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| "Queen
of the Sea" Fountain |
It
is hard to recognize this fountain for being a memorial to the Confederacy, however,
that is what it is.
Funding was provided by the Daughters of the Confederacy,
Corpus Christi Chapter with additional funds being donated from the two newspapers
that were published in Corpus
Christi at that time.
King Neptune and Mother Earth hold a crown above
an allegorical female (representing the city of Corpus
Christi), who carries a bouquet of flowers and the keys of success. Nary a
soldier is to be seen. A ship under full sail is carved behind Neptune, while
a plowman tills the soil behind Mother Earth.
The Texas
historical marker text tells the story of the bluff development of which the
fountain is a part. The work was restored in 1990 as a project of the Corpus Christi
Rotary Club.
Corpus
Christi Hotels |
| "Queen
of the Sea" Fountain and historical markers |
| Broadway
Bluff Improvement Historical Marker |
Historical
Marker TextBroadway
Bluff ImprovementThis
40-foot bluff became a distinctive border between uptown and downtown as Corpus
Christi experienced rapid growth after 1900. With the encouragement of Mayor
Roy Miller, New York engineer Alexander Potter began designing improvements to
the Bluff and parallel Broadway streets in 1913. Miller's vision and Potter's
plans reflected the "City Beautiful Movement" then popular nationwide.
The
next year voters approved a $15,000 bond issue and construction began between
Lawrence and Peoples Streets. The bluff was graded and filled to a uniform division
between upper and lower Broadway streets. Massive concrete retaining walls were
highlighted with elegant balustrades and grand stairways.
The united daughters
of the confederacy sculpture at Peoples Street was designed by Pompeo
Coppini in 1914. A $150,000 bond issue in 1916 extended improvements north
to Mann Street, and property owners financed the south extension. John G. Kenedy
donated land at the south end in 1920, where World
War I memorials were placed in 1931. A pedestrian tunnel was finished in 1929,
connecting peoples and Schatzel Streets below with upper broadway. Assistant city
engineer Conrad Blucher supervised each phase of the improvement project.
Recorded
Texas Historic Landmark |
"Queen
of the Sea" by Pompeo Coppini
Monument DetailsPhotos
courtesy Ken
Rudine, 2010 |
| The
Lone Star Fair Historical Marker |
Historical
Marker TextThe
Lone Star FairHenry
L. Kinney (b. 1814), founder of Corpus
Christi, began by October 1851 to organize the Lone Star Fair to boost local
economy. The fair was publicized to attract new settlers to the area, but was
a thinly-veiled attempt to recruit men for the army of Gen. Jose J.M. Carbajal,
a Virginia-educated revolutionary who was trying to liberate northern Mexico.
Kinney called on Dr. Ashbel Smith of Galveston,
Governor P.H. Bell, and ex-governors J.P. Henderson and G.T. Wood to help promote
the fair. Kinney advertised internationally and went deeply into debt to build
the facilities.
When the fair opened, May 1, 1852, main attractions included
races on a new racetrack, bullfights by the noted Mexico City Matador, Don Camarena,
the popular Maltby's Circus, a theatrical troupe from New Orleans, philosophical
oratory, stock and agricultural shows, and exhibitions of horsemanship and wild
bull riding, with prizes for all competitive events.
Kinney planned for
an attendance of 30,000, but only 2,000 visitors appeared. The failure of the
fair was attributed to the remoteness of Corpus
Christi, poor transportation, and the revolutionary activity the fair supported.
The venture bankrupted Kinney and he soon departed for Nicaragua to recoup his
fortunes. | |
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