El Paso City Council jumps into fight over demolition of Lincoln Center

Protestor Guillermo Glenn held on to fencing to keep demolition company workers from erecting a barrier around the Lincoln Center Tuesday. (Victor Calzada / El Paso Times)

Photos: Protesters make stand at Lincoln Center

El Paso and one of the largest state agencies may be headed to court over history, safety and progress.

The fight over a 100-year-old building that preservationists want to save and the Texas Department of Transportation wants to tear down become more intense Tuesday.

The El Paso City Council jumped into the fray and voted 5-0 during a special meeting on Tuesday to seek a temporary restraining order to delay the demolition of the Lincoln Center, 4001 Durazno St.

"The next step is they will file for a temporary restraining order that will buy us some time, maybe four or six days," City Council member Lily Limn said. "We know this is not a complete stop to it, but it buys us time."

Its not known when the court documents will be filed seeking the temporary restraining order.

The city called an "Emergency Special Meeting" after more than 20 protesters prevented construction workers from putting up a fence around the center on Tuesday.

Mayor Oscar Leeser said the meeting met the open meetings emergency requirements because of the eminent threat shown by the actions of TxDOT and the outcry from the community and state Sen. Jos Rodrguez, D-El Paso.

"The meeting was to stop the demolition of the Lincoln Center, they began to put the fence around it and we wanted to stop the demolition of the building," Leeser said. "Based on the statement from Senator Rodriguez, we felt it fell under the emergency status."

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El Paso City Council jumps into fight over demolition of Lincoln Center