Kern Place

Last updated
Kern Place
TXMap-doton-ElPaso.png
Location in the state of Texas
Coordinates: 31°46′59″N106°29′56″W / 31.783°N 106.499°W / 31.783; -106.499
Country United States
State Texas
County El Paso County
City El Paso
Elevation
3,850 - 4,080 ft (2,610 m)
Time zone UTC-6 (MDT)
 • Summer (DST) UTC-6 (CDT)
Madeline Park in Kern Place, 2017. Madeline Park Kern Place.jpg
Madeline Park in Kern Place, 2017.

Kern Place is a historic neighborhood on the West side of El Paso, Texas. The neighborhood lies just east of the University of Texas at El Paso, and north of downtown. Kern is part of District 1 in the City of El Paso and currently represented by Peter Svarzbein. [1] The neighborhood was created by Peter E. Kern, and once had an unusual gate marking the entrance. Madeline Park in the center of the neighborhood is named after Kern's daughter. Businesses and a small entertainment district border the eclectic housing featured in the neighborhood.

Contents

History

Land division where Kern Place was eventually built. Land division of Kern Place.jpg
Land division where Kern Place was eventually built.

Kern Place was founded by Peter E. Kern (1860–1937), [2] for whom the neighborhood was named. Kern first came to El Paso in 1881. [3] In 1886, he purchased large amounts of land from Juan and Guadalupe Ascarate and the largest of his purchases, the McKelligon tract, became Kern Place subdivision. [4]

In 1913, a paved road was created on Mesa Avenue and leading to the area known as Kern Place. [5] Kern had an engineer, W.I. Rider, help him develop plans for the neighborhood. [6] Construction began on November 21, 1914. [7] A 1914 ad in the El Paso Herald described horse trails, planned parks, homes for sale under $3,500 and access to public transportation. [8] Kern named the streets after friends and for places he "admired." [9] Kern also did not want commercial properties on his land. [9] Kern borrowed the money to develop the property from Texas Bank & Trust which later merged with First National Bank. [10] In 1915, Kern had 500 trees planted in Madeline Park, [11] located in Kern Place, which he gave to the city of El Paso later that same year. [12] On May 4, 1926, Kern sold the land that made up Kern place. [13] [14]

In 1959, Clinton and Hal Dean Jr. bought Kern Place property and build the Kern Village Shopping Center. [15]

In the 1970s, Kern Place was used strategically to demonstrate that there was a problem with lead contamination and the nearby ASARCO plant in El Paso. [16] Investigators chose to show that wealthy children from the Kern Place area also had high levels of lead in their blood in order to combat the assertion that only poor, uneducated El Pasoans were being affected by the problem. [17]

In 2001, a report was published by the Texas Department of State Health Services (TDSHS) documenting high levels of arsenic and lead in the soil in areas around Kern Place. [18] Any community within 3 miles of the ASARCO plant found high levels of lead. [19] Students who had gone to school in the area showed greater than average rates of developing multiple sclerosis (MS). [20] Individuals in the neighborhood dealt with the health issue by washing hands more often after playing in nearby parks. [20] Fourteen cases of MS were positively linked to the area around Kern Place and Mission Hills in a 1994 study. [21]

The Kern Place Gate

Building the Kern Place Gate, erected in 1916. Building Kern Place Gate 1916.jpg
Building the Kern Place Gate, erected in 1916.

In 1916, Kern constructed a gate that formed an archway to the entrance of the neighborhood [3] at the intersection of North Kansas Street and Robinson. [2] The gate was made of iron and stone and cost $2,500. [22] Kern found decedents of the Toltec and hired them to help build the gate. [23]

Gate erected outside of the Kern Place neighborhood in 1916. Kern Place Gate 1916.jpg
Gate erected outside of the Kern Place neighborhood in 1916.

