
Where Texas Meets the Sea
Corpus Christi and Its History
Alan Lessoff(Author)
University of Texas Press
Will be published approx. on 5. February 2019
Book
Paperback/Softback
368 pages
978-1-4773-1224-7 (ISBN)
Description
A favorite destination of visitors to the Texas coast, Corpus Christi is a midsize city that manages to be both cosmopolitan and provincial, networked and local. It is an indispensable provider of urban services to South Texas, as well as a port of international significance. Its industries and military bases and, increasingly, its coastal research institutes give it a range of connections throughout North America. Despite these advantages, however, Corpus Christi has never made it into the first rank of Texas cities, and a keen self-consciousness about the city's subordinate position has driven debates over Corpus's identity and prospects for decades.
In this masterful urban history-a study that will reshape the way that Texans look at all their cities-Alan Lessoff analyzes Corpus Christi's place within Texas, the American Southwest, the western Gulf of Mexico, and the U.S.-Mexican borderlands from the city's founding in 1839 to the present. He portrays Corpus as a place where westward Anglo expansion overwhelmed the Hispanic settlement process from the south, leaving a legacy of conflicting historical narratives that colors the city's character even now. Lessoff also explores how competing visions of the city's identity and possibilities have played out in arenas ranging from artwork in public places to schemes to embellish, redevelop, or preserve the downtown waterfront and North Padre Island. With a deep understanding of the geographic, historical, economic, and political factors that have formed the city, Lessoff demonstrates that Corpus Christi exemplifies the tensions between regional and cosmopolitan influences that have shaped cities across the Southwest.
In this masterful urban history-a study that will reshape the way that Texans look at all their cities-Alan Lessoff analyzes Corpus Christi's place within Texas, the American Southwest, the western Gulf of Mexico, and the U.S.-Mexican borderlands from the city's founding in 1839 to the present. He portrays Corpus as a place where westward Anglo expansion overwhelmed the Hispanic settlement process from the south, leaving a legacy of conflicting historical narratives that colors the city's character even now. Lessoff also explores how competing visions of the city's identity and possibilities have played out in arenas ranging from artwork in public places to schemes to embellish, redevelop, or preserve the downtown waterfront and North Padre Island. With a deep understanding of the geographic, historical, economic, and political factors that have formed the city, Lessoff demonstrates that Corpus Christi exemplifies the tensions between regional and cosmopolitan influences that have shaped cities across the Southwest.
Reviews / Votes
Lessoff's call to recognize the rise of urban Texas is valuable and rewarding for both historians and local residents. (Western Historical Quarterly) This book is a model for other historians to test in other places-in Texas, the Southwest, and other regions. It is a great urban history and an excellent source for readers both familiar with and new to the city's history. (Southwestern Historical Quarterly) An important contribution to the growing body of work on Sunbelt cities. . . . [It] proves that the history of successes, anxieties, and new starts in 'peripheral' cities might be just as important, if not more so, than the urban monoliths of history and historiography such as New York and Chicago. (Pacific Historical Review) A well-researched and interesting addition to urban history in an understudied region. The author incorporates environmental history nicely and demonstrates why Corpus Christi has not been able to achieve long-term success like many of its neighboring cities. (Journal of Southern History)More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Austin, TX
United States
Illustrations
32 b&w photos, 10 b&w maps, 4 charts-graphs, 1 table
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
594 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4773-1224-7 (9781477312247)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
02/2015
1st Edition
University of Texas Press
€30.49
Available for download
Person
ALAN LESSOFF is a professor of history at Illinois State University in Bloomington. A specialist in US and comparative urban history, he has written, cowritten, or edited five previous books, most recently, Fractured Modernity: America Confronts Modern Times, 1890s to 1940s, edited with Thomas Welskopp.
Content
Introduction
1. A City over Space and across Time
2. A Texas Seaport in Texas Lore
3. City on a Frontier of Peoples
4. Public Sculpture and Civic Identity
5. A Matter of Little Import
6. A Dynamic and Progressive City
Conclusion
Acknowledgments
Notes
Index
1. A City over Space and across Time
2. A Texas Seaport in Texas Lore
3. City on a Frontier of Peoples
4. Public Sculpture and Civic Identity
5. A Matter of Little Import
6. A Dynamic and Progressive City
Conclusion
Acknowledgments
Notes
Index