Plaza Hotel (El Paso)
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The Plaza Hotel, formerly the Hilton Hotel, is a landmark skyscraper located at 106 Mills Avenue in El Paso, Texas. The hotel was constructed on the site of the Sheldon Hotel, which burned in 1929. The Sheldon served as the unofficial headquarters for many of the participants in the Mexican Revolution (1910-1920's) from both sides of the border. In the fall of 1929, Conrad Hilton began construction. Nineteen days later the stock market crashed and the Great Depression began, yet construction continued. On November 30, 1930, Hilton's first highrise hotel was opened. At 239 feet (73 m) in height it surpassed the O.T. Bassett Tower to become the tallest building in El Paso; it is still the city's third tallest building. Designed by Trost & Trost, the Plaza is an Art Deco styled 19-story steel-framed building with setbacks at the 16th and 17th floors. It is faced with brown brick and concrete and crowned with a copper-sheathed pyramid. The exterior remains largely unaltered from its original form. Elizabeth Taylor briefly lived in the penthouse of the hotel after she married Conrad’s son Nicky. The hotel was sold in 1963 at which time the name changed to the Plaza Hotel.
Historical markers located on the Plaza Hotel include the First Kindergarten in Texas and The Woman’s Club of El Paso.
Historical markers located in the vicinity of the hotel include Chinatown and the Anson Mills Building. Both markers are located across Mills Avenue at El Paso Street.
