Talk:El Paso, Texas

Politics

Kennedy Impact

Removed paragraph that doesn't seem to have anything to do with El Paso:

A presidential visit to the state of Texas was first suggested to President John F. Kennedy by his Vice President, Lyndon Baines Johnson and Texas Governor John Bowen Connally, Sr. while all three men were together in a meeting on June 6, 1963, less than six months before the Kennedy assassination in Dallas, Texas. President Kennedy decided to embark on the November 1963 trip with three basic goals in mind: the president wanted to help raise more Democratic Party presidential campaign fund contributions; he wanted to begin his quest for re-election in November, 1964; and, because the Kennedy-Johnson ticket had barely won Texas in 1960 President Kennedy wanted to help mend political fences among several leading Texas Democratic party members who appeared to be fighting politically amongst themselves, which included Johnson/Connally fighting with Texas Senator Ralph Yarborough.

This should be resubmitted. President Kennedy did come to El Paso and while here discussed plans for that fateful Dallas trip. See this page for information about the Chamizal National Memorial, which was the reason he came to El Paso in the first place.

http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/hisnps/NPSHistory/parkdate.htm

"August 29 1963: The Chamizal Treaty resolved a 99-year dispute over the boundary between the U.S. and Mexico in the El Paso?Juarez Valley. Chamizal National Memorial in El Paso, TX, commemorates the peaceful settlement."

This memorial is the only National Park in the area. Evidently what is missing above is information about the Chamizal Treaty in general, and Kennedy's dedication and trip. This can then segue the above deleted paragraph.

Elpgrrrl 03:13, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

• This a general overview of the treaty:
  In the 1960's(?) Mexice began complaining that the Rio Grande had shifted south, an thereby increasing the land mass of El Paso while simulataniously decreasing the landmass of Juarez. Seeking to resolve the problem the U.S. and Mexico reached an agreement whereby 100 acres of land that once belonged to mexico would be returned, and the Rio Grande's boundry between the cities set with concrete so as to prevent this problem in the future. The land returned to Mexico eventually became the Chamizal National Memerial.
  Thats a rough sketch of the information, but I'm not sure that all the information is acurate, so it needs to be checked before its placed in the article. TomStar81 06:05, 15 November 2005 (UTC)

El Paso as part of the South

What is the opinion on El Paso being part of the South? There is some debate on this issue on the Southern United States discussion page. Some of the debate is shown here: ...El Paso is both Hispanic and Western. But I also believe that it's Southern. Early pioneers to El Paso were Southerners moving there from North and East Texas, Alabama, and Georgia. The following was taken from the Handbook of Texas Online:

"During the Civil War most of the El Paso pioneers were overwhelmingly sympathetic to the South. Although Confederate forces occupied Fort Bliss in 1861, the tide began to turn in favor of the Union cause the following year, and in August the Stars and Stripes was raised once again over Fort Bliss. The local Southern sympathizers eventually received presidential pardons, but some, such as Simeon Hart, battled for years before they recovered their properties." In addition, the area was part of the Confederate States of America. The region of Texas bordering Mexico in far South Texas is undisputedly Southern, but it is Hispanic as well. There is an overlapping of cultures in Texas, but that isn't a reason one of those cultures can't be Southern...Thanks.
Please give input on this subject. It would be greatly appreciated. Stallions2010 07:56, 26 June 2006 (UTC)

• • I think since El Paso is part of Texas, and Texas is part of the South, we are automatically the South. Smguy101 01:28, 24 July 2006 (UTC)

There seem to be a number of valid opinions with a lot of supporting evidence on this subject, so I think it deserves to be a sub-heading under History explaining El Paso politics and popular opinion before and during the period of the Civil War.Hondo 19:42, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

I absloutely agree with your view on El Paso having a unique Southern character. We are part of Texas, a southern state & we subscribe to Texas law & our society is full of southern ways. Simply stated, (and taken from the southern literature Wiki page, El Paso culture includes the "Characteristics of Southern literature include a focus on a common Southern history, the significance of family, a sense of community and one’s role within it, the region's dominant religion (Christianity, See Protestantism) and the burdens/rewards religion often brings, issues of racial tension, land and the promise it brings, a sense of social class, and the use of the Southern dialect."

Even during the war between the states, El Paso(as was in colonial & old Mexico days) the gateway to the territory of New Mexico.

Culture

Tigua

How come there is no mention of the Tiguas in Ysleta which is part of El Paso now.

• The Tiguas keep to themselves, as such not a lot is known about them. If it makes you feel better, I'll see what i can dig up on thier history and place it into the article.
  

Yes, the Tigua Pueblo del Sur Reservation lies within El Paso County and they do maintain a separate identity from the rest of the county and the city. But, in light of the issues with Ambramoff and Scanlon, something should pinpoint where this Native Tribe is located with a link back to El Paso, Texas, Ambramoff, Scanlon, and anything else that fits including Tribal Gaming.

Elpgrrrl 03:13, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

Mabey we could add a line or two about how the Tiguas were defrauded by Abramoff and lost Speaking Rock casino.

