Archive for the 'History' Category
Tuesday, October 16th, 2007
Rio Grande Theatre
Rio Grande Theatre, Main Street, Las Cruces.
In 1925, the Hacker Hotel was torn down to provide a site for The Rio Grande Theatre. An El Paso architect, Otto H. Thorman, was hired to design the theatre, which is built of adobe. A “washed air” cooling system was installed — which must have been very rare in New Mexico then.
The theatre opened on July 29, 1926 with the film Mare Nostrum (a silent film), directed by Rex Ingram and staring Alice Terry and Antonio Moreno.
Prices for movies were 40 cents for the main floor, 30 cents for the balcony, and 15 cents for children.
In 1933, the theatre burned, but it was rebuilt and restored, even though it was the Great Depression.
The theatre remained in operation until 1997, when it was closed as no longer economically viable. It was feared it would be destroyed or put to another use.
The theatre was saved by the generosity of the descendents of one of the original owners, who donated the portion they owned (thank you!), and the Dona Ana Arts Council, which raised the money to purchase the rest and to restore the theater.
The restoration process began in 2001 and the was completed sufficiently by 2005 for a grand opening.
The marquee, restored to its original look.
The original facade was covered some time in the 50s. When the new front was removed, the original decorations, although damaged, were discovered. In a 1933 newspaper article, the decorations are described as “color combinations of reds, yellows, and blues.” They are almost completely restored, except for these few:
Here’s the restored ticket booth:
The beautifully restored interior now seats 422:
Notice the “ghost light.” (A “ghost light” is a single bulb burning on a dark stage, an old English tradition.)
Some photos of the restored ceiling:
(Historial information provided by the Dona Ana Arts Council.)
See Also
Screen With A Voice – A History of Moving Pictures in Las Cruces, New Mexico
HANG ‘EM HIGH
Rio Grande Theatre – More History.
Las Cruces Gets Talkies.
Tags: Las Cruces, Rio Grande Theatre, Theaters, History, Main Street
Thursday, September 27th, 2007
How Las Cruces Got Its Name
Las Cruces, N. M., “The City of Crosses”
In reply to an inquiry as to how Las Cruces, New Mexico, “the City of Crosses,” got its name, Judge Charles Blanchard, of Las Vegas, who is located in Las Cruces temporarily, handling lands and mines, writes to The Optic as follows from that city:
“I have renewed here the acquaintances of many old settlers, some of whom I have never seen but whose names were familiar through business connections in the early days; from the early 1840’s until the advent of the railroad in New Mexico, during the good, old times of wagon freighting from Chihuahua to [the] Missouri river, by way of Las Vegas, where I was initiated into the mercantile business that commanded the patronage of this portion of New Mexico in its full breadth from east to west and along the Rio Grande [and a] hundred miles into Texas.
I read the other day the register of the old Mesilla hotel, rendered famous as the rendezvous of many pioneers of the southwest, at that time that Soccorro county extended from Arizona to the west line of Texas, when the present “Lincoln” was known only by the name of Fort Stanton and the old town of Tularosa. Such names as John Chisum, Col. Emil Fritz, Major Murphy, Capt. J. C. Lea, Col. A. J. Fountain, Col. Rynerson, Jimmy Dolan, Joseph Reynolds, Pat Garrett, A. Griggs and a host of other familiar figures often appear upon the leaves of the records of the ancient hostelery of Mesilla.
In the old town of Mesilla are several families with centenarians, one of whom is living with members of four generations in the same house, due, of course, to simple, frugal living, and exploding the theory that longevity is produced by modern, scientific preparations of diet.
Mesilla is one of the oldest settlements in the southern New Mexico, and has consequently been the scene of many thrilling adventures and historic events. Being on the main road between Santa Fe and Chihuahua, it was a settlement of no small importance, and when in 1865 Silver City began to loom up as a mining camp, a wagon road was opened from Mesilla through Cook’s Peak and Stein’s pass, of Indian massacre fame, and it added much to the importance of the old town. El Paso and Las Cruces were not known then; the town of Dona Ana, seven miles up the valley, being the only settlement as a rival as a trading post and county seat.
In 1852, a long caravan of forty five carts drawn by oxen, heavily loaded with freight from Santa Fe to Chihuahua merchants were one morning nearing a point where the Lucero flouring mill now stands, the northern suburb of Las Cruces, where the convoy was attacked by the Mescalero-Apaches and entirely destroyed, some fifty men being killed and buried on the spot. The native cart was constructed without bolts of iron and the creaking of the wheels could be heard at great distances, when in motion.
