For the second year, the El Paso Central Business Association’s golf tournament was a tremendous success! The event was held on Nov. 3 at the Campestre Golf Club in Cd. Juárez with great prizes, great food and a great time had by all. The event is used by the CBA as a fund-raiser for the organization and as a means of raising funds for the bridges. Supporters, called patrons of the bridges, have been responsible for more than $5,000 worth of contributions for the last two years. The CBA will present the funds for use by the International Bridge Commission. “Hosting the golf tournament in Juárez provides an opportunity for El Paso businessmen and women to interact with their counterparts from Juarez,” says Mike Dipp Jr., president of the association. The title sponsors were River Oaks Properties and UETA, a division of World Duty Free. Special thanks go out to the CBA Golf Committee and supporter Alfonso Diaz for all their work to make this a special event.

Holiday Celebrations Brighten Up Downtown

December brings holiday lights and cheer in Downtown. On Dec. 2, the city starts the season with the traditional lighting of the tree and Christmas Light Parade. This event is one of the most attended events in Downtown El Paso. It is estimated that more than 20,000 people attend the lighting of the tree, which is closely followed by the electrifying light parade. More than 50 parade units cruise along the route that travels by San Jacinto Plaza, the location of the city’s Christmas tree. Trucks and cars decked out with strobes and lights accompany units representing many organizations and schools from the community to the delight of thousands of spectators.

On Dec. 14, the El Paso Central Business Association hosted its 15th Annual Posada. More than 1,000 toys were distributed by members of the staff and the Lydia Patterson Institute. The posada is the Mexican holiday tradition that commemorates the events in the journey of Mary and Joseph from Nazareth to Bethlehem seeking shelter. As always, toys and candy were provided by local merchants and Fort Bliss Operation Santa Clause and were distributed to spectators who experienced the reenactment that was cast by students from Lydia Patterson Institute. Along with music from the choir came the singing of traditional music by the crowd. All together, the posada is a great holiday event! Traditional foods, such as tamales, along with the “breaking of the piñata” completed the celebration. The business association joined with the Office of the Mexican Consulate, LULAC, City Representative Beto O’Rourke and Downtown businesses to produce the event.

"Downtown El Paso is Monument to Anson Mills" - second installment
by Theresa Saenz and Juan Aleman

Reprinted with permission of Borderlands, a student writing and research project of El Paso Community College, El Paso, TX 79998, Ruth E. Vise, Project Director and Faculty Editor. All rights reserved

Later, Mills and his two brothers, William Wallace and Emmett, built a ranch 18 miles north of El Paso. They named it "Los Tres Hermanos." While building his house, Mills supervised the building of other neighbors' homes.

When the Civil War broke out, Mills and his brother William were the only two in El Paso who voted against the secession of Texas from the Union. In 1861, Mills left town to join the Union Army. He became a career soldier, retiring as a brigadier general. He invented a woven-web ammunition belt. After the war, he returned to El Paso.
In 1883, Mills, along with Josiah Crosby, built the Grand Central Hotel, which was "the acme of luxury and comfort," according to the Jan. 1, 1885, El Paso Times. A spectacular fire destroyed it in 1892 because firemen could not get water to the fourth floor.

Leon Metz says that in 1910, Mills built the "tallest concrete monolith in the world" on the same site of his hotel but this time with fireproof materials. A store-front first floor of the Mills Building housed the White House Department Store, the Modern Café, the United States Public Defender and, later, the El Paso Electric Company. Located on the corner of Mills Avenue and Oregon Street, the Mills Building continues to be a landmark in Downtown El Paso.

Among the most important of Mills' contributions to the area include his work on the International Boundary Commission, to which he was named in January 1894. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo had set the Rio Grande as the border between Mexico and the U.S. but had not considered the results of flooding, which frequently moved land from one country to the other. In 1895, Mexican farmers sued to reclaim some 630 acres of land from the United States.

