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Corpus Christi is about to break out. In a really good way.

Dear Texas history buffs,

Welcome back to “Think, Texas,” your free weekly digital newsletter about all things Texas past.

Did we have the best four days in Corpus Christi, or what? We certainly did.

A road-trip buddy and I wandered all over downtown, uptown and nearby districts. We tooled up and down Ocean Drive, one of the loveliest streets in Texas.

The Texas State Aquarium is far more impressive the columnist Michael Barnes remembered.
The Texas State Aquarium is far more impressive the columnist Michael Barnes remembered.

We visited three churches, three colleges, two cemeteries, a temple, a theater, a mission and a shrine.

We also checked out five museums and an aquarium.

We ate at six restaurants and coffee shops and we walked. A lot.

We visited several Selena sites, as well as places associated with my Barnes ancestors.

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Our excited conclusion: Corpus Christi is coming into its own. Visit soon.

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THE COLUMN

10 reasons that Corpus Christi is the most promising city in Texas

CORPUS CHRISTI — Right now, the most exciting city in Texas is Corpus Christi.

For the same reason that this South Texas metro of 400,000 citizens has been periodically praised over the course of more than 180 years.

Because of its future.

That is not a back-handed compliment.

Wandering the streets of downtown during a recent four-day stay, my road-trip buddy and I registered repeated surprise at the changes to this former no-go zone: Excellent but unstuffy and reasonably priced eateries; clubs that offered varied entertainment late into the evening; and, especially on weekend nights, the miracle of street life spilling out from the compact central district and onto the immaculate shoreline and nearby T-head jetties and beaches.

Tourists take it easy at North Beach in Corpus Christi. The U.S.S. Lexington looms in the background.
Tourists take it easy at North Beach in Corpus Christi. The U.S.S. Lexington looms in the background.

If Galveston's urban front along the Gulf of Mexico feels a bit overdeveloped these days, Corpus Christi's shoreline on the bay is just coming into its own organically.

For decades, locals and other Texans have regretted the city's delayed, muddled or canceled civic projects; its apparent disinterest in encouraging human-scaled activities under its hulking bank towers; and its neglect or outright demolition of the Mexican American West Side — alternately rendered Westside — and the African American North Side.

Yet these days, Corpus Christi feels more fresh, more open, more confident than in the past.

"I'm more hopeful all the time," says Monica Sawyer, a grassroots civic leader who is making progress in an effort to resurrect downtown's 1929 Ritz Theatre. "The mix of crowds downtown has been incredibly encouraging."

For this, the first of two columns about our trip to the Corpus Christi area, allow me to list 10 things that should make anyone feel buoyant about the city's near future. READ MORE

THE PODCAST

On the latest episode of "Austin Found" podcast, J.B. Hager and I chat about the amazing Lego Capitol installed in the Texas Capitol Visitors Center.

American-Statesman columnist Michael Barnes and Austin360 Radio personality J.B. Hager team up on "Austin Found," a podcast about how Austin became Austin.
American-Statesman columnist Michael Barnes and Austin360 Radio personality J.B. Hager team up on "Austin Found," a podcast about how Austin became Austin.

HOMETOWN HISTORY

This week's Hometown History theme is historic droughts

·      From Abilene: A life lived in tall cotton.

·      From Amarillo: Texas drought seen firsthand by ranchers

·      From Austin: Current drought pales in comparison to 1950s 

·     From Corpus Christi: In pursuit of uninterruptible water supply for the city

·      From El Paso: When the well runs dry

·      From Lubbock: Thoughts on conservation and praying for rain in West Texas

·      From San Angelo: The year that broke the drought

·      From Wichita Falls: 'Great Drought' cost area $1 billion

FUN TEXAS FACT

President Roosevelt signs appropriation bill for Texas naval station

On June 13, 1940, President Franklin Roosevelt signed the $25 million appropriations bill for the Naval Air Station, Corpus Christi. Construction began on June 30, and the dedication was held on March 12, 1941.

The station, at Flour Bluff, eventually occupied 20,000 acres in three counties. It initially trained naval pilots, navigators, gunners and radio operators. By 1948, when the station became a permanent military installation, it was home to the Naval Air Advanced Training Command. The precision flight team the Blue Angels was headquartered there from 1949 to 1955.

Navy Lt. George Freed (back row, fourth from left) was pictured with other instructors of Squadron 15 in 1942 at Naval Air Station-Corpus Christi.
Navy Lt. George Freed (back row, fourth from left) was pictured with other instructors of Squadron 15 in 1942 at Naval Air Station-Corpus Christi.

In 1959 the Navy converted the major repair facility to the Army's Aeronautical Depot Maintenance Center, while the Navy continued to train flight crews for multiengine land and sea planes. In 1986 the station's airfield was named Truax Field, in honor of Lt. Myron Milton Truax, United States Navy. In 2001 the base served as home to several Navy commands, including the chief of Naval Air Training.

(Texas Day by Day / Texas State Historical Association) READ MORE 

TEXAS TITLES

I recommend: "Hold Autumn in Your Hand" by George Sessions Perry

"Hold Autumn in Your Hand" by Texas author George Sessions Perry made a powerful debut in 1941.
"Hold Autumn in Your Hand" by Texas author George Sessions Perry made a powerful debut in 1941.

This durable story of a Texas tenant farmer struggling to support his family during the Great Depression hit a nerve when it came out in 1941. It was turned into a movie, "The Southerner," in 1945, for which Austin-bred actor Zachary Scott was nominated for an Academy Award for best ctor.  READ MORE ON TEXAS TITLES

Happy Trails,

Michael Barnes, Columnist

Think, Texas and Austin American-Statesman

Michael Barnes
Michael Barnes

Email: mbarnes@statesman.com

Twitter: twitter.com/outandabout

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Watch! Corpus Christi is about to break out. In a really good way.