A Texan Getaway

By Héctor Berríos, AIA

?

San Antonio in Texas was the first American city I lived in. It was in the Alamo city where I found out I was allergic to pollen. My allergies almost killed me one day I suffered from sneezing and a throat infection. I really wanted to leave the city as soon as possible. In 2013 I got an architectural job offer to move to Corpus Christi (CC, Corpus). It was a relief to leave the pollen and a joy to be near the water. Since I was little, my parents moved a lot, so I learned to always have a few items to pack when it was needed to move on in life. I learned to adapt to new neighborhoods and get to know new friends. So, when it was time to leave, I placed boxes and personal items in the back of the truck and drove to the south. One of the most valuable items I brought to Corpus Christi was an old plotter I bought during my college years. That plotter was going to help me to keep reaching my goals.

It was a weekend in April of 2013 when I moved to Corpus Christi. I arrived at the city around noon. Several people were seated along the bay and waiting for something to happen. So, I decided to sit as well and waited for about 10 or 15 min when suddenly high school marching bands came toward us. There were older women seated on convertibles classic cars and waving to people. Also, holidays decorated public works vehicles, fire trucks, and police cars with lights and sirens. In about 30 min, the parade ended. I still don’t remember the reason for the parade, but I felt it was for me.

The city of Corpus Christi lies next to the emerald, green bay, which in Texas I personally think is the best. The city’s location strongly contrasts the natural and the building environment. Maybe the lack of high-rise buildings reinforces the statements of the existing buildings. Such as the contrast between the American Bank building and the marina, or the Phillip Johnson's Museum of Art -the Museum Expansion by Ricardo Legorreta- against the Corpus Christi water channel. There is no more of a statement than looking at the USS Lexington Museum proudly standing over the water.

One of the nicest site scenes in Corpus is walking, driving, and riding along the ocean drive. You can start your ride at the museums in North Shoreline, then take a brief stop at McGee Beach or Cole Park. Then take a tour discovering the beautiful vacation mansions along Ocean Drive, which are owned by the rich people in Texas. Then discover Selena’s tomb and the campus of Texas A&M at Corpus Christi. Keep riding and you will end up at the US Naval Air Station. In my spare time, I used to ride my Bianchi back and forth along this route. I used to jump onto the beach and just enjoy the fish bumping into my legs.

Another fact to mention is that the Bay also contains the city of Portland, Aransas Pass, Port Aransas, and Mustang Island. I used to visit them while they hosted local events. I got to see -just a few feet from the stage- A.B. Quintanilla and the Kumbia All-Star in a Shrimp festival at Aransas Pass. Each of these little towns is so different from one another, and each one offers a great diversity of food and natural preservation areas. The Padre Island National Seashore for example offers the possibility to see sea turtle releases many times every year. Some people like to surf early in the morning, I never tried, and I will never do. ?I remember a friend used to take his son surfing every morning and one day the kid was bitten by a shark.

There is an ambivalence between what is the city's potential and the city’s reality. Many big companies, such as HEB, Whataburger, or AT&T left the city after a hurricane destroyed the city back in the 80’s. Regardless, the city in 40 years remains the same, with a few buildings here and there but still the same. So, my dream is that Corpus should be big, and rich; with hundreds of high-rise buildings, and millions of people enjoying this great place. The reality is other. I left Corpus 8 years ago, although still visit it very often, the city is the same. The population in Corpus back then was 300,000 thousand, I checked today again, and is still the same.

A growing city is a sign of prosperity, as it also represents the principles of capitalism. It is important that when a city increases its size and development, also protects its identity and history. There were two historical buildings in Corpus Christi. One is the Nueces County Courthouse of 1914, which is still hanging in there but abandoned. The other one was the Memorial Coliseum from 1952 which was demolished around the time of my arrival to CC. Little by little the history of our cities is erased by new developments or gentrification. The demolishing of the Memorial Coliseum, for example, was to build a small Marriott and a Frost Bank drive-through ATM center.

In 2010 the city of Corpus Christi engaged Hargreaves Associates to lead a team and create a city master plan for a 34-acre public space located around the shoreline and the marina. The project was called Destination Bayfront. The main goal was to develop a green park that was going to bring economic development to the abandoned downtown. I was already living in the city at that time when the city tried to pass a $44.6 M Bond for Destination Bayfront, but in November of 2013, Corpus Christi citizens voted against it. A different strategy came out as the city tried to save the project. During my time in CC, I saw that some parts of the plan were developed, while most of them were lost in limbo.

