Preservation Texas West Region

14/07/2025

13/07/2025

Preservation Texas was delighted to host a two-day long program from July 11 to 12, 2025, focused on the oldest known building material, adobe.

We started with an orientation session on July 11 to provide participants with an overview of what they would see on the field the next day.

The hands-on component was held on July 12 at Rio Vista Farm, a National Historic Landmark in Socorro. Participants obtained valuable experience in brick making and learned methods of adobe conservation and preservation.

Thanks to everyone who participated in two days filled with camaraderie, community, and earth. A warm thanks to our partners at Querencia Mi Mesilla and Cornerstones Community Partnerships, particularly Pat Taylor and his interns, for helping us lead this unique event.

Please stay tuned for other events in West Texas and El Paso via preservationtexas.org/elpaso. Another adobe workshop is coming soon later this year.

Our heartfelt thanks to our sponsors who made this program possible, the County of El Paso and the City of Socorro.

To support our ongoing work, please consider becoming a member via preservationtexas.org/membership and making a donation. You may also visit us at our West Texas Heritage Center at 201 E. San Antonio Avenue in downtown El Paso. Information in bio!

08/07/2025

This Friday and Saturday! Three spots are still available. Register here: https://www.preservationtexas.org/elpaso-events/socorro-2025.

Join Preservation Texas for a unique adobe preservation workshop led by adobe conservation expert Pat Taylor on July 11 - 12, 2025.

The event begins Friday evening, with an orientation session at the West Texas Heritage Center in downtown El Paso, featuring an overview of adobe construction techniques, historical context, and preservation methods. On Saturday, participants will work hands-on at Rio Vista Farm National Historic Landmark in Socorro, making adobe bricks and repairing damage to one of the original structures. Lunch will be provided.

Registration is $50 for Preservation Texas members or $75 for non-members, and is limited to 20 participants. Visit preservationtexas.org/elpaso-events/socorro-2025 to reserve your spot today!

29/06/2025

Several spots are still available for our hands-on adobe workshop coming up on July 11-12. Register now!

🧱 Roll up your sleeves and help preserve history!
Preservation Texas invites you to a Hands-On Adobe Preservation Workshop happening July 11–12 — with one full day taking place right here at our very own Historic Rio Vista Farm in Socorro!

📍 Day 1: Explore the history and techniques of adobe preservation with expert Pat Taylor at the West Texas Heritage Center in El Paso.
📍 Day 2: Get hands-on at Historic Rio Vista Farm — make adobe bricks and help restore an original adobe structure on-site.
🎟️ Limited to just 20 participants — don’t wait to sign up!
💵 $50 for members | $75 for non-members

🗓️ Friday, July 11 | 6–7:30 PM – West Texas Heritage Center, El Paso
🗓️ Saturday, July 12 | 8 AM–4 PM – Historic Rio Vista Farm, Socorro

👉 Register now at www.preservationtexas.org/elpaso and help keep our adobe heritage alive!

http://www.preservationtexas.org/elpaso

29/06/2025

ALBERT BACON FALL MANSION, AN EL PASO LANDMARK: FOR SALE

The El Paso Times reported yesterday (06/27/2025) that the Albert Fall Mansion is for sale. It is listed on our Most Endangered Places list. The historical significance of this structure is astonishing. It was erected in 1907, and designed by El Paso's first registered architect, the iconic Ernest Krause, according to research published by the Trost Society in 2020. We are hoping for the best for this remarkable structure, which **may** be Krause's only remaining residential design in town. Following is an article published at the old Trost Society's page in 2020:
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Located at 1725 Arizona and overlooking Central El Paso, the 1907 Albert Fall mansion has been remodeled and restored by the City of El Paso. A Classical Revival architectural masterpiece, the home was originally built for Albert Bacon Fall (1861-1944), a Circuit Judge in the Territory of New Mexico, and its first elected Senator from 1912 to 1921 when it attained Statehood. Fall also served as the Secretary of the Interior from 1921 to 1923, but was convicted of accepting a bribe during the infamous Teapot Dome scandal.

Fall also played a role in two famous murder trials in local history. He represented Oliver Lee in the Albert Jennings Fountain murder trial, winning Lee's not-guilty verdict; then in later years successfully defended Jesse Wayne Brazel, who had been accused of murdering Pat Garrett.

Fall lived in his mansion for only 4 years after it was erected in 1907. By 1912 it had become home to El Paso hotelier R. Burt Orndorff, when we speculate that Fall needed to move into New Mexico at the beginning of his tenure as State Representative there. Orndorff was the long-time General Manager of both the Orndorff Hotel and Hotel Sheldon in El Paso, in addition to the New Orndorff Hotel in Tucson, Arizona, as administrator of his family's Hotel dynasty.