The news of the disaster was conveyed to Dona Ana where some troops were stationed. The men were buried in separate graves marked with mounds and a cross on each grave. Ever since the spot has been designated as that of Las Cruces, the present City of Crosses.”
— Rio Grande Republican, Feb 13, 1909 (newspaper)
Tags: Las Cruces, History
Thursday, April 5th, 2007
Pat Garrett Marker
The city of Las Cruces is considering the approval of a 1,703.9 acre subdivision on the East Mesa south of Hwy 70 called “The Vistas at Presidio II.”
Unknown to virtually everyone in Las Cruces, this block contains a marker built by Jarvis Garrett to memorialize the spot where his Dad was shot. Jarvis Garrett is the youngest son of Pat Garrett. Pat Garrett is the lawman who is most famous for having shot Billy the Kid.
A local organization called Friends of Pat Garrett has been formed “to ensure that the site where the death occurred is set aside for a memorial to Pat, and that the marker set up by Jarvis is retained and protected.” Their web site is:
Here’s what the marker looks like:
Pat Garrett was shot February 28, 1908. You can see “Feb 1908” carved in the marker in this closeup:
Photos courtesy of Friends of Pat Garrett.
See also:
Billy the Kids’s Grave – New Book
Did Billy the Kid Stay at La Posta in Mesilla?
Friday, February 16th, 2007
Las Cruces’ Worst Mistake
The hands-down worst mistake in Las Cruces history was the destruction of Main Street under the guise of “urban renewal.”
“Urban renewal” was federal policy in the 60s, part of the big government social engineering mindset that began its rule then and is with us still. In the case of Las Cruces, the Federal Government was willing to pay two thirds of the cost of “renewing” the downtown area.
Here are a couple of post card images of Main Street, Las Cruces from the 1940s.
The justifications for the “renewal” of Main Street and surrounding area were the usual ones:
The businesses there were not doing that well,
The buildings were old and unattractive, some dating to the late 1800s,
And, of course, a wonderful urban utopia could be put in its place with businesses that would pay more taxes.
But the truth of “urban renewal” was never an urban utopia.
Instead, businesses that social planners didn’t like, but had historical and organic roots, were replaced by businesses they “favored” and were willing to subsidize. Whether the new businesses would make money was a gamble — the only firms that were certain to profit were those involved in the destruction of the “old” and the construction of the “new.”
The plan that was adopted involved closing 7 blocks of Main Street and turning it into a “shaded” walking mall. The blocks on both sides of the mall would be cleared of all buildings to make that space available for new construction. Businesses and home owners that did not voluntarily sell in the cleared areas, or agree to renovations in the walking mall, would be removed by eminent domain.
Implementation of the plan began in 1968 and was finished in 1974.
The “renewal” area contained 160 businesses. 38 agreed to make the required remodeling changes and were permitted to stay. 122 did not and moved or went out of business.
A total of 84 families and 52 individuals lived in the cleared area and were forced to relocate.
Here you can see the “urban renewal” area shortly after its completion. Main Street has been closed and the streets on both sides now loop around it. The extensive empty areas, including the swath to the right of the loop (east), are “cleared” areas.
Here’s a better view of the “front” (south end) of the mall:
As the photo makes clear, this was an extremely ugly design with very serious problems. There was absolutely nothing that was attractive to people driving by in cars. All you could see from the loop were the backs of the businesses, and in the walking mall itself, the low “shades” covered anything attractive in the buildings — not that there was much that was attactive left, because the forced renovations had resulted in the historical storefronts being destroyed or covered with “modern” facades.
The mall was and is a failure.
It destroyed Las Cruces’ historical downtown heritage and replaced it with an ugly public space that no one wanted to visit.
Here’s what the front entrance looks like today:
Here’s what the inside of the mall looks like:
Recognizing what a horrible mistake the project was, the city is now removing the mall and restoring Main Street. But it’s impossible to recover what was destroyed.
Tags: Las Cruces, Urban Renewal, Downtown Mall, Las Cruces History
Saturday, November 11th, 2006
La Entrada Moved
The La Entrada Monument is gone — moved to storage.
The removal of the monument is part of the renovation to restore Main Street and remove the Downtown Mall. This reverses the most disastrous public policy decision in Las Cruces history, which closed the historic old street and converted it to a semi-open mall.
