U132 Early Photo of Bank Building at Texas Avenue and 3rd 1910
This is a very early photograph of the original Hidalgo County Bank building standing alone with a small house and open field behind it. The promotional text boasts that the bank established in 1907 and has deposits of $140,000, a large sum at the time. The building stands on the corner today, now with adjacent structures behind and beside it.[98]
View Enlarged
I001 Bank Building 10 Years after Establishment 1919
This photograph looks northeast from Texas Avenue and 3rd Street in Mercedes, Texas. The Hidalgo County Bank still occupies the same location on the east side of the street. Windows above the awnings of each building provided cross ventilation, which helped to keep the buildings cool as air conditioning was not then available.
View High Resolution View Enlarged
R023 Mercedes Downtown Five Years After City Was Founded 1910
This postcard from around 1910, looks southeast from Texas Avenue near Third Street in Mercedes, Texas. The unpaved thoroughfare is shared by automobiles, horse-drawn carriages, and pedestrians. Several businesses are already established, including Rio Grande Hardware and Machinery, E.S. Ruckel Mexican Curios, Hand Drawn Work, Postcards, and Mercedes Drug Company.
The city founders incorporated the town of Mercedes with the intention of establishing a strong economic center. To this end, they placed restrictions on building permits for Main Street and residential lots. Business structures were to be constructed of brick, stone, or concrete and cost at least 3,000 dollars and homes at least 2,000. These restrictions were intended to ensure that the town would be built to a high standard and would attract businesses and residents of means.[26]
View High Resolution View Enlarged
U131 Office Building and Annex to Hotel 1910
Photograph showing activity in early downtown Mercedes. Businesses left to right include Rio Grande Land and Irrigation Company, Mercedes Confectionary, Lyle Harrison Read Estate, Mercedes Drug Company.[98]
View Enlarged
A004 Irrigation Building & Hotel Annex, From Texas Avenue & Second 1912
The two buildings on the northeast corner of Texas Avenue and Second Street are the original American Rio Grande Land and Irrigation building on the left and the Mercedes Hotel Annex on the right. The Mercedes Hotel Annex was constructed in 1912 and had hotel rooms on the upper floor and a library, barbershop, and drugstore on the first floor. The parapet in the center of the building is a nod to the Mission Revival style. The annex was renovated and renamed the Central Office Building in 1928. These buildings stood for over 50 years but were demolished by Urban Renewal in 1966. [62]
'The Mercedes Commercial Club was organized in 1911 and was active in publicizing the town. That year also the Mercedes Public Library was founded. A new city charter was adopted in 1914, and by 1915 the population of the town was estimated to be 2,000.'[26]
View High Resolution View Enlarged
R049 Planters State Bank, West from Texas Avenue and 4th 1912
The postcard depicts a view of Texas Avenue and 4th Street in Mercedes, Texas, looking west. It was taken in 1912, when automobiles and horse-drawn buggies still shared the roads. The Planters State Bank, which opened in 1911 and merged with Hidalgo State Bank in 1914, is located on the left side of the street. To the right of the bank is a drugstore and Rio Grande Hardware. The inscription on the card identifies the man in the car as Ernest.
The presence or absence of streetlights, as well as their style, can provide clues to the date of a photograph. Gas streetlights were used in the late 19th century, while electric street lights became available in the early 20th century. This early photograph shows that Mercedes had not yet installed electric streetlights in 1912.
View High Resolution View Enlarged
D001 Mercedes Greets the Prosperous 1920s with City's First Street Lights 1925
In this postcard, horses and buggies were no longer common in downtown Mercedes, and cars now park against the curb rather than in the middle of the street. The Mercedes Hotel is located on the distant left side, and beyond it is Mercedes City Park.
