Si las paredes hablaran: Edificios históricos de Chapala y sus antiguos ocupantes

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Aug 272022
 

We are delighted to announce the publication of Si las paredes hablaran: Edificios históricos de Chapala y sus antiguos ocupantes, a Spanish translation of If Walls Could Talk: Chapala’s historic buildings and their former occupants.

Si las paredes hablaran was published in September 2022 and is now available via Amazon as either a Kindle ebook or as a regular softcover print book, and in several stores in Chapala and Ajijic.

En 1890, Chapala era un pequeño pueblo pesquero. En unas cuantas décadas, se convirtió en un importante destino de turismo internacional. Este libro echa una mirada a los arquitectos, empresarios, aventureros y visionarios que fueron responsables de esta transformación.

Si las paredes hablaran está organizado como una caminata turística y cada capítulo se enfoca en un edificio en particular donde se exploran las fascinantes historias de sus antiguos ocupantes, tanto locales como extranjeros. El valioso legado que dejaron estos individuos extraordinarios, todavía se percibe claramente en las calles, villas, hoteles y grandes mansiones de esta idílica población a la orilla del lago.

Acompañe al autor y descubra la historia, oculta a plena vista, de Chapala, el primer destino turístico internacional de México.

«Desde la década de 1890, los ricos y famosos —desde Porfirio Díaz hasta D. H. Lawrence— llegaron a Chapala para alejarse de todo, ya sea para formar una familia, descansar o escribir. Burton reconoce la importancia de algunos hoteleros y restauranteros en particular, así como las aportaciones de los arquitectos mexicanos Luis Barragán y Guillermo de Alba. Usa la arquitectura local para adentrarnos en la historia social del lugar y nos da un paseo que nos permite apreciar, no solamente la Chapala de hoy, sino la grandiosidad de la Chapala de ayer.»  —Dr. R. B. Brown, Centro INAH Chihuahua

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En la zona del Lago de Chapala, el libro se venderá en el Hotel La Nueva Posada, Mi México y el Ajijic Museo de Arte (todos en Ajijic); en la Galería Diane Pearl (Riberas); y en el Hotel Villa QQ (Chapala).

In the Lake Chapala area, the book will be sold at the Hotel La Nueva Posada, Mi México and Ajijic Museo de Arte (all in Ajijic); at Diane Pearl Gallery (Riberas) and at Hotel Villa QQ (Chapala).

 Posted by at 3:45 pm

Chapter titles of “If Walls Could Talk: Chapala’s Historic Buildings and Their Former Occupants”

 If Walls Could Talk  Comments Off on Chapter titles of “If Walls Could Talk: Chapala’s Historic Buildings and Their Former Occupants”
Jan 162022
 

The 42 chapters of If Walls Could Talk: Chapala’s Historic Buildings and Their Former Occupants are arranged in three parts:

PART A: The town center

  1. Parish church of San Francisco
  2. Stagecoaches and 1907 traffic congestion
  3. Gran Hotel Chapala (Posada Dona Trini)
  4. Villa Ana Victoria
  5. The Widow’s Bar
  6. Casa Barragán (the Witter Bynner house)
  7. Plazas, old and new
  8. Cerro San Miguel
  9. Old Municipal Building
  10. Municipal Building (Hotel Palmera, Hotel Nido)
  11. Hotel Arzapalo
  12. Beer Garden
  13. Casa Capetillo
  14. Casa Galván (Villa Aurora)
  15. Mi Pullman
  16. Villa Ave María
  17. Chalet Paulsen (Villa Paz)
  18. Las Delicias therapeutic baths

PART B: West along Avenida Hidalgo

  1. Villa Ferrara
  2. Mineral water bottling plant
  3. Villa Tlalocan
  4. Villa Adriana
  5. Casa Albión (Villa Josefina)
  6. Villa Niza
  7. Jardín del Mago
  8. Villa Reynera
  9. La Capilla de Lourdes
  10. Hotel Villa Montecarlo
  11. Villa Bela (Villa Bell)
  12. La Casita Blanca
  13. Villa Virginia
  14. Villa Macedonia and the Schmoll residence
  15. Villa Tatra
  16. El Manglar

PART C: East of the pier

  1. Waterfront and original yacht club
  2. Casa Braniff
  3. Villa Robles León
  4. Villa Carmen
  5. Casa de las Cuentas (the D. H. Lawrence house)
  6. Villa Ochoa
  7. Chapala Yacht Club
  8. Chapala Railroad Station

The book also includes detailed original maps, reference notes, a bibliography and index.

Sombrero Books is reader-supported. Purchases made via links on our site may, at no cost to you, earn us an affiliate commission. Learn more.
 Posted by at 4:29 pm

If Walls Could Talk: Chapala’s Historic Buildings and Their Former Occupants

 If Walls Could Talk  Comments Off on If Walls Could Talk: Chapala’s Historic Buildings and Their Former Occupants
Sep 032020
 

We are delighted to announce the publication of

If Walls Could Talk: Chapala’s historic buildings and their former occupants

Lake Chapala played an important role in the history of tourism in North America and has grown into one of the world’s premier retirement destinations. Yet, the details of how and why this transformation occurred have never been adequately reconstructed.