The iron gate contained swastikas, the Kern family crest and 444 electric light globes that illuminated the words "Kern Place" over the center of the gate. [2] It also had a Zondias calendar, totem poles from Alaska, and spelled out "Kern Place." [23] The symbolism of the gate was meant to express ideas about "the brotherhood of man, light, life, health and wealth," according to the El Paso Herald-Post . [2]

Kern wanted the gate to remain forever as "a monument and his legacy to the generation here and who will come after them." [2] Pieces of the gate were taken over time by vandals, leaving only the pillars of stone. [23] Eventually, the entire gate was dismantled in 1954 during a street-widening project. [3]

A new gate has been proposed and built in 2017 as part of the Sun City Lights Project. [24] The proposed gate is meant to reference the old Kern Place Gate and will be located on Cincinnati Street. [25]

Cityscape

Kern Place Addition Map Kern Place Addition Map.jpg
Kern Place Addition Map

Kern place is bordered by Mesa Street, Boston/Robinson, Piedmont and Mesita. [6]

The homes of Kern Place are unique in architecture and some were built by residents themselves. [6] One of the better known homes is the Paul Luckett Home located at 1201 Cincinnati Ave. above Madeline Park, and is made of local rock. It is known as "The Castle" due to its round walls and a crenelated rooftop. [6]

One of the buildings, the Hoover House, was deeded to the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) in 1965 and serves as the residence of the president of UTEP. [6]

The Cincinnati Entertainment District is part of Kern Place, and includes bars, restaurants and other businesses. [26] [27]

Notable residents

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">El Paso, Texas</span> City in Texas, United States

El Paso is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 22nd-most populous city in the U.S., the most populous city in West Texas, and the sixth-most populous city in Texas. Its metropolitan statistical area covers all of El Paso and Hudspeth counties in Texas, and had a population of 868,859 in 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ASARCO</span> American integrated energy company

ASARCO is a mining, smelting, and refining company based in Tucson, Arizona, which mines and processes primarily copper. The company has been a subsidiary of Grupo México since 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elephant Butte Dam</span> Dam on the Rio Grande in New Mexico, United States

Elephant Butte Dam or Elephant Butte Dike, originally Engle Dam, is a concrete gravity dam on the Rio Grande near Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, in the United States. The dam impounds Elephant Butte Reservoir, which is used mainly for agriculture but also provides for recreation, hydroelectricity, and flood and sediment control. The construction of the dam has reduced the flow of the Rio Grande to a small stream for most of the year, with water being released only during the summer irrigation season or during times of exceptionally heavy snow melt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KVIA-TV</span> ABC/CW affiliate in El Paso, Texas

KVIA-TV is a television station in El Paso, Texas, United States, affiliated with ABC and The CW. Owned by the News-Press & Gazette Company, the station maintains studios on Rio Bravo Street in northwest El Paso and a transmitter atop the Franklin Mountains within the El Paso city limits.

KCOS, branded on-air as PBS El Paso, is a PBS member television station in El Paso, Texas, United States, owned by Texas Tech University. The station's offices are located on Viscount Boulevard in east El Paso, and its transmitter is located atop the Franklin Mountains on the El Paso city limits. Its nominal main studio is located at Texas Tech-owned KTTZ-TV in Lubbock.

KFOX-TV is a television station in El Paso, Texas, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group alongside dual CBS/MyNetworkTV affiliate KDBC-TV. The two stations share studios on South Alto Mesa Drive in northwest El Paso; KFOX-TV's transmitter is located atop the Franklin Mountains on the El Paso city limits.

The El Paso Times is the newspaper for the US city of El Paso, Texas. The paper is the only English-language daily in El Paso, but often competes with the Spanish-language El Diario de El Paso, an offshoot of El Diario de Juárez which is published across the Rio Grande in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northeast El Paso</span>

Northeast El Paso is part of the city of El Paso, Texas and is located north of Central El Paso, and east of the Franklin Mountains. Its southern boundary is variously given as Fred Wilson Boulevard or Cassidy Road and Van Buren Avenue, and it extends northward to the New Mexico state line; some portions of this region lie outside the city limits, including parts of Franklin Mountains State Park and areas of Fort Bliss: the Logan Heights area of Fort Bliss around Chapin High School and Castner Range National Monument, an old firing range northwest of Hondo Pass Drive and Gateway South Boulevard. Development of Northeast El Paso, which had begun before the Second World War around the Logan Heights area, started in earnest during the 1950s, when many homes were demolished in the process of the construction of Interstate 10. It is one of the more ethnically diverse areas of town due to a high concentration of military families. Northeast El Paso has historically not developed at a rate comparable to East El Paso and Northwest El Paso, but in recent years, it has seen an increase in development. It is expected that the population in Northeast El Paso will grow more rapidly as a result of the troop increase for Fort Bliss in the coming years. Northeast El Paso has gained recognition throughout the city for schools like Parkland, Irvin, Andress and Chapin because of their outstanding athletic programs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eliot Shapleigh</span> American politician

