Quinta Mazatlan is now a nature and birding center on Sunset Drive off of South 10th Street, east of McAllen Fire Station Number Four. Sunset Drive ends at the gate to the nature center with parking on the right just before reaching the gate; you buy a ticket and walk in. The core of the property is an adobe mansion built around 1930, when the surroundings were grapefruit orchards. The word quinta is Spanish for villa or country house; Mazatlan translates to land of the deer. Quinta Mazatlan is part of the World Birding Center and is under the stewardship of the City of McAllen Parks and Recreation Department. It opened to the public in 2006.
The Cine El Rey ("The King Cinema") was constructed in 1947 as a Spanish-language movie theater in downtown McAllen. The South 17th Street neighborhood contained a number of businesses that catered to the Hispanic community. While the movie theater closed in 1988, the building was later used as a community outreach church in the late 1990s. The three-story concrete building's distinctive neon projecting marquee still faces South 17th Street and the building has become a performing arts center. The Cine El Rey was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002 as significant for its Art Moderne architectural style and its importance to the local history of entertainment and ethnic heritage of McAllen.
The McAllen Heritage Center is a local history museum and historical society in McAllen, Texas. It promotes and preserves the city's history and culture through exhibits and the preservation of historical sites, art, photographs, and records and writings. The museum, called "La Placinta," was opened in 2008.
Casa de Palmas, at 101 N. Main Street, was built in 1918 and originally contained sixty rooms. The central patio, red tile roof, and twin towers give the hotel its Spanish Mission Revival architectural style. When Fidel Castro was bailed out of prison by the Mexican President, he secretly met at this hotel in early 1956 with former Cuban President Carlos Prio Socarras to seek funding for his guerilla fighters. The building is now the Casa de Palmas Hotel, part of the Trademark Collection by Wyndham. Casa de Palmas was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2003 and is within the city of McAllen's Casa de Palmas historic district.
The International Museum of Art and Science is the Rio Grande Valley's premier science and art museum. It is a Smithsonian Institution Affiliate and is Accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. The 50,000 square foot facility offers hands on, interactive exhibits for visitors to learn about art and science. The permanent exhibits are: Science on a Sphere, a NASA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration-designed exhibit that teaches visitors about space; RioScape, the valley's only interactive science playground; Water Journey and Watershed; and a sculpture garden, which includes a replica Olmec stone head sculpture. The museum also offers various educational and cultural programs.
This Tour is a Driving or Biking Tour.
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Start at Quinta Mazatlan, a city park with an historic adobe residence from the 1930s, and park your car for a hike through the nature trails. Then drive downtown and walk to a historic theater, hotel, and local heritage museum before driving to the art and science museum.
