The D.R. Francis Hotel was built in 1899 by El Paso Mayor B.F. Hammett, who came from St. Louis, at the northwest corner of St. Louis (today known as Mills) and Kansas. It was named for former Missouri Governor D.R. Francis.
A two-story structure, it was opened with great fanfare in December of 1899, designed by architect Clarence North, which one newspaper reported as being only 15 years of age at the time, and was an associate at the Hughes Architectural Firm. The building stood intact and the hotel remained open until Saturday, May 8, 1943, when a fire destroyed the second floor of the structure, killing one hotel guest and injuring several more. Killed in the fire was A.L. Snowden, an El Paso Post Office clerk. The fire, which broke out at 4:45am, was battled by six fire companies.
El Paso physician Dr. J.W. Cathcart had purchased the building in 1941, two years before the fire, however passed away unexpectedly shortly after the purchase. His widow did not have fire insurance for the building, whose second floor was completely destroyed. Nevertheless, by July of 1943 (two months after the fire) she hired architect Otto Thorman to rebuild and renovate the building.
Thorman planned a single-story Spanish styled remodel of the remaining structure, with the intent to create a business block. Construction began at the beginning of November 1943, with R.E. McKee as General Contractor and a budget of $11,000. The building was dedicated as a memorial to the late Dr. Cathcart, and was completed in early March 1944 to great local acclaim.
The beautiful Spanish styled building stands today at the northwest corner of Kansas and Mills in downtown El Paso. Thorman's design is staggering, and the building appears to be in good condition today. Many know it as the downtown home of Luigi's Italian Restaurant.
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Text and research provided to Sketchclub.net by Mark Stone, citing period newspaper articles accessed at newspapers.com and at the Unt Digital Archives at https://texashistory.unt.edu/
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| Google Earth Street View accessed January 2021 |
