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West-Central
By Leonard Martinez
El Paso Times
Strolling down the streets of the West Central area of El Paso, you are transported from high-tech 90s to a turn-of-the-century city bordering two countries and blending two cultures.
Walk down some of the streets in Sunset Heights and you see Victorian homes that were witnesses to frontier history. It was from their porches that El Pasoans sat sipping lemonade and watching the Mexican Revolution a few miles down the hill. In nearby Kern Place and Rim Road, old trees shade the sidewalks in front of the vintage homes of El Paso’s early elite.
The architecture in West-Central ranges from Victorian and Southwestern in the older neighborhoods to the large ranch-style homes of Mission Hills. There are a number of small, lush parks that are well used. These are strolling communities where the cracked sidewalks support a steady parade of walkers and joggers of all ages.
Nearby is the University of Texas at El Paso. It’s Bhutanese-inspired architecture blends well with the surrounding desertscape.
The university has several notable academic programs, such as the engineering department, which has attained national prominence. UTEP is also home to 1997 Hall of Fame men’s basketball coach Don Haskins. He led Texas Western College (now UTEP) to a national championship in 1966 and has more than 700 wins.
There aren’t any large shopping centers in the area, and there’s only one grocery store. But there is a cluster of small specialty restaurants, bars and coffeeshops. They are popular with residents and area businesses by day and packed with the young crowd by night.
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