Jefferson Davis Stoners party

 More fun with Jefferson Davis stone at Washington Park in Brownsville, Texas

Brownsville / Matamoros ferry boat history on our Border

By Jose Cazares

1860s on the Levee

The oldest institution on the lower border-the Brownsville Matamoros ferry-which had operated continuously for almost 100 years, made its last trip across the Rio Grande at 6 o'clock on a Tuesday afternoon, July 31, 1928.

1860s from Matamoros, Mexico.  Building with "Libreia" (bookstore/library) which we call La Joya / The Gem on E 13th St near across 409 Galeria

on the banks of the Rio Grande with ferry and steamboats

The old had given way to the new. Since the opening of the new Gateway International Bridge on July 4, 1928, the business of the ferry had dwindled to the point where it no longer justified operation of the boats. The ferry boats had been identified with the history of the city from the days of its early settlement.

 Willman Pharmacy postcard early 1900s

Postcard courtesy of Rene Torres

There are no records of the establishment of the first ferry between Matamoros and the Matamoros commons, now the city of Brownsville, but it is believed to have been established in 1826 when the city of Matamoros was established, at that time, the ferry was operating above the old B & M international bridge and was known as the " Anaquitas" ferry to the Matamoros commons.

c.1910 Ferry Landing ~ Rutledge Curio Co. postcard

The ferry passed into the possession of Charles Stillman in 1850. The ferry was moved to 14th and Levee Street. Following the completion of the new Gateway Bridge on July 4, 1928, the business of the ferry dwindled rapidly and in the final days only an occasional passenger followed the old route. The ferry once carried hundreds of thousands of passengers across the Rio Grande during its long history of business.

1910 ferry boat

 Ferry from Brownsville with E Levee near 13th St in background ~ Jose. Cazares

1916-1919 skiff ferry - Robert Runyon photo

 1919 skiff ferry

 1916 Fort Brown soldiers at ferry "landing place" 

 1927 Building of Gateway Bridge  (Brownsville Historical Association archives)

 May 1928 (Brownsville Historical Association archives)

1930 Brownsville Herald Jan 1st issue

 (additional photos compiled by Javier R. Garcia et al)

Editor's note:  Charles Stillman had ferry rights from the early 1850s and had warehouses on both sides of the river prior to partnering up with others to operate the steamboats and later establishing the city of Brownsville following the War with Mexico.  

From the Handbook of Texas (online) Texas State Historical Association 

"... [James Stillman] Stillman purchased 100 percent of the riparian [of, relating to, or situated on the banks of a river] rights to the Rio Grande at Brownsville and up the river for an indeterminate distance. He sold two-thirds interest in those rights to the Mexican National Railroad in the 1890s.

1909 Mexican Customs House postcard

1958 Olds Lowrider revised

1965 ~ Palm Blvd and Boca Chica Blvd.  1958 Oldsmobile Dynamic 88

Brownsville Artist: Cande Aguilar

 2006 Browntown  oil on canvas 30 x 40 in

2007 Rio Grande Brownsville Matamoros oil on canvas 24 x 48 in

From Cande's Facebook Page with barrioPOP samples below

barrioPOP is an amalgamation sprung by characters, colors & street phenomena that is my life emerged in popular border town culture, expressed through multimedia such as painting, collage, photography, assemblage, digital collage, image transfer & music.

 2011 The P Monster multimedia painting on panel 60 x 40 in

 Multimedia digital

2012 Los Muertos Suite multimedia painting on diptych panel 72 x 96 in

Cande has  art posted on his webpage with multi-links to other media such as Facebook and all that.  Click on his link below:

CANDEart

Exploring Theaters & Drive-ins of Brownsville, Texas

Thanks to all who read article on the Queen Theater.  We'll take a look at another one of Brownsville's earliest theaters in a future post.  We don't have a full history of each theater but we've come a long way since 2005 this was created in an early version of CorelDraw.   

2005 Javier R. Garcia

 If you'd like to find more stories on Bronsbil Estacion blog you can point mouse to orange blogger "B" at top left and enter search term to find more vintage photos and articles posted here by various sources. 

Sometimes you can find the search term links at the bottom of a post which will show related articles on this blog.  

thanks

If you would like to share a south Texas related history with us contact Brownsvilletrain@yahoo.com.  

The Queen Theater in Brownsville, Texas

From Robert Runyon panoramic photograph ca.1916

The Queen Theater first opened on February 19, 1916 at 1107 Elizabeth St. across the alley behind the Dittmann Theater.  Its owner was Andrew Pappas who had recently opened the Manhattan Café next door in the same building.  Mike Manahan owned the Billiard Academy on the second floor.  It included a gymnasium, showers and tables for dominoes.  The Queen had a seating capacity of three hundred, two projectors for continuous operation and the most expensive screen south of Houston.  Its screen was made of gold fiber and cost seventy-five dollars.   Pappas had contracts with Paramount, William K. Fox and Mutual Masters to show films from their distributors.  

