Sunday, March 13, 2016

Self-esteem in El Paso, Texas

El Paso Museum of History map of the city.


This is a picture of a map hanging in the El Paso Museum of History that shows how El Paso, Texas, saw itself in the past. Things seemed to changed after World War II. Old-timers say East Texas politicians kept the city on the border at bay. Over time, fewer resources were allocated to this region, and more formidable companies began a gradual but definite departure from the zone. El Paso could have become a Phoenix, Arizona, before Phoenix was Phoenix, a real economic powerhouse. El Paso had more going for it in its beginnings as a modern metropolis than many other U.S. cities. A medical specialist who is from another state commented to me once that "there used to be money" in El Paso. He could tell this from the quality of the construction and architecture of older buildings. As you moved farther away from the central part of El Paso, out into the early suburbs, less money was spent on the design and construction of new homes and other buildings. His observations were accurate.
Map of the city in 1925 at the Museum of History.




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