Spanish Comes First
by Esther Min

El Paso’s Downtown has long been known as a multicultural shopping experience. Merchants, whose ethnicities span more than 15 different nations, are predominantly Korean. Employees are mainly of Hispanic descent. Customers are of all races. Bilingual signage and bilingual and trilingual speakers are just previews of El Paso’s vibrant ethnic diversity.

The multicultural dynamic of our Downtown demands that employers and employees understand consumer wants in another language. One barrier for many newer merchants and their customers is the inability to converse. Without knowledge of another’s language and culture, merchants lack the ability to fully accommodate their customers. Because of this, many immigrant merchants of non-Spanish-speaking descent prefer to learn Spanish before attempting English. On the other hand, some of our non-native Spanish-speaking merchants have come to El Paso from countries in South America. Many of these merchants delay learning English for the same reasons as merchants trying to learn Spanish: in El Paso’s Downtown retail sector, you must speak Spanish in order to run a competitive business.
While the need to learn English has seemingly become secondary, many Hispanic employees are choosing to learn their employer’s native language. Hispanic employees can be seen translating Spanish to their employers in a mixture of elementary Spanish and broken Korean.

Even though English is our country’s primary language, the fact remains that English is taking a back seat for many Downtown merchants nationwide. The Wall Street Journal recently published an article by Miriam Jordan titled “In Los Angeles, You Say, ‘Hola!’ I Say ‘Ahn-Nyung,’”¹ which discusses the topic of the second language of preference. The article parallels Downtown’s need for many Korean employers to learn Spanish and for many Hispanic employees to learn Korean. “In the city that is home to the country’s largest foreign-born population, many Spanish- and Korean-speaking immigrants are choosing to learn each other’s language before they tackle English.” Like many Korean immigrants in Los Angeles, El Paso Downtown merchants have realized that “learning Spanish has become essential to expanding their business.” With Spanish-speaking customers comprising more than 85 percent of their business, why shouldn’t Spanish come first?

¹ Jordan, Miriam. “In Los Angeles, You Say ‘Hola!’ I Say, ‘Ahn-Nyung’ Many Koreans, Hispanics Swap Native Tongues: a Route to Better Business.” The Wall Street Journal, June 2, 2007, Weekend edition.

Alamito Revitalization
by Patricia Maese

Since the inception of the Downtown Ambassador program, I have sought to provide a positive and friendly environment. At each telephone or face-to-face request, I accept each new project with a Larry the Cable Guy, “Let’s Git’er done,” attitude. Though each day provides new and different requests, what I find most rewarding is to discover tourists wandering Downtown, struggling to orient themselves with a city or walking tour map, genuinely interested in our Southwest treasures. Many visitors are fascinated by the architectural wonders of the Cortez building and the revived Plaza Theatre.

Tourists often comment about the clean and casual Downtown atmosphere. The volume of pedestrian traffic along the horseshoe has been compared to the Las Vegas Strip. Many also feel that this hustle and bustle make them feel safe. It’s always great to receive accolades, but we continue to strive to please the public. With our “we care” attitude, we seek to better Downtown.

Flags at San Jacinto Plaza and Aztec Calendar Park

June 14 is Flag Day in the United States. This is a day set aside to celebrate the adoption of our flag, a symbol of our freedom. For the past five years, the Downtown Management District has erected flags in San Jacinto Plaza and Aztec Calendar Park, an action made possible through donations as well as contributions of time, supplies and flags. It is a privilege for the DMD to carry out this activity to honor our veterans and all active duty members of the military.

The Continental Congress approved the first American flag on June 14, 1777. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed Flag Day to be an official celebration, but it was President Truman who made Flag Day an official holiday by signing the National Flag Day Bill in 1949. Americans have been celebrating the adoption of our flag for hundreds of years but Flag Day has come to mean more than that. Flag Day symbolizes the sacrifices our soldiers have made for our country. Flag Day allows us to reflect on our freedoms and rights as United States citizens. While we have the Fourth of July to celebrate our independence, Flag Day covers so much more about our great country.

The flag of the United States is our symbol of freedom. It is important to display the flag in order to show respect for our country and for those who have served it. The men and women who have fought bravely to protect our country’s freedom should be respected and honored. Flag Day is not just a day to celebrate our freedom but also a celebration of what we have as U.S. citizens.

The DMD would like to recognize and thank the following contributors for their help in making this yearly event possible:

• El Paso Builders Association contributed pipe, conduit and screws to assemble
50 flag poles.
• H & R Car Wash - Mr. Kenneth Haddad
• Capt. Eugene Finke (former city representative)
• Paso Del Norte No. 75 Military Order of the Cooties
• Anita Blair
• Dan Cedillos (Vietnam Veterans of America, Chapter 574) donated two U.S.
flags.
• Vietnam Veterans Assistance Foundation of Texas Inc.
• George and Jorge Salom

Entertainment in Old El Paso

Over the years, Downtown El Paso has been home to many theaters, although the term “theater” was not always used because the acting profession was not highly regarded. Opera house brought to mind a classier image. These theaters, halls and opera houses held many types of performances, from vaudeville to movies. Unfortunately, most of these old theaters no longer exist.

