MISSION, Texas – It was Mission activist Irma Flores Lopez who first noticed a demolition crew preparing to tear down the historic Roosevelt Auditorium, a building placed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.

She called friends and then the media and the protests began. Flores Lopez and others are hoping Mission CISD’s board of trustees will reverse course and understand that preserving part of Mission’s education history is worth more than building a parking lot.

Flores Lopez provided the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service with historic images of the auditorium and an audio interview. Here is the interview:

Audio

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Editor’s Note: The above audio story is the third in a three-part series on Roosevelt Auditorium. Click here to read Part One, featuring the analysis of Mission community leader Ester Salinas. Click here to read Part Two, featuring the analysis of preservation expert Gabriel Ozuna.

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