The American flag greets those visiting Memorial Circle. The flag was dedicated in 1948 on the occasion of Fort Bliss’ Centennial Celebration.
Historical Tour
Welcome to the Fort Bliss Historical tour. Your 3.6 mile drive around Fort Bliss will be more enjoyable if you follow these directions:
• Building and site descriptions are given from left to right as you face the numbered stop marker.
• Please bear in mind that Fort Bliss is an active Army post. Please respect the privacy of the people who live in the historic houses and do not interfere with the conduct of government business in the offices.
• Large vehicles (over 3/4 ton) and motorcycles are prohibited on Sheridan Road.
Introduction
The 1893 construction of the new post of Fort Bliss on La Noria Mesa, five miles east of the town of El Paso, and on the east side of the Franklin Mountains, was part of a consolidation of troops at the close of the Indian wars. The railroad and the telegraph allowed the concentration of Soldiers in fewer and larger installations which could be more economically and efficiently managed. The La Noria Mesa site is the sixth location of the post since U.S. troops first established a garrison “opposite El Paso” in 1849.
Begin your tour at the Fort Bliss Museum and Air Defense Artillery Museum and Study Center adjacent to the Post Commissary.
Stop 1
(Parking lot - Fort Bliss Museum and Air Defense Artillery Museum and Study Center)
The Fort Bliss Museum and Air Defense Artillery Museums occupy what used to be the Fort Bliss Main Exchange. The historical area in front of the two museums displays a variety of weapons dating from World War II to recent times. Inside the building housing both museums are many artifacts relocated from their previous locations. Redevelop-ment of both museums in their new location continues.
The Fort Bliss Museum’s exhibits interpret the history of Fort Bliss at various sites beginning in 1849. Soldiers, Soldier life, and the Army family are portrayed during both war and peace times. Exhibits also feature the story of aviation on the post at Biggs Army Airfield.
The ADA Museum also interprets the history of that branch and its coast artillery and anti-aircraft artillery origins. The major emphasis is from World War I to present.
In the Study Center is a portrait gallery of the honorary regimental colonels of air defense organizations and a current display of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
For your next stop on the tour, turn out of the parking lot heading north on Marshall Road. Turn right on Victory Avenue, then right on Pleasonton Road. Continue driving to Noel Field. Turn right on Sheridan Road and follow to the next Historic Tour Marker.
Outside the Fort Bliss Museum and Air Defense Artillery Museum there is a display of weapons dating from WWII.
Stop 2 (Pullout - Noel Field)
You are at Noel Field, named for Lt. Paul A. Noel, U.S. Cavalry, who was killed in a polo accident Nov. 21, 1928. The field is the post’s main parade ground, the site of parades, changes of command and other military ceremonies.
The two-story, tile roofed, stucco Field Grade Officer’s Quarters to your left were built in 1934 with Public Works Administra-tion funds in the amount of $12,227. They have full basements, 2,800 square feet of floor space, and originally had screened sleeping porches which were bricked in after the advent of air conditioning.
To your right front, about four miles distant, William Beaumont Army Medical Center, a yellow monolithic 12 story structure is clearly visible against the darker background of the Franklin Mountains. The Army has had a major medical facility here since 1921 when the original Beaumont Hospital was built. The building you see was opened in 1972, serves patients from three states, and is the Army’s Trauma Center.
Across Noel Field to your right are the three story, tile roofed, stucco “Horse Cavalry Enlisted Men’s Barracks” built in 1934 as part of the same PWA project as the Officer’s Quarters on your left. Designed to house 254 men, they are adjacent to the brick stables you will see at stop 11. They are now used as offices.
Continue on Sheridan Road to Pershing Road. Turn right, follow into Pershing Circle and follow to the next Historic Tour Marker.
Stop 3 (Pershing Circle)
Pershing Circle is named for Gen. John J. Pershing. On your left is Memorial Circle with its flagpole, dedicated in 1948 on the occasion of Fort Bliss’ Centennial Celebration. The original bronze tablets at its base commemorate the World War II service of the 1st Cavalry Division and that of the 200th Coast Artillery (anti-aircraft), New Mexico National Guard. Contemporary tablets are placed by units to commemorate the 50th anniversary of their service. Memorial Circle is frequently the site of post ceremonies, such as the 50-gun Salute to the Nation on the Fourth of July.
