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CHA's New Exhibit Explores Historic Cross-Border Architecture
Separated by only 20 miles, Coronado and Tijuana have shared over a century of cross-border cultural exchange from food and language to entertainment and art. When the Hotel del Coronado opened in 1888, Tijuana was just a small farmland village, and the border was little more than a dirt road. During, the Mexican Revolution (1810–1821), the Battles of Tijuana resulted in the burning of the village and rebuilding of the town. A town that, by The PanamaCalifornia Exposition of 1915, brought many visitors from San Diego and Coronado. Tijuana attracted these tourists with a Feria Típica Mexicana – Typical Mexican Fair. This included curio shops, regional food, thermal baths, horse racing, and boxing. Legal drinking and gambling attracted Coronadans and those visiting Coronado in the 1920s during Prohibition. The Avenida Revolución area became the city’s tourist center, with casinos and the Hotel Caesar’s, birthplace of the Caesar salad. A version of the Caesar salad, known as Jack’s Salad, was introduced in Coronado at the La Avenida Café by Jack Clapp who worked for Caesar Cardini before moving to Coronado. In addition to food inspired by Mexican cuisine, Mexican art also flowed to Coronado.
The La Avenida Café was also home to murals created by Ramos Martinez, a trailblazer of Mexican Modernism. The murals are now housed in the Coronado Public Library.
In 1928, the Agua Caliente Touristic Complex in Tijuana was opened, including a hotel, spa, dog track, private airport, golf course, and gambling casino. A year later, the new Agua Caliente Racetrack joined the complex. Just as the border was a gateway for people from Coronado to visit Tijuana, the gateway also encouraged an exchange of cultural arts and architecture.
The Coronado Historical Association’s latest exhibit, Influencias transfronterizas: el diálogo arquitectónico entre Tijuana y Coronado | Cross-Border Influences: The Architectural Dialogue Between Tijuana and Coronado, focuses on this shared history of architectural influence and collaboration from 1888 to the present day. The exhibit was developed in partnership with Archivo Historico de Tijuana and Maria Curry, a historic preservation expert working at the Secretaria de Cultura de Baja California. The exhibit was partially funded by the City of Coronado’s Community Grant Program.
Coronado is known for its rich and enduring architectural history, including extant examples of a variety of architectural styles, including Craftsman, Spanish Revival, Tudor, Mediterranean, and Queen Anne, among other styles. Mirroring Coronado’s development, Tijuana’s oldest standing historic cultural resources date from the 1900s. They mostly include Craftsman-style houses and Spanish Revival civic buildings made of simple, yet readily available materials such as adobe, wood, brick, and plaster.
Unlike Coronado which has been able to protect and maintain some of its historic character, historic Tijuana is harder to find. The government of the State of Baja does not promote incentives for property owners to retain historic homes, and many well-known historic buildings have been demolished over time. Despite these setbacks, local community organizations have advocated for historic preservation and have crowd-sourced restoration efforts.
The exhibit which is now open, celebrates the cross-border architectural achievements of the past, highlights remaining remnants, and explores how historic preservation is approached in both cities. The interplay of architectural design influences that have shaped both communities, fosters a deeper understanding of shared cultural roots that transcend borders.
