Heritage House
From freshman beanies to legislative documents, the history of The University of Texas at El Paso is preserved in a small, white bungalow at the corner of Kerbey and Randolph near the Union Building. Scroll down for more information on exhibits and the building’s history.
Run by volunteers from the Heritage Commission with the support of the Office of Alumni Relations, the Heritage House became the campus historical repository in 1994 for many items and exhibits that create a snapshot of our University’s past almost one hundred years as:
- The Texas State School of Mines & Metallurgy
- Texas College of Mines
- Texas Western College
- The University of Texas at El Paso
Hours of Operation
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday
10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Or make an appointment!
915-747-5700
Exhibits
Numerous permanent displays are coupled with rotating special exhibits at the Heritage House, and also at the Tomas Rivera Conference Center in the Union Building.
Every Homecoming, an exhibit is dedicated to the Golden Grads, who celebrate their 50th anniversary or greater of graduation from TWC, TCM or UTEP. Past special exhibits have included “Women in UTEP History,” “90th Anniversary,” and “The 1966 NCAA National Basketball Championship.”
Among the several permanent displays, there is the ever-popular Glory Road exhibit showcasing the University’s 1966 NCAA Basketball Championship Team that includes photographs, newspaper clippings, a letter jacket, and a video of the game. Young Coach Don Haskins started a lineup of all Black players breaking the color line in college basketball, which formed the theme of the 2006 film "Glory Road.” For more information, visit gloryroad.utep.edu.
A display about the mining engineering drawing equipment used in the early years of the school is also on exhibit, including the photos of dynamite explosions former professor and the University’s Dean “Cap” Kidd conducted for instructional purposes. An entire wall of the Heritage House is devoted to a decade timeline of various memorabilia items and photographs dating from 1913 to the present.
Always on photographic display is the first assignment given to the UTEP Heritage Commission, which was the funding and creation of official regalia (chains of office and ceremonial mace) and banners representing the University and its six Colleges and Graduate School. These were introduced during the Four Centuries Convocation in February 1981. By 2001, there were two sets of banners; one displayed in the Library and one used for ceremonial occasions. A third set of banners has since been prepared.
Building History
The white stucco-finish building was built in 1920 by the first Dean of the School (later College) of Mines, Steven H. Worrell and his wife, Kathleen, who suggested the Bhutanese architectural style for campus. When they left El Paso in 1923, they deeded their home to the college.
The building then became the home of Worrell’s successor as dean, John W. “Cap” Kidd, and his wife until his death in 1941. It continued to serve as a home for administrators until 1960, when it became the Special Projects Center and was used for a variety of functions including offices of the Schellenger Research Laboratories, the Upward Bound Program, and even ballet classes.
In 1994 UTEP President Diana Natalicio designated the building as the “Heritage House” during a dedication ceremony on December 14, 1994. From this point, the building has publicly showcased the collection of the memorabilia assembled by the Heritage Commission since its official creation in 1980.