Weslaco City Hall

Duane's take

Well, here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Weslaco City Hall. Now settle in, because this is a building with a story worth hearing. Back in 1928, the people of Weslaco decided that a simple frame community building just wasn't going to cut it anymore.

So they built something to replace it, right on that very same site. Something that would stand up and say: we are here, and we mean to stay. What they got was a city hall designed by a prominent Weslaco architect by the name of R.

Newell Waters, and the man had taste. Spanish Colonial style detailing, the marker says, and that's not just a fancy phrase. We're talking intricate cast stone sculpture adorning the entryway and the cupola.

We're talking Spanish tiles, colorful geometric patterns, decorating the interior stairway. This wasn't just a place to pay your taxes. This was a statement in stone and tile.

And when the building was completed, Weslaco didn't let the moment pass quietly. City founder Ed Couch, born in 1879, and Mayor David E. Kirgan, born in 1877, led the ceremonies marking that completion.

Two men who knew what it meant to build something from the ground up, standing together to mark the occasion. The frame building was gone. Something lasting had taken its place.

And if you walk up to that entryway today and look at the carved stone work above you, you're seeing exactly what Waters put there in 1928. Some buildings just refuse to be forgotten.

What the marker says

Erected in 1928, this structure replaced a frame community building at this site. City founder Ed Couch (1879-1944) and Mayor David E. Kirgan (1877-1936) led ceremonies marking the building's completion. Prominent Weslaco architect R. Newell Waters designed the city hall with Spanish Colonial style detailing. Intricate cast stone sculpture adorns the entryway and cupola. Spanish tiles with colorful geometric patterns decorate the interior stairway. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1978.