Research by Jose Cazares
Brownsville historian Jose Cazares likes to keep an eye to the past and toward the future of El Jardin. Much has been said about the old hotel and until they begin breathing life back into there is no new news to report.
What makes this photograph fascinating is that its a rare look at just how deep into the ground they dug. Here's what Mr. Cazares included when he shared this with us on the Facebook page:
- The hammering of the pile driver on the site of the Hotel El Jardin started on January 22, 1926. It was the first time that a building here was being built to such size that fifty-foot poles, treated with Creosote, were necessary to provide a proper foundation. There were about 260 poles that were driven into the earth on the site of the hotel and it took about 30 days to complete this job. After the poles were finished being driven into the ground, concrete was poured to a depth of eight or ten feet, once the foundations were ready, the superstructure was started.
Many of us have heard the story of how wooden pieces from sunken river boats were discovered after digging but this is the first time I ever saw how deep they went and look at the guy on right just to see it's about 10-12 ft at least.
Jose also adds: "Three thousand yards of dirt were excavated from the hotel site. The piling contractors were Dodds & Wedegartner of San Benito."
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