To your front is the Center Chapel, built as the post’s first movie theater in 1926 and made over into a chapel in 1938. It is Fort Bliss’ main chapel.
Beyond and to the right of the chapel is single story, U-shaped red brick buildings built in 1919 as 92-man barracks. In the early 1920’s, men of the 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division lived in them. The Center Chaplain’s Office and similar activities are located there today.
To your right are the Memorial Grove and a low stone monument to General of the Army Omar N. Bradley, who lived here immediately preceding his death in 1981.
Further right, across Sheridan Road, is Shipton House, named for Brig. Gen. James A. Shipton, who was the father of Air Defense Artillery during the First World War. This 3,207 square foot house was built in 1934, at a cost of $16,400, as the official residence of the commanding general and is still used for that purpose.
The Japanese Garden was built in 1972 as a symbol of friendship.
Continue on Pershing Circle, turn left on Pershing Road. Once you pass Sage Hall (the building on your left), turn left and follow to the next Historic Tour Marker in the southwestern most parking lot.
Stop 4 (Around Pershing Circle)
On your left is Sage Hall, formerly a tile roofed “War Department Theater” funded by the PWA and built in 1938. Identical theaters from that era exist at Fort Clark, Texas, and Fort Huachuca, Ariz., and other contemporary posts.
To your front is a heroic scale statue dedicated to the “Air Defenders,” America’s air defense artillery Soldiers, all of whom are trained at Fort Bliss.
The line of single story bungalows to your right was built in 1914. They were, and still are, used as officer’s quarters.
A heroic scale statue dedicated to the “Air Defenders,” America’s air defense artillery Soldiers, all of whom are trained at Fort Bliss.
Further right is the Japanese Garden, built in 1972 and maintained by the Japanese Armed Forces as a symbol of friendship. Japan maintains liaison officers at Fort Bliss and sends a contingent of its air defense artillery here annually for training.
To your rear is Hinman Hall, present headquarters of the U.S. Army Air Defense Artillery Center and Fort Bliss. Built in 1954 at a cost of $2.7 million, this 259,000 square foot masonry structure also houses the Air Defense Artillery School.
Beyond the intersection where you will turn right to return to Sheridan Road, named for Gen. Phillip H. Sheridan, commander and chief of the Army in 1884, you will see the stone pillars of Pershing Gate, an entrance to Fort Bliss from El Paso.
Return to Sheridan Road, turn right.
The monument to Lt. Col. William Wallace Smith Bliss is located at Smith Bliss Field.
As you drive by Hinman Hall, the cannons flanking its main entrance are 12 pounder field guns commonly called “Napoleons.” The tubes were cast by the Revere Copper Company of Boston in 1862 at a contract price of “50 cents per pound” or $600 per tube. The carriages are latter day reproductions.
Turn right on Ruhlen Circle and follow to the next Historic Tour Marker in the parking lot on the right.
Stop 5
(Southwestern most parking lot across from Pershing House)
To your left rear is the yellow brick 1893 “Post Administration Building and Mess hall,” the post’s first headquarters. Flanking it on either side are the two “Enlisted Men’s Double Barracks,” each built to house two companies of troops (160 men at that time). Near the roof cornices is decorative brickwork not normally associated with barracks, which is now the headquarters for 32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command.
Built in 1910, the Pershing House has hosted commanders and dignitaries.
The other buildings in the same line are 1915 70-man two-story red brick barracks with covered porches. Three of these have since had the porches bricked in to provide more interior floor space. All are now used as offices.
To your front is Smith Bliss Field, on which can be seen the monument to Lt. Col. William Wallace Smith Bliss, for whom the post is named. The chief of staff to Gen. Zachary Taylor during the Mexican War, Bliss died in 1853, was buried in New Orleans, and this monument placed over his grave. In 1955, his remains were reinterred at Fort Bliss National Cemetery. This field was formerly known as Howze Stadium after Maj. Gen. Robert Howze, and was the site of equestrian competitions and events during the 1920’s and 1930’s.
