History's Hamburgers

Love this photo from the Tumblr Switching Over to AM of a man at a hamburger stand in Alpine, Texas in 1939.

Photo credit: Russell Lee.

Cathedral Mountain View

Cathedral Mountain is located on Highway 118 South, between Alpine and Study Butte. Photo by Joe Edd Waggoner. Gorgeous!

El Paso's Union Station

El Paso is still served by Amtrak, on the Texas Eagle and  Sunset Limited line and passengers heading our way can stop there, or in Alpine.  El Paso's Union Station, located just west of downtown is convenient for all travelers.

The Wikipedia article for the station says this:  "The El Paso Union Depot, also known as El Paso Union Passenger Depot, was designed by architect Daniel Burnham, who also designed Washington D.C. Union Station. It was built between 1905 and 1906 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971."

It is still a lovely place to catch a train! 

Viva Big Bend Festival, July 24-27!

Make your plans NOW to attend the Viva Big Bend Festival later this month, taking place in Alpine, Marathon, Marfa and Fort Davis....and this year, the bonus shows at Lajitas on July 22 and 23!

Click HERE to purchase tickets!!
Click here for the schedule, July 24-27!

History along Holland Avenue: Alpine's Granada Theatre

Photo: Granada Theatre website

Visitors to Alpine need to take a leisurely stroll to see a peek back to an earlier time in Far West Texas.  So much of the historic fabric of the town is still evident along Holland Avenue, adjacent to the Amtrak station and the heart of the business district.  Case in point:  the Granada Theatre, open for business as Texas-flavored events space.

The history of the Granada Theatre, from its website:

"Construction started on the Granada Theatre in 1928 by the Johnson Company of Fort Stockton, Texas and was completed in 1929. The theater was utilized over the years for screening movies as well as being a place for community events such as the West Texas Jitterbug Championships in 1941 and The Stars Over Texas war bond drive in 1943. In June of that year over 2,500 gathered outside the Granada to catch a glimpse of Hollywood stars; Gene Autry, Chill Wills and Gayle Storm. The bond tour raised over eighteen million dollars for the United States war efforts against the Axis powers. The bond tour was headed by Granada Theater Manager C.W. “Wally” Davis of Alpine."

Today, the Theatre holds many events--some on our Texas Mountain Trail regional events calendar--for residents and visitors, including the Chuckwagon Show and Viva Big Bend festival.  Food is catered by the Theatre's next door neighbor, the Saddle Club.

Viva Big Bend is coming up soon!

For the first time, there will be shows in Lajitas as well as Alpine, Fort Davis, Marfa and Marathon! Get your tickets now!

Visit the Viva Big Bend website for information on tickets, shows and venues! 

Adventures in the Texas Mountains presentation tonight!

Join us at 7pm in Lawrence Hall on the campus of Sul Ross State University in Alpine for a presentation by our Executive Director on "Adventures in Far West Texas." Even if you're a resident or a frequent traveler to the region, we think you'll discover something new!  Click here for details.

Pictured here, the pollinators are active in the botanical garden at Chihuahuan Desert Nature Center, just outside Fort Davis...one of the adventures we'll discuss tonight!

FREE summer camp for kids at Museum of the Big Bend!

This summer, thanks to a generous donation from Mr. & Mrs. Johnny and Anne Weisman, the Museum of the Big Bend is pleased to offer 4 Weeks of Summer Art Camp to area and visiting children at no charge.  The camp, "A BEAUTIFUL MESS: Found Object Crafting" will focus on the arts and crafts of creating ecological and cultural art projects utilizing diverse mediums by working with paper, fabric, metal and found objects.

Four 1-Week Monday through Fridays sessions begin June 9 - 13 (Ages 5 to 7), June 16 - 20 (Ages 8 to 10), July 7 - 11 (Ages 5 to 7) and July 14 - 18 (Ages 8 - 10). Times are 9:00 a.m. to noon.  At the end of Summer Art Camp on Friday, July 18th, artwork created by campers will be on exhibit and celebrated with an Opening Family Friendly Reception from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.  This event will be held in conjunction with the Museum of the Big Bend summer exhibit opening of BERYL.

Although ART CAMP is free of charge, all campers must register in advance as space is limited.  To register or learn more, please call (432) 837-8143 or email jennifer.jordan@sulross.edu<

mailto:jennifer.jordan@sulross.edu>. The Museum of the Big Bend is located on the campus of Sul Ross State University.  Like us on Facebook and visit www.musuemofthebigbend.com.

