03/29/2002
By Erica Molina
El Paso Times
Stepping inside the lobby of the Gardner Hotel and El Paso International Hostel, guests are transported from busy Downtown streets to a place that is reminiscent of another era.
Its marble staircase leads to rooms that have seen countless guests.
"It reminded me of those 'Twilight Zone' episodes. You're wondering who has stayed here before," said Terence White, a Boston resident who stayed at the hostel on Monday. He stopped in El Paso as part of a bicycling trip from San Diego to Key West, Fla.
"It was a very pleasant experience," he said.
The Gardner Hotel, 311 E. Franklin, is celebrating its 80th anniversary this May and claims to be the place where notorious gangster John Dillinger stayed shortly before being captured in 1934 in Tucson.
"We do have our place ... and we are a significant part of El Paso history," Joe Nebhan, manager of the Gardner, said.
The hotel was opened in 1922 by Preston E. Gardner, a Ku Klux Klan member and lawyer who in 1923 ran for mayor of El Paso and lost to Richard M. Dudley, after whom Dudley Field is named.
The Gardner Hotel was originally intended to be a five-story 100-room hotel, but when construction costs went $50,000 over budget and only three floors had been completed, Gardner stopped building.
Because of fears of fire in the 1920s, the Gardner was constructed entirely of steel. Nebhan said the building is fireproof.
On Jan. 9, 1934, bank robber John Dillinger and two members of his gang checked into the Gardner Hotel. Dillinger signed the name John D. Ball on the registry and stayed in room 221.
Nebhan said that years later, Chris Fox, a former El Paso sheriff, told him, "We knew when (Dillinger) got to El Paso, but he didn't break any laws so we didn't do anything about it."
Dillinger checked out a few days later. He was captured Jan. 25, 1934, in Tucson after being recognized by firefighters who had saved his heavy luggage from a burning hotel there.
Gardner sold the hotel to William McMurray in the 1930s.
"Mr. McMurray had gotten up in years and hired people who were shady," Nebhan said.
In 1948, the hotel was sold to Joseph George Nebhan, Joe Nebhan's grandfather, who leased the property back to McMurray.
The Gardner was modernized in the 1950s. A new front desk was installed and the windows and skylights were blocked. It all got a new coat of paint.
"In 1962 (McMurray) had violated the terms of the lease and my grandfather threw him out," Nebhan said.
The hotel was given to his father, John Nebhan.
"My father came in and cleaned house," Nebhan said.
All but six guests were thrown out and all but a maid, a janitor and a clerk were fired.
"He struggled to make it into a reputable hotel," Nebhan said.
Though he hasn't been there in years, John Nebhan, 86, still owns the Gardner. He ran it as a retirement hotel from 1962-1983.
Joe Nebhan, now 47, began working odd jobs around the hotel when he was 8. He took over management of the hotel in 1981.
He soon realized that the Gardner could not continue operating as a retirement hotel and it began operating as a hostel on Feb. 9, 1984.
Hostels offer dormitory-style rooms at reasonable prices and are primarily used by young and international travelers. Members of Hostels of America can stay for as little as $12.50 plus tax per night.
"We created our niche. There's no way we can compete with Motel 6 and the Marriott. We would be fools to do it," Nebhan said.
Instead, the Gardner still operates as a hotel in half of its rooms. The other half operates as El Paso International Hostel, with up to four bunk beds per room and a shared bath. Men stay on the second floor and women on the third.
"I can't think of anywhere that you can stay for $20 a night," White said.
Naoki Shikada, 19, stayed at the hostel for five nights this month. The student from Japan stopped in El Paso as part of a month-long trip around the United States.
"This hostel is very good. I like (it)," he said. "(The people) are very kind and it's a good bed. Many people at this hostel are kind (to) me and tourists."
Nebhan said most of his customer base is from Japan. Over the years he has learned some Japanese, Korean, German, Spanish and Chinese. He is the vice president of Hostels of America.
The Gardner is the only hostel in El Paso and one of about 10 hostels in Texas.
It was rated in 1996 by American Youth Hostels as the best in the country.
In the early 1990s, Nebhan made a striking discovery.
"I was cleaning the opalescent glass in front ... and there was a glint of copper," Nebhan said.
After a thorough cleaning, copper trimming was revealed. Nebhan decided to take things further and found that oak was hiding beneath eight layers of paint at the building's entrance.
"I said, 'We can't stop now. Let's go all the way,'" Nebhan said.
The front desk was replaced by a style that would have been used in the 1920s. The skylights were uncovered and the blocked windows were replaced with stained glass. A 1932 telephone switchboard now is on display in the hotel's lobby. He tried to restore the hotel to its original appearance as much as possible.
The oldest public phone in the area sits against the wall and 1920s-era artwork adorns the wall. The hotel's original elevator with a collapsible door still runs guests to the upper floors. The Gardner Hotel is the oldest continually operating hotel in the city.
When the basement was cleaned more than a decade ago, Nebhan found hotel treasures.
Among them were an old revolver and a note that read, "With love to you and all our friends. With love, Leo Tolstoy."
These are on display in the hotel's lobby.
Because few people attended the hotel's 75th anniversary, Nebhan is not sure if there will be a party this year.
The hotel will, however, get a face lift. It will be painted, get new screens and new air conditioning.
Nebhan has purchased a 1930 Model A Ford, and he hopes to display it on the curb in front of the hotel if the city agrees.
To those zooming past the hotel at 311 E. Franklin as they enter Interstate 10, the Gardner Hotel is not much more than another old building that lines the road.
To Joe Nebhan, it's history.
Great hotel, hope I will have chance to stay there.
Posted by: high replica | July 23, 2011 at 07:11 AM
There are many good hotels in El Paso and Gardner is one of them.
Posted by: Phil Grahm Salt | July 27, 2011 at 11:43 PM