Architecture

MCM Religion in Weslaco

Weslaco, TX
Year Built – 1951
Architects – R. Newell Waters, William C. Baxter, John F. Ring, Associates
Text and Photos – Stephen Fox
Grace Church, Weslaco, 1951, R. Newell Waters

Comparable to the streamlined neocolonial houses of Enrique León de la Barra in Matamoros were the conservative modern buildings produced by established architects on the Texan side of the border. R. Newell Waters’s Grace Church in Weslaco of 1951 is a modern Regionalist design emphasizing extreme material clarity and simplicity.

First Presbyterian Church, Weslaco, 1951, William C. Baxter, John F. Ring, Associates

William C. Baxter and John F. Ring’s First Presbyterian Church in Weslaco, also of 1951, reflected Scandinavian influences in the low pitch of its gabled roof, the off-center glass entrance bay, and the low, thin tower. Regionalism enabled established Texan architects to assimilate to modern practices without totally abandoning historical models and an emphasis on masonry and wood and craftwork.