McAllen is rich with history. Boasting the second-largest population in the Rio Grande Valley, numerous individuals, families, and groups have shaped its past and forged its future.
McAllen Heritage Center, located at 301 Main St downtown, is there to tell that story in a way that is engaging to visitors of all ages and backgrounds. The building is a designated landmark by the Texas Historical Commission.
Just like the town around it, McAllen Heritage Center is evolving and expanding by adding a two-story annex behind the existing location.
Elva M. Cerda, a founding member of the museum and longtime director of the non-profit, detailed some of the plans with the anticipated addition. While it’s an opportunity for the center to spread out, it is also slated to become a multipurpose area.
“It will offer additional gallery space, workspaces as well as collection and storage areas,” Cerda said.” One of the offices will serve as a podcast studio. We’re making the building flexible and state-of-the-art as well.” Part of the challenge of working with a historic building is physically preserving the past. The building is located inside the former post office, the same place where residents would enlist in the military during times of war.
“The exterior of the building is going to blend in with the building that is already here, which is preserved by the Texas Historical Commission, so that will look exactly the same,” Cerda said. “The interior is designed with a simple aesthetic. We are building something that will carry us into the future. We have to take advantage of all the technology and materials that are available to us.”
The Heritage Center takes visitors on an educational journey documenting the city’s rise from the first railroad tracks to the small businesses and families who served it.
Cerda and its founding members had the idea in the mid-2000s to create a museum to honor and preserve McAllen’s History. Almost 20 years later, and it is still going strong.
“I was a banker for 40 years and a volunteer operating the museum,” she said. “When I retired [from banking], the board told me they wanted me to stay with MHC. I’ve continued here ever since.”
She explains that people come in asking for exhibits and space to hold every photo and moment in McAllen’s timeline. Questions like ‘ Why don’t you have a picture of the place my grandfather used to work?’ sometimes reach her desk, but rest assured, the team works hard to tell the story of McAllen in the best way they can.
She’s seen the effort of members and volunteers create an important cornerstone for those who want to learn about the city’s history, from an idea to a home inside a historical building to an upcoming expansion. While there is much to celebrate, she is keeping her eyes on the mission.
“We started from ground zero to a full-fledged history museum,” Cerda said. “We still have work to do. I am very proud of the work and progress to this point. The capital campaign fundraiser was very successful, and that was because of community support. That speaks volumes about what the community thinks about the museum.”
Cerda emphasized the importance of engaging younger generations in preserving history and understanding the consequences of forgetting the past.
“History is very important,” she said. “Without our former leaders visionaries and pioneer families, we wouldn’t be here. Goods and services started coming in through the trains circa 1904. If the train depots hadn’t been established by our visionaries, there would be no McAllen. With the younger generation, we can see a bit of a disconnect, so we really want to work with them to impress upon them how important history is. If we ignore it, we won’t have a future.”
While today it seems like this growing city has it all, from food options, entertainment, to high-quality education, with growth in every part of town, it never hurts to take time to see the building blocks it took to reach 2025 McAllen.
To learn more, call the McAllen Heritage Center at 956-681-2860. The museum is open Wednesday through Friday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. Admission and parking are free.
