Wednesday night, as part of its ongoing celebration of its 250th anniversary, the city of Tucson traveled back in time in a ceremony at the Tucson Museum of Art. Officials dug up and opened a time capsule that was buried to celebrate the city's 200th birthday in 1975. Technically, the capsule was actually buried in 1976, but either way, the artifacts, memorabilia, and other items that were inside it hadn't been seen above ground for decades.
To find out what was revealed and hear more about the ceremony, The Show is now by Ann Breckenridge Barrett, the John and Linda Ender director and CEO of the Tucson Museum of Art and Historic Block.
Full conversation
SAM DINGMAN: Anne, good morning.
ANNE BRECKENRIDGE BARRETT: Good morning. Thanks for having me.
DINGMAN: Thank you for being here. So let's answer the question that's on everybody's mind. What exactly was in — well, first, what did this time capsule look like?
BRECKENRIDGE BARRETT: So it was about a 2 by 3 by 3 foot box that was buried under a volcanic rock from Sentinel Peak with a plaque on it. And one of my colleagues here at the museum took a crowbar and lifted up the top. And even in our dry run, we did not lift the top up.
So this reveal was a surprise for everybody that was there. And we looked down into the box and we found all sorts of memorabilia — ticket stubs, a Whataburger napkin, newspapers.
DINGMAN: [LAUGHS] Was it, was it a fresh napkin or was there burger grease on it?
BRECKENRIDGE BARRETT: [LAUGHS] Was a pretty fresh napkin.
DINGMAN: OK, good.
BRECKENRIDGE BARRETT: But there were neighborhood plans. There were brochures from cultural and performing arts organizations. A letter to 2025 to Tucsonans, and personal ephemera from various community members as well.
DINGMAN: Wow. I'm really interested in that last one. What were some of these personal items?
BRECKENRIDGE BARRETT: So, the personal items ranged from letters from families. We had receipts, their photographs, driver's licenses. I mean, the array is fascinating.
DINGMAN: Wow. Wow. Anything of note on the front page of the newspaper or notable artists on those ticket stubs?
BRECKENRIDGE BARRETT: Yeah, on the front page of the newspaper, I believe it said: "Soviets outreach to Middle Eastern countries." I mean, it was just fascinating. And there was a proclamation — the same proclamation that actually happened ... the day before yesterday.
Mayor Regina Romero did a proclamation for this 250-plus celebration. And there was the proclamation from 1976 for the 200th celebration. So, now there are those two that we can put side by side.
DINGMAN: OK. And what is in this proclamation? What's being proclaimed?
BRECKENRIDGE BARRETT: The 250-plus celebration of all things Tucson. And it basically celebrates the rich culture and many inhabitants. Even though Tucson is the basin that's been inhabited for thousands of years, the city of Tucson goes back to the founding of the Presidio, Aug. 20, 1775. And so it's paragraphs discussing that and talking about how this year we going to celebrate that 250-plus.
DINGMAN: Yes. And also this year, if I understand correctly, a new time capsule will go into the ground, right?
BRECKENRIDGE BARRETT: Yes. We are going to be working with the city and other partners to put together the 250-plus capsule. And we are going to bury it in the exact same place, so future us on the same date in 2075 can unearth it and see evidence of what was going on in 2025.
DINGMAN: So, important question: In your mind, what are some of the items that should go into this time capsule? Any more fast food napkins?
BRECKENRIDGE BARRETT: Well, I can speak from the Tucson Museum of Art and Historic Block perspective. I would like to send a letter to the future CEO to let them know what we've been doing and include catalogs from our recent exhibition, "Ya Hecho Readymade in the Borderlands." And a photograph of me and my colleagues who are here, so the future folks that will present this mission in 2075 can see what we've been doing here.
DINGMAN: Speaking of the letter, you mentioned there was a letter from the past —- a literal letter from the past — in the capsule yesterday. And anything from that letter stand out to you?
BRECKENRIDGE BARRETT: So there are many letters actually that are included in messages. And to be honest, we unearthed it at 5 last night. We put everything out on a table, and today we're beginning to inventory the content.
DINGMAN: I see.
BRECKENRIDGE BARRETT: But the good news is we're going to put it in a case. And it's going to be on view in our lobby for the next year for citizens to come and visitors to really take in all of this incredible content. And there is a lot of it.
DINGMAN: Well, just about 30 seconds left here, Anne, could you just describe the mood when the capsule came out of the ground yesterday?
BRECKENRIDGE BARRETT: You know, it was really celebratory and there was an incredible sense of ownership and history. It was fantastic. And you could just — you could see the people that were present who had been there in 1976. So, it was just an incredible feeling of community.
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