To your right, still on Smith Bliss Field is a low stone monument dedicated to the Prisoners of War and Missing in Action of the Vietnam War.
To your right rear is “Pershing House,” a 4,697 square foot brick house built in 1910 at a cost of $16,000 as the commanding officer’s quarters. The wide covered porches all around are typical of turn-of-the-century southwestern architecture. Gen. John J. Pershing lived here from 1914 to 1916 and post commanders occupied it until 1934. In recent years the commanding generals for the 32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command have lived here.
The 2 1/2 story, brick Victorian houses flanking Pershing house were built in 1893. Intended for captains and lieutenants, these 3,390 square foot quarters have attics and full basements and cost $8,900 to build. Currently, senior officers and their families live in these quarters.
Across Sheridan Road, in front of Pershing House is another low stone monument, this one dedicated to Capt. George Ruhlen, who was the Constructing Quartermaster for the post in 1893. Ruhlen, West Point class of 1872, was already experienced in military construction and was determined to make the new post “an imposing one.”
The Sutler’s store is fully stocked.
Leave the parking lot following Ruhlen Circle back to Sheridan Road. Turn right on Sheridan and follow to the next Historic Tour Marker (in the small parking area on the right [near Cassidy Road]).
Stop 6
(Map Kiosk, intersection of Sheridan & Cassidy)
To your left rear, across Sheridan Road is the yellow brick 1893 Guardhouse.
Across the intersection to left front is a group of stone buildings built between 1893 and 1908 which housed the Quartermaster Stables and the Wagon and Wheelwright Shops. From the 1930s to the early 1980s, they were used by the post veterinarian.
Immediately across Cassidy Road are one-story red brick houses with tile roofs and full basements. These were built in 1933 as noncommissioned officer’s quarters for the 1st Cavalry Division. They are used today as junior enlisted family quarters.
As you drive by the intersection of Pershing and Cassidy Roads, notice the buildings on the northeast corner. The single story, red brick building was built in 1930 as the Post Bakery, later used as bachelor officer’s quarters, and is now a chapel. Immediately beyond it is a small field stone structure, built in 1920 as the Post Tailor Shop. Continue on Cassidy, turn right on Slater Road and follow until next marker.
Stop 7 (Slater at Chaffee)
On your left is one of the first buildings constructed here in 1893, the pump house. Its steam-powered pump filled the water tower to the left. In the intervening years it has been an icehouse, a rental center, a T-shirt shop and is now headquarters for the U.S. Army Dental Activity.
To your left front, across Chaffee Road, named for Lt. Gen. Adna R. Chaffee, chief of staff for the Army from 1904-1906, is the red brick guardhouse built in 1916. It was later enlarged and in the 1920s was the post telephone exchange. It presently houses the administrative offices for the Army and Air Force Exchange Service.
Immediately behind the Guardhouse is the first Firehouse, an 8,987 square foot building built in 1919 for $21,877. The brick tower is for drying hoses and the Fort Bliss Fire Department still uses the facility.
To your right front is the rear of the two-story yellow “Administration Building and Mess Hall” which served as the post’s first headquarters.
To your right you have a rear view of the 1893 Victorian style “Enlisted Men’s Double Barracks.” Near the roof cornices can be seen the decorative brickwork which is inconsistent with other Army buildings of this period.
Continue on Slater Road to next Historic Tour Marker.
Stop 8 (Utility pole just beyond bath house)
To your left rear, next to the Firehouse, is a 5,284 square foot, single story, red brick building, built in 1904 at a cost of $18,279. Originally the Post Library, it has been the Post Exchange, the Post Nursery and is now the Junior Enlisted Family Center.
The two-story, wooden building to your left is one of the surviving World War II mobilization temporary 63-man barracks, of which some 30,000 were built nationwide in 1940 and 1941. Originally intended to last five to 10 years, they are disappearing from posts throughout the Army and are now used for training and storage.
