El Paso Union Passenger Station
Why it's listed
El Paso's Union Passenger Station sits at the southwest corner of Coldwell and San Francisco Streets in downtown El Paso. Chicago's Daniel H. Burnham & Company designed it, and Buchanan and Powers began construction in 1904. It was completed in November 1905 and opened on March 1, 1906. The two-story brick building has seven bays on its east front, a columned portico, and a six-story bell tower. A large waiting room with a clerestory and a gallery lies at its center. A Romanesque Harvey House restaurant wing extends from the rear. The station was built for the Southern Pacific, Texas & Pacific, Santa Fe and Nacionales de Mexico railroads, and is described as the first union station in the country designed expressly for international traffic. A 1941 remodeling painted the brick white and replaced the tower's spire with a tiled roof. By 1974 the station was no longer run by the Depot Company, and deteriorating conditions put its future in question.
Significance in brief: The nomination presents the station as a landmark of El Paso's role as a transportation center. It was built as the first union station in the United States designed expressly to handle international traffic. It also represents the work of the influential Burnham firm.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 75001970, listed April 3, 1975. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | SW corner of Coldwell at San Francisco St., El Paso |
|---|---|
| County | El Paso County |
| Listed | April 3, 1975 |
| Reference number | 75001970 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1900-1999 (specific date 1905) |
| Architect / builder | Daniel H. Burnham (Daniel H. Burnham & Company, Chicago); Buchanan and Powers, general contractors |
| Architectural style | Neo-Classical (Neo-Classical Revival), with Spanish Colonial Revival motifs added in 1941 |
| Areas of significance | Transportation, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Rail operations by the Depot Company ceased in February 1974 and abandonment was filed that May; Amtrak took over operations. High maintenance costs, falling plaster and plumbing leaks threatened the building, and adaptive reuse plans were pending. |
| Acreage | 3 |
| Coordinates | 31.75722, -106.49626 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For an income-producing building, listing (individually or as a contributing building in a district) is the gateway to the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit on qualified rehabilitation costs, often stackable with state credits. Work claiming the credit must follow the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and be approved in advance.
Listing does not restrict a private owner acting without federal money or permits; where federal funding or licensing is involved, Section 106 review applies.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 75001970.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7885653
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.