The Hotel El Jardin
By DIEGO GARCIA III | editor of Yesteryear's Brownsville
If you've ever visited Downtown Brownsville, you've seen it. Across the old Capitol Theater, towering above every other building on the block, there she stands — the once great Hotel El Jardin. Crumbling and deteriorating, the multi-level abandoned building once hosted the likes of Amelia Earhart and Cantinflas. People of past generations tell stories of the an Yturria Family wedding where fountains had bottles of expensive champagne floating in them. She was once the crown jewel of Downtown. We won't see the likes of her built ever again.
So many stories have been told about the hotel. I can only imagine what it would have been like to see the hotel in the 1920's and 30's. The hotel must have been a luxurious place. My first interaction with anything having to do with the hotel must have been some time in the late 1990's. I used to walk around downtown when I was younger. I happened to go in to an old junk shop that the left side of the building occupied. From the faded sign outside the building, it appears to have been a bridal shop before it turned into the old junk shop.
Some time later, I would wander back into the main entrance of the hotel. Apparently, the same family who owned the Sheraton owned the Hotel El Jardin. They were there storing some DJ equipment they had removed from the old Genesis nightclub when it was torn down. I didn't get to see much as they were leaving, but I got to see some of the old furniture in the main lobby.
In 2013-2014, I fell victim to the Captain McCurry swindle. Apparently, this person claimed to be the new owner of the Hotel El Jardin. He made a big show, going on a hunger strike as he spoke to visitors who would come and visit the hotel. He had big plans to renovate the building and turn it into a community center with low-cost housing units, a medical clinic, a coffee shop, a restaurant, and an education center. Being an educator, he wanted me to help him come up with an education program to help those who would eventually live in the building. He eventually disappeared as the truth eventually came out — he never owned the building and all those plans were for naught.
I eventually got a chance to do a little exploring into the building. I visited the building three times. I went up to the roof, down to the basement, and visited as many floors as I could. It really is a pity what the building has become. There are still signs of its former greatness. There are still some chandeliers that hang from the main lobby's high ceiling. The elevator cars are frozen still, but you can also tell the elevators used to be very ornate. The front desk still stands, as does the main switchboard. You can also clearly make out several of the work spaces including the kitchen and several restrooms. There also used to be a beauty salon in the main lobby (I don't know if that came later, or if that was something that was original to the building). I was also able to go into the Silver Dollar, the nightclub that was attached to the hotel towards the rear. The basement is completely empty other than the room where the original boiler still sits. Going through the building, several of the upper floors were packed with furniture from the old Sheraton Hotel that was across from where the Sunrise Mall is.
It really is sad to see just how badly the building has deteriorated. I know there are several people who have tried purchasing the building in hopes of restoring it. The most recent group thinking about restoring the building is the Brownsville Housing Authority. According to an article written by The Brownsville Herald, the housing authority is looking in to spending several million dollars into turning the building into housing units. A visual inspection has been completed, and according to the visual inspection, the building has no major structural defects. They're moving forward with the next stage of testing.
I would very much like to see the building restored, but I fear the building is too far gone for that to realistically happen. The building stopped operating as a hotel in the mid-1980's, and even then, only the bottom three floors were being used. It was a beautiful building, but I think further testing is going to reveal the building is not going to be worth restoring. The original owners waited too long and wanted way too much money for the building. From some research I've done, the property had been appraised at around $250,000, but the owners wanted north of one million dollars. As it is, the city appears willing to pay way more than the appraised value. According to The Herald, the offer of $750,000 has been accepted. I really hope this doesn't turn out to be another Casa de Nylon boondoggle.
The radio antennas have long since been removed from the roof. The "Hotel El Jardin" sign has been gone for decades. The intricate molding has been ripped off the rooftop as well ever since chunks of it started falling down onto the sidewalk below. I'm afraid all that's left of the El Jardin are the memories we have in our minds. Too bad Brownsville started taking an interest in preserving some of the historic buildings when they did.