The image shows streetlights now installed on both sides of downtown Texas Avenue. In 1918, the city council had obtained quotes for stylish iron fixtures from the Union Metals Company in Canton, Ohio. But the thrifty councilmen decided instead to have them made locally out of concrete, copying the latest styles at a fraction of the cost. 'They will be seven feet high with an ornamental cross arm on top supporting three lights enclosed in round white globes. Each corner throughout the business section will be provided with one of these posts making four posts and twelve lights at each intersection.' [67]
View High Resolution View Enlarged
O103 Downtown Businesses Advertised in English and Spanish 1925
This postcard depicts the business district of Downtown Mercedes around 1918. In contrast to five years earlier, no horse-drawn carriages are seen. On the left, a clothing store advertises 'Ropa, Calzado, Sombreros' and a banner displaying 'July Clearance Sale, Hoy La Barata, Now Going on'. Across the street is Madden Pharmacy, and the Hidalgo County Bank with a sign displaying 'Oldest State Bank in the Valley, Guaranty State Fund'. Next to that is the 'Gen. Merchandise, The Big Store'' In the distance, the Mercedes Hotel and City Park are visible, surrounded by palm trees.
View UTRGV Studio View Enlarged
R128 Busy Mercedes Downtown with Cars Parked in Middle of Street 1920
In this early Mercedes scene looking north from Texas Avenue the Empire Theater is to the right of the next the First National Bank. The Empire changed to the Capitol Theater after the hurricane of 1933, and later to the State Theater. Across the street is the mercantile store that was was an important source of goods for early residents, and was likely the earliest store in Mercedes. Note that cars are parked in middle of street since curbs were still reserved for hitching horses and buggies.[27]
View Enlarged
U157 Historic Mercantile Store Demolished by Urban Renewal Project 1972
Constructed in 1910 for the Rio Grande Hardware and Machinery Company, this building later served as a mercantile store, an automotive sales showroom, and finally, a laundromat.The struture is seen on the left in postcard R128. 'V&G Laundry' is painted on the side wall. Note the arched windows, stucco windows, and Spanish Mission facade - features seen in many early RIo Grande Valley buildings. After more than 60 years old it was demolished by urban renewal. [The Mercedes Enterprise Vol 57 No 30 July 27 1972.]
View Enlarged
C001 State Theater and First National Bank in the Prosperous Late 1920s 1928
Looking northeast from the intersection of Texas Avenue and 4th Street in Mercedes, the First National Bank and the Empire Theater were on the right. The theater was renamed the State Theater after the hurricane of 1933. [27] The First National Bank building had an opulent interior with polished marble columns and counters. Both buildings still stand today, in 2023. On the lower left is mercantile store belonging to Amador Fernandez who also owned Toluca Ranch.[27]
The locally manufactured street lights installed around 1920 were apparently not up to standard, as they were replaced in 1928 with new fixtures manufactured by Union Metals Corporation. The new style was popular in the 1920s and is available today in the nostalgia line of the same company.
View High Resolution View Enlarged
L007 Whiskey, Wine and Coca-Cola Advertised on Texas Avenue and 4th in the 1940s 1940
Looking Northeast from Texas Avenue and 4th Street in Mercedes are several businesses in buildings that are still there today. The Whiskey and Wine building was the Vogue Ladies Store for several decades. Look closely at the photograph to see a man changing the marquee at the State Theater, which was started by Amzi Stuart. His son Herald inherited the theater and kept it open until the 1960s.
The First National Bank was founded around 1910 and moved to the corner of Texas and 2nd in the early 1960s. The Central Power & Light and Porter Telegram businesses are next. The Shell Gas Station across the street has a sign for 'No Knock' gas 16 cents/gallon. The addition of lead to gasoline as an antiknock agent was recognized as a serious health hazard and banned in the United States in the 1970s.
View High Resolution View Enlarged
L006 Prosperous 40s Business Scene, South from Texas Avenue and 2nd 1940
Looking South from Texas Avenue and 2nd Street. Borderline Hardware, Baums Menswear, Beer Garden, three Coca Cola signs, boys on bikes and period automobiles. Although this is the main downtown intersection, there is no traffic light. The upper right green area is the lawn of the Mercedes Hotel, and the lower green area is the Mercedes City Park. Look closely to see four separate Coca Cola signs on the left side of the street. There is a Beer Garden to the right of Baums Mens Store, and boys on bicycles on the right side.
Traffic laws in Mercedes were not enforced until 1930, and no tickets were issued until 1939. Parking meters were installed in 1946. [27] In this photograph, there are no traffic lights or parking meters. A litter barrel is seen on the right side of the street.
