The Ted White Tour Part 3 - The Town

This panoramic view of Ajo is taken from the west side. The tailings and slag heap are on the far right. The mine is out of sight further to the right. This photograph shows Ajo as it really is - surrounded by desert.

Rocalla Avenue ascends the hills on the west side of Ajo.  Two more water tanks attest to the importance of water in this parched region.  In Arizona Guy Ted's aunt and uncle lived on this ridge overlooking Ajo.

The Pima County Sheriff's substation is shown here. In the Ted White Mystery Series this is where Sandy Sandino works.

On the north side of town is Olsens Marketplace, the largest grocery store in town. In the Ted White Mystery Series this is called Ajo Food and Drug.

This is the courthouse in Ajo, near the Plaza.

Phelps Dodge Corporation built the New Cornelia Hospital, above, when the mine was in full operation. When the mine closed the hospital was abandoned and this building has been vacant ever since. Medical services in Ajo today are provided by Desert Senita Community Clinic and Ajo Ambulance.

The most striking building in Ajo is Curley School, built in the 1920's. The elementary grades were in the basement, the junior high was on the first floor, and the high school was on the second floor. This building is now the headquarters of the International Sonoran Desert Alliance - ISDA - which promotes the arts and uses this campus for housing for artists.

When Ajo outgrew Curley School, the high school was moved to the east side of town. The largest building on campus, shown here, is Dicus Auditorium. The band room, where Ted White works in the second book in the Ted White Mystery Series, is shown to the right of the auditorium. These two buildings figure prominently in the plot of Playing with Fire.