Historic auditorium demolition begins, Missionites attempt to save it

This article ran in the June 9 issue of the Progress Times. 

Irma Flores Lopez remembers the excitement she felt walking to Roosevelt School as a little girl because she knew she was on her way to learn. 

The 61-year-old vaguely recalls the Roosevelt School Song that mimicked the tune of “Oh Christmas Tree.” She even remembers being a hall monitor, patrolling the campus as a third grader, and she still has a class photo with her donning the patrol badge. Now, as an adult, she still patrols the campus and all of Mission in her own way, she said with a laugh. 

It was through her patrolling that Flores Lopez came across the demolition of one of Mission’s historical structures — the Roosevelt Auditorium. She had not heard Mission CISD planned to tear down the structure, so when she stumbled across the scene, Flores Lopez said she was surprised to see demolition workers. But she and other Missionites are trying to put a stop to it. 

HISTORY

The then-Mission ISD built the original Roosevelt School in 1921 for Mexican children when the town segregated white people to the north of the railroad tracks and Mexicans and Mexican Americans to the south. Until the 1930s, it was the only primary grammar school for Spanish-speaking children on the south side. 

Notable alumni from the institution are Kika de la Garza, Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, McAllen’s first Latino superintendent Dr. Pablo Perez, professional wrestler Merced Solis aka Tito Santana and more. 

Roosevelt served the Latino community from 1921-1968. The campus was condemned and demolished in 1968, but one structure of the original campus remained — the auditorium, which the district built in 1929. 

In 2002, the U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service placed the auditorium on the National Register of Historic Places due to the efforts of Mission preservationists and historians. 

What makes the auditorium unique, besides its significance to the town’s ethnic heritage, is the architecture of the entryway. The three-dimensional design elements under the symmetrical archway are characteristics of Renaissance Revival architecture. But the overall appearance is reminiscent of the Spanish Colonial Revival — a recurrent style in the Lower RGV for the first half of the 20th century. 

The Roosevelt Auditorium is the last remaining structure from that time in Mission’s history. And as Flores Lopez passed by the campus on May 30, she saw a demolition team breaking down the iconic front entrance. She sighed heavily just thinking about it. 

“I think history goes a long way and I think we need to respect the fact that it was one of Mission’s first educational institutions,” Flores Lopez said. “It was the foundation for my mother and my father, where they learned to read and write. It was my foundation.”

DEMOLITION

The Mission CISD board of trustees voted in favor of demolishing the Roosevelt Auditorium on April 14, 2021. (The discussion begins at the 51:14 mark in the online archived video.) But the maintenance department first brought the item to the board at the April 7, 2021 school board workshop. (The discussion begins at the 2:14:37 mark in the archived video.)

According to Director of Public Relations Craig Verley, by 2021, the building had “been in a state of deterioration” for at least 15 years before Hurricane Hanna exacerbated the issue in 2020. Based on MCISD documents, the district last used the space in the 2005-2006 school year. As of 2021, about 30% of the roof structure had collapsed, and 100% of the floor was damaged, he said. Executive Director of Maintenance Rick Rivera said Rick Hinojosa Structural Engineering conducted an assessment and deemed the building unsafe in 2020. 

“A report was submitted on or about November 2020 and identified serious deficiencies in the roof and wall structural components along with flooring and foundation deterioration,” Rivera said at the Aug. 4, 2021 school board workshop. (The discussion begins at the 57:42 mark in the archived video.) 

The maintenance department determined it would cost the district an estimated $1.5 million to revive the structure, while demolition would cost $157,000. Superintendent Dr. Carol Perez said administration looked into grants to help with funding the repair, but they “were very minimal, very small grants,” and the campus needed an employee parking lot in that area. 

“I think that we just need to look at getting rid of it because in reality we don’t have any use for it,” trustee Petra Ramirez said at the April 7, 2021 workshop. “It’s just a danger and we don’t have the money to really fix it. And the city’s not going to be involved in it to help us with it, and it’s a hazard right now. And if we need it for a parking lot, let’s be wise and use it for what we need it.” 

At the April 14, 2021 meeting, attorney David Hansen explained the process the district would have to go through once they decided on demolition. 

“We have to file an application with the Texas Historical Commission and the commission will have 60 days to consider what action it will take, if any, with regard to the site,” the attorney said. 

However, local preservationist and historian Gabriel Ozuna said there are larger grants the district could have applied for, such as the History of Equal Rights Grant through the National Park Service. The HER grant can be up to $750,000. 

With his experience as the vice chair of the Hidalgo County Historical Commission and preservation committee chair, Ozuna believes Mission CISD did not do enough to save Roosevelt Auditorium. 

“I think they went through all the legal loopholes that they had to,” the historian said. “I’m sure they crossed their t’s and dotted their i’s. But did they actually engage the community and try to find the resources available? No they didn’t.”

Other Missionites trying to save the structure believe the district should have involved the community first. 

“I don’t want to call it a disregard to the public, to the taxpayers, to the people whose foundation of education was there,” Flores Lopez said. “I truly feel that it’s a lack of courtesy and it’s sad to say.” 

ORDINANCE ISSUES

One reason Mission CISD did not consult with Mission City Council about demolition is that a seemingly-botched ordinance did not make it a requirement. The local law meant to protect Mission’s historic structures doesn’t include Roosevelt Auditorium; it doesn’t include any of the historic sites on the south side of town. 

Additionally, whoever drafted the ordinance copied and pasted the text from another city’s ordinance and failed to adjust it to fit Mission City Council procedures, making it impossible for city council to vote on the issue, per ordinance guidelines. 

Local activist and historian Ester Salinas said it’s discrimination all over again. 

“It’s fraud, it’s wrong. Again, discrimination like we used to discriminate in the past. Railroad north — Anglo education. Railroad south — Mexican or Mexican American education. So here we go again with discrimination, there’s an ordinance that’s no good,” Salinas said. “So what are y’all going to do? Destroy Our Lady of Guadalupe, destroy La Popma?” 

Salinas said she spoke to current trustee and then-Mission CISD Board President Jerry Zamora in 2021 and offered to help raise funds after she heard about the demolition. But no one took her up on her offer, and she has the text exchanges to prove it. 

“We are the public, we elect officials and they have to listen to us, and we don’t want to talk to deaf ears,” she said. “We have a right to be spoken to and they dropped the ball. We want all demolition to stop. And we need to work in preserving it and creating a committee in Mission that has a passion.” 

When asked to give an updated comment on the public response to the demolition, Ramirez said legal counsel advised the board members to not speak on the issue. 

But Salinas said the fault falls on all past Mission CISD school boards for not maintaining Roosevelt Auditorium after it made it to the National Register in 2002. 

Salinas, Flores Lopez and Ozuna are part of a large group working with an attorney to file an injunction to halt the demolition. Ozuna said there is still a chance to save the auditorium. 

“You would be amazed to see what preservationists can do when given the right support…So absolutely it can be saved; it is not too far gone,” Ozuna said. “Even with the damage that they’ve done in the last few days, I do see it as reversible and can all be put back together as long as we get this demolition stopped.” 

As of June 7, Mission CISD is moving forward with the demolition as planned, according to the public relations director. But Verley did not have a timeline for when the process should be complete. The district’s May 31 news release stated the site work was preliminary in preparation for the demolition. 

Update June 12: As of June 9, the front half of the Roosevelt Auditorium, including the historic arched entryway, was demolished.