Chamizal National Memorial

Chamizal National Memorial is a 54.9-acre park in midtown El Paso, Texas, built on land the United States acquired from Mexico in the 1963 Chamizal Settlement. Congress authorized it in 1966 to commemorate how the two nations peacefully worked through boundary problems dating from 1848, ending with the last major land disagreement between them. Plans went beyond commemoration to include an urban park and a center for cultural exchange, with a 500-seat theater, a 4,000-seat amphitheater, a museum, and programs in the graphic and performing arts. Landscaping was designed around native desert plants that need little water, and an environmental study area was proposed. By early 1973, construction from fiscal years 1968 to 1972 had provided utilities, 34 acres of grass, an automatic sprinkler system, roads and a visitor center. Rising costs left exhibits, seating and some landscaping unfunded, and a request was made to raise the development ceiling to $5,445,000. The available documents are mostly funding and staffing papers.