Visitors probably don't get to experience the heart of Laredo when they stop by. Each neighborhood should be given a focal point to draw tourists into the barrios. For El Chacon, I suggest driving by the world news headquarters of Laredo's Most Imposing Blog, LaSanbe.
Or people could drive by Slaughter Park which used to grow produce. Or they could see the tail end of the Chacon Creek.
I'm sure every neighborhood has a story to tell.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
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8 comments:
funny how the headwaters of Chacon Creek are way up north of Laredo
I've always wanted an artistic friend of mine to do a graphic map of Laredo and it's creatively named neighborhoods
Don't forget barrio Las Lomas .
Whoa! Las Lomas has Lalo's Place and the old Mercy Hosp.
We need somebody to donate some wall space so we can paint a mural of the barrios.
But what would it consist of?
Actual boundaries, or just symbols for every neighborhood?
___ The residential character of Laredo is consistent with the status oriented, high density Latin American settlement pattern. Those families of the highest social status located their homes in close proximity to the plaza, while others of lesser status located on the periphery. In the second half of the 19th century, the elite residential neighborhood centered around San Agustín Plaza. San Agustín Church, situated on the east side of the plaza, was founded in 1767, and the present building was constructed in 1860-1872. Prominent ranchers and settlers who lived adjacent to the plaza were the García, Leyendecker, Martin, Vidaurri, Benavides, and Ramon families.
Neighborhoods, or barrios, developed on the periphery of the centro, or downtown commercial district. These barrios became densely populated, fueled by the early 20th century oil and gas boom coupled with the major migration northward during the Mexican Revolution. Small neighborhoods developed in relation to places of employment, and churches and schools became focal points of the barrios. Escuelitas, or small private schools, and kindergartens were established to educate Spanish speaking youth.
Characterized by vernacular as well as high style architecture, late 19th and early 20th century barrio architecture exhibited a blend of Mexican and American concepts of living. These traditional Mexican residences featured flat concrete roofs, exterior street facades with recessed openings, and plain walls with decorative quoins and cornices. A more classical Moorish or mudejar style featured a U or ell shaped plan around a court yard stylized with classical ornamentation such as cornices, pilasters, and wrought iron balconies. The borrowing of American stylistic traits was evident in the use of an Anglo-American central hall or Victorian asymmetrical floor plan. Additional American elements were the exterior chimney which was incorporated into the residential floor plan, and Victorian and Classical Revival exterior trim.
Another Mexican urban trait that endured over time was the neighborhood business district. Small neighborhood businesses such as groceries, tortillerias, confectioneries, and barber shops sprang up in the barrios. A distinctive streetscape pattern was a residential dwelling attached to a commercial corner structure, incorporating a mixed residential and business use.
Located east of the centro on the banks of the Río Grande, the Azteca barrio is considered one of the oldest residential areas in Laredo, since lots were deeded as early as the 1870s and 1880s. As the neighborhood expanded northward, its name changed from El Ranchero to El Azteca, named for the Azteca Theater which opened in 1922. Today, El Azteca is nationally recognized for the integrity of its architecture and urban form, with more than 140 buildings eligible for the National Register.
El Cuatro was another early barrio which sprang up west of the centro. The name, El Cuatro, was derived from the city voting precinct in which the barrio was located - the "Fourth Ward." Many early residents were employed with the railroads, and their box-shaped board and batten houses are still present throughout the neighborhood. Due to its proximity to Fort McIntosh, the neighborhood attracted a small enclave of blacks. For a short time in 1865, the post was manned by a company of the 62nd U.S. Colored Infantry. Since that time a number of black units were stationed at the fort, including Company K of the Black Twenty-fifth U.S. Infantry in 1906. The soldiers' families and their descendants made their homes in El Cuatro and the small barrio across the tracks called El Tonto. Saint James Tabernacle and the Grayson school remain as the only architectural relics of Laredo's black history.
___As the city expanded, two elite residential neighborhoods developed. St. Peter's neighborhood was located immediately northwest of the centro and across from the International and Great Northern passenger depot. This neighborhood developed between 1881 and World War I as European and Jewish emigrants settled in Laredo, many of whom came to be counted among Laredo's most prominent citizens. Developed in proximity to a public plaza, the neighborhood was named for St. Peters, the first English speaking Catholic Church, constructed by Enrique Portscheller, a German mason, in 1896-1897. Five other houses of worship were built in the neighborhood representing Protestant and Jewish faiths.
Laredo's first elite suburban development was closely connected with the electric street car service. In 1888, the Laredo Improvement Company was chartered by the state of Texas to purchase property, erect buildings, accumulate and loan funds, and construct a street railway system. The street car system, possibly the first west of the Mississippi, was designed to attract prospective buyers in the Heights residential addition owned by the Laredo Improvement Company. With the establishment of the street car service on December 5, 1889, a real estate boom occurred between 1889 and 1895. Many stately homes were built along Market and adjacent streets which exhibited a variety of styles: Late Victorian, Bungalow, Prairie Style, Italian Renaissance Revival, and Spanish Colonial Revival.
The tumultuous Mexican Revolution of 1910-1920 brought a tide of emigrants to Laredo. Many found employment in the booming industries of coal mining, onion agriculture, brick manufacturing, and later in the 1920s, oil and gas production . More barrios extended the city north of the Texas-Mexican Railway tracks and southeast of Chacon creek, and their names reflected a personality of place which continues in importance today. Many of these barrios such as La Ladrillera, Holy Redeemer, El Trece, La Guadalupe, Canta Rana, Los Amores, Sal Si Puedes, Chacon, and Santo Niño continue to serve as symbols of community identity and cohesiveness. By the mid 1950s, most of the Spanish ejidos were developed, and today the city's 19th century urban core remains intact.
Known today as the city under seven flags, Laredo has emerged as the principal port of entry into Mexico. As the second fastest growing city in the nation, this border metropolis has greatly benefited from the well-planned, historic "Streets of Laredo," and its urban core continues to be reinvigorated as commercial areas and neighborhoods make the "Gateway City" their home.
You forgot el barrio Del Mar. ;-)
Seriously, good read, thanks for info.
The map I was thinking of would be based on a std. map but with cartoonish drawings for the neighborhoods - the blessed child for Santo Niño, singing frogs for Canta Ranas, a candle for Candelaria, brick wall for Ladrillera, etc.
Not sure what I'd put for Sal Si Puedes - all my images are non-PC hahahha.
El Sal Si Puedes could be represented with a (combination) lock. Maybe.
Those two longs entrys -- i've read them somewhere.
Maybe Sal Si Puedes could be a barred door with locks or something to that effect. My grandmother, who grew up there, once told me that it was "a wretched hive of scum and villainy." Okay, she didn't use those words exact words, but they were pretty close and in Spanish. I grew up in Las Cruces and I know all my friends who grew up there too were so proud of the name. That would be fairly simple to depict. I don't know how many of you have googled Laredo lately, but if you do, at about the 7th notch down, you can actually see a map of Laredo with some of the neighborhood names. I just noticed this about three weeks ago.
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