The Alligators Are Coming Back to San Jacinto Plaza

Work on San Jacinto Plaza in downtown El Paso is still being done, but the Los Lagartos statue is heading back to town.

San Jacinto has had alligators, live and sculptural, since the 1880's. Live alligators lived in a pond in San Jacinto until they were moved to the El Paso Zoo in 1974, then in 1995, the fiberglass statue by Luis Jimenez was installed in the Plaza. The El Paso sun caused a lot of damage to the sculpture, but a canopy to protect it from further damage is part of the work being done in San Jacinto.

The artwork was being restored in Ohio, but photos of it wrapped up and being loaded onto a flatbed made their way onto social media. The City of El Paso Public Art Program's Facebook page captioned the photos, "Finally on the road, drive safely with this precious cargo!"

City officials say the restored Los Lagartos look amazing. The statue won't be put in San Jacinto until work on the Plaza is completed, but it will be stored in the El Paso Museum of Art until then.

Work on San Jacinto Plaza continues and is expected to be wrapped up in May.