La Entrada’s creator Anthony Pennock supervised the monument’s disassembly. A new location for the monument has not been selected.
Tags: La Entrada Monument
Friday, October 27th, 2006
Peter Wolf Toth
Las Cruces has one of Peter Wolf Toth’s Whispering Giants, as noted here.
Since yesterday was the 50th anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution, this is a good time to review his book on his sculptures and life, Indian Giver.
Indian Giver was published in 1980. It begins with his childhood in Hungary. He was born in 1947, the seventh child in a family that eventually numbered 11 kids.
Conditions under the communists were brutally harsh, and got even worse when what little property his father had was taken and given to a party member. They were left with a dirt-floored house in which the only furniture was a table and 13 chairs.
When the people of Hungary revolted against the Russians, it appeared at first they had succeeded. The Russians even agreed to negotiate — but it was a ruse. They returned with a huge force, mercilessly crushing all opposition. Mass arrests and executions followed.
Two of Toth’s brothers escaped to the West, and Toth’s parents decided they would follow. For a short period of time the Yugoslavian border was open because the United States was paying Yugoslavia a bounty for every Hungarian that was permitted to leave Hungary.
After a dangerous escape and two years in refugee camps in Europe, Toth and his family came to the United States as sponsored immigrants.
Following his account of his life, Toth describes how he carved his first sculpture in a rock cliff, motivated by a compelling image he saw in the stone. That was 1972.
After carving a second sculpture in wood, he decided he would carve one for each state in the country, taking nothing for his work.
The difficulties and rewards of the first 27 “Whispering Giants” are described, and pictured. These sculptures are not “works” created in a studio — they are his life, requiring months of travel searching for the appropriate tree and location, and months of carving.
In releasing the image he sees in each unique piece of wood, he satisfies something deep in himself. But he also makes it clear the work itself is a physical pleasure — the outdoors, the textures, the fragrances — even scrubbing pitch out of his hair.
This is a wonderful, exuberant book. It is no longer in print, so see if you can find a used copy.
Tags: Indian Giver, Peter Wolf Toth, Trail of the Whispering Giants
Tuesday, October 17th, 2006
The Whispering Giant
Apodaca Park at Solano and Madrid in Las Cruces has one of the 67 remarkable sculptures in “The Trail of the Whispering Giants.”
These monumental sculptures are the life work of Peter Wolf Toth.
Mr. Toth was born in Hungary and escaped to the United States during the 1956 Hungarian Revolution.
In 1972 at the age of 24, with no prior sculpting experience, he carved an American Indian sculpture at Wind and Sea Beach in La Jolla, California. Shortly thereafter, he decided to dedicate however long it took to create 50 such sculptures, one for each state.
He didn’t stop at 50 and has now created 67, one or more in each state and the rest in other countries, including Canada.
The sculptures honor Native Peoples and are called as a group The Trail of the Whispering Giants.
Each sculpture is a gift to its location. He accepts nothing for them. He supports himself with other work while doing the carving.
The sculpture given to New Mexico is called “Dineh” and was finished and mounted in the park in 1986.
“Dineh” is a native word for “human beings.”
Another view:
Here’s a partial index of the Giants.
Tags: Trail of the Whispering Giants, Dineh, Peter Wolf Toth, Apodaca Park, Las Cruces
Saturday, October 7th, 2006
St. Genevieve’s Today
Here’s the new St. Genevieve’s Church.
Tags: St. Genevieve’s Church
Thursday, October 5th, 2006
St. Genevieve’s Church
The first St. Genevieve’s Church was built in 1859. In 1886, the church’s adobe structure was replaced by a brick cathedral, which was fronted by two 44-foot bell towers.
In 1967, this structure was demolished and a new church built at a new location — a huge historical loss.
In 1998, a monument to the old cathedral was constructed at the church’s original location.
Here’s a drawing of the old church from the monument’s plaque:
The monument:
Tags: St. Genevieve’s Church
Friday, September 8th, 2006
La Entrada Monument
As part of the process of redesigning the Las Cruces downtown (most would say fixing the previous huge mistakes), the La Entrada Monument must be moved to a new location. The Monument stands now in the middle of what will be an extension of Main Street.
The Monument consists of two half-circle walls that commemorate the arrival of Spanish culture into the Mesilla Valley.
Anthony Pennock, the artist who created the Monument in 1997, will supervise its removal and reconstruction.
Mr. Pennock is a native Las Crucen.
Tags: La Entrada Monument, Anthony Pennock