Close-up showing Manhatten Cafe and Billiards room with Theater

Saborn map used to show locations of theaters in 1919

1916 Queen Theater photo.  Admission was 13¢ ~ Box seat 23¢ and Children 5¢.  In addition to playing billiards you could use the gymnasium and have a bath afterward  (for a few pennies maybe).  Written on back "Modern Theather (sic) at Brownsville, Texas  -  Photo taken by a soldier of the 3rd Iowa  NG"

It opened with the Charlie Chaplin classic, “Tillie’s Punctured Romance” and showed films between 1 p.m. and 11 p.m.  By 1919 Ira G. Keeler was its owner.

 

1916 Googled images

In June 1919, managers of the three principal theaters (The Dittmann, Dreamland and Queen) were summoned by a new board of censors appointed by Mayor A.A. Browne to address concerns regarding the exhibition of films with objectionable content.  Films that stirred controversy included unsavory type casts of Mexican characters.    The board stressed that living on a border town where citizens of two nations meet and amicably exist was no place to stir up resentment.  All three managers were in agreement and invited censor committee members to pre-screenings of films they suspected might be objectionable.

 

1926 Sanborn maps showing locations of these theaters downtown 

A decade after the Queen first appeared; it reopened in a new building on Elizabeth St. next to First National Bank on the corner of 12^th St. in 1926.  

1926 February 3rd Brownsville Herald First page

The building space vacated by the original Queen became the Texas Theater owned by the Delta Amusement Co who later built the Capitol in 1928.  

Ed Brady, a well known theater pioneer from San Benito, bought ownership of the Queen from A. Orive and partnered with Paco Betancourt to manage the new Queen.  

Edelstein’s of Brownsville, a long established furniture store chain of the Rio Grande delta, supplied furnishings and draperies from its new drapery department.  Brady also purchased a pipe organ for $7,500 and a large screen from the Simplex Theater Supply Co. of Dallas.  The Queen Barber shop also opened in the building.  By April 1928, The Capitol, Queen and Texas theaters became incorporated into the Brownsville Amusement Company made up of John C. Fanning, Paco Betancourt, Ed F. Brady and Brown White.

 

1930 Sanborn map section 

1940s Bill Stevenson  and Francis Cowan in front of Queen Theatre - Cowans father had cigar store there --  Thank to Dale Stevenson for sharing this with us

Five glass chandeliers hung from the ceiling and smaller lights lined the walls.  The 25 x 50 ft stage was large enough for vaudeville shows.

1933 photo from brochure from Rod Bates Collection ~ Port Isabel

The screen was 16 x 20 ft. and it had a seating capacity of 750;  550 on the first level with 200 seat up on the upper gallery seats (balcony seats).  There was also a “pit” for musicians to play music to match the momentum of the action or mood of the films shown there.  The two projectors came from the previous theater as they had only been purchased a month beforehand while the “new” Queen was being built so no time would be lost in the transition.

The Queen’s upright lighted sign was badly damaged by a hurricane in 1933. After the hurricane, The Capitol sponsored a benefit for storm victims to raise funds for local relief agencies.  In later years, several local theaters became sanctuaries for public citizens needing safe shelter from major storms.

1933 hurricane damage to sign (photo Brownsville Heritage Museum)

 Jesus “Chuy” Abete grew up in the late '40s and worked many theaters and drive-ins beginning with the Fiesta in 1954.  He came from the Abete family which we hope to revisit with a future post.  Mr Abete recalled as a boy how many cowboy western movie stars had taken their horse on stage and dance around and met local fans at a time when movie stars would stay at El Jardin Hotel and also perform at the Capitol Theater in later years.

1938 ad ~ Johnny Mack Brown is was one of the cowboys Jesus Abete mentioned when I interviewed him years ago.  He is still alive and well as of this writing and can be seen with his colorful wooden lawn and garden ornamnents and fixtures at the Mittie Cultural Park "Farmers Market" on Saturdays.

Tell me you remember Leo Carrillo from the Cisco Kid reruns and I'll know I'm not alone.  He might have visited Brownsville too.  This postcard is from 1941.  

 1942 Arthur Rothstein photo taken during Charro Days 

 1960 Palmetto yearbook 

No other information at this time but the Queen's demise came after the Capitol, Grande and Majestic Theaters showed newer movies and sold more tickets.  Before the advent of television, video and cable tv movies could enjoy a third or fourth run if people were willing to se it at reduced ticket costs.

 From corner of former bank building at 12th and E Elizabeth St ~ photo 2005 Javier R. Garcia) 

photo 2005 (Javier R. Garcia)