Main Street History - Part 2

I'm glad you decided to join me as I continue my search for Historic Markers along Main Street. My next two finds are in the 300 block of S. Main (Main & Chicago) and are conveniently located across the street from one another. My first find is the La Placita Building. Built in the style of Spanish colonial revival, this structure sports a Baroque front piece around the door, corbelled cornices and the familiar red-tile roof. La Placita wasn't always La Placita. It was built in 1935 and dedicated in January, 1936 as the sixth location of the McAllen Post Office (est. 1907). It served as a postal facility until 1956. Since 1957 the building has been home to a number of offices, including Federal and City. In June of 2008, the McAllen Heritage Center Museum of History established residency and in March of this year, celebrated their Grand Opening. The museum, open from Tues. - Fri. 1-5 pm and Sat. 11 am - 4 pm, serves as a place to preserve, and exhibit those items that reflect McAllen's unique history and cultures. Admission is free and there is free parking behind the building. For more information, contact Geoffery Alger, Curator at 956-687-1904 or e-mail at mcheritage@att.net.

If you look across the street, you'll see the second historical building. This is the M & J Nelson building, better known to downtown shoppers as the J.C. Penney building. Morris R. Nelson build and owned the 30,999 sq. ft, 3 story building for the use of the J.C. Penney Co. The Art Moderne style building was designed in 1949. The exterior is two-toned brick with a darker brick accenting the corners. Recessed entry doors lead into the interior and a couple of unique finds: Aluminum stair rails and the City's first 13-passenger elevator. There is also a basement, something I'm used to seeing up north (Michigan) but rarely here in south Texas. The building also sported one of the City's earliest Air Conditioning units. Hopefully it never had to contend with the kind of temperatures we've seem lately. The M & J Nelson served then and continues to serve the downtown area as an architectural and commercial anchor for McAllen growth and development. Meet me next week at the south end of Main Street, as I wrap up the History All Along Main.