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Miramar Beach is one of the most beautiful beaches in the Gulf of Mexico. It is also an important part of our region’s history being reunion point that has prevailed among the years.
The construction of the first seaside resorts started in the year of 1918. Most of them had a restaurant, a bar and a ballroom and even some offered accommodation service. These resorts were built over piles of 2 to 4 meters high which allowed the undertow pass form side to side. In the times of the oil and commercial boom (1907-1936), Tampico and the region had a large foreign population, which included engineers and executives from the oil companies. Also, a great number of vessels passed through here to refill fuel in our docks and performed loading and unloading maneuvers of merchandise. Most of them stayed for a short period of time and some passengers took advantage to have some fun in the city and the artist that were traveling to Mexico City presented their shows in the resorts in Miramar Beach. No one really knows from where the name Miramar comes from. Some people believe that Don Pedro García, owner of the first seaside resort in the beach, was the one who named the beach remembering the Miramar Castle in Trieste, the place where Mexicans offered the Mexican Crown to the Austrian archduke Maximiliano in 1863. Considering the fact that Miramar Beach was far from the city, the first resorts offered their clients a unique service beating every obstacle. Food represented a big obstacle since the kitchens had no refrigeration, which allowed them to only serve chicken, pork, dried meat and Mexican snacks. The lack of refrigeration did not allow the restaurants to have beef and seafood. On the back of the restaurants there were henhouses with chickens that were killed in the same moment a client ordered a dish and was served in the table in no more than 30 minutes. Concerning to transportation, form the first decade of the XX Century it was possible to get to the beach by car or train. It was en the year 1915 when the tram route opened which made the trip accessible for those who at that time did not have a car. In 1929 the direct route to the beach was done that ended where the First Navy Zone is located. There was a return known as The Pear, which was a very economic transportation. The route Tampico-Beach cost 15 cents. There was a distance of 500 meters from this place to the resorts with enormous sand dunes. For this reaction, the tram company built an asphalt road to connect the terminal with the resorts. This worked well until the windy season arrived and covered the terminal with tons of sand. A 2-meter high bridge was built in order to let the sand fly freely at the ground level. The bridge had bronzed octagonal streetlights donated by Cervecería Cuauhtémoc de Monterrey thanks to the resort owners. At the end of the bridge there was a small kiosk where a local band played during the weekends. At the sides of the bridge there were some businesses that sold crafts made of snails and shells. In the first third of the XX Century, Miramar Beach was an escapade for ladies and gentlemen of society to show their best clothes. In that time, families assisted to the beach during weekends. Children and men were the only ones to swim in the beach, since it was not good seen for women to do it. IT was until 1930 when the first swimsuit for women appeared. This fashion arrived to Tampico years later. In that same time, several substances that worked as tanning oils were introduced by Coco Chanel. The construction of those seaside resorts was a trigger for the splendor époque of Miramar. Departing from Las Escolleras in the south end of the beach, there were: Pánuco, Las Escolleras and Pikio. Two kilometers to the north there were: el Casino, El Mirador, El Obrero. Palermo, El Faro, Segundo Palermo, San Luis, El Recreo de Miramar and Villa del Mar among others. The first seaside resort was Villa del Mar, property of Don Diego García. It was built in 1918 and had two floors and made of wood. It was one of the biggest and elegant resorts at that time. The first balls took place there brightened up by the best national and international orchestras. Years later it changed owners and was still recognized as the best international cuisine restaurant. The Palermo Resort, built in 1920, was the second seaside resort in Miramar. It was property of Don Miguel Velázquez. It had two wooden floors in the form of a castle and in its towers were the restaurants that served typical Spanish food. Just as the rest of the resorts, this one was destroyed by the 1933 hurricane and was reconstructed in 1934 by Don Lucio Torres who named it Balneario Tampico. The upper level was a hotel and the lower had a restaurant, a bar and a ballroom. The third resort in Miramar was El Recreo, built in 1921 by Don Severiano Caramés from Galicia, Spain. The upper level was made for the leasing of rooms while the lower level had a restaurant, a bar and a ballroom as well. After the hurricane of 1933, this resort was reconstructed under the name Galveston.
The resort La Mexicana was built in 1928 by Don Mariano Rodríguez. It was the fourth resort to establish in Miramar. It was smaller than the rest. It only had one floor and a big terrace that had a beautiful ocean view. In 1932 it was renamed Biarritz and was property of Don Celestino Huerta. It was the first resort to offer seafood in its menu. The rest of the resorts continued with that specialty until 1934. By the end of 1932, the labor union began the construction of the Casino, that without a doubt, was the most luxurious and important seaside resort in Miramar. It had two floors with pine piles of 30 cm. of diameter and 4 meters high. Part of its construction was at sea. A bridge was built for cars and buses to pass through. Under it, people used to protect themselves from the sun and hanged some hammocks to rest after having a bath in the beach. Its luxurious architecture was Mayan style with fine mosaic floors, its ceiling with stucco work and its crystal colored windows. At the east side in front of the sea it had a bid terrace, which was sometimes used, and a dance floor. There was a 60-meter long bridge that ended over the sea where people could take a walk or even fish. At the end there was a small store that sold sodas and candy. Just beside the bridge, there was a slide where people could slip into the water. The lobby was divided into 4 rooms according to the cardinal points. There were roulettes, dice tables, poker and baccarat attended by croupiers and waiters all of the elegantly dressed according to the époque.
There were many famous seaside resorts at that time such as the Pánuco of Don Pedro Colón that was built between 1928 and 1930. It was known for its excellent cuisine. It was 20 meters away from the Pánuco River and just in front of the seashore. In 1933 the fury of the hurricane uprooted it and blew it all the way to Las Escolleras. It was then reconstructed. Another resort to outstand for introducing crab from La Barra de Morón and from the Ribera Veracruzana to its cuisine was the Montecarlo, property of Mrs. Roulet. It was a small resort with French influence, which joined the Biarritz. Los Arcos was another resort that continued having chance game despite of their prohibition, which caused its owner Pablo Puig to be deported back to Spain. The prohibition of chance games in 1934 had an influence, but did not end the prosperity of Miramar. There were many other factors that influenced such as the hurricane in 1933, the oil expropriation, the departure of foreign companies, but the final reason was Hurricane Hilda in 1955 that destroyed all the constructions in the beach and that were never reconstructed again, falling in the abandonment. Nowadays, Miramar recovers its splendor with the new hotels, beach clubs, houses and condos that are being built. This is why, today Miramar is again a pride for all the citizens of this region.
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The House of Castilla
The Breakwaters and the Channel for Navigation
History of the
Indpendence Movement in Nuevo Santander Tampico, victim of Pirates, Bucaneers, and Privateers
León Trotsky in Tampico
New Street Names
Tampico Wakeboard City
Tajín Summit
Convention Center
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