Shopping A-Z

Art

Tucson's gallery scene is not as concentrated as that in many other cities. Many Tucson galleries have in the past few years abandoned downtown in favor of the foothills and other more affluent suburbs. The current art hot spot is the corner of Campbell Avenue and Skyline Drive, where you'll find El Cortijo, a stylishly modern Southwestern shopping plaza that has several contemporary art galleries. Behind this complex, at 6420 N. Campbell Ave., is a small courtyard complex that is home to Sanders Galleries (tel. 520/299-1763; www.sandersgalleries.com) and Settlers West Galleries (tel. 520/299-2607; www.settlerswest.com), both of which specialize in Western art, as well as Gallery West (tel. 520/529-7002; www.indianartwest.com), which specializes in American Indian art. On the southwest corner of the intersection, you'll find the Mark Sublette Modern, 2890 E. Skyline Dr., Ste. 190 (tel. 520/299-7798; www.medicinemangallery.com).

Books

Chain bookstores in the Tucson area include Barnes & Noble, 5130 E. Broadway Blvd. (tel. 520/512-1166), and 7325 N. La Cholla Blvd., Ste. 100, in the Foothills Mall (tel. 520/742-6402); and Borders, 4235 N. Oracle Rd. (tel. 520/292-1331), and 5870 E. Broadway Blvd., at the Park Place Mall (tel. 520/584-0111).

Mexican & Latin American Imports

The "Lost Barrio," on the corner of Southwest Park Avenue and 12th Street (a block south of Broadway), is a good place to look for Mexican imports and Southwestern-style home furnishings at fine prices.

Seeing Stars

Amateur astronomers, take note. Because of all the great star-viewing opportunities in southern Arizona, Tucson has a large number of stargazers, and they all shop at Stellar Vision Astronomy Shop, 1835 S. Alvernon Way (tel. 520/571-0877). This store is packed with telescopes of all shapes and sizes, as well as books and star charts.