Built in the 1930s, Quinta Mazatlan was a private residence surrounded by a citrus orchard and Thornforest for sixty years. In 1998 the City of McAllen purchased the property to preserve the historic building and Thornforest and transform it into a “mansion with a mission” to enrich people’s lives by sharing knowledge about birds, plants, and environmental stewardship in South Texas. The Center for Urban Ecology (CUE) in partnership with UTRGV is based at Quinta Mazatlan; helping to grow the mission of the urban sanctuary and extend it outside the historic gates and into homes, communities and the world.