The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.

-Aristotle

Curley School Artisan Lofts

Ajo, Arizona

an overview

The Curley School, the historic public school in Ajo, Arizona, recently completed a multi-million-dollar renovation into 30 affordable live/work rentals for artists, artisans and creative home businesses.

The Curley School's eight buildings, spread out over a seven-acre campus, offer 114,000 square feet of apartments, classrooms, workshops, a huge auditorium with an indoor-outdoor stage and computer lab.

The main building, an architectural masterpiece of Spanish Colonial Revival style, was built in 1919.  Additional buildings were added to the campus in 1926 and 1937. Renovation was completed in 2007 with the grand opening on May 29.

The Curley School is on the National Register of Historic Places and is located in the beautiful and equally historic heart of Ajo, a former copper-mining town in southern Arizona.

The conversion of Curley School to artisan live/work apartments is a project of the non-profit International Sonoran Desert Alliance (ISDA).