The structure was designed in a stunning Classical Revival style by one of El Paso's pioneer architects, Ernest Krause. It is remarkable in design and historic significance, and Preservation Texas applauds the City of El Paso for its purchase and renovation.
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Text and research provided to Preservation Texas by Mark Stone and edited by Victor Hurtado, citing the above referenced links in addition to:

-- To view Preservation Texas' Most Endangered Places listing visit https://www.preservationtexas.org/mep/albert-fall-mansion
-- The El Paso County Historical Society at https://www.facebook.com/EPCHS/posts/1478557502198372
-- Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_B._Fall)
-- Newspaper articles and City Directory entries accessed through the Library of Congress' Chronicling America project at https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/ and the University of North Texas (Denton) Digital Archives at https://texashistory.unt.edu/

27/06/2025

Many thanks to the Texas Historical Foundation for visiting us! Please visit us too at 201 E. San Antonio Avenue in downtown El Paso.

To learn more about Preservation Texas in El Paso, visit www.preservationtexas.org/elpaso.

Become a member! More information at www.preservationtexas.org/membership.

25/06/2025

Join Preservation Texas for a unique adobe preservation workshop led by adobe conservation expert Pat Taylor on July 11 - 12, 2025.

The event begins Friday evening, with an orientation session at the West Texas Heritage Center in downtown El Paso, featuring an overview of adobe construction techniques, historical context, and preservation methods. On Saturday, participants will work hands-on at Rio Vista Farm National Historic Landmark in Socorro, making adobe bricks and repairing damage to one of the original structures. Lunch will be provided.

Registration is $50 for Preservation Texas members or $75 for non-members, and is limited to 20 participants. Visit preservationtexas.org/elpaso-events/socorro-2025 to reserve your spot today!

16/06/2025

Please visit us at 201 E. San Antonio Avenue!

14/06/2025

Today!

Join Preservation Texas at the West Texas Heritage Center at 201 E. San Antonio Avenue on Saturday, June 14th from 9 to 11 a.m. for an immersive exploration of El Paso’s adobe heritage! The event will begin with a lecture by architectural historian Dr. Max Grossman, exploring the significance of adobe in shaping the region’s built environment. This presentation will highlight lost adobe structures that once defined the urban landscape, as well as surviving examples that remain standing today.

Following the lecture, Dr. Grossman and Victor Hurtado, Preservation Texas's West Texas Program Officer, will lead a guided walking tour of downtown El Paso and the surrounding areas. The tour will offer a firsthand look at extant and vanished adobe sites in the heart of the city, including the Pancho Villa Stash House in Duranguito.

Registration is $20 per person (or free for Preservation Texas members), and is limited to 20 individuals. To learn more and reserve your spot today, visit preservationtexas.org/elpaso-events/adobe-tour

10/06/2025

This Saturday! Join Preservation Texas at the West Texas Heritage Center at 201 E. San Antonio Avenue on Saturday, June 14th from 9 to 11 a.m. for an immersive exploration of El Paso’s adobe heritage! The event will begin with a lecture by architectural historian Dr. Max Grossman, exploring the significance of adobe in shaping the region’s built environment. This presentation will highlight lost adobe structures that once defined the urban landscape, as well as surviving examples that remain standing today.

Following the lecture, Dr. Grossman and Victor Hurtado, Preservation Texas's West Texas Program Officer, will lead a guided walking tour of downtown El Paso and the surrounding areas. The tour will offer a firsthand look at extant and vanished adobe sites in the heart of the city, including the Pancho Villa Stash House in Duranguito.

Registration is $20 per person (or free for Preservation Texas members), and is limited to 20 individuals. To learn more and reserve your spot today, visit preservationtexas.org/elpaso-events/adobe-tour

06/06/2025

Join Preservation Texas at the West Texas Heritage Center at 201 E. San Antonio Avenue on Saturday, June 14th from 9 to 11 a.m. for an immersive exploration of El Paso’s adobe heritage! The event will begin with a lecture by architectural historian Dr. Max Grossman, exploring the significance of adobe in shaping the region’s built environment. This presentation will highlight lost adobe structures that once defined the urban landscape, as well as surviving examples that remain standing today.

Following the lecture, Dr. Grossman and Victor Hurtado, Preservation Texas's West Texas Program Officer, will lead a guided walking tour of downtown El Paso and the surrounding areas. The tour will offer a firsthand look at extant and vanished adobe sites in the heart of the city, including the Pancho Villa Stash House in Duranguito.

Registration is $20 per person (or free for Preservation Texas members), and is limited to 20 individuals. To learn more and reserve your spot today, visit preservationtexas.org/elpaso-events/adobe-tour

02/06/2025

Come visit us at 201 E San Antonio Ave in downtown El Paso! Hours of operation are Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Preservation Texas, a nonprofit organization dedicated to safeguarding historic sites across the state, is expanding its efforts to the Borderland region.The...