[Source: Yvonne Wingett, Arizona Republic] -- The Maricopa County supervisor who illegally demolished one historic site is now being asked to add another to the city's register. A team of historians, Hispanic residents and archivists recently identified El Portal, a Mexican restaurant owned by Maricopa County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox, as a building important to Phoenix's Hispanic history. El Portal, at 701 S. Second Ave., is two doors down from a vacant lot once home to the turn-of-the-century home that Wilcox and her husband, Earl, razed in 2004. At the time, the supervisor said the 105-year-old house was a "drug-infested crack house," and she was unaware it was historic. The pair sidestepped criminal prosecution by agreeing to a settlement, including a $10,000 donation to the Phoenix Historic Preservation Office to promote the city's Hispanic heritage. [Note: To read the full article, click here.]
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Mexican eatery marked for Phoenix Historic Registry
[Source: Yvonne Wingett, Arizona Republic] -- The Maricopa County supervisor who illegally demolished one historic site is now being asked to add another to the city's register. A team of historians, Hispanic residents and archivists recently identified El Portal, a Mexican restaurant owned by Maricopa County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox, as a building important to Phoenix's Hispanic history. El Portal, at 701 S. Second Ave., is two doors down from a vacant lot once home to the turn-of-the-century home that Wilcox and her husband, Earl, razed in 2004. At the time, the supervisor said the 105-year-old house was a "drug-infested crack house," and she was unaware it was historic. The pair sidestepped criminal prosecution by agreeing to a settlement, including a $10,000 donation to the Phoenix Historic Preservation Office to promote the city's Hispanic heritage. [Note: To read the full article, click here.]
