The University of Texas at El Paso began in 1914 as the State School of Mines and Metallurgy, and after a 1916 fire drove it from its first site it rebuilt on this hillside above the Rio Grande. The new buildings borrowed their sloping walls and wide eaves from the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, a look suggested by the first dean's wife after she saw photographs in National Geographic, and the university has kept that style for more than a century. Along the way the school became the Texas College of Mines, then Texas Western College, whose 1966 basketball team won a national title with an all-Black starting lineup, and finally UTEP in 1967. This walk climbs from the first building through the centennial plaza and its Bhutanese temple to the museum, the desert gardens, and the stadium set into the mountainside.
UTEP's Bhutanese-style halls, with the sloped walls and wide eaves introduced in 1917. Photo: Carol M. Highsmith, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
What you'll see
No campus in Texas looks quite like UTEP. The school began in 1914 as the State School of Mines and Metallurgy, and after a 1916 fire forced it from its first site, it rebuilt on a hillside above the Rio Grande in a style borrowed from the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan. The idea came from Kathleen Worrell, wife of the first dean, after she read a 1914 National Geographic feature, and the university has kept the look for more than a century.
Old Main, completed in 1917, set the pattern of sloped walls, decorative brick bands and broad overhanging roofs that later buildings scale up for modern use. Not far away stands the Lhakhang, a traditional Bhutanese temple structure built for the 2008 Smithsonian Folklife Festival and given by the Kingdom of Bhutan to the American people; it has been on campus since 2015.
The desert gets its turn too. The Centennial Museum, opened in 1936, explores the natural and cultural history of the Chihuahuan Desert and the borderlands, and the native-plant gardens around it draw birds, bees and butterflies. The Sun Bowl, set into a natural canyon in 1963, rises straight from the rock, with views over the Franklin Mountains and the border cities.
It's a walk that rewards curiosity, combining architecture, desert ecology and a view of two countries.
It is a self-guided walking tour: 7 stops, about 1.1 miles, ~50 min. Go at your own pace; the app keeps your place.
Where does it start?
In El Paso, Texas. The exact starting point, the full stop list and turn-by-turn directions are in the TexasRoam app.
How do I take this tour?
Download TexasRoam for iPhone or iPad from the App Store. The tour is included with TexasRoam+. It is not available on the web map.
When is the best time to go?
Go in daylight, Monday through Saturday, and avoid UTEP home football game days; the free Centennial Museum is closed Sundays, holidays and game days and has had extended closures for building work, so check its hours first. Summer mornings are coolest.
Take the “UTEP Campus Tour”
Texas Roam guides you turn by turn through El Paso with maps, audio narration and check-ins as you go — plus all 7 stops on this tour and every guided tour, hiking trail and historical marker across Texas. Get it on the App Store.
Guided tours & hiking trails are available only in the TexasRoam app for iPhone & iPad — not on the web map. Free to download; unlock with TexasRoam+.
