El Paso Memories Many El Pasoans Don’t Share

You could be a 10, 15, even 20 year El Paso resident and still not be able to envision or remember certain things about the Sun City.

El Paso has seen many iconic things come and go as El Chuco has grown over the years. That growth has cost us some things and, as you know, time flies. People who have lived her for as long as 15 years don't remember certain things that are etched into the memories of El Paso "lifers".

You can't stop progress and that, of course, means giving things up. Let's look at things that even some El Paso veterans can't remember.

El Paso Memories - 20 Year Mark

If you moved to El Paso 20 years ago, you're very familiar with the star on the mountain. You can't picture the mountain without it but, until 1993, it wasn't lit every night. Until then, it was only lit during the Christmas season.

Going back farther, people who moved here after 1980, (probably), couldn't remember that, until the late 1960's, during Easter, it was a cross.

El Paso Memories - 15 Year Mark

If you moved here 15 years ago, you have no memories of hopping back and forth across the border into Juarez at will for drinks, dancing, partying and other good times. You may have been to J - Town but not with the ease and (usually) short waits to get back across we once enjoyed. 9-11 changed all that forever.

If you got here after 2015 or so, you can't remember, (in living detail), the period when cartel violence turned Juarez into the deadliest city in the world. (2008 - 2012 with 2010 being the worst year.)

Then, the pandemic ended crossings completely for a while and those born within the last 5 years or after will only hear stories about that.

El Paso Memories - City Hall And The Asarco Tower

If you got here less than 13 years ago, you can't really picture what downtown El Paso looked like with City Hall overlooking it, almost dominating the skyline. It was demolished in 2013 to make way for Southwest University Park. (Cue in to about :45)

That same year, another iconic structure came down. Arrivals from 2013 on cant see the same skyline we vets once saw across I - 10 from UTEP.

READ MORE: Buildings El Paso Lost And Why

The smelter belched smoke from what was once the 3rd tallest smokestack in the U.S.A., (over 800 feet), and ceased operations in 1999. The decision to drop both towers as part of the cleanup process came in 2013.

El Paso Memories - Now

Peeps moving to El Paso in the next few years may never have a memory of how downtown looks along I - 10 or the stretch of "10" between Executive and Copia. There's talk of widening it to 6 lanes per side which will call for more downtown building demolition among other modifications. We'll see ...