Augmented reality brings downtown Tucson's Chinese history to life in the 21st century

TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Thanks to dedicated historians and augmented reality, you can go to the heart of downtown Tucson and use your smartphone to travel back in time.

In Good Morning Tucson's reporting, we've met neighbors whose families felt the direct impact of urbal renewal; not only on the old Latino barrios, but also for other communities like the early Chinese immigrants of the 20th century.

GMT scanned a code printed on a concrete poster feet away from the Linda Ronstadt Music Hall. A few clicks later, a short documentary laid out the story of the neighborhood that was here before the Tucson Convention Center.

"Not hearing the bustle of the community, the many languages that were spoken here, the smells of the food... it's just concrete," Lisa Falk said. "It's all erased."

Falk, a curator with the Arizona State Museum, reached out to give us a crash course on this passion project, Discovering Community in the Borderlands. "I'm always interested in cutting-edge technology," Falk said. "I had worked with the Tucson Chinese Cultural Center on projects in the past, so I invited them as a partner."

Partners, like volunteer Robin Blackwood, joined archaeologists as they digitally scanned priceless artifacts uncovered downtown, including a letter between a man in Tucson and his son thousands of miles away.

"They had whole family units back in china, and they were communicating with them," Blackwood said. "They were having dialogues back and forth -- helps bring these people to life."

Their stories live inside the Tucson Chinese Cultural Center, too. We took a side trip to the facility on River Road to see more of these artifacts and old pictures. Board of directors member Peter Chan reminded me there's a history we can still taste, even if there aren't nearly as many of the old grocery stores left.

"The local Hispanic communities, they all grew up with the Chinese grocery stores for 5, 6, 7 decades," Chan said. Now, Chan and Falk said, the mission is to teach Tucson's new generations of the past that built their present.

"People who might have just moved here," Chan said, "they would say, 'Wow, I didn't know that.'" "They (can) start to broaden their conception of what is Tucson, and who we are as a community," Falk said.

The augmented reality concept came as a response to social distancing back during the COVID-19 pandemic. Falk said thankfully, Arizona State Museum found the right partners and grant money; moving forward, TCCC staff said they want to continue to branch out to the broad community, and look at ways a food fair could connect neighbors to this history.