The Adobe Period in Historic El Paso: A Lecture and Walking Tour
DATE: Saturday, June 14, 2025
TIME: 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
LOCATION: West Texas Heritage Center, 201 E San Antonio Ave, El Paso
ADMISSION: $20 per person / free for current Preservation Texas members
Join Preservation Texas for an immersive exploration of El Paso’s adobe heritage—an architectural tradition that shaped the region long before the arrival of the railroad in 1881. Before the Anson Mills Building (1911), Hotel Paso del Norte (1912), and Plaza Hotel (1929) transformed the skyline, simple adobe structures lined El Paso’s bustling plazas. Come learn more about this early period!
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. It will also showcase prime examples of adobe architecture in the Mission Valley and the earliest surviving structures in the region including Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe in Ciudad Juarez (1659).
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.
Admission is $20 per person, or FREE for current Preservation Texas members. Register below or pay with a card at the door!
Not yet a member? You can join through the registration form below for just $40! Membership includes complimentary access to this and future events, plus other exclusive benefits.
Current member? You can access complimentary registration by logging into your online account portal. In the left-hand menu, click “Register for Events” and select the El Paso Adobe Lecture & Tour—your registration fee will be automatically waived.