After the two countries could not agree on a settlement, the "Chamizal" dispute was submitted to arbitration by the International Boundary Commission. Anson Mills, representing the United States, rejected the decision to return the land to Mexico, and this area remained in limbo until 1962, when the land in question was divided, with the United States receiving 190 acres and Mexico, 437 acres.
Mills was successful in 1905 in negotiating a treaty for the elimination of "bancos," horseshoe bends in the river that shifted water channels, often clouding international boundaries. Metz says that engineers sliced through the necks of the bancos, and those loops extending into Texas belonged to the United States and the ones falling below the river belonged to Mexico. By 1970, 30,000 acres of land had changed ownership, and 241 bancos had been eliminated.

Because settlements in Colorado and New Mexico used so much water from the Rio Grande, El Paso and Juárez farmers often ran short of water. In 1888, Mills suggested building an international dam one mile north of where ASARCO is located today. It would regulate the flow of the Rio Grande, provide irrigation water for about 20,000 acres of valley land and fix boundary problems. Mills went to Washington to win approval for his idea, but the secretary of interior had licensed a private company to build a dam in Elephant Butte. Mills tried proving that a dam there would dry up the Rio Grande, making it too shallow for navigation, but in spite of his efforts, his idea was rejected. However, Mills was able to negotiate a treaty called "An Equitable Distribution of the Water of the Rio Grande" in 1906, which guaranteed Mexico 60,000 acre-feet of water annually from Elephant Butte Dam.

Anson Mills' accomplishments were many, not the least of which were in the field of politics. Mills' vote against secession symbolized his viewpoints on important topics: he disagreed with many in town and held opinions considered ahead of his time. Leon Metz writes that Mills considered war the most destructive of man's evils. He supported women's suffrage and racial equality and backed prohibition.

In 1913, the city council honored Mills by changing the name of St. Louis Street to Mills Avenue. In 1918, Anson Mills wrote his autobiography, "My Story." On Nov. 5, 1924, at the age of 90, he died at his home. He was buried with honors at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C. Downtown El Paso serves as a fitting tribute to this man of vision.

Downtown Ambassador Alley
by Carl E. English Sr.

As we are approaching a new calendar year, the Ambassador Program is entering its fifth year. From the initiation phase of this program to the present, the program continues to face new challenges, which we embrace as opportunities to better serve the Downtown businesses and the public. Many customers are still requesting our gum removal services. Unfortunately, we are no longer able to offer this service, due to the expiration of the service contract, and it is cost prohibitive to ship it to and from the parent service organization, which maintains this type of sensitive equipment. We were unable to locate any local service organizations with the institutional knowledge to service the unit.

In the interim, we have shifted our focus and resources to other pressing issues affecting the vibrancy of Downtown, as directed by Executive Director Breitinger. We continue the partnership with the El Paso Community Foundation with the recent purchase and installation of 10 new park benches along the interior corridors of Downtown. During this phase, we concentrated on Sun Metro Trolley stops along South El Paso and East San Antonio Streets, South Stanton and Pioneer Plaza. In each location, they are very well received and add a relaxed, leisurely atmosphere.

After changing the color scheme of the planter boxes along East San Antonio Street, we have made several attempts to plant various types of foliage in the boxes to add a decorative affect. Circumstances beyond our control have prohibited us from achieving the desired effect. The current problem before me is to continue to educate businesses on what is considered the legal term of proper disposal of refuge. In the pending departure of Environmental Service disposal, many businesses are scrambling to do the right thing in contracting a waste disposal service. There are several available to choose from; it’s just a matter of determining your specific needs. The things to consider are: (a) what type of refuge does your business generate (b) what is the volume generated per week (c) is service once or twice per week necessary?

