Sunday, October 21, 2001

19 The balustrade

Though most don't know it, the nearly mile-long balustrade that separates the lower and upper parts of downtown Corpus Christi also separates us from messy mudslides and erosion.
   Before the balustrade's first phase was completed in 1915, the bluff was an eyesore, filled with unsightly weeds and scrub brush. When rain poured, its dirt roads would turn into muddy slides, making (in effect) a turn-of-the-century version of Schlitterbahn. Children on their way to school had to crawl to keep from sliding down, but still showed up at school caked in mud.
   But probably the bigger impetus was the increasing need for roads suitable for automobile traffic.
   While it separates uptown from downtown, it melds utility and art.
   It is home to Pompeo Coppini's "The Queen of the Sea" sculpture, as well as the Gold Star Court, built to honor the veterans of the first world war.
   "Most tourists don't get this far from the bay, and that's a shame," says architect John Wright, who oversaw the most recent balustrade renovation.
   And so we have it to ourselves.
  
  
  

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