McAllen, Texas, Hidalgo County. (original) (raw)
For some reason, this town seems to stand out as the Hub of the Valley. West of here are the smaller towns that become known to true connoisseurs of the Valley. Edinburg is technically connected, but they haven't merged like Bryan-College Station although they might have by the time you read this. Traffic is noticeably more congested but still not as bad as back home. It's the only city we know where the busiest street is 10th. One has to feel for early residents who bought on this street thinking it would be far away from Main Street hustle and bustle.
Since the tallest building in the Valley is here (visible from Mexico) it's not easy to get lost in McAllen. At the foot of this building is an arch from the old McAllen High School (NE corner of the parking lot).
The stone arch of the front of the McAllen High School preserved at the corner of 12th street and Austin Ave.
Photo courtesy Ken Rudine, March 2008
See Texas Schoolhouses
Other outstanding architectural points of interest include the old Southern Pacific Railroad Station on Bicentennial. After passenger service dropped off, the building has been vacant, has headquartered the Police and other city departments, and is currently home to a law firm.
To show their appreciaton of their winter guests, McAllen has monthly picnics honoring them state by state. A few Iowans have been known to show up at the Illinois picnic, but this was only in retaliation for the ugly 1938 incident which we will not discuss here.
�
McAllen Street Names:
- Street Name Trivia by Joe Foster
"A set of McAllen avenues are named alphabetically for trees..., flowers, and birds..." more - Subject: Addition to "Street Name Trivia" for McAllen
Please add the following to "Street Name Trivia" for McAllen by Joe Foster.
McAllen is one of the easiest towns to navigate. The town plat was based on the railroad and the canal. Old Business 83 paralleled the East/West railroad. Per Joe Foster, the streets north of the railroad were named alphabetically after trees, flowers and birds. South of the railroad streets were alphabetically named for towns and girls' names. If a Texas town was not available, the planners went outside the state. So ... Austin, Beaumont, Chicago, Dallas, Erie, Fresno, Galveston, Houston, Ithica, Jackson, Kennedy, Lindberg, Mobile, Newport, Oakland, Portland, Quebec, Richmond, Savannah, Toronto, Uvalde, Vermont, Victoria, Wichita, Yuma, Zion.
The next set started as Aztec, Balboa, Cortez, Diaz, and El Rancho but stopped.
Another list started when McAllen expanded to the south: Agusta, Balboa, Covina, Daytona, Elmira, Francisca, Gloria, Helena, Idela, Judith, Katrina, Lucille, Melba, Norma, Olga, Paula, Queta, Rosalva, Sarah, Tanya, Teresa, Ursula, Vanessa, Wanda.
The numerical streets that run North and South started with 1st (east of the canal) and 2nd (west of the canal). Numbers were added as McAllen grew to the West. They stopped when they reached the neighboring towns of Sharyland or Mission. The open canal was eventually enclosed. Also, 13th is Broadway and 14th is Main Street. - Ella Aubin, January 12, 2012
Book Hotel: McAllen Hotels
McAllen Texas Natural Attractions
McAllen Nearby Destinations
- Hwy 281 North 8 mile to Edinburg.
- Hwy 83 East 15 miles to Weslaco, another 19 miles to Harlingen
- Hwy 83 West 45 miles to Roma, via Mission, Rio Grande City, and don't miss the hand-operated ferry in Los Ebanos.
- Just a few miles south of McAllen is Hidalgo, where you can cross the border to visit Reynosa in Mexico.Book Hotel Here:
McAllen Hotels
McAllen Chamber of Commerce 1-800-250-2591
10 North Broadway.
www.mcallen.org
For our readers that are interested in Demographics (and who isn't) the chamber has a US Map in lieu of a guest book. Visitors are encouraged to insert a map tack into their city of origin.
 |
Even gargoyles are colorful in McAllen This one adorns a former Elementary School TE photo |
|---|
McAllen, Texas
Vintage Postcard Images
 |
"City of Palms" McAllen, Texas Postcard courtesy rootsweb.com/ ~txgenweb// postcards/Index.html |
|---|
 |
Main Street, McAllen, Texas, 1922 Postcard courtesy rootsweb.com/ ~txgenweb// postcards/Index.html |
|---|
 |
1940s Main Street, McAllen, Texas Postcard courtesy rootsweb.com/ ~txgenweb// postcards/Index.html |
|---|
 |
McAllen, Texas street scene Postcard courtesy rootsweb.com/ ~txgenweb// postcards/Index.html |
|---|
 |
U.S. Post Office Postcard courtesy rootsweb.com/ ~txgenweb// postcards/Index.html |
|---|
Texas Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history, stories, landmarks and recent or vintage photos, please contact us.