El Paso and Southwestern Railroad Building

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm gonna do it justice. Back in 1888, out in Arizona, a railroad was born. The El Paso and Southwestern Railroad.

Now, it didn't stay in Arizona. No, it had its eye on something bigger. By 1902, those tracks had reached all the way to El Paso, and when they did, El Paso became headquarters for the company's operations throughout the southwest.

Railroad shops went up. The whole operation took root right here. Then in 1906, they built something to match their ambitions: a seven-story office building, right here in El Paso.

Seven stories. In 1906. That was a statement.

That was a railroad telling the world it was here to stay. And stay it did. The line kept growing until it was operating more than twelve hundred miles of track.

Twelve hundred miles of steel and sweat and steam stretching across the southwest. But in 1924, the El Paso and Southwestern Railroad was acquired by the Southern Pacific system. The Southern Pacific held onto this building all the way until 1969.

And that building is still standin. Seven stories of it. A reminder that El Paso wasn't just a stop on somebody's line.

It was the headquarters. It was the center. The marker says it plain: a major rail center.

And now you know why that building has been watchin over this city for well over a hundred years.

What the marker says

Begun in Arizona in 1888, the El Paso and Southwestern Railroad completed its track to El Paso in 1902. The city became headquarters for the company's operations throughout the southwest and railroad shops were built here. In 1906 this seven-story office building was constructed for the railroad. The line was operating more than 1,200 miles of track when it was acquired by the Southern Pacific system in 1924. Owned by the Southern Pacific until 1969, this building reflects the importance of El Paso as a major rail center. (1981)