Drachman Street is named after the Drachmans, a family  who largely contributed to the development of Tucson.

The Drachman family name can be seen all over Tucson, from streets and parks to UA centers, such as the Drachman Institute, a facility for land and regional development studies and the Roy P. Drachman Center for Disease Prevention and Health Promotion at the Arizona Health Sciences Center.

Roy P. Drachman, a native Tucsonan, ran movie houses in Tucson for Fox West Coast Theatres before serving in World War II.

After serving in the war, Drachman borrowed $5,000 from a friend to buy a hotel with his cousin Oliver. They sold the hotel for a profit of about $30,000 and decided to invest the money in Tucson real estate.

In his personal memoirs, Drachman said they “”hit the market just at the right time and made a handsome profit on everything.””

From then on he became very involved in shaping Tucson real estate and business. He worked with developer Del Webb, was co-owner of the Roy Drachman Realty Company, established in 1946, and was one of the founders of the Ramada Inn. He also met with Howard Hughes to discuss his aircraft factory, now known as Raytheon.

Drachman was also responsible for helping increase tourism to the Southwest.

At a time when the tourism business was just emerging, Drachman was the third manager of the Tucson Sunshine Climate Club from 1940 until 1945, an organization devoted to promoting tourism in Tucson.

Drachman was a big supporter of the UA, his alma mater, and in 1999 he received the Regents Award for outstanding service to the university.

He also received many awards throughout his life, including an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the UA in 1985 and the Outstanding Alumnus Award from the UA in 1990.

Drachman died in 2002.