They should have thought about this years ago.
 |
| The East Side of the Hotel El Jardin. To the left, you can see the Mo-Pac Train Depot. |
If you've ever visited Downtown Brownsville, you've seen it. Across the old Capitol Theater, towering above every other building on the block, there she stands — the once great Hotel El Jardin. Crumbling and deteriorating, the multi-level abandoned building once hosted the likes of Amelia Earhart and Cantinflas. People of past generations tell stories of the an Yturria Family wedding where fountains had bottles of expensive champagne floating in them. She was once the crown jewel of Downtown. We won't see the likes of her built ever again.
 |
| Postcard showing the Hotel "El Jardin." |
So many stories have been told about the hotel. I can only imagine what it would have been like to see the hotel in the 1920's and 30's. The hotel must have been a luxurious place. My first interaction with anything having to do with the hotel must have been some time in the late 1990's. I used to walk around downtown when I was younger. I happened to go in to an old junk shop that the left side of the building occupied. From the faded sign outside the building, it appears to have been a bridal shop before it turned into the old junk shop.
Some time later, I would wander back into the main entrance of the hotel. Apparently, the same family who owned the Sheraton owned the Hotel El Jardin. They were there storing some DJ equipment they had removed from the old Genesis nightclub when it was torn down. I didn't get to see much as they were leaving, but I got to see some of the old furniture in the main lobby.
In 2013-2014, I fell victim to the Captain McCurry swindle. Apparently, this person claimed to be the new owner of the Hotel El Jardin. He made a big show, going on a hunger strike as he spoke to visitors who would come and visit the hotel. He had big plans to renovate the building and turn it into a community center with low-cost housing units, a medical clinic, a coffee shop, a restaurant, and an education center. Being an educator, he wanted me to help him come up with an education program to help those who would eventually live in the building. He eventually disappeared as the truth eventually came out — he never owned the building and all those plans were for naught.
I eventually got a chance to do a little exploring into the building. I visited the building three times. I went up to the roof, down to the basement, and visited as many floors as I could. It really is a pity what the building has become. There are still signs of its former greatness. There are still some chandeliers that hang from the main lobby's high ceiling. The elevator cars are frozen still, but you can also tell the elevators used to be very ornate. The front desk still stands, as does the main switchboard. You can also clearly make out several of the work spaces including the kitchen and several restrooms. There also used to be a beauty salon in the main lobby (I don't know if that came later, or if that was something that was original to the building). I was also able to go into the Silver Dollar, the nightclub that was attached to the hotel towards the rear. The basement is completely empty other than the room where the original boiler still sits. Going through the building, several of the upper floors were packed with furniture from the old Sheraton Hotel that was across from where the Sunrise Mall is.
It really is sad to see just how badly the building has deteriorated. I know there are several people who have tried purchasing the building in hopes of restoring it. The most recent group thinking about restoring the building is the Brownsville Housing Authority. According to an article written by The Brownsville Herald, the housing authority is looking in to spending several million dollars into turning the building into housing units. A visual inspection has been completed, and according to the visual inspection, the building has no major structural defects. They're moving forward with the next stage of testing.
I would very much like to see the building restored, but I fear the building is too far gone for that to realistically happen. The building stopped operating as a hotel in the mid-1980's, and even then, only the bottom three floors were being used. It was a beautiful building, but I think further testing is going to reveal the building is not going to be worth restoring. The original owners waited too long and wanted way too much money for the building. From some research I've done, the property had been appraised at around $250,000, but the owners wanted north of one million dollars. As it is, the city appears willing to pay way more than the appraised value. According to The Herald, the offer of $750,000 has been accepted. I really hope this doesn't turn out to be another Casa de Nylon boondoggle.
The radio antennas have long since been removed from the roof. The "Hotel El Jardin" sign has been gone for decades. The intricate molding has been ripped off the rooftop as well ever since chunks of it started falling down onto the sidewalk below. I'm afraid all that's left of the El Jardin are the memories we have in our minds. Too bad Brownsville started taking an interest in preserving some of the historic buildings when they did.
They should have thought about this years ago.
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