At some point, I kept thinking about why Corpus Christi has not been developing as other cities in Texas such as Austin and San Antonio. Especially with such a fantastic location in the south and amazing natural and economic potential. For example, I remember visiting Austin in the early 2000s and then visiting it in the late 2000s and seeing substantial changes in the city. I returned in the middle of 2010 and I saw a great amount of construction going on in the city. Same in San Antonio with the big developments in la Cantera, the Pearl Brewery, the museums area, and all around downtown. So, I felt nostalgic, I cannot believe to this day why there is a lack of growth in the city of Copus Christ. In 2014 I decided to make my own version of Destination Bayfront. I call it Addenda Destination Bayfront.?

My Addenda was a small introspection into the Corpus Christi downtown. The city needed an anchor or a magnet to bring both Green and Economic development. My design intent was based on the principles of remediation, restoration, and renovation. For me, remediation should mean stopping environmental damage, especially to the natural environment of the city. Restoration included the revivification of the architectural history as well as the restoration of downtown streets, sidewalks, and buildings. Regarding renovation was to create a downtown image and to discover its essence based on a marketing plan. Architects are not businesspersons and not marketing experts. Architects are building focus specialists.

The Corpus Christi metropolis holds the reminiscence of its past through several vacant lots and abandoned buildings. I reflected mostly on re-energizing Corpus Christi downtown based on the idea of creating an image that could sell redevelopment. When we talk about what is Austin's city image, the first thing to mind is the political power of the Texas Capitol. If we think about San Antonio, we think about the Alamo, the missions, or the riverwalk. So, when I think of Corpus Christi what is the first image that comes out of my mind? I kept thinking, and thinking, and thinking. So, I thought that we needed a marketing team that could create a city image and marketing plan. We need a city image, like a marketing slogan. An example could be slogans created by major commercial brands, like the Nike tennis shoes slogan, just run! Or Coca Cola, Real Magic!

My first idea was to relocate the Veterans Memorial Square to a new massive – floodproof- city center. This could be an anchor that will have bay access on the east side and the new business center on the west side. The roof was more of an unlimited landscape that turned from a bay walk to a city of hills. This huge hill also becomes a new beach that merges with the existing beach and the marina. I extended the streets in the highest portion of the city as they become huge bridges that intersect the new city hill and moreover, they extend over the water. I was thinking something like creating the Veteran Freedom Hill, the greatest shopping mall in south Texas under a green roof built over the deteriorated 34 acres of land. Amenities will include a dog park, restrooms, shopping pads, exercise areas, and walking and cycling trails.

Trying to make a great statement in Texas, for one of the cities I love the most, requires a little surrealism. The whole idea of Addenda Destination Bayfront was just a dream, an illogical response to the truth. Sometimes the acceptance of the logic realm hurts very much. One day I was in Atlanta for the AIA national convention, and I met some architects. As we talked, they asked me where I came from. I said Corpus Christi, but I forgot to mention Texas at the end. One of them said that is great you are visiting us from Mexico. Then I said, I little intimidated, Corpus Christi is in Texas. Then the architect said, I am sorry I did not know about it.

Corpus Christi is the largest port in the US in terms of tonnage. The city of Corpus Christi is a getaway of Texas from the south and its name means the "Body of Christ.” It was named by the Spanish explorer Alfonso Alvarez de Pineda in 1519. It has great natural resources, but it also has suffered from economic downturns. The City Downtown was abandoned by city officials and its own citizens for many years. But it is a beautiful city by the bay. But the greatest cities sometimes are abandoned and forgotten, a sort of 100 years of solitude.

I needed to understand that it is better for Corpus Christi to be forgotten so that one day it becomes the eternal city of Texas. The city that never changes. The one it gets old and that one-day people will re-discover its beauty. I wish one day Corpus becomes the new Monte Carlo in Texas. Regardless, every time I visit it, I remember my civil wedding at the Nueces County and my religious wedding at the Saint Pius X catholic church. I still remember the strong smell of the ocean, the fierce winds blowing in my face, and the great sunsets. It is good to remember the past.

Remembering all these events is scary as well, as I am realizing I am getting older. This was my first time living next to the ocean. One of the most powerful experiences was to see the power of water, the waves hitting the rocks, and the tremendous roaring of the waves. I used to look at palm trees during storms and wait to see them fall, but they never did.? I learned that after a massive storm, the water was so calm the following morning that it was easy to spot dolphins jumping out of the water. Even if you get near big rocks in the levy, it was easy to spot the blue herons catching fresh fish out of the water.