Two new exhibits at Museum of the Big Bend!

We'll Stand by the Flag," 1898, E.T Paull

We'll Stand by the Flag," 1898, E.T Paull

“We'll Stand by the Flag," 1898, E.T Paull

Now through August 31 at Alpine's Museum of the Big Bend!

E.T Paull- America's Other March King

E.T Paull- America's Other March King

From the Collection of Yana and Marty Davis are 12 framed pieces of E.T. Paull’s sheet music with a military theme.

Edward Taylor Paull was born on February 16, 1858 in Gerradstown, Virginia, now West Virginia, where his father was a farmer and later became a prosperous boarding house keeper in Martinsburg. It is thought that Paull witnessed the effects of the Civil War and the lasting memories are reflected in the amount of material that he wrote and published that had war and military themes.

Included in the show are Charge of the Light Brigade, 1896, Paull's first publication after moving his family and growing enterprise to New York City; America Forever!, 1898, one of Paull's earliest patriotic pieces, likely in response to the sinking of the U.S.S. Maine that was the catalyst for the Spanish-American War and Spirit of the U.S.A., 1924, the last of the great Paull patriotic marches published during the composer's lifetime.

Visitors are encouraged to test their knowledge of when states came into the Union with the two sheet music pieces titled The Triumphant Banner, 1907 and The Home Coming, 1908.

Beryl Rice Exhibition

"Ali Baba" stitchery by Beryl Rice

Selected works from the Beryl Lowe Rice Collection are on display in the Temporary Gallery. Beryl’s works reflects her passion for exploring many avenues of art including Naive Art, Sculpture, Ceramic Tile Work, Monotypes, Stitchery, Portraiture and her whimsical Bottle Dolls.

Beryl Lowe Rice spent her early years on the Lowe Ranch in McMullen and LaSalle counties, Texas. She graduated from St. Mary’s Hall, San Antonio and attended the University of Texas at Austin. Later she attended Trinity University and the McNay Art Institute in San Antonio where she studied painting, pottery and sculpture. With her husband, John Rice, they lived in Santa Barbara, California, and Milan Italy, where she studied at the Brera Institute. She and John also lived in San Antonio and San Angelo where she exhibited her work.

In the late 1960s, Beryl and John moved to Marfa. There they opened the La Mota gallery and she continued to exhibit. Rice continued to take classes in portrait, oil and watercolor painting in Texas, New Mexico and Louisiana.

In the early 1970s, Beryl was inspired by friend and artist, Martha Mood, to try her hand at stitchery. Also during this time, she and John became interested in ceramics. As a team they created a series of tile murals that were often tributes to great masterworks. Beryl painted the tiles with underglazes while John was responsible for firing the tiles in their large gas kiln.

Beryl’s work varied in scope and design. Essentially a self-taught artist, she created a large body of one-of-a- kind monotypes. Many of these works are derived as abstractions from the landscape.

Beryl was an explorer in her art. She was undaunted by a new medium and seemed to take every challenge as an opportunity. What is obvious in her work is the great love and commitment she had for the act of creativity. This body of work represents a life-time of artistic joy that she shared with her family, friends and beloved husband, John.

There will be a closing reception on Friday, July 18th, 5:30-7:30 pm, that will feature works created by the Museum of the Big Bend summer Art Camp artists that will be integrated into the Beryl Rice show. -

rom the Collection of Yana and Marty Davis are 12 framed pieces of E.T. Paull’s sheet music with a military theme. Edward Taylor Paull was born on February 16, 1858 in Gerradstown, Virginia, now West Virginia, where his father was a farmer and later became a prosperous boarding house keeper in Martinsburg. It is thought that Paull witnessed the effects of the Civil War and the lasting memories are reflected in the amount of material that he wrote and published that had war and military themes.
Included in the show are Charge of the Light Brigade, 1896, Paull's first publication after moving his family and growing enterprise to New York City; America Forever!, 1898, one of Paull's earliest patriotic pieces, likely in response to the sinking of the U.S.S. Maine that was the catalyst for the Spanish-American War and Spirit of the U.S.A., 1924, the last of the great Paull patriotic marches published during the composer's lifetime.
Visitors are encouraged to test their knowledge of when states came into the Union with the two sheet music pieces titled The Triumphant Banner, 1907 and The Home Coming, 1908. - See more at: http://texasmountaintrail.com/events/alpine-et-paull-americas-other-march-king#sthash.8yQubH7e.dpuf