EP2007 - Culture - Downtown El Paso

Firmly grounded in 400 years of history, downtown El Paso is renewing itself with a revitalization program focused on enhancing its charm while creating state-of-the-art venues for shopping and entertainment. Melding of old and new is reflected in the city’s historic buildings, museums, the lavishly restored Plaza Theatre and Performing Arts Center, the Main Library expansion, the new El Paso Museum of History, and a plethora of art galleries. Many of these venues are within walking distance of the city’s Historic Downtown Plaza.

Streets once frequented by gunslingers and ladies of the evening surround the El Paso Museum of Art (EPMA), which anchors the heart of this thriving Museum and Cultural District. In addition to showcasing work by renowned regional and national artists, the museum also hosts major traveling exhibitions. An innovative schedule of “Third Thursday” events has turned the museum into the place for Young Cosmopolitans to gather and socialize. 

Public art such as Luis Jimenez’ fiberglass Vaquero, which graces the courtyard of Festival Plaza, and John Houser’s Fray Garcia bronze in Pioneer Plaza give visual form to El Paso’s Western and Spanish heritage.

Combining the best of past and present, the vintage Moorish décor and star studded sky of the Plaza Theatre now complement a modern facility with a state-of-the-art sound system and ample room to accommodate any Broadway production. Also fully refurbished, the Mighty Wurlitzer organ completes the historical elegance that once made the Plaza Theatre a crown jewel among atmospheric theaters of the Southwest.

With a new exterior that replicates the pages of a book, the recently remodeled El Paso Main Library now boasts a 250-seat theater, a Literacy and Technology Center with 50 computer terminals, a Teen Town, and children’s area. Its prize-winning Border Heritage Center has also doubled in size.

Adjacent to the Main Library and also bordering on the grassy expanses of Cleveland Square, the new El Paso Museum of History offers permanent exhibits such as El Paso A to Z, a textural experience based on artifacts, images, and documents, and a variety of storyline-driven exhibitions showing how the geography of the region, the shifting role of the border, and the city’s multicultural heritage have all shaped the city’s history.

Want more? The El Paso Visitors Bureau offers booklets for a self-guided walking tour of El Paso, and this is also the location to purchase tickets for the El Paso Trolley, the safest and most carefree way to visit Juárez, our sister city across the border.