History Timelines and Stories

Del Mar College’s West Campus, also known as the Windward Campus, opened in September 1958 to help meet Corpus Christi’s growing need for vocational and technical training. The expansion came as the East Campus became overcrowded and risked losing accreditation due to its large student population. The decision to build a second campus on Old Brownsville Road allowed Del Mar to move programs such as industrial trades, health sciences, and automotive technology into their own space. When it first opened, the new campus had five buildings and was called the Del Mar Technical Vocational Institute. According to the college archives,…

Originally published in the Corpus Christi Caller-Times Aug. 15, 2019. Reprinted with permission Some stories just get better the more you dig. This one — the story of literary giant Ernest Hemingway’s visit to Corpus Christi — is a doozy.  In March 1959, the Pulitzer- and Nobel-prize winning author arrived from San Valley, Idaho for a brief overnight before heading to Key West and eventually Cuba. He stayed at the Sand and Sea Hotel on Shoreline Boulevard. Hemingway, shockingly, agreed to be interviewed by a reporter (he hated interviews). The reporter was an 18-year-old Del Mar College student on the…

The Texas Jazz Festival, held in Corpus Christi every October, is far more than just a festival. The Texas Jazz Fest has become a staple in our community, and a celebration of culture and music, where everyone is welcome. The Texas Jazz Festival started as a mere concert organized in November 1959 by the Del Mar’s Jazz Club, which was newly formed.  “We were flabbergasted that so many people showed up that night in the Harvin Center,” said Eddie Olivares, Jazz Club member, who spoke to Guadalupe San Miguel Jr., author of “Tejanos and the Making of the Texas Jazz…