Out of repsect to the Tigua, I think we need to expand (& mention) also on the Tigua tribe. Lets not forget though their relatives to the north the Isleta Pueblo.

Expansion

I removed this trivia statement from the main article:

* Many Mexicans and Anglos intermarried. Many of populations are of Spanish, German and Mexican descendents.

While I believe this to be generally true, it's a very broad statement and could use specifics and at the very least cite a reference or two before being returned as part of the Culture section.Hondo 16:07, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

Geography

Mt. Cristo Rey

Maybe there should be a link? Mt. Christo Rey is located between New Mexico and Mexico, but very near to El Paso.
see:
http://www.celebrationofourmountains.org/

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tips/getAttraction.php3?tip_AttractionNo==3485

Elpgrrrl 03:13, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

There is a white cone about a third to a half of the way up Mt. Cristo Rey that symbolizes the exact spot where the Texas, Mexico, and New Mexico borders meet.

Prominant Architecture

I would like to include a section devoted to the prominant architecture, and buildings in El Paso. Structures such as the Albert Bacon Fall 1907 mansion located at 1725 Arizona, the cortez building located at 310 North Mesa Street, and the Roberts-Banner Building located at 215 North Mesa Street just to neame a handful. The Banner Building alone is important because it is the fourth concrete building by Henry C. Trost to anchor the Plaza is a magnificent “U” shaped concrete structure with wonderful detailing. Any suggestions, or help would be appreciated. Somnabot 06:27, 13 July 2006 (UTC)

The Star on the Mountain

An explanation of the Star would be an excellent addition if someone can provide it. It is referenced once in the article with Eddie Guerrero. Hondo 15:35, 28 October 2006 (UTC) ...And now it's gone, because Eddie's part of the Famous El Pasoans List.Hondo 19:36, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

History

Biggs Air Force Base

Anybody in E.P. ever heard of it?--Buckboard 14:02, 1 August 2006 (UTC)

Back in the day that United States Army Air Force operated out at the biggs airfield. After WWII the US created the independent US air force, which assumed command of biggs army airfield, thus making it Biggs Air Force Base. I am not familiar with the curcumstances surrounding the armys reacquistion of the facility; however I do know that they regained control of the airfield, thus changing its desigantion from an independent AFB to an army airfield. TomStar81 09:09, 2 August 2006 (UTC)

• I have heard of Biggs AAF being Biggs AFB back in the day. I think when the Government opened Holloman AFB 80 miles North in Alamogordo, they decided to give Biggs AFB to Ft. Bliss. Smguy101 02:37, 21 August 2006 (UTC)

Famous El Pasoans to be added?

Note, need to add these bands:
At the Drive-In
Iron Butterfly
The Mars Volta
Sparta

And also the actress:
Lupe Ontiveros
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0648913

Elpgrrrl 04:00, 11 October 2005 (UTC) (placed here by Maltmomma ^(chat) 05:49, 11 October 2005 (UTC))

Could we merge them and the actual List of famous people from El Paso, Texas into the main article? I noticed a couple of these bands are already on that list.Hondo 16:14, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

Statistics

Crime in El Paso

Someone should put a section about El Paso being one of the safest cities in the United States. Smguy101 21:58, 24 July 2006 (UTC)

I've added the tidbit above with the appropriate citation, but more crime statistics would be appreciated if available. Hondo 14:10, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

Agreed, I was just about to ask where the crime information was. --AW 03:41, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

History of Hispanic vs. Anglo Population Numbers

Was the city always ethnic-Mexican majority, or has it been "re-Mexicanized" in the post-WW2 era?

Was there official segregation, denial of voting rights to an ethnic-Mexican minority/majority?

Should the possible return to ethnic-Mexican majority in recent times be billed with the same section-headline prominence as the original transfer away from Mexico -- "Re-Mexicanization in the Post-War Period"?

Could we get a chart of rising and falling "Anglo" vs. Hispanic population? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 75.6.251.38 (talk) 08:11, 12 January 2007 (UTC).

Transportation

Removed transportation section

The reason for modifying the transportation section so heavily is a simple one. The El Paso page is very long. I Was browsing the Los Angeles page and I noticed that to keep the main article short, the transportation of the city was briefly described on the main article and was discussed in greater detail in a separate page.

OK, thanks for cooperating, finally. I trust you'll be using edit summaries and talk pages in the future.

For now, the appropriate move is probably a quick poll: who supports or opposes the idea of moving the information in the Transportation section to a new article Transportation in El Paso?

• Oppose – the article is not so long that it needs this split. Dicklyon 20:43, 29 April 2007 (UTC)

• Support – This article is very long. We should follow the example of the larger cities' pages (Pianofortestudent112 21:06, 29 April 2007 (UTC))

• Oppose -- The Article isn't as long. I think we should wait until the article get ridiculously long and put the History of El Paso into a separate article first. Smguy101 15:25, 29 April 2007 (UTC))

Images

Skyline Image

The reason why I changed the main skyline image was because the previous image did not show the El Paso County Courthouse, which is a part of the city skyline. If this image is not liked, i will try and find another one. (Pianofortestudent112 20:55, 29 April 2007 (UTC))