History All Along Main Street

Last week I was impressed when I found three sites along Bicentennial to spotlight. Imagine my delight when a trek down Main Street yielded 6 sites. This week, I'll highlight two of them. My first find was the First Methodist Church of McAllen, located at 221 N. Main. The building is currently home to the Horizon Montessori Charter School. According to the Tx. Historical Commission, there is a Historical Marker at the site, but I was unable to locate it. The Marker reads: The earliest record of Methodist church activity in the lower Rio Grande Valley dates to 1849. Circuit-riding ministers served an area along the Rio Grande from Brownsville to Roma. In 1909 the Rev. C.W. Godwyn was assigned to serve Methodists in McAllen, and a small frame sanctuary was built that year. It was replaced by a larger structure in 1913. Continued growth in the congregation led to construction of the present facility in 1928. This congregation continues to be an important part of the McAllen community. (1989). Marker or no marker, it is a neat old building, with its mixed colored bricks, red-tile roof and stained-glass windows. If you gently part the bushes on the north side of the entry, you can read the cornerstone that reads: McAllen Methodist Church, Established 1928.

From here, I wandered south to my next find. The Renaissance Casa de Palmas Hotel

at 101 N. Main. The hotel has been described as an "elegant blend of two worlds...Texas Hospitality with a Spanish Accent." The original Casa de Palmas was build in 1918 and its solid bricks, wooden beams, red-tile roof and twin towers became the center of business and and pleasure of the growing community. In 1919, when a hurricane hit the area, the hotel provided a refuge for hundreds of McAllen residents. In 1973, the hotel was destroyed in a fire started as the result of a lightning strike and was rebuild in the style of the original structure. The Casa de Palmas has also had a couple of name changes in its history. I remember it being called the "LaPosada Motor Hotel" when I first moved to the Valley in 1978. At some point, it became the "Doubletree Hotel" and now is the "Renaissance Casa de Palmas. The hotel has the honor of sporting not one, but two Tx. Historical Commission Markers. The markers flank the archway leading to the front entry and they read: Marker One: This site was a city park with antelope, javelina, and deer before a group of businessmen decided McAllen needed a hotel to serve as a business and social center. The Casa de Palmas, a three-story structure with a red tile roof built around a center patio and twin towers, was erected here in 1918. It served as refuge for many area residents during the severe 1919 hurricane. The hotel was rebuilt in the original style after a 1973 fire. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark – 1979 Incised in base: Restored by La Posada Motor Hotel and Marker Two:The town of McAllen began developing after the arrival of the railroad in 1905. Introduction of an irrigation system made vegetable farming possible. Soon there was a hotel, a grocery store, a Presbyterian church, a bank and a weekly newspaper. In 1916 after bandits caused border trouble, 12,000 soldiers were sent here to restore law and order. Business boomed with the increased population. Among the new facilities was the Casa de Palmas Hotel, opened in 1918. This fine hotel served as a business, social, and civic center for the Rio Grande Valley (1979).Incised in base: Restored by La Posada Motor Hotel. Can you picture javalinas and banditos running amok in Archer Park!

I remember in the mid-80's when McAllen hosted a hot-air balloon festival and one of the balloonists actually flew a balloon up and over the hotel and then tethered the balloon over the swimming pool in the hotel's courtyard. And if I remember correctly, that was the last time McAllen hosted the festival. I've also had the pleasure of having breakfast in the hotel's Spanish Room. Yummo!

If you join me next week, I'll amble a little farther south and point out some more of my finds. In the meantime, check out the history at the north end of Main Street and I promise I'll walk slow so you can catch up.