(rshsdepot) Harlingen, TX

[Jim Dent <jdent1_@_optonline.net>]

From the Valley Morning Star...

Harlingen looking at possible sites for museum
City officials are considering the old railroad depot, Bert Ogden building

By FERNANDO DEL VALLE
Valley Morning Star
HARLINGEN - City officials are looking at two downtown locations as possible
sites for the city's museum.

Officials are considering putting the relocation of the Rio Grande Valley
Museum on a list of projects that would be funded through a proposed $45
million bond issue.

But most museum board members are against moving the museum from its
location near Texas State Technical College.

More than a year ago, city officials started to openly discuss the
relocation of the museum to a downtown site.

As possible sites, officials are looking at the old railroad depot that's
housed H&H Golf Carts at 115 W. Harrison Ave. and the Bert Ogden building at
Jackson Avenue and F Street.

"That's in very preliminary stages," Mayor Connie de la Garza said.

As one of the city's historical landmarks, the old railroad depot offers a
centralized downtown location, officials said.

"It's a historic structure and its location is in the downtown area where a
lot of traffic goes," Assistant City Manager Gabriel Gonzalez said.

But the building could be too small to house the museum, Gonzalez said,
noting the museum is made up of an 8.000-square-foot building and an
8,000-square-foot courtyard.

If the city purchases the building, it could use a city-owned parking lot
between Jackson and Van Buren Avenues to house part of the museum, he said.

The city has preliminary cost estimates for the purchases of the railroad
depot and Bert Ogden building, said Gonzalez, who declined to disclose
property costs.

While the railroad depot could be too small for the project, the Bert Ogden
building is a sprawling site located in an area under renovation, he said.

"It's a massive site - it pretty much covers the entire block," Gonzalez
said. "It's in the heart of La Placita."

If city leaders add the cost of the museum's relocation to the list of
projects that would be funded through the proposed bond issue, officials
would cut into a proposed $2.9 million sidewalk improvements plan to fund
the project, City Manager Roy Rodriguez said last week.

But most museum board members oppose moving the museum.

"I think it's going to be very difficult to move the historical buildings,"
board member Evelon Dale said of the Lon C. Hill home and other buildings.

"Structurally, they're not in a condition to be moved, and I think the
existing building is very nice and very well suited for it."

Board member Wanda Greenhill said she had "mixed emotions."

"My first inclination is no," she said. "We have a beautiful facility out
there now. But on the other hand, sometimes you have to move ahead. If we
were downtown, it would enhance the whole of Harlingen. But it's going to
cost a lot of money."

Many city officials believe the museum's downtown relocation would draw more
tourists, de la Garza said.

"We're looking at a future vision for Harlingen and how to attract tourists
to the museum," he said. "To me, it makes sense for Harlingen to have a
viable downtown area."




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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org

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End of RSHSDepot Digest V1 #541
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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org