Eliot Shapleigh is an American politician. He served in the Texas Senate from 1997 to 2011, from the 29th district, in El Paso County.

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of El Paso, Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">El Paso Women's Hall of Fame</span>

The El Paso Women's Hall of Fame honors and recognizes the accomplishments of El Paso women. It is sponsored by the El Paso Commission for Women and was established in 1985. The first inductees were honored in 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">El Segundo Barrio</span> Neighborhood of El Paso, Texas, United States

El Segundo Barrio is a historic Hispanic neighborhood in El Paso, Texas. It is one of the oldest neighborhoods in El Paso. It was one of the main ports of entry into the United States from Mexico for many years, and became known as the "other Ellis Island" as a result.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1917 Bath riots</span> Border dispute between U.S. and Mexico

The 1917 Bath Riots occurred in January 1917 at the Santa Fe Street Bridge between El Paso, Texas, United States, and Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico. The riots are known to have been started by Carmelita Torres and lasted from January 28 to January 30 and were sparked by new immigration policies at the El Paso–Juárez Immigration and Naturalization Service office, requiring Mexicans crossing the border to take de-lousing baths and be vaccinated. Reports that nude photographs of women bathers and fear of potential fire from the kerosene baths, led Carmelita Torres to refuse to submit to the procedure. Denied a refund of her transport fare, she began yelling at the officials and convinced other riders to join her. After three days, the discontent subsided, but the disinfections of Mexicans at the U.S. border continued for forty years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chihuahuita, Texas</span> Neighborhood of El Paso, Texas, United States

Chihuahuita is a neighborhood in El Paso, Texas. It has also been known as the "First Ward." It is considered the oldest neighborhood in the city. It has also suffered through extreme poverty in its history. It is currently on the Most Endangered Historic Places list as compiled by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. It is located on the border of the Rio Grande at the Mexico–United States border. For most of the twentieth century, the name Chihuahuita was used to refer to all of southern El Paso, often including El Segundo Barrio. In 1991, Chihuahuita was designated as a historic district by the city of El Paso.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter E. Kern</span>

Peter E. Kern was a jeweler and real-estate entrepreneur in El Paso, Texas and Skagway, Alaska. Kern Place in El Paso is named after him. Kern was keenly interested in astrology. Kern was a Freemason and had been a member of the El Paso Lodge No. 130 for fifty years. He was also interested in the Egyptian swastika, which he made into jewelry and worked into various designs. Kern was also known for building the first Queen Anne house in the city, which was located on North Oregon Street. Kern lived at 1308 Cincinnati Street. The gate to the neighborhood was on Robinson Street:

Ingeborg Heuser was a German dancer, choreographer and teacher who worked primarily in the Southwest United States. She is credited with popularizing and promoting ballet in El Paso, Texas.

Ruth Ellen Kern was an American lawyer, community leader and feminist. Kern was an early pioneer in law for women in El Paso, Texas. She was also outspoken against myths regarding violence against women, sharing her own experiences with rape with the public. Kern was an active member of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and a law suit she filed for an inmate led to El Paso County to construct a new jail with better conditions for inmates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue Flame Building</span> United States historic place

The Blue Flame Building or the El Paso Natural Gas CompanyBuilding is a skyscraper in El Paso, Texas. It was briefly the tallest building in El Paso upon its completion in 1954. The building housed the El Paso Natural Gas Company until 1996 when the El Paso Independent School District (EPISD) housed employees there for a few years. The Housing Authority of the City of El Paso (HACEP) recently completed a $52 million major renovation in 2021 that includes retail spaces, offices, and low-income apartments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clark Howat</span> American actor (1918–2009)

John Clark Howat was an American film and television actor.

