Iglesia Metodista Emanuel

200 Brushy St.

As the first Protestant Church specifically catering to Mexicans in Austin, Iglesia Metodista Unida Emmanuel was founded by Reverend Tranquiilino del Valle on February 8, 1891. Services were held in a home on Rio Grande Street and it was originally called the First Methodist Mexican Church. The congregation then moved to the corner of Nueces and Fourth Street where it met at the house of Rev. G. A. Velasquez.

Rev. Velasquez served as a great leader for his congregation, actively seeking employment for church members and advocating for donations so that the church could someday be relocated to a larger location. Influential leader Reverend Basilio Soto served as pastor from 1914-1923 and offered a traveling Sunday school to reach communities outside of Austin. In 1929, a building was erected at Ninth Street and East Avenue and the congregation once again moved.

After these several progressive moves eastward, the church finally settled at its current location on the corner of Brushy and 2nd Street in 1952 and completed construction of the sanctuary in the early 1960s. This move was made possible by many prominent leaders in the Mexican American community including Eva Garcia Carrillo, founder of the first Spanish language newspaper published in Austin, La Vanguardia, and wife to Alberto Garcia, the first Mexican American Doctor in Austin.