Eagle Pass Library

It was so many years ago when I sat in this old building reading and writing, preparing for one of the many research projects required by the teachers from my English III, Biology II and Government classes. The classes needed to graduate from high school, the one thing I needed before I could leave Eagle Pass. It was even longer since I had first gotten my library card. Carlos, my older brother, had gotten library cards for both Dora and me. I remember the yellowish card with the metal tag embossed with our library card number. The first books I read were from the stories of courage. They were over simplified biographies of people like John F. Kennedy, Babe Ruth, Custer, etc. From there I moved to authors like Edgar Rice Burroughs, R.L. Stevenson, Edgar Allen Poe, and eventually to John Steinback, Ray Bradbury, H.G. Wells, H.P. Lovecraft, etc.

The leafing through magazines and viewing of pictures clarified my goals and expanded my dreams. I was introduced to photography through Life magazines. The emotions those photographers captured with their cameras on black and white film, the actions that were visible in the blurred faces of the Vietnam soldier and the serenity of a meadow in the Midwest gave birth to my love for photography. Never imagining that someday digital photography would make is so economical to take thousands of photographs of the people and places I would visit.

In that quiet place, in those old books and fresh magazines I met poets, heroes, politicians, and everyday people. I learned about their lives, their dreams and their aspirations. In those books and magazines I flew into space with our astronauts, walked the Mekong delta with our Marines, marched to Washington with Martin Luther King and stood united with Cesar Chavez in the fields of California. There I saw the great injustice brought upon the minorities of this country, the shame of our President resigning from office, and the greatness of our citizens to unite and over come all obstacles as one people.

That library was my compass and the books my maps. Armed with their knowledge I left my little town....

In December on 2004 while visiting Eagle Pass, Texas, Dora and I went with Carlos to drop off some books at the Library. Carlos had quite a few boxes of books to drop off. We met Lisa Finch, Library Director. We asked if we could look around the building and she said yes. We went up the old stair case with it old iron and wood banister. The wood had a rich brown, smooth and shiny finish. Worn smooth by years of use and polishing. The upstairs had a brightness that just invited one to go up. Dora and Carlos walked up ahead. I had to look around a little more before going up.

The wood work was beautiful. I don't think it use to be as dark as it is now. Many coats of varnish, time and dirt gave it its current color but it doesn't take away from its craftsmanship. Built before air-conditioning, the door is surrounded by small windows that open up to allow circulation of the hot air. With the outside windows opened you could get a good breeze going through out the building. Even in Eagle Pass' 100+ summers, the building would have been a cool sanctuary from the outside heat. The building was originally the US Post Office.

Check out the small windows way up high. With the ceiling fans going and all the windows open each office would be able to take advantage of the numerous windows in the larger rooms. I love the lines in the rooms.

This is the biggest room upstairs, the conference room located on the second floor. My brother Rojelio remembers going to meetings in this room a few years back. With all those windows leading to the hallways and the row of windows along the outside wall this would have been a very cool room. Oh, see the lines, beautiful. Our guide told us that there were stories of strange noises and sighting in this building. We didn't see or hear any thing strange while we walked around, but it was like traveling back in time.

We found this steam radiator in the upstairs men's restroom. I had never seen a small radiator like this. I remember seeing the big ones in other older buildings but never a small one like this. The walls and stall dividers were very fancy and well preserved. I don't know if they were from the original construction or added on in later years. The banisters were so elegant. Very streamline and well cared for.

The hallway bisects the upper floor into two halves. The conference room is to the right and the offices are to the left. I missed photographing the lamps in the hallway. The contrast between the white walls and the rich dark wood is very impressive.

This large office faces Main street. It is now used as a storage room. The sunlight that comes into this room makes it unnecessary to have any artificial light. There were tons of old newspapers, magazines, journals, and photographs. I would have taken weeks to look at all these historical material. There was even a manual from the Bikini island atomic bomb testing. Complete with diagrams and pictures.

A brass doornob on a solidly built door. The doornob was not round but oval. You can see the thickness of the many layers of varnish that have been applied throughout the years.

I was looking out at Main Street, wondering how it would have felt to work in this post office. It must have been a prestigious job to have in such a small town.

From here you would have had a birds eye view of the busy life in downtown Eagle Pass. The windows had a thin layer of grime and looking out through them gave the outside world a pale out of focus look. Like viewing an old film with faded colors and slow moving actors, no sound. I wish there was a site to go and find out more about the history of the building, its use and renovations.