About this property
El Tiradito ("the little castaway") is a shrine and popular local spot located at 420 South Main Avenue in the Old Barrio area of Downtown Tucson, Arizona. Because of the site's association with pleas for supernatural intervention, it is also called the Wishing Shrine. The legends surrounding the site center around a broken-hearted man dying and, due to a sin, being unable to be buried on consecrated ground. The legends date to the 1870s, and the shrine has been present since at least 1891. Its name comes from the Spanish "tirar." The shrine was the first Arizona property to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places for its traditional cultural values. It is especially important to Tucson's Mexican and Mexican American communities. The shrine consists of the crumbling remains of a brick building, with a large metal rack for candles and desert plants now occupying the interior. Large, glass-encased candles, frequently depicting saints of the Roman Catholic Church are lit and left burning at the shrine, both on the stand and along the ledges of the building. Small slips of paper containing prayers or messages of thanks are also often pressed into cracks in the walls or left elsewhere at the shrine, as are other memorial objects. In addition to the faithful who leave these religious objects, El Tiradito is frequented and favored by many Tucsonans, including writers, poets, and other members of the town's artistic community. The Tucson Chamber of Commerce calls the el Tiradito "the only sinner to become a saint." The site is not sanctioned by the Catholic Church, yet has religious and cultural significance. The victim gained a reputation for being able to mediate petitions to God and grant miracles. Every year, there is a large Day of the Dead celebration at the shrine.
Location
Categories
Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Everything a full report reveals about El Tiradito
This page lists El Tiradito. A full Aubrey report for an address near it pulls together this listing alongside battlefield records, land patents, and every other historical record within a chosen radius:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Nearby Historic Sites
Questions about this property
When was El Tiradito listed on the National Register?
El Tiradito was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 19, 1971.
What type of historic resource is El Tiradito?
El Tiradito is classified as a site in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for El Tiradito?
The period of significance for El Tiradito is recorded as the listed era.
Can I research the history near El Tiradito?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near El Tiradito will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
More in Pima County
Historic places, battles, and census history across Pima County.
Explore PimaCounty ›Research the history near this site
An Aubrey US report for an address near El Tiradito will include this listing alongside battlefield records and other historical sources within your chosen radius.