Ramirez Hall

Duane's take

Here's how the marker on Ramirez Hall tells it, best as I can do it justice. Now, picture a piece of land in Starr County, bought in 1872 by a man named Lino Ramirez. He had a vision for that site, and when it came time to build, he didn't just hire any hands.

He brought in an architect by the name of Heinrich Portscheller (born in 1840, died in 1915), a man who apparently did not believe in cutting corners. Not a single one. See, Portscheller didn't just draw up plans and walk away.

He got down and laid the brick himself. Personally. Around every window, around every door, fine detail work, the kind that makes you stop and look twice, maybe three times.

Now, what went up on that Starr County lot was Ramirez Hall: a commercial structure on the ground floor, with the family home sitting right up top. Business below, life above, all under one roof. And it wasn't just one generation of Ramirez family that called that place home.

It was three generations. Three generations who woke up above those finely laid bricks, looked out through those carefully framed windows, and lived the kind of life that gets carved into a marker eventually. That's the thing about a well-built place; it tends to outlast just about everything else.

What the marker says

Commercial structure with family home upstairs. On site bought 1872 by Lino Ramirez. Built by architect Heinrich Portscheller (1840-1915), who personally laid brick in fine detail around windows and doors. Three generations of Ramirez family occupied hall.