a walking tour: mexican revolution sites in el paso and juarez - Faculty

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Paso junta. Other members of the Madero junta includedJ3raulio Hernandez, a college professor; Federico Gonzalez Garza, an attorney; and Castulo Herrera, who reportedly fired the first shot of the Madero revolution in Chihuahua. In 1911, Giuseppe Garibaldi came to the Caples Building to offer his services to Gonzalez Gonzalez hesitated to incorporate a foreigner into insurrecto ranks, wishing to avoid charges of filibustering. But the third-generation freedom fighter was hard to resist, especially given the paucity of experienced soldiers in the rebel army. Gonzalez investigated Garibaldi's background thoroughly before admitting him into the officers' corps. Another foreigner who Gonzalez recruited at the Caples Building was El Paso doctor Ira Bush whom he persuaded to help form a medical corps for the insurrectos. Gonzalez was also responsible for recruiting Pancho Villa, who later became one of his most loyal supporters. When the U.S. government put out a warrant for both Gonzalez and Madero on February 14, both leaders decided the time had come to cross the Rio Grande from El Paso into Mexican territolY. They left behind a skeleton staff at the Caples to be in charge of the recruitment of troops, the purchase of munitions and the relaying of information. The Caples Building was commissioned in 1909 by the former mayor of El Paso, Richard Caples. It was designed by Henry Trost in a Romanesque style as El Paso's first cement-poured building. 33. Guarantee Bank and Trust CompanY-104 s. Stanton. Victor L. Ochoa had his offices at the Terrazas-owned Guarantee Bank and Trust Company in 1915-the same building now houses the Gateway Hotel. From these offices, he carried out smuggling and counterfeiting activities on behalf of the Carrancistas. 34. Tollee Building-717 E. San Antonio. The Toastmaster meeting held at the exclusive Toltec Club on March 31, 1911 gave a clue as to what kind of government Madero had in mind now that the revolution had been triumphant. A few days earlier Porfirio Draz had resigned as President of Mexico and was on his way toward Veracruz to catch a ship out of the country. Madero was the official toastmaster for the select group of high-society El Paso men who just a couple of years before had entertained Porfirio Diaz at their club. None of the working-class rebel leaders had been invited-not the rough and unrefined Colonel 274 The Caples BUilding, cu. 1910. (Aultman Colleclion. El PC/so Public Lihrwy) Guarantee Bank and Trust Company (today s Gateway Hotel), ca. 1915. (Aultman Collection, El Paso Pubhc Library.)
Villa nor the unassuming General Pascual Orozco. The only one of Madero's officers invited to the special gala was Eduardo Hay, an Irish-Mexican former engineer who had been educated at Notre Dame University. The other honored guest sitting near to Madero also carried himself like an aristocrat-the defeated General Juan Navarro. In 1914 Pancho Villa rented out the first floor. His arms smugglers worked out of here. Two years later, the Toltec Club would hold a dinner in honor of General John J. Pershing after his return from pursuing Pancho Villa. 'The five-story Toltec building was constructed in 1902 at the cost of $100,000. The Toltec Club was founded, according to its bylaws, for the "cultivation of social intercourse." It was an exclusive organization for men who could afford a $100 initiation fee plus a $50 membership per year, a considerable sum for EI Pasoans in 1902. 35. Majestic Theater-1l1 Mesa. On January 13, 1916, a fight inside this theater initiated a race riot. Mobs of Anglos-angered by the Toltee Club, ca. 1915. (Aultman Collection, £1 Paso Public Libmry.) · ').' killing of 17 American engineers by Villista troops at Santa Ysabel, Chihuahua-went on a rampage. They beat and knifed down every Mexican man, woman or child they encountered on the street. When they heard of the race riot, numbers of Carrancista soldiers stationed in Juarez crossed the bridges to help their compatriots. The riot was quelled only after General Pershing placed the town under martial law and prevented Anglos from entering the Second Ward. 36. The PopUlar Dry Goods CompanY-301 San Antonio. The Popular store and its owner, Adolph Schwartz, refused to sell arms to any faction of the Revolution, but he did provide them with other merchandise. At one point both the rebels and the federales were in the store simultaneously shopping for their respective troops. While the revolu· tion depressed many sectors of the El Paso economy, it boosted business for El Paso merchants. Adolph Schwartz began by supporting Porfirlo Diaz, but ended up becoming a supporter of Francisco Madero. In 1912, Adolph Schwartz 275
Page 7: 20. Teatro Alc3zar-506 S. EI Paso.

a walking tour: mexican revolution sites in el paso and juarez - Faculty

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