Welcome to Litsy!

Native Tucsonan Roy Drachman played an active role in his community's life and growth for much of the twentieth century. One of the city's primary movers and shakers, he made a name as a real estate developer and helped establish Tucson's place in modern America. Drachman's memoirs paint a vivid picture of the Old Pueblo as it grew from a sleepy cowtown to a world-class urban center and tourist destination. In a series of colorful vignettes he recalls a bygone era when horse-drawn transportation still harked back to the town's Wild West heritage, and folks did what they could to keep cool in the desert heat--then calls on his experiences during the city's postwar boom to tell how life got faster and Tucson became a real hot spot. A key player in the city's business and political life, Drachman takes readers behind the scenes in negotiations with Howard Hughes for his aircraft factory, in key planning and zoning decisions, and in projects with developer Del Webb. He also recalls the city at its leisure, remembering the excitement over the arrival of baseball, the heyday of the Fox Theater, and the crowd at Dooley's, the city's most popular gathering place. Return with Roy Drachman to those days of yesteryear, when Campbell Avenue marked the edge of town, the now-defunct Pioneer Hotel was considered a skyscraper, and swamp coolers were a newfangled invention. From Cowtown to Desert Metropolis is a captivating journey through the past and a unique view of Tucson by one of the men who built it.