References

Citations

  1. ↑ "Our District 1 Representative". Kern Place Association. Retrieved 2 May 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Hamilton, Nancy (21 November 1974). "Papers, Photos Add to Kern Place Founder's History". El Paso Herald-Post. Retrieved 27 April 2017– via Newspapers.com.
  3. 1 2 3 Murphy 2009, p. 22.
  4. ↑ "Old-time Pioneer, Peter Kern, Founded Kern Place". El Paso Herald-Post. 5 July 1976. Retrieved 27 April 2017– via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ "Mesa Loop for El Paso Automobilists". El Paso Herald. 6 September 1913. Retrieved 29 April 2017– via Newspapers.com.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Magruder, Alicia; Dickey, Gretchen (2004). "Kern Place Neighborhood: The Man Behind a Name". Borderlands. 23.
  7. ↑ Metz 1993, p. 174.
  8. ↑ "Kern Place". El Paso Herald. 10 January 1914. Retrieved 29 April 2017– via Newspapers.com.
  9. 1 2 "New Housing Booms Business in Kern Shopping Center". El Paso Herald-Post. 8 October 1959. Retrieved 29 April 2017– via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "Kern Place Lien Of First National Upheld by Referee". El Paso Herald. 5 October 1925. Retrieved 29 April 2017– via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "Many Homes for Kern Place; $100,000 Worth of Buildings". El Paso Herald. 17 April 1915. Retrieved 1 May 2017– via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ "Madeline Park Given to City". El Paso Herald. 10 June 1915. Retrieved 29 April 2017– via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ "It Happened In Old El Paso". El Paso Herald-Post. 3 May 1976. Retrieved 29 April 2017– via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ Kern, P.E. (3 May 1926). "Pathetic But Kindly Farewell from P.E. Kern on Eve of Sale of Kern Place, a Beloved Dream". El Paso Herald. Retrieved 29 April 2017– via Newspapers.com.
  15. ↑ "Kern Village Shopping Center Owned and Developed by 2 Dean Brothers". El Paso Herald-Post. 8 October 1959. Retrieved 29 April 2017– via Newspapers.com.
  16. ↑ Sullivan 2014, p. 62-63.
  17. ↑ Sullivan 2014, p. 63.
  18. ↑ El Paso Historical Soil Sample Health Consultation (PDF). Texas Department of Health. 2001.
  19. ↑ Perales 2010, p. 252.
  20. 1 2 Rutigliano, Lou (15 October 2001). "Kern Place Unfazed by Soil, Disease Risks". El Paso Times. Retrieved 2 May 2017– via Multiple Sclerosis.org.
  21. ↑ Garcia, Kimberly (2013-01-25). "Support for persons with Multiple Sclerosis exists in El Paso despite a lack of awareness". Borderzine. Retrieved 2017-05-02.
  22. ↑ "$250,000 in 3 New Buildings; $150,000 Department Store". El Paso Herald. 8 January 1916. Retrieved 27 April 2017– via Newspapers.com.
  23. 1 2 3 Krausse, Monica (15 May 1989). "The Pete Kern Story: Rags to Riches to Rags to Riches to Rags". El Paso Times.
  24. ↑ "City to Host Open House for Kern Place Lights Project". El Paso Herald-Post. 12 February 2017. Retrieved 2017-05-02.
  25. ↑ Guadian, Stephanie (2017-02-14). "Big changes on the way for El Paso's Cincinnati Street". KVIA. Retrieved 2017-05-02.
  26. ↑ Gray, Robert (5 July 2016). "Cincinnati Street claws back losses". El Paso Inc. Retrieved 2017-05-02.
  27. ↑ Gray, Robert (14 September 2015). "Vacancies trouble Cincinnati district". El Paso Inc. Retrieved 2017-05-02.
  28. ↑ Davis, Mary Margaret (December 7, 1985). "English-manor aura surrounds home". El Paso Times . Retrieved November 19, 2018.

Sources

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.