The Federal Copper Company operated a smelter in the area that would later become Manhattan Heights between June 9, 1899 and December 1, 1908.[3] The smelter was designed by architects, Buchanan and Allen, and ore processing began on September 10, 1901.[4] The copper company's smelter was demolished by 1912 to make way for a residential area.[3] On October 12, 1912, the area was sold to a dentist, Dr. James B. Brady for $85,000.[5] The first home was built in 1914, and most homes were completed by the 1930s.[3] The homes were designed with wealthy buyers in mind.[6]
In 1976, residents formed the Memorial Park Improvement Association (MPIA), to help restore the neighborhood.[6] Kenneth Bailey, Una Hill, Mary Wilson, Louis Cantwell, Mary Neil Brown and Sandra Davis were all involved with getting Manhattan Heights designated a historic neighborhood on June 9, 1979.[3][4] It was the first neighborhood in El Paso to receive that distinction.[3] Because of the historic status of the neighborhood, efforts to preserve old homes have been undertaken by the El Paso Historic Preservation Alliance.[7]
Cityscape
Mabel Welch Historic Marker at Memorial Park, El Paso, TX
The boundaries of Manhattan Heights are made up by Memorial Park, Piedras Road, Copia Street and Louisville.[8]
Architecture in Manhattan Heights includes buildings that represent Georgian Revival, Foursquare, Tudor, American bungalows and Spanish-Italian architectural influences.[3] In 1927, the first woman architect in El Paso and second in Texas, Mabel C. Welch, built her first home in the Manhattan Heights neighborhood.[9] Welch started the trend of Spanish revival in the area.[9]
Education
Manhattan Heights School, later renamed Crockett Elementary School, was established in 1919.[10] The name change took place in order to honor heroes from Texas and happened on May 8, 1922.[11]
Veterans Memorial Park was set aside by the city of El Paso on May 13, 1920.[13] The park is a war memorial and "desert oasis" designed primarily by landscape architect, George Kessler.[13]
Roses in the El Paso Municipal Rose Garden.
Another park in the area is the Municipal Rose Garden, which was opened in May 1959.[13] The rose garden showcases over 430 varieties of roses and 1,500 individual rose buses.[14] The roses growing in the garden are representative of types that grow best in El Paso's desert climate.[15] The garden is about 4-acres in size.[15] The garden has been maintained by El Paso Master Gardeners since 2007, who work as volunteers.[14] The garden is multi-level and also includes waterfalls and a koi pond.[15] The garden is open seasonally, from the beginning of March until the end of November.[14] It is located on North Copia street and has free admission.[16] Prior to the Rose garden, there were several different gardens on the site which were known as the Hill Top Gardens Area and opened in 1933.[13] The rock wall seats of the garden were part of a Civil Works Administration project and the gardens were completed by 1935.[13] The Hill Top Gardens won a Better Homes and Gardens contest in 1938.[13]
Culture
Religion
St. Alban's Episcopal church, a mission of the first Protestant church in El Paso, Church of St. Clement, was dedicated on December 11, 1921.[17]