A suggestion to merchants receiving merchandise in cardboard containers is to ensure the containers are flattened before disposing of them. The additional step will save much needed space. All merchants are to refrain from using the sidewalk receptacles as their personal business trash receptacles. The sidewalk receptacles are for pedestrian traffic only. Shoe boxes and other bulky refuge are not to be discarded in the sidewalk receptacles. Businesses having already secured private disposal contractors are cautioned to be observant of those without service and illegally dumping trash in the alleys. Any illegal dumping found around your respective dumpsters or property inherently becomes your problem. It would be wise to be observant and report any incidents of illegal dumping immediately to the police, at 915.832.4400, or Environmental Services at 915.774.4500. Many businesses are sitting empty boxes on the sidewalks. We discourage this practice because the sidewalks are filled to capacity with pedestrian traffic and sidewalk sales for merchants with approved sidewalk permits. Sanitation, safety and security leads to a pleasant shopping experience and should be everyone’s priority. As your Downtown Ambassador, I am here to assist you in any manner. Please feel free to contact me at 915.726.6415.

Gateway to El Paso, Our Bridges
by Mike Breitinger

Travelers know the bridges as “ports of entry.” Locals call them simply “the bridges.” Security types probably know them as “a large challenge to national security.” But to those in business and promoting our community, they are the gateways to our community. It’s the first thing representing El Paso, the state of Texas and our great nation that visitors see.

Many locals, on both sides of the Border, never fully realize the significance they bring to both El Paso and Juárez. The numbers are simply amazing! For Downtown, the Paso del Norte Bridge experiences more than 9 million northbound crossings a year. More than half of those crossing the bridge are pedestrians. The Stanton Street Bridge experiences more than 1 million crossings northbound, using the dedicated commuter lane. Interestingly, the number that most demonstrates how linked the sister cities of El Paso and Juárez is the estimated 98 percent of “return crossers," meaning people who are crossing on a regular basis, be it customers, business persons, family members, students or employees. Bridges have become the life lines to our two communities.

All this activity brings a lot of wear and tear to these structures. Limited maintenance to the Downtown bridges, the Paso del Norte—or to older locals, the Santa Fe Street Bridge—and the Stanton Street or Friendship Bridge has gone pretty much unnoticed. Now, with the interest and awareness of local businesses and past and present city administrations, there is a Capital Improvement Plan (adopted by City Administration and approved by the International Bridge Commission of the City of El Paso on July 25, 2006), for the city-owned bridges. The plan includes enhancements and renovation of canopies, toll plazas, public restrooms, drinking fountains and renovation of the corridor from Sixth Street. Included in these plans are studies for expansion of a commercial bridge at Zaragoza, new international crossing at Yarbrough and a new international crossing Downtown. Along with all this comes the renovation of Lion’s Placitas—great news for our two life lines.

Downtown Going Wireless

El Paso now has another reason for people to come Downtown and to bring their laptops!

El Paso will soon be added to the growing number of communities equipped with wireless Internet service available free to the public. Within six months, anyone living and working around City Hall, the County Courthouse, Sacred Heart Church and the Magoffin housing area will have free Internet service via a WiFi wireless system.

The project, which stemmed from a $10,000 feasibility study constructed by Intel, is aimed at improving education and exposure to the Internet. To date, the project has been approved by the Commissioners Court; however, the city is still awaiting the approval of other governmental entities seeking approval on their portion of the funding for the initial setup. The city of El Paso is contributing $50,000, while the county, Housing Authority and El Paso Independent School District are donating $25,000 each to this worthwhile investment.

By installing 36 transmitters in the area on light posts as well as the roof tops of City Hall, the County Courthouse, AOY School and the San Jacinto high-rise residential building, anyone in the area will be able to access the Internet free of charge. The only requirement needed is to register with the county, which will maintain and administer the system. By implementing free public Internet access, the city stands to further efforts to enliven Downtown. More importantly, since businesses stand to benefit from the ease of communication and dissemination of information provided by the service, the city will in turn attract and retain businesses and young people. This marks a significant phase of the changing times for Downtown!

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