September 22, 2024.
Farewell to the old Brownsville I grew up in. I returned to my once quaint small town last year and spent a few months there. I was amazed at how much it has changed.
It is no longer the 50,000 population town with one high school and its one horse. Downtown is no longer a beautiful, bustling, glittery place that it was when I was growing up, especially in the late-‘50s early ’60s. At least this is the way I remember it.
It is a completely different scene now from what it was way back then. But to be fair, what has happened to the Brownsville downtown area is not an isolated incident. The mall invention has done much to deteriorate downtowns all across our country.
Now downtown Brownsville is dominated by mostly tawdry, shabby stores that are mostly selling cheap stuff from China and some of the stores are even boarded up. And the old iconic Majestic Theatre is anything but majestic! It is sad, really sad.
Farewell to the old Brownsville I grew up in. I returned to my once quaint small town last year and spent a few months there. I was amazed at how much it has changed.
It is no longer the 50,000 population town with one high school and its one horse. Downtown is no longer a beautiful, bustling, glittery place that it was when I was growing up, especially in the late-‘50s early ’60s. At least this is the way I remember it.
It is a completely different scene now from what it was way back then. But to be fair, what has happened to the Brownsville downtown area is not an isolated incident. The mall invention has done much to deteriorate downtowns all across our country.
Now downtown Brownsville is dominated by mostly tawdry, shabby stores that are mostly selling cheap stuff from China and some of the stores are even boarded up. And the old iconic Majestic Theatre is anything but majestic! It is sad, really sad.
(An effort to restore the Majestic theater is ong0ing, but will take years to come to fruition.)
There are no longer any major national brand stores like Sears or J.C. Penney in the downtown area. The once-famous and luxurious El Jardin Hotel still sits there in disrepair, empty and ignored and now just a ghostly shadow of what it once was, a proud, beautiful hotel that at one time served mostly the well to do. What a shame! (Dorsett may not know, but a project to turn the hotel into affordable housing is ongoing, but will also take years to complete.)
There are no longer any major national brand stores like Sears or J.C. Penney in the downtown area. The once-famous and luxurious El Jardin Hotel still sits there in disrepair, empty and ignored and now just a ghostly shadow of what it once was, a proud, beautiful hotel that at one time served mostly the well to do. What a shame! (Dorsett may not know, but a project to turn the hotel into affordable housing is ongoing, but will also take years to complete.)
I can’t say the same for my Cummings Junior High; I have heard that it is already on the chopping block. I heard it will be torn down and replaced by a zoo expansion.
Sure, why not? It makes a lot of sense: Make more rooms for gorillas and less space for public school kids. Suffering succotash! Gone are my Red Ants!
While I was there, I was surprised at how many of these private academies have dominated the educational landscape. I have never seen so many kids in uniforms. In my day we used to dress up in jeans and T shirts. It was much simpler then and, I think, better.
Why the dominance of academies and privatization of our public schools? Simple answer: money. Some folks are raking in huge profits thanks to the property tax dollars meant for public schools being rerouted to private academies and private schools.
This slow, insidious destruction of public education in Texas is succeeding. For every new private school or academy that is built you can bet that another public school will go to the chopping block.
This privatization of our public education is having its awful way in Texas. Those who champion academies and private schools call it school choice. Yes, but choice for whom? Public schools have to admit anyone and everyone while private schools can choose who attends their schools. Private schools can pick the smartest kids, the healthiest kids. Public schools, on the other hand, cannot.
While I was there, I was also amazed at how many potholes there were in the streets. I am surprised the city has not been sued for these dangerous potholes.
I also noticed the abundance of car washes that Brownsville now has. Will they ever reach the point of too many, the point where car washes will be as plentiful as service stations? Yes, it is so much easier to drive around in a nice, freshly washed car but beware: watch out for those potholes; I saw a couple that looked like mini resacas!
Dorsett now lives in Norwalk, Calif.
25 comments:
Who owns all these car washes and why does this filthy city need so many?
