Hotel Cortez - El Paso, TX
Posted by: 
WalksfarTX
N 31° 45.591 W 106° 29.274
13R E 359087 N 3514780
Renaissance Style building designed by Trost & Trost. At the time it opened this was the largest hotel between Dallas and Los Angeles. The entrance on Mesa Street has a five-story cast relief portal and ornamented windows on the 6th & 7th floors.
Waymark Code: WMRDXP
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 06/15/2016
Views: 3
Henry Trost website"Nine story L shaped shaft on 2 story rectangular base; faces west; Spanish Colonial Revival style with strong Renaissance overtones.
Restored and converted to offices by Patrick Rand of Carroll, DuSang and Rand, El Paso, 1983-1984.
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EPCC Website
"In 1963, President John F. Kennedy stayed at the Cortez during his visit to El Paso. The Hotel Cortez finally closed its doors in February 1970 after forty-four years of operation.
Mexican businessman Jorge Murra of Torreon purchased the building and leased the space to various government agencies. In the process, he gutted much of the interior. A major fire damaged the structure further in 1972.
In the early 1980s the building was sold once again and underwent major renovations. The first and tenth floor were restored to their original splendor. The other floors were remodeled as professional offices. The El Paso Community Foundation, located on the tenth floor of the structure, has further restored the building. Today, the Cortez Building remains a splendid "castle" overlooking San Jacinto Plaza in downtown El Paso."