store continues to bring in the idea of being different to the space of 4th Avenue.
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, not necessarily a culture that is diverse from all over Tucson, but it doesn’t cater to a stereotypical college kid. 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 salad 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. Some people are overwhelmed by it, and some people embrace the idea head on, but either way that tiny little chunk of street is just a large blender.