Sombrero Books is reader-supported. Purchases made via links on our site may, at no cost to you, earn us an affiliate commission. Learn more.

At Lake Chapala, this book is now available at Villas QQ in Chapala, and at Diane Pearl, Mi México and Hotel La Nueva Posada in Ajijic.

The book is based on more than two decades of research by author Tony Burton. Join the author as he explores the history of the town’s formative years and shares the remarkable and revealing stories of its many historic buildings and their former residents.

The cover shows central Chapala at the start of the twentieth century. The turreted tower on the left is part of the Villa Ana Victoria. The illustration is a photograph by Winfield Scott that was colorized and published in about 1905 by Jakob Granat, a Mexico City-based postcard publisher.

In 1890, Chapala was a small fishing village. Within decades it became an important international tourist destination. This book explains how and why this transformation took place, and looks at the architects, entrepreneurs, adventurers and visionaries responsible.

Organized as a walking tour of Chapala, each of the 42 chapters of If Walls Could Talk focuses on a different building and explores the fascinating stories of its former occupants—locals and foreigners. The valuable legacy left by these extraordinary individuals is still clearly visible today in the streets, villas, hotels and grand mansions of this idyllic lakeside locale.

Join the author and discover the history, hidden in plain sight, of Chapala—Mexico‘s earliest international tourist destination.

After reading an advance copy, historian Dr. R. B. Brown (Centro INAH Chihuahua) commented that,

“Ever since the 1890s, the rich and famous—from Porfirio Diaz to D. H. Lawrence—have gone to Chapala to get away from it all and raise a family, rest or write. Burton recognizes the importance of specific hoteliers and restaurateurs and the contributions of Mexican architects Luis Barragán and Guillermo de Alba. He uses architecture to introduce us to the local social history and gives us a tour that allows us to appreciate not only the Chapala of today but also the grandeur of the Chapala that was.”

The book includes more than 40 vintage photographs and four original maps showing how Chapala’s street plan has changed over the years. The text is supported by a bibliography, index and detailed reference notes.

If Walls Could Talk: Chapala’s historic buildings and their former occupants is available worldwide via Amazon:

Buy your copy TODAY!

Revisions and additions: If Walls Could Talk: Chapala’s Historic Buildings and Their Former Occupants (2020)

 If Walls Could Talk  Comments Off on Revisions and additions: If Walls Could Talk: Chapala’s Historic Buildings and Their Former Occupants (2020)
Apr 082015
 

These revisions and additions (April 2023) apply primarily to books purchased in Mexico. Books purchased more recently via Amazon are the latest printing at the time of purchase (check for any later revisions), and Kindle editions should automatically update whenever minor revisions are made.

page 16: Villa Ana Victoria “c. 1905″ should be “c. 1897″

page 41: figures for inheritance values are in pesos. [and exchange rate at the time was 2 pesos to a US dollar]

page 45: Musician Mike Laure’s former home (Acapulco 30) is now a museum in his honor.

page 56: “Rafael de la Mora (Villa Carmen)” should be “brother of Roberto de la Mora (Villa Carmen)”

page 74: Box “George Edward King” – Box “George Edward King” as printable pdf file
should read:
“George Edward King (1852–1912) was a progressive British architect who moved first to the US and then to Mexico. He practiced in the US for about twenty years, and designed a number of grand buildings there, including several private residences in Boulder, Colorado; Old Main at Colorado Agricultural college (now Colorado State University) in Fort Collins; the Tabor opera house, post office and hotel, all in Leadville, Colorado; and a number of offices and residences in El Paso, Texas.2
In the 1890s, King set up shop in Mexico City, with Charles Grove Johnson, as King & Johnson. King later established offices in several cities, including Guadalajara, Durango and Chihuahua. In 1908, King managed the Guadalajara office personally, with son Arthur in charge of the Mexico City office.3 King undertook numerous major commissions. He designed the former customs house (now Museo Histórico) in Ciudad Juárez; theaters in Zacatecas, Durango and Chihuahua; and remodeled the Correo Mayor, the main post office in Mexico City, as well as the Government Palace and Degollado Theater in Guadalajara.4
In Chapala, King was responsible for Villa Tlalocan and Casa Braniff, and may have had a hand in other buildings of the period.
When the Revolution began in 1910, King and his family fled to Texas, where both George and his wife, Harriet, died two years later.”

page 139: The first two paragraphs have been expanded to read:
“In the first block north on Calle Zaragoza is the house that English author D. H. Lawrence rented in 1923 from hotelier Antonio Mólgora. The original name for this street was Calle de la Pesquería (“Fishing street”) because it is where local fishermen repaired their nets and hung them out to dry.
The house, at Zaragoza 307, is thought to date back to the nineteenth century and is where the great novelist wrote the first draft of The Plumed Serpent. Lawrence and his wife, Frieda, rented the house—then only a single-story dwelling equidistant between the edge of town and the beach—from the start of May 1923 until early July. The eight residential lots immediately to the north were sold only a few years earlier.”

page 143: Paseo Ramón Corona 11 [designed by Castellanos Lambley] is now (2023) the Hotel Boutique Villa Guadalupe.

page 149: The drawing of the Hotel Plaza is indeed the work of noted Norwegian-American architect Arne Dehli.

 Posted by at 11:36 am