Traces: A Visual Record of the Deconstruction of the Asarco Smelter
February 16- June 30, 2012
The El Paso Museum of History presents Carol Eastman’s photographic study of the deconstruction of the Asarco smelter.
Healing Hands & Healing Ways:
Traditional Medicine in the Borderlands
February 9 - June 30, 2012
The El Paso Museum of History, Museo Urbano & University of Texas at El Paso present Healing Hands & Healing Ways: Traditional Medicine in the Borderlands. Healing Hands & Healing Ways tells the story of a way of life and of viewing the world that is rooted in the peoples of this continent, our history, and our relationship with the land, the animals and the plants. Traditional medicine is part of a global experience that is thousands of years old. The exhibit is a window into the diversity of healing ways that make up Mexican traditional medicine, historically and today. It is also a testament to the survival of medicinal traditions that have been passed down from generation to generation over millennia.
“Man-Made Thunder”: The History of Racing in the Borderland
Beginning Saturday, August 28, 2010
The desert southwest, with its dry climate and large open spaces, has been an ideal spot to test the speed of a variety of vehicles over the past century. "Man-Made Thunder": The History of Racing in the Borderland tells the story of the men and women, tracks, and race cars that have been part of automobile racing in El Paso and Juarez. Curated by racing and 20th century El Paso history enthusiast Chris Babcock (www.elpasoracinghistory.org), the exhibit includes actual race cars, helmets, fire suits, signal flags, race track programs, photographs, and interactive advertising displays from MSD Ignition, an El Paso company that has produced race car components for the past forty years.
Please join the El Paso Museum of History in an off-track glimpse of veteran cars and paraphernalia from a sport which nationally rivals football in viewer attendance. The exhibit opens to the public Saturday, August 28, 2010. For more information call Barbara Angus at 351-3588 or email at angusbx@elpasotexas.gov.
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El Paso’s Wall of Giants Exhibition Honors
El Paso’s Mayors
June 2011 – June2012
The El Paso Museum of History’s Third Wall of Giants exhibit honors El Paso’s Mayors. Forty-eight men and women have served in this capacity – some more than once – since the City of El Paso was chartered in 1873. The exhibit includes video interviews, both in an edited version and as the complete tape, with ten of El Paso’s living mayors; the signature Wall of Giants Banner, which depicts our first City Hall and the faces (with one exception) of all our mayors; and artifacts illustrating the issues that they faced. Highlights are a crayon portrait of Joseph Magoffin, our first four term mayor, on loan from the Magoffin Home State Historical Site; documents signed by some of our earliest mayors; photographs and memorabilia from the living mayors; portraits of contemporary mayors by Nestor Valencia, long time head of City Planning, as well as a interview of his experiences with 18 of our mayors; and the Council table used at the first City Hall building.
In the adjacent Changing Pass Gallery, check out the case containing the City Hall “cornerstone.” This is actually a copper box – a time capsule – that was placed inside the cornerstone of the first City Hall. The El Paso Museum of History has what is left of the papers that were placed inside the box. The building was torn down in the 1960s, and the stone itself is now at the Magoffin Home State Historic Site.
Across from this case is one containing the badge worn by El Paso’s City Marshalls. Dallas Stoudenmire served briefly in that capacity. Law enforcement was one reason for incorporation. The minutes of the early City Council meetings (available at www.elpasotexas.gov/muni_clerk/archived_minutes.asp) are a fascinating read, as City Council struggled to get basic ordinances in place before the onslaught of the railroad boom. Early El Paso mayors were also judges for the City Court that tried offenses against the City Code.
The Wall of Giants Project is designed to recognize individuals, organizations, and institutions that have helped shape El Paso’s recent past. Previous subjects have been Don Haskins and the Team from Glory Road, and Farah Manufacturing.
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The Legend of La Llorona
Tucked away in the Museum’s picture gallery, on the far side of the Gift Store, is a retelling of the story by local folk artist Jaime Santiago Gonzalez Aragon. Jaime paints on old window glass complete with weathered framing, and captions each picture with narrative verse. A papier-mâché sculpture of La Llorona hangs from the ceiling. Visitors are invited to share their experiences of La Llorona’s ghost in a notebook.
The Changing Pass
A traditional, chronological journey through the major events and influences that have shaped El Paso into the city we experience today.
The El Paso Museum of History presents Carol Eastman’s photographic study of the deconstruction of the Asarco smelter.
The El Paso Museum of History, Museo Urbano & University of Texas at El Paso present Healing Hands & Healing Ways: Traditional Medicine in the Borderlands. Healing Hands & Healing Ways tells the story of a way of life and of viewing the world that is rooted in the peoples of this continent, our history, and our relationship with the land, the animals and the plants. Traditional medicine is part of a global experience that is thousands of years old. The exhibit is a window into the diversity of healing ways that make up Mexican traditional medicine, historically and today. It is also a testament to the survival of medicinal traditions that have been passed down from generation to generation over millennia.
