Driving East on Interstate 10, you probably pass this building everyday. The Lincoln Center was built in 1912. Then called Lincoln School, it was one of the so-called "Mexican Schools" in which Mexicans were segregated into during much of the 20th Century until 1970 when it was closed due to Hwy 54 expansion and the building of the Spaghetti Bowl.
 

Lincoln Center has tremendous historical significance. It was the location of Lincoln School that opened in 1912 and it served as a school until 1969. During the 1970s, Lincoln residents rallied to save their local school to serve as a community center. Designed by the architect who built Alamo School, in 1977 it was reopened as a community center. In 2006 it was closed.

Before its closure, Lincoln Center hosted offices for various city and nonprofit organizations. The JUNTOS Art Association, and others, sponsored art exhibits. From 1981 to 2006, the Lincoln Art Gallery hosted about 3,000 local and school-children artists. Rosa Guerrero's Ballet Folklorico del El Paso had their first practices at Lincoln Center.

Lincoln Center served not only the Lincoln Park Neighborhood, but also the residents of the Durazno and Chamizal Neighborhoods.

In comparison to other community centers, Lincoln Center has a rich arts focus -- 43 murals are painted on freeway columns located under the Spaghetti Bowl and three murals are painted inside Lincoln Center that were painted by Carlos E. Flores, who also painted the Chamizal National Memorial mural. Flores studied at the Academia San Carlos in Mexico City under Luis Nishisawa. Nishizawa is recognized as one of Mexico's leading landscape artists of the 20th century.  

At the same time Lincoln Cultural Center was being closed in 2006, a survey of the Chamizal Neighborhood done by UTEP indicated residents wanted a community center.