Here is a glorious photograph of the Vendome Hotel, which stood on the northeast border of San Jacinto Plaza. The lot had been purchased in 1881 by Francis W. Parker, the first resident photographer in El Paso. He built a wooden edifice there for his studio and home and rented out rooms from part of the structure--his so-called Parker House. In 1885-86 he tore that down and erected the hotel pictured in the photograph. A certain Mr. S. Leipziger leased the hotel in May 1886 and dubbed it the Vendome, which was later sold to the First National Bank (the landmark that was owned by River Oaks Properties and burned April 19, 2012). The hotel was then acquired in 1899 by Alzina DeGroff of Lousiana, who renamed it the Hotel Orndorff, after her first husband, Lee H. Orndorff, whom she had married when she was 17. The Orndorff formally opened for business in 1901. A room cost 50 cents for a single and a $1 for a double. Board with three daily meals ran $30 per month. The three-story structure originally consisted of a brick core with a ground-level porch and two wooden balconies. A fourth story was added in 1902 and crowned by an elegant wooden cornice. Alzina demolished the edifice in 1924-25 and replaced it the following year with Henry C. Trosts elegant Spanish Renaissance Revival structure, which was renamed the Cortez in 1935. Hat tip to Trish Long and Richard Bussell. For more on the fascinating life of Alzina DeGroff, see elpasotimes.typepad/morgue/-hotel-owner-was-pioneer-woman.html
Posted on: Mon, 27 Oct 2014 16:05:44 +0000
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