Seventy-four thousand souls. Motto: "The Capital of the Rio Grande Valley." Nickname: "H-town." Name origin: a town in the Netherlands. Let's get to it.

It's so nice you don’t notice the Dumpsters right away:

I do believe I began on the edge of downtown, so let’s not jump to assumptions.

Very modern and up-to-date, once.

More of the Google car’s accidental art:

Ah, the old “interior of a house in Pompeii after the roof collapsed and 30 tones of expelled rock fell in” style.

The two are from the same era, more or less.

Don't enter here!

Or . . . maybe you do? Because the doors are camoflaged to confuse the enemy?

Confusing.

Somewhat. It’s probably original 30s / 40s. The color is anomalous and the bricks around the window not common, but probably original.

It was a bar. Or a restaurant.

Takes you a few seconds to realize what it was. But only a few. Some things ahe only one purpose.

Formerly the Grande, a “Mexican movie theater.”

A later shot.

Nice original sign, hanging on after all these years.

“I don’t know, make it Dutch, make it Arab, I don’t care.”

(later, to architect)

“What the hell is this”

I’m guessing no vacancy, right? Or nothing but

I can’t quite read this. In the middle of a renovation that showed what the bricks looked like originally? Rehabbed a few years ago, but now abandoned?

Oh, I should’ve looked around the corner.

No one cares anymore.

On the other hand:

That’s nice work, and on such a small building, almost an act of philanthropy.

“Bob, reach across your desk and throw this out the other side of the building, will you?”

Emporis says was built in 1927, and has gone by many names.

Baxter Building
Rio Grande National Life Insurance Building
Los Nueve Pisos
McKelvey Building
Blaschka Tower

Residential now. I don't know how. You stretch out to sleep, your feet are out the window.

I’ll bet Mr. Feldman doesn’t run it anymore. Original Feldman, anyway.

OUMB, Fluted-column Yamasaki division. They were everywhere.

I'll give them this: eventually, it said "Bank" as much as the Roman embassies.

It looks as if it lost a pie-throwing competition.

There has to be more, right? I feel like I’m missing the essence of Harlingen. Must go back.

(Minutes later)

No that just about covers it. Things get better, but not more interesting.