The hotel was built in 1956, in the quirky "space age" style, (aka googie style), popular then thanks to the Cold War and a growing interest in outer space.
In the early 1900's, a major race riot broke out downtown pitting El Pasoans and soldiers from Fort Bliss against Mexican Americans and Mexican nationals.
In 1981, an El Pasoan who developed a gadget that raised vehicle gas mileage to 160 miles per gallon was murdered. Over 40 years later, still no answers.