(rshsdepot) Pharr, TX

[I95BERNIEW_@_aol.com]

From The Monitor.
 
Bernie Wagenblast
 
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 
 
 
Pharr works to rebuild train depot

 



_Ryan  Holeywell_ (mailto:rholeywell_@_themonitor.com) 
November 25, 2007 - 4:22PM

PHARR — The city is looking to the past to revitalize its  downtown area in 
the future. 

Officials are in the middle of trying to  figure out how to fund the 
reconstruction of its historic train depot, which  once stood at the city center and 
served as a hub of commerce. 
They want to  rebuild the depot as a museum dedicated to the history of the 
region’s railroads  in the area. 

City leaders hope the museum will help revitalize downtown  and inject an 
estimated $500,000 into the local economy each year, capitalizing  on Winter 
Texans and others interested in local history. 

“It’s trying to  bring back the historical aspect of what the place used to 
look like,” said Main  Street Program manager Fabio Angell. 

But, as with most grand plans,  money is a major concern. 

The city had applied for some money through a  Texas Department of 
Transportation funding program, but the program was canceled  in December 2006. 

City Manager Fred Sandoval said the city would now  examine the possibility 
of funding the project through hotel/motel taxes, which  are specifically 
intended for promoting tourism. 

The city does not own  the land where the depot would be built. Sandoval said 
he’s working with the  non-profit Trust for Public Land, which could help 
facilitate an affordable deal  for the city with the site’s landowners, possibly 
by offering tax breaks or  other incentives. 

The depot site, at Cage Boulevard and Business 83, is  owned by Union Pacific 
Railroad and leased by the Rio Valley Switching Company.  Sandoval said the 
city would seek to create a museum that did not interfere with  the rail 
operations. 

The cost of the project has not been determined,  but the first step would be 
acquiring land, hopefully within six months, he  said. 

Sandoval said it’s important to foster a site that highlights the  history of 
railroads, since they were so critical to the city’s development. He  said 
even his father and grandfather used to work at the old depot.  

“It’s kind of a neat little reminder of what Pharr used to be,” he said.  

Ruben Escobar, owner of the Diseño Inc. architectural firm in Pharr,  said he’
s been using old photos of the depot and interviews with people who  remember 
it to create conceptual drawings of the site. The area would feature a  rose 
garden, pavilion and community building, in addition to the depot and  museum. 

Escobar said the push to rebuild the train depot began six years  ago. 

The depot was originally constructed around 1913 and continued to  be used 
until the 1950s or 1960s, said Frank Jacobson, a member of Rio Grande  Valley 
Rails, a club of train enthusiasts. It’s unclear whether the depot was  
demolished or moved elsewhere. 

Jacobson, who lives near Hargill, said he  has been researching the history 
of the railroad in Pharr to help the project.  

“Produce was the main thing carried out of the Valley,” Jacobson said.  “
People, appliances, lumber, automobiles ... everything else, most of it came  
down to the Valley on the railroad.” 

In 1905, the St. Louis, Brownsville  & Mexico Railway opened, connecting 
Brownsville to Harlingen and Mission,  and ultimately Rio Grande City. 

The railway allowed speculators, such as  Pharr’s founders, to freely travel 
the area. It also allowed the region’s  produce growers to ship their goods 
across the nation. 

“People don’t  realize the Valley wouldn’t have developed like it has 
without the railroad,”  Jacobson said. 
_____ 
Ryan Holeywell covers PSJA and general assignments  for The Monitor. He can 
be reached at (956) 683-4446. 



**************************************Check out AOL's list of 2007's hottest 
products.
(http://money.aol.com/special/hot-products-2007?NCID=aoltop00030000000001)

=================================
The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org
To Unsubscribe: http://lists.railfan.net/rshsdepot-photo/unsub.html

------------------------------