El Paisano Hotel
Encyclopedia
El Paisano Hotel is a historic hotel
located in Marfa, Texas
, United States
. The hotel was designed by Trost & Trost
and opened in 1930. The hotel may be best known as the location headquarters for the cast and crew of the film
Giant (1956) for six weeks in the summer of 1955 The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places
on August 1, 1978.
The El Paisano Hotel was built by Charles N. Bassett of El Paso. It was designed by Henry C. Trost of Trost & Trost
of El Paso, Texas
in a Spanish Revival style. The hotel is a "U" shape plan with a fifty by fifty foot courtyard with a large fountain
in the center.
The main customers of the El Paisano during the 1930s and 1940s were area cattle ranchers who came to Marfa to buy and sell their herds, and tourists who came to West Texas for the benefits of the dry desert air.
In 1955, George Stevens
and a Warner Bros film crew came to Presidio County to film Giant. The El Paisano Hotel served as base of operations for the months during which time the film was being shot in the surrounding countryside. Stevens stayed at the El Paisano Hotel as did the 300 plus members of the cast and crew who included: James Dean
, Elizabeth Taylor
, Rock Hudson
, Sal Mineo
, Chill Wills
, and Jane Withers
among others.
The hotel began to go into decline in the 1960s and 1970s. El Paisano Properties Corp. bought the property in the late 1970s and converted the hotel's 65 rooms into 9 timeshare
condominium
s. Although 800 timeshare units were sold, the owners eventually abandoned the business and Presidio County foreclosed on the property for back taxes. Joe and Lanna Duncan purchased the property at auction
for $185,000 in March 2001. After three years of renovations, the hotel reopened with 33 rooms and suites available for the public.
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
located in Marfa, Texas
Marfa, Texas
Marfa is a town in the high desert of far West Texas in the Southwestern United States. Located between the Davis Mountains and Big Bend National Park, it is also the county seat of Presidio County. The population was 1,981 at the 2010 census....
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The hotel was designed by Trost & Trost
Trost & Trost
Trost & Trost Architects & Engineers was an architecture firm based in El Paso, Texas. The firm's chief designer was Henry Charles Trost, who was born in Toledo, Ohio in 1860. Trost moved from Chicago to Tucson, Arizona in 1899 and then on to El Paso in 1903...
and opened in 1930. The hotel may be best known as the location headquarters for the cast and crew of the film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
Giant (1956) for six weeks in the summer of 1955 The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
on August 1, 1978.
The El Paisano Hotel was built by Charles N. Bassett of El Paso. It was designed by Henry C. Trost of Trost & Trost
Trost & Trost
Trost & Trost Architects & Engineers was an architecture firm based in El Paso, Texas. The firm's chief designer was Henry Charles Trost, who was born in Toledo, Ohio in 1860. Trost moved from Chicago to Tucson, Arizona in 1899 and then on to El Paso in 1903...
of El Paso, Texas
El Paso, Texas
El Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...
in a Spanish Revival style. The hotel is a "U" shape plan with a fifty by fifty foot courtyard with a large fountain
Fountain
A fountain is a piece of architecture which pours water into a basin or jets it into the air either to supply drinking water or for decorative or dramatic effect....
in the center.
The main customers of the El Paisano during the 1930s and 1940s were area cattle ranchers who came to Marfa to buy and sell their herds, and tourists who came to West Texas for the benefits of the dry desert air.
In 1955, George Stevens
George Stevens
George Stevens was an American film director, producer, screenwriter and cinematographer.Among his most notable films were Diary of Anne Frank , nominated for Best Director, Giant , winner of Oscar for Best Director, Shane , Oscar nominated, and A Place in the Sun , winner of Oscar for Best...
and a Warner Bros film crew came to Presidio County to film Giant. The El Paisano Hotel served as base of operations for the months during which time the film was being shot in the surrounding countryside. Stevens stayed at the El Paisano Hotel as did the 300 plus members of the cast and crew who included: James Dean
James Dean
James Byron Dean was an American film actor. He is a cultural icon, best embodied in the title of his most celebrated film, Rebel Without a Cause , in which he starred as troubled Los Angeles teenager Jim Stark...
, Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, DBE was a British-American actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age...
, Rock Hudson
Rock Hudson
Roy Harold Scherer, Jr., later Roy Harold Fitzgerald , known professionally as Rock Hudson, was an American film and television actor, recognized as a romantic leading man during the 1950s and 1960s, most notably in several romantic comedies with Doris Day.Hudson was voted "Star of the Year",...
, Sal Mineo
Sal Mineo
Salvatore "Sal" Mineo, Jr. , was an American film and theatre actor, best known for his performance as John "Plato" Crawford opposite James Dean in the film Rebel Without a Cause...
, Chill Wills
Chill Wills
Chill Theodore Wills was an American film actor, and a singer in the Avalon Boys Quartet.-Biography:Wills was born in Seagoville, Texas in 1902. He was a performer from early childhood, forming and leading the Avalon Boys singing group in the 1930s...
, and Jane Withers
Jane Withers
Jane Withers is an American actress best known for being one of the most popular child film stars of the 1930s and early 1940s, as well as for her portrayal of "Josephine the Plumber" in a series of TV commercials for Comet cleanser in the 1960s and early 1970s.-Biography:Withers began her career...
among others.
The hotel began to go into decline in the 1960s and 1970s. El Paisano Properties Corp. bought the property in the late 1970s and converted the hotel's 65 rooms into 9 timeshare
Timeshare
A timeshare is a form of ownership or right to the use of a property, or the term used to describe such properties. These properties are typically resort condominium units, in which multiple parties hold rights to use the property, and each sharer is allotted a period of time in which they may use...
condominium
Condominium
A condominium, or condo, is the form of housing tenure and other real property where a specified part of a piece of real estate is individually owned while use of and access to common facilities in the piece such as hallways, heating system, elevators, exterior areas is executed under legal rights...
s. Although 800 timeshare units were sold, the owners eventually abandoned the business and Presidio County foreclosed on the property for back taxes. Joe and Lanna Duncan purchased the property at auction
Auction
An auction is a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bid, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder...
for $185,000 in March 2001. After three years of renovations, the hotel reopened with 33 rooms and suites available for the public.