Sunset Heights Historic District

Sunset Heights is a residential neighborhood of roughly 600 principal buildings set on a rocky escarpment above the Rio Grande in El Paso. Platted in 1884, it was built up mainly in the first decades of the 20th century, after part of the hill was leveled in 1902 to supply fill for the downtown Union Station. Streets bend and slope around the terrain, so some houses sit on high terraces with granite retaining walls while others have sunken gardens and full basements. Homes have masonry or stucco over wood frames, a response to scarce lumber, and range from modest bungalows to large Classical, Tudor and Spanish Colonial Revival houses. Architect Henry C. Trost lived here and designed several buildings, including his own Prairie-style house. The district was recognized for its planning, its architecture and its ties to figures on both sides of the border. Decline began in the 1930s, and restoration efforts have grown since 1976.