El Paso High School graduate Bradford Hardie, Jr., received his architectural degree from Cornell University, then came back to the Sun City to design some of El Paso's most important buildings. His late-teens early-20s architectural resume includes the Radford School for Girls, the amazing R.E. McKee Mansion on Richmond, Cathedral High School, the Manhattan Presbyterian Church, and the Prather Apartments. Most of his early professional career, after leaving El Paso, was spent in Dallas, where he designed for the Woolworth's chain and then with Lone Star Gas. He returned to El Paso in 1945 as the company architect for El Paso Natural Gas, before retiring in 1960.
One of his most notable designs is the 1922 Hotel Gardner, a three story downtown icon currently owned by Trost Society Board member Joe Nebhan. The Hotel, located at 311 E. Franklin at the Stanton intersection, was originally planned as a 3-story business block by El Paso attorney Preston Gardner. He purchased the land for $36,000 from Tucson's W.H. Brophy, who was investing in the El Paso area at the time, on May 22, 1921. The building permit was issued the following October for a 3-story business block, that was to cost $70,000. At the time, he had not decided to build a Hotel; he was just interested in an investment property.
By the time construction started, Gardner contracted with El Paso hotelier John B. Lake to open a Hotel at the new building. Lake was the owner of the New Lake House Hotel, a building that still stands today as the Lake Apartments at 510 West Missouri, and also was the proprietor of the Hotel Lockie (in its first 6 years as the Lake House Hotel) in the downtown Bassett Building. Lake contacted Hugh Wetmore in Belen, New Mexico - who had been the Manager of Lake's Lockie Hotel in previous years - to come back to El Paso to become Assistant Manager.
The building was completed on budget May 7, 1922. It is thought by a number of historical enthusiasts that the original plan was for 5 stories, and only 3 were completed because of budget shortfalls. However, the original plans were for only three floors, and the total cost of erection - $130,000 - was well within budget. That total included $36,000 for the land, $70,000 for construction, and the balance for furnishings, decorations and . . . Birds.
Yes, birds.
One of the interesting features of the original Gardner was the promise of a Canary in every rented room. Lake himself, sometimes alone and sometimes with his wife, made several trips to the east coast armed with the slogan: "Gardner Hotel! A Room, a Bird and a Bath!" The Birds were lovingly cared for by Mrs. Lake, who was characterized by period newspapers as a co-manager with her husband.
The hotel had 50 rooms at its completion. All 50 were advertised as "outside" rooms, meaning they all had windows; and 24 of the 50 had bathtubs. An additional 14 rooms had showers, too.
The hotel was famously equipped with a Radio receiver in the lobby, which would be able to receive concerts "from coast to coast", under ideal atmospheric conditions, so hotel guests could hear concerts.
On September 14, 1922, it was announced in the El Paso Times that two additional floors would be added to the existing building. During their first four months of operation, they had exceeded a 90% occupancy rate hugely beating expectations, especially for a new Hotel, and especially during a normally slow period. Before the plans could be drawn for the additional 2 floors, however, sales and occupancy leveled off and the plan never came to fruition.
In 1929, John Lake sold the Hotel and the Lease to Mrs. Dudley Alberts for $125,000, while Preston Gardner retained ownership of the building. Alberts and Gardner signed a new lease, and the Hotel continued to operate. Almost immediately after Mrs. Alberts took over the hotel, she also announced that they would add two additional floors - but like the previous announcement, 7 years earlier, it was never done.
Mrs. Alberts operated the Hotel with Gardner as owner of the building for a short four years before the lease was again sold, this time to Howard C. Smith.
It is clear that the Hotel continued to operate without a break from those days until this, however the owners and operators of the Hotel are difficult to trace beyond the Howard Smith purchase. In the late 1930s or early 1940s, Gardner apparently sold the building and the business to William K. McMurry, a Kentucky import who owned a number of El Paso buildings as investments, including the Palomar Apartments in Sunset Heights.
On the fourth of May, 1948, McMurry sold the building to Joe Nebhan for $140,245, with the stipulation that McMurry would continue to lease the building and operate the Hotel for at least 5 more years. In a January 30, 1957 El Paso Times advertisement for the Hotel, McMurry is still identified as the owner, while Nebhan retained ownership of the building. It is unclear when McMurry dropped out of the scene, however the building and its Hotel are still, today, in the loving hands of the Nebhan family.
An interesting historical treat is the 1934 visit of John Dillinger and 2 members of his gang, who, according to tradition, rented room 221 and stayed one night, under the name "John D. Ball". Although recognized, local El Paso authorities were unable to arrest him because he had not broken any laws here. Nevertheless, he was arrested days later in Tucson, Arizona.
I took the attached pictures of the well-maintained building this past July.
*******************************************
Text, research and modern photography provided to sketchclub.net by Mark Stone, citing period newspaper articles and advertisements accessed at newspapers.com
 |
| Photograph taken by Mark Stone, July 2020 |
 |
| Photograph taken by Mark Stone, July 2020 |
 |
| Photograph taken by Mark Stone, July 2020 |
 |
| Photograph taken by Mark Stone, July 2020 |
 |
| Photograph taken by Mark Stone, July 2020 |
 |
| Photograph taken by Mark Stone, July 2020 |
 |
| Photograph taken by Mark Stone, July 2020 |
 |
| Photograph taken by Mark Stone, July 2020 |
 |
| Photograph taken by Mark Stone, July 2020 |
 |
| Photograph taken by Mark Stone, July 2020 |
