Hotel Orndorff and San Jacinto Plaza

This postcard shows the Hotel Orndorff, which was located at San Jacinto Plaza. It was on the present site of the Cortez building at the corner of North Mesa and Mills Avenue. The Hotel was originally the Vendome Hotel but was acquired by Mrs. Alzina DeGroff in 1899, who renamed it Orndorff Hotel. She operated it for more than twenty-five years until 1924, when she borrowed 825,000 dollars and hired the renowned El Paso architectural firm Trost and Trost to design a new hotel. Unfortunately, Mrs. DeGroff did not live to see the completion of the Cortez building. Parts of downtown El Paso, probably in the 1900s, and the railroad can be seen on the postcard too. A cross by the writer of the card marks Mesa School. The text on the edge says: "The place I have marked is about where I live. El Paso Texas. Come again! Have you a postal of our State capitol?"

Area: Central / Downtown

Collection: Stansel Postcard Collection

Source: University of Texas at El Paso Library - Special Collections Department

Reference ID: PH049-1-1-009

Uploaded by: El Paso Museum of History