El Paso's Vast History | First Presbyterian Church
| Dates: | October 29, 2025 |
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| Meets: | W from 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM |
| Location: | Various |
| Cost: | $0.00 |
Online registration is not available at this time. Please contact our office for more information.
Support Person: Osher Lifelong Learning Institute Phone: (915) 747-6280 Email: olli@utep.edu
Please note: this course requires membership in courses that are currently unavailable
Reverend Merrell, a Presbyterian minister, arrived in 1880. He built their first church in 1882. They saved two classic stained glass windows from that church. After the second building became too small, they looked east of El Paso High school, below Rim Road, for a new location. In 1954, near the location of a legendary cavern, new streets were being carved around the foot of the mountain and they found a new location for their church at 1340 Murchison Dr., El Paso, TX 79902. Carroll & Daeuble designed the new buildings and a carillon. The sanctuary design, completed in 1962, has great acoustics for choral music and the Moller pipe organ. The brilliant colored glass windows of the sanctuary were crafted by Orco Studios of San Antonio. They used the process of chipping the colored glass of primary colors to create a bright faceted effect. El Paso artist Tom Lea collaborated with Cecil Casebier in the window designs. Casebier designed the chancel cross which glows with white luminosity. The compound window over the entry designed by Tom Lea is a masterpiece of brilliant color. This tour is on 10/29.
| Fee: | $0.00 |
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Various
Ronald Leiman
Ronald Leiman is an active community member who has served, consulted and held positions in several organization in El Paso, including the Texas Retired Teachers Association as president and historian, the El Paso Athletic Hall of Fame and the El Paso County Historcal Commission. He currently serves as the vice-president of the Board of Directors for the El Paso Railroad and Transportation Museum. He is recognized as an El Paso historian and ha been giving presentations and walking tours in the border region since 2009.Prince McKenzie
Prince McKenzie is a descendent of a pioneer family who built the first railroad across Texas. He retired as curator with the City of El Paso Department of Museums in 2001. He is the co-founder and executive director of the Railorad and Transportation Museum of El Paso. In 2018, he received the Distinguished Service Award from the El Paso Archaeological Society and has seved on the County Historical Commission for five years.