The first structure built solely for theater, according to Cynthia Farah Haines in her book titled Showtime! From Opera Houses to Picture Palaces in El Paso, was Hills Hall. Hills Hall was built in 1881 and located Downtown on San Antonio Street. Many other theaters appeared in El Paso over the next 100 years, with performances ranging from vaudeville to silent movies to “talkies.” Although some theaters had a short life, there were many of them— the Bijou, the Myar Opera House, the Wigwam and the Franklin, to name a few. The Wigwam Saloon was one of the more interesting of these theaters, opening initially as a gambling house and saloon and eventually changing to a movie theater.

Residents of El Paso may not realize that El Paso was once famous for its theaters and, according to Haines, was called “the Broadway of the Southwest.” Popular acts of the time, like the Nellie Boyd Dramatic Company and the Hess Opera Company, performed in El Paso theaters. Some of El Paso’s theater productions were in Spanish, due to the proximity of Mexico and the Mexican population in El Paso.

The theater is a fascinating and perhaps little-known historical link, disappointing only because most of these theaters have not been preserved. It is, however, a captivating subject and one that provides a considerable amount of interesting and entertaining information, from the performers and the history to the people behind the structures. The Plaza Theatre is one remaining link to the history of theaters in El Paso, and its $38 million renovation has ensured that a significant part of history will be preserved Downtown for all to see.

A Glimpse Into The Past

by Julie Rivera

Add another line to your list of reasons to visit Downtown! Downtown El Paso welcomes the El Paso History Museum, which opened the doors to its new home on Saturday, June 16, 2007. The museum, one of three city-operated museums in El Paso, was built in 1974 and called the Cavalry Museum. In 1980, the name was changed to the El Paso History Museum. A bond issue was passed in 2000 that provided the funding to create this new, two-story, 44,000-square-foot structure for El Paso’s rich and diverse history.

Currently, the museum has two permanent exhibits: El Paso A to Z and The Changing Pass. On the first floor, El Paso A to Z is organized using both the English and Spanish alphabet. This interactive exhibit is intended to show different aspects of daily life in El Paso. According to the museum’s website, there will be “items to touch, drawers to peek into and small spaces to step inside.”
The Changing Pass exhibit is located on the second floor and features three themes: The Living Pass, The Border Pass and The Community Pass. The Living Pass involves the geographical history of El Paso. The Border Pass shows history from the perspective of the effect the border has had on the people of El Paso. The third section, The Community Pass, is a look at our community from the viewpoint of those who have settled in El Paso and shows traditions, experiences and the growth of El Paso.

A third permanent exhibit, expected to take two to three years, is being developed. This unique and innovative exhibit, called Las Villitas, will be sustained by the community. Las Villitas shows communities, such as Chihuahita, Sunset Heights, Kern and Segundo Barrio. People living in these neighborhoods will work with the museum, providing an opportunity for neighborhoods to show how El Paso has affected their community and how their community has affected El Paso.

The museum is also developing an exhibit chronicling the aviation history of El Paso, which will include the region of Ciudad Juárez. The El Paso International Airport will assist in the development of this exhibit. According to the El Paso History Museum Director Jennifer Nielson, “our El Paso Airport has a great history.” She also says that there are many topics to explore, including the architecture of the airport, airlines that have started in El Paso and the NASA training facility located at the airport.

The museum promotes the culture and heritage of the area. The exhibits educate viewers and help them understand the experiences El Pasoans have had in settling in this border town. Admission to the museum is free, which is all the more reason to spend some educational and enjoyable moments checking out the museum’s new home. Your time will be well spent exploring the fascinating history of El Paso!

Local Fabric El Paso's Historic Preservation Officer
by Julie Rivera

El Paso is a city rich in history, a history greatly influenced by Mexico, Spain and the United States. El Paso has a lot to offer, not only to residents, but also to people everywhere who are interested in seeing how this part of the great state of Texas came to be. This history is reflected in El Paso’s architecture, and it is the job of one man to protect this history— newly hired Troy Ainsworth, the historic preservation officer for the city of El Paso.

Ainsworth arrived from Fort Worth to begin his new job on April 25. He is glad to be in El Paso, with its unique “cultural and historical blending,” and says that this uniqueness “is evident in its built environment and the ruggedness of its mountain range.”

The historic preservation officer is responsible for ensuring that ordinances are followed by the residents of El Paso with regard to the preservation and maintenance of structures within designated historic districts. His main job is to enforce, coordinate and manage the Historic Preservation Ordinance of the city, a 29-page document that contains nine pages of legal definitions. This office encourages questions from the business community, believing it is important that they feel comfortable asking for assistance. If there is a question about architectural design guidelines or whether a building is considered historic, business owners can call the office of the historic preservation officer at 915.541.4668 for assistance. It is imperative that correct information be disseminated because incorrect alterations could result in costly reversals and a loss of architectural integrity.

Ainsworth has several goals for the city of El Paso. One major goal is the Heritage Tourism Plan. This plan pertains to El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, the portion of the Camino Real in the United States that has been designated a National Historic Trail. A grant from Preserve America will allow the work to be done on the first phase of the project with the intent to work in collaboration to develop and promote a Heritage Tourism Plan. Another of Ainsworth’s goals is to work with the city of El Paso in regards to the Downtown 2015 Plan to ensure that El Paso’s historic properties remain prominent.
Ainsworth will be a great asset to El Paso. He has a tough job but believes that El Paso has genuine historic value. The unique, compelling history of El Paso and the surrounding communities is something that would be beneficial for all of us to uncover, learn and preserve. Thanks to Troy Ainsworth, El Paso will be one step closer to achieving that goal.

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