The children of today will remember Brownsville as a modern, big and social city. Banks everywhere, restaurants all over the place, Wi Fi at Mc Donalds etc The future will be: planetary travel, flying cars, delivery of tortillas with robots, grandmas at computer centers, father in Mars, Mother in Venus, kids in Brownsville.
Fuck off, dude. Time flies and your time came and went. ja ja ja ja
You know they are building 2 new car washes across from the food market on Boca Chica. That will make three between the highway and 4 corners
J. Dorsett didnt ''visit'' Brownsville. he moved back, moved in with his sister and began to leech off of her and take what he could and eventually threatened to take her home from her. good riddance. stay in Cali u lowlife.
He made a good choice. He left Brownsville. Browsville has spiraled down the drain.
Why the insults i ask?? Its just an observation by this gentleman!! Or do people no longer have the right to reminisce and rehash the good old days. Unbelievable!?!?!
IDIOTA I saw that population sign at 17500 pinche pendejo...
son puros mamones esa familia y NO SON GRINGOS!!!
All this low morale criticism coming from someone who left Brownsville. Just imagine that it is a little bird on your shoulder who takes a shit. Afterwards just flick it off.
Go west young man.
DO NOT OPEN A CAN OR WORMS NO SEAS PENDEJO
Today is the good old days of tomorrow. Yes, he can do that but he can not call our city today terrible...it was like that when he was younger.
I grew up going to the Majestic. I had my first box of Milk Duds, there.
I should've been a cowboy . . .🎶🎵🎶
es primo de Tony Dorsett?
lizzie velasquez look alike
652,701 am time flies and Brownsville is still the worst place in the country. Nothing to do or see, except for the zoo. Downtown will never come to terms. You can never fly in and out of Brownsville, flights are always canceled The big chains restaurants food is frozen and boiled in water. Best to eat at a hotel at the island, and for the same price. The worst city drinking water in the nation. That has not changed. Electricity rates the highest in the state of Tex. No night life, poorly designed street lights, no street stipes visible at night 1000s of palm trees not manicured resacas unkept, traffic lights not in sync, BISD should be in control of the city upkeeps the school area look good all car wash owners be given a area each and power washing the streets Tstc in charge of painting stripes and patch up the potholes they are only getting bigger. Brownsville like Dorset in California it’s only good to visit Brownsville for a few hours and stay at the island Brownsville will never flourish . The kids will grow up and leave Brownsville for the big city
Elizabeth Velasquez from the 1983 is a fox. Just gorgeous what a beautiful smile she has class
Time has moved along, Downtown is dead, Brownsville has changed.
September 25, 2024 at 7:59 PM
Its good to know that there will never be a change of anything here in browntown and you can come back 30 years from when you left and still find it the same way as when you left. It takes strong government to do this. I am only 17 years old and I hope when I come back to browntown I will find it the same way.
KEEP VOTING THE SAME ELECTED OFFICIALS IN THEY HAVE BEEN ELECTED HERE FOR THE PAST 60 YEARS.
17 years with an old decrepit soul. How sad! They know about the past 60 years. I would be depressed if I knew about the past 60 years and I am 53.
that pot hole pic by pace hs has been there 25 years, I know, I used to live there, and went by that area yesterday and it was stil there.
I certainly wouldn’t want my WHITE child sitting with diseased Mexican children
Not at all concerned about Cummings getting demolished. I went there for 6th-8th grade around 2005. And have nothing but bad memories. This school was full in not entirely attended by Cholo's and Delinquents. Hardly received an education although the teachers were not at fault. Students,, I shouldn't even be called them students, disrupting classes, speaking of nothing but fighting, sex, & drugs. Every day after school there were fights. Girls didn't care about nothing but dating the next tough cholo, and loosing their virginity. I got nothing but bullied in this school. Kids bothered me for no reason when I didn't even know them. My parents always taught me to be respectful and well behaved. I always wondered what the parents of these kids did that they were so messed up and just plain evil at times. I wish I would have been transferred to Los Fresnos sooner. That was an actual school & total culture shock. Yes you had your occasional fights and delinquency. but nothing, NOTHING compared to this ugly, nasty, horrible, disgusting, Middle school.
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