02 May Western Landmark: Hotel Paso del Norte

High in the western tip of Texas sits El Paso, a city founded more than 400 years ago, bordering New Mexico and Chihuahua, Mexico. It’s known for several border crossing points from adjacent Ciudad Juarez — a busy bridge between two cultures that has produced El Paso’s unique character and lifestyle. A closer look reveals an urban environment rich in local history and studded with architectural remnants of a bygone time, each alluding to the city’s long heritage and identity.

Soaring above downtown El Paso, the renovated twin towers of Hotel Paso del Norte invite guests to enjoy modern comfort while carrying on a local tradition spanning over a hundred years.

The Hotel Paso Del Norte is recognized on the National  Register of Historic Places and is a member of the Marriott Autograph Collection Hotels, independent properties framed by the description “Exactly Like Nothing Else.” That said, Hotel Paso Del Norte is steeped in history while offering modern amenities for the discerning traveler.

Reflecting the hotel’s original vision — inspired by classic European Beaux Arts style — the elegant Steakhouse 1700 serves chef-inspired meals with West Texas flair in a dazzling atmosphere.

Opened in 1912, the hotel was the dream of 20th-century El Paso businessman Zack White, who believed superior lodging would attract clientele to the Greater Southwest. To design the building, he hired the local firm Trost & Trost, two brothers whose versatile talents in architecture and engineering were honed in the Midwest and influenced by the then-predominant Chicago School of architecture with its new steel frame construction technology. But Henry Charles Trost, principal, was also a devotee of Art Deco, Mission Revival, Prairie, and especially the Beaux-Arts style. Moving to El Paso in 1903, Trost brought his varied aesthetic to Texas, eventually creating buildings inspired by the arid environment. He designed some 300 structures in El Paso and nearby locales.

The Dome Bar has become an El Paso meeting place where locals and hotel guests gather to enjoy cocktails, conversation, and music from a baby grand piano.

From the exterior, the monolith of Paso Del Norte’s 1986 addition, a 17-story tower, overshadows the original historic structure. That addition expanded the property from 195 to 351 rooms and added a rooftop pool with mountain views on the 10th floor and underground parking. The renovation was one of many over the building’s long history. The latest multi-million dollar makeover was completed in 2020 by the current owners, the Meyers Group and the Aguilar family of El Paso, intended to restore the hotel to the grandeur of the architects’ original vision.

Upon opening in 1912, this original entry, now on a side street, welcomed visitors by carriage or automobile. Its arched windows and carved limestone corbels were considered the height of architectural fashion at the time.

These more recent improvements included adding new Carrara marble floors and marble facing on existing columns, refinishing the Dome Bar walls, building a new gym and spa, redesigning the gourmet restaurant 1700 Steakhouse, adding an outdoor courtyard, upgrading rooms, and other improvements. Overall, the décor in common areas and guest rooms is contemporary, with barely a hint of regional reference. In the lobby, however, oversized images of Frida Kahlo and a Mexican charro evoke Mexican culture, and the friendly front desk clerks all wear cowboy hats.

A recent upgrade renovated the welcoming lobby with mirrored columns, marble floors, and leather seating. Two murals featuring Frida Kahlo and a Mexican charro reflect the area’s Mexican heritage.

Central to the hotel’s history and ambiance is the spacious Dome Bar, an elegant lounge area with faux marble, vermillion-colored walls comprised of native gypsum, carved stone medallions, intimate seating areas, and an all-encompassing 25-foot-high domed ceiling with 17 sections of Tiffany-style stained glass. According to hotel historian David Varela, Harold Trost brought artisans from Italy to create the sculptural decoration and various classical details throughout. Adam Gautreaux, the hotel’s general manager, explains that many local rendezvous are prefaced by “meet you under the Dome” for a truly El Paso tradition.

At Steakhouse 1700, a scoop of homemade cardamom ice cream, toasted coconut, a cloud of mousse, and edible gold flakes float like pearls in a shell for a stunning, artisan-crafted dish.

A second bar on the 10th-floor rooftop, El Mirador, is reminiscent of a 1920s cocktail lounge, drawing clientele from millennials to cattlemen, entrepreneurs, military brass from Fort Bliss, and others. Over the decades, the hotel registry has hosted a memorable list of celebrities, presidents, and politicians, plus the rich and famous. During the Mexican Revolution, it’s reported that hotel guests would watch the action from the 10th-floor ballroom, including battles led by the legendary Pancho Villa and his band of revolutionaries.

The main foyer features a grand staircase that cascades from the upper gallery and ballroom. Overhead, handcrafted brass birdcages that once held live birds now sparkle with lights.

A visit to Hotel Paso del Norte would be incomplete without sampling the fare from either of its two restaurants and Dulce, a walk-up coffee stand featuring house-made pastries, beverages, and sandwiches. For round-the-clock casual meals and weekend brunch, Sabor offers Mexican and Southwestern flavors artfully presented by Chef Adam Bustillos. And Steakhouse 1700 tops the charts, offering seasonal changes to a gourmet menu featuring traditional cuts of dry and wet-aged beef and the current international standard for extreme beef tenderness, Wagyu from Japan. Diners can choose from an imported Nakayama A5 striploin or locally sourced Akaushi ribeye — real Texas Wagyu beef from the Beeman Ranch.

Chef Michael Graham, classically trained in French cuisine, likes bold flavors and original combinations, plus dining-room favorites like fresh oysters, house-baked scones and rolls, truffle butter, and fresh fish from the Gulf Coast. For a memorable cocktail, imagine an Old Fashioned built tableside and infused with smoke from wood torched right before your eyes. The hotel uses its own brand of bourbon created by Maker’s Mark to obtain the precise flavor profile of this drink. Chef-made desserts are as beautiful to behold as they are to eat. Milk and Honey, for example, is an airy, delectable honey mousse confection that’s decorated with edible 24-karat gold leaf.

For those who enjoy cigars, aficionados may retire after dinner to Black Jack’s Cigar Lounge, named after General John “Black Jack” Pershing, the famed American commander who, in 1916, led the U.S. Army’s Mexican Expedition of 10,000 men out of Fort Bliss, headquartered in El Paso, and into Mexico in pursuit of Pancho Villa and his revolutionaries. The luxe lounge is replete with comfortable seating, private cigar lockers, and a walk-in humidor.

Hotel Paso del Norte isn’t just a place to stay. Its elegance reminds us that great architecture can evoke a nostalgic sense of the past and a true appreciation for the present. In this particular case, heritage and luxury combine while serving as a bridge between a city’s long history and its promising future.

Corinne Joy Brown is an award-winning, Colorado-based freelance writer and novelist. A former staff writer for the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum’s publication Persimmon Hill, she currently covers art, design, and architecture for Colorado Life, Home & Garden Colorado, and other regional publications; corinnejoybrown.com.

David Sabal has been a professional photographer since 1976. Published internationally, his clients include architects, interior designers, ad agencies, Fortune 500 corporations, the U.S. State Department, and high-end shelter magazines.