To your right front is a one story, red brick building built in 1915 as a 140-man mess hall. Each pair of 1915 barracks shared one of these mess halls. It is now used as an office.
To your right rear is a gray building with a pronounced raised ventilator along its entire roof line. This was the “outbuilding” or bath house constructed in 1893 as an adjunct to the barracks immediately beyond it. In 1894 the Inspector General of the Army commended the post for having bathing facilities for its Soldiers.
Continue on Slater Road to next Historic Tour Marker.
Stop 9 (Slater south of Adair)
On your left is a three-story, masonry, 77,328 square foot building built in 1953 at a cost of $2.7 million. It was designed for instruction on the Nike Ajax and later the Nike Hercules Air Defense Missile Systems and is still in use by the Air Defense Artillery School.
The two-story brick building to your right front was built in 1914. For most of its life, it served as a troop dispensary.
On the right is a rear view of the three-story, brick building built in 1916 as the post’s second hospital. Originally built with covered porches encircling the structure on two floors, it served from 1921 to 1954 as Post Headquarters. It is currently used as an office building.
Adair Road is named for 1st Lt. Henry R. Adair, 10th Cavalry Regiment, killed during the Punitive Expedition to Mexico.
Continue on Slater Road to next Historic Tour Marker.
Stop 10 (Behind Bldgs. 8 & 9)
The red brick, two-story building with the hip roof and the prominent raised attic on your right was the original 1893 hospital. It had covered sleeping porches all the way around both floors. It was too small to accommodate the post’s growth and was replaced by the preceding buildings. It is presently used by the Fort Bliss Inspector General.
The nearer one-story, yellow building was also built in 1893 and served as the isolation ward and morgue.
Continue on Slater Road, turn left on Carter Road. Follow to Custer Road, turn right and proceed to next Historic Tour Marker.
Stop 11
(Intersection of Custer and Merritt Roads)
To your left rear are tall, masonry, gable roofed buildings with large vertical steel doors. These were built in 1953 as “Guided Missile Instruction” buildings when air defense artillery evolved from guns to missiles. They are still used for instruction and training for the Patriot missile systems.
At a distance to your left are two twin roofed stucco adobe buildings erected in 1939 for motor maintenance when the cavalry began to “mechanize.” The design permits a clear interior, unobstructed by stanchions or pillars. They are now used for electronic equipment maintenance.
To your left are brick stables which had caliche (a native calcified clay) floors when they were built for the 1st Cavalry Division in 1934 and 1939. The upper story extensions on either end were haylofts, and the tackle arms used to hoist up the bales may still be seen. These 11 stables could each accommodate 112 horses or mules. They are currently used as classrooms and offices.
The single story buildings between the two lines of stables were quarters for stable sergeants and stewards, who lived adjacent to the stables in case of fire or emergency. They are currently used as offices.
Continue on Custer Road to Merritt Road. Turn left on Merritt Road to next Historic Tour Marker.
Stop 12 (Merritt next to Bldg. 651)
To your left at a distance are three-story, masonry, enlisted barracks built in 1956. These were originally designed for 235 men (327 in wartime) with large sleeping bays and integral mess halls. During the 1970s the dormitory bays were remodeled into one and two man rooms for 162 men. In the mid-1990s, the upgrade and modernization program transformed each of these buildings to house 111 male and female Soldiers in conditions much like a modern apartment house.
To your front at a distance are more “Guided Missile Instruction” buildings. These 15,083 square foot buildings are used for training and maintenance.
The small brick building on your immediate right is one of the six built as farrier’s shops. Here the horses and mules from the nearby stables were shod.
Continue on Merritt Road to Pleasonton Road. Turn right on Pleasonton and follow to the parking lot of Old Fort Bliss.
End Tour (Old Fort Bliss)
Finish your tour at Old Fort Bliss. The adobe buildings were a gift from the people of El Paso on the occasion of the Centennial Celebration of Fort Bliss in 1948. Old Fort Bliss’ period rooms interpret life at Fort Bliss in 1857. It is also the home of the Children’s Bi-cultural Living History Program which provides learning programs for area schoolchildren to discover what life was like in the El Paso area during 1857.