Mission neighborhood added to National Register of Historic Places
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A Mission man spent six years researching his family's home and neighborhood, leading to the area being added to the National Register of Historic Places.
The Shary Heights neighborhood off North Conway Avenue and East Kika de la Garza Street in Mission received the designation last month.
Logan Dovalina started the journey in 2020 during the pandemic. At 19 years old, he was eager to know more about his family's house in Mission.
"Growing up as a kid, I always wondered about the first 20," Dovalina said, referring to the first 20 years of the house.
After learning the home was built by architect Warren C. Suter in 1949, Dovalina was led down a rabbit hole of more history.
"I developed kind of the archive of images of resources, and then I went to the Mission Historical Museum to say, 'I'd like to make this a historic district,'" Dovalina said.
Over 100 pages of research and six years later, the neighborhood was placed on the national register.
"The person that spearheaded the application was a very young member of our community who took a strong interest in historic preservation," Mission Historical Museum Director Cynthia Lopez said.
Dovalina worked with the museum and the Hidalgo County Historical Committee to reach the Texas Historical Commission and the National Parks Service.
Important people in the agriculture industry of Mission, businesspeople and leaders that shaped Mission, along with the age of the homes, led to this moment.
"In the Valley there's a lot of change happening, so it's important to understand the importance of historic buildings, of things that could be lost," Dovalina said.
With this designation, the neighborhood is now marked as worthy of preservation.
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