For a good time, a coworker kept telling me to visit the Hans & Pat Suter Wildlife Refuge, which was a few minutes from my apartment, but all I kept saying was, yes, for sure, next week possible. One day we decided to visit it and our heads were blown out by an enormous number of birds. We found dozens of bird species in one single place, people taking photos with professional cameras, and couples just seated there looking at nature. I got so excited that we went directly to Dicks sporting goods to get some binoculars. Months later, we got our bird's app, a semiprofessional camera and we started visiting all the nature centers in the bay.? I discovered that people from all around the world come to Corpus Christi with the hope of spotting a bird during bird migration.

We discovered all the great bird centers such as Blucher Park, Hazel Bazemore Park, and Leonabelle Turnbull Birding Center. At Blucher Park, we found nests of great kiskadee, indigo bunting, several species of warblers, and homeless. Blucher Park was a few blocks from my job, One day I decided to go there and find some birds. As soon as I entered the park, I spotted a little warbler jumping from branch to branch of a tree.? I was so excited about following it and taking pictures with my brand-new camera. I was so focused on the bird that I forgot to start looking at my surroundings. Kept following the warbler with my camera through the bushes and I suddenly stumbled into a man sleeping under the tree. I did a double take and there were many people under bushes and trees. It was one of the scariest things I encountered, not because I hadn’t seen homeless before but the nature, the birds, it just didn’t match up.

That is another sad story of Corpus Christi, there were homeless people everywhere. One day my boss found some homeless people sleeping under the main entrance canopy. So, he kicked him out of the place and hoped he would never return. The following day, next to the main door was written on the white wall, FUCK YOU!. The words were not painted by using acrylic or latex paint, nor epoxy paint. The words were made from solid bodily waste discharged through the anus. It is a disgusting story but a fact. Since that day, we always found empty bottles of beer cans, vodka, or any sort of trash. I love everyone, but there was also a sense of danger. Compassion for them but also a sense of anger. As many of them were wearing military shirts, veterans that we all as a society have forgotten.

I also felt angry wearing ties every single day in the office, when I did even meet with clients. I felt angry about the low salaries, angry of the lack of restaurants, and the lack of rock concerts. Every time I went to work, I felt frustrated to see the ugliest green 1960s carpet in the office. I felt confused as I love nature, the birds, and the bay. As I saw the most beautiful sunsets, similar only to the ones in the Chihuahua desert, I saw the emptiness of the streets, the vacant lots, and the lack of construction. So, I felt as if this was my last move and that I just needed to hang in there for my opportunity to buy a 30-foot boat and become a hermit without the desire to grow. I also felt frustrated that I could not watch any sort of sports. Don’t get me wrong, there was an unlimited opportunity for practicing personal sports, but there was very minimal exposure to professional sports.

In Corpus Christi, there is not a strong contrast when comparing the relationship between city and sports. Corpus is more of a small town. There are some important events in a year, one is the cycling event Conquest the Coast and the Beach to Bay running race. Other than those, people will have to travel to San Antonio or Houston to watch major live sports events.? There are many sports facilities around the city, there is a nice baseball stadium and even a hockey team. But as mentioned before, in the realm of city and nature, The best Corpus Christi has to offer are the natural resources.

It was in Corpus Christ where I got my architect licensure. I used to bring the books to McGee Beach and study there. After reading, I used to nap, swim a little, and go back to reading. I never had allergies in Corpus. I discovered jazz music when I got to experience the CC Jazz Festival, which by the way I think is the oldest jazz festival in Texas. I also got to trash my old plotter. I went through many hard times in my life. Sometimes I wanted to quit architecture, but every time I saw the plotter, I kept on fighting.

In January of 2017, I started a new life in Houston. Although it was a survival response to my future, my wife was the one who suffered the most. It took us two or three years for us to accommodate our lives in H town. Even to this day, I miss the ocean and the experience of driving every morning along the bayfront. I miss my favorite food in CC such as bacon, egg, and cheese tacos and the Chinese fried rice with crispy pork belly and egg on top. I miss driving in a city with no traffic. I miss the executive Surf Club or just walking along the bay during the sunsets. I made a promise to come back, and hopefully, if I win the lottery, I will buy a bayfront house or luxury apartment with a bay view. If never win the lottery, maybe I will turn a small, abandoned house into my new chateau. Regardless of the future, I will always return, to visit the city of my heart, the city by the emerald bay.

?