Casa Cordova is the oldest continually occupied residence in Tucson, Arizona. The Cordova family, who acquired the home in 1936, gave the house its name. The house’s exact date of construction is unknown, but town officials believe that original construction occurred as early as 1848. It appears on a map dating from 1862 and dates back to the city’s Mexican period. It is a one-story structure made of unfired adobe blocks, and is a typical Mexican townhouse comprised of a flat roof, central brick courtyard, and doors that open directly onto the street.

The original builders erected the house within the fort wall in Tucson’s presidio district. The oldest portion of the structure is a two-room section located on the south side of the building. This section’s appearance on the 1862 map leads local preservationists to believe that the structure predates the Gadsden Purchase. A family called the Ortegas purchased the property in 1879 and added onto the existing rooms, and this expansion resulted in the larger house that became the current-day Casa Cordova.

Maria Navarrete Cordova was the last resident of the house, where she lived with her children and operated a business called Cordova Brothers Smoke Shop from 1952 until 1971. After a legal dispute over ownership, the City of Tucson gained the property deed and leased it to the Tucson Museum of Art in 1973. Two years later, the Junior League of Tucson, Inc., restored the house. The back two rooms reflect their 1850 format, and the exterior’s appearance dates to 1885.

The Tucson Museum of Art uses the space within Casa Cordova to interpret Tucson’s Spanish and Mexican heritage, and hosts an annual exhibit from November to March called El Nacimiento, which incorporates Christmas scenes and showcases Mexican family life. Visitors can explore the house from Tuesday through Sunday, for the price of admission to the museum.