View High Resolution View Enlarged
L021 Lined with 50s Automobiles, North from Texas Avenue and 3rd Street 1950
Looking North from Texas Avenue and 3rd Street at the prosperous Mercedes of the 1940s. Dominguez Furniture is seen across from the State Theater and the First National Bank.
The ornamental stone building on the left was the Wattson Building. Constructed in 1929 by G.K. Wattson, it was once the pride of Mercedes, with frieze work and sculptured cornices built by a master craftsman. It housed high-end shops on the first floor and the Cordova Apartments on the second floor. The apartments had two sides with an open-air patio filled with tropical plants in huge pots. The building was allowed to fall into disrepair and was demolished in 1965 to make way for a city parking lot, which it remains to this day in 2023. [61]
View High Resolution View Enlarged
F001 Early 50s Downtown Businesses, North from Texas Avenue near 4th Street 1950
Looking North from Texas Avenue near 4th Street at bustling downtown Mercedes with parking meters in the late 1940s, prosperous years. Businesses had mostly recovered from the Depression, and the post-war boom had reached its peak. The building with the sign that says Good Food became the Den in the 1970s run by a man named Larry, who a few residents still remember today for his enchiladas. The Hidalgo County Bank, designed by prominent architect R. Newell Waters [4] is on the left right behind the Western Union Telegraph Office sign. The Central Office Building, completed in 1928 and razed by Urban Renewal in 1967, is just North of the bank. Parking meters and the newer model of Union Metals streetlights are installed on both sides of the street.
View High Resolution View Enlarged
K001 Later 50s Businesses, Texas Avenue near Business Highway 83 1958
Looking South from Texas Avenue near (what is now) Business Highway 83. Mercedes had a population of about 10,000 in the mid 1950s. Borderline Hardware, Baums Menswear and Mercedes Drug are seen in this postcard. Look closely to the see the '20 Miles Per Hour' sign on the lower right. Mercedes Hotel, not visible in the photo. was in the site of the lower right side.
The third model of street lights in Mercedes, installed in 1958, are seen in this postcard. Like the previous model, they were manufactured by Union Metals, which was founded in 1906 and is still in business today. The newspaper reported 'The more modern style with mercury vapor bulbs which gave a light for a greater distance. The new lights are particularly adapted to the width of Texas Avenue ant the intensity of light be will be uniform from one side of the street to the other'. [58]
View High Resolution View Enlarged
U137 First National Bank Building 1980
Constructed in the 1920s by the First National Bank, this building showcases a striking Mission Revival style characteristic of many structures in Mercedes. The exterior features a handsome brick facade adorned with two prominent columns, while an eagle insignia crowns the building, a nod to its historical significance.
Though the bank relocated to a new site at the former Mercedes Hotel corner in the 1960s, this building has retained its original charm. Despite serving as a florist and other businesses over the years, the fine interior and exterior finishes have largely remained intact, offering a glimpse into the rich architectural past of Mercedes.
View Enlarged
U140 Hidalgo County Bank Building Used for Various Businesses 1980
Since its construction in 1907, the building at the corner of Texas Avenue and Third Street has housed a diverse array of businesses. Retail establishments traditionally occupied the ground floor, while the second floor accommodated administrative and legal offices. Notably, during the 1960s and 1970s, the ground floor was home to Queen City Pharmacy, a beloved local institution that boasted a charming soda fountain.
View Enlarged
U145 McAfee Insurance Agency 1960
The McAfee Insurance Building features a tile roof, European windows and fine blue and white tile. Additionally, it has unique carved wooden supports and a decorative facade. Founded in 1923 as the Charles Hupp Insurance Agency, McAfee Insurance initially operated from the 1st National Bank Building, still standing as of 2025. In 1928, the agency relocated to the Central Office Building at the corner of South Texas and Third Streets (razed in 1967). Purchased by G.T. Colley and R.R. McAfee, McAfee became the sole owner in 1943. The agency has changed hands several times since then and eventually moved to its current location at 321 W 2nd Street, as depicted in this photograph from around 1960.
View Enlarged