De Soto Hotel fire: Investigation continues into blaze that gutted vacant, historic hotel

The El Paso Fire Marshal’s Office is still investigating the cause of Friday’s stunning fire which gutted the vacant, 116-year-old De Soto Hotel building in the heart of Downtown El Paso.

No details about what may have caused the fire will be released until the investigation is completed, El Paso Fire Department spokesman Enrique Dueñas-Aguilar said.

Besides being one of Downtown El Paso's many historic buildings, the De Soto Hotel also had a national reputation as a site for paranormal activity, ghosts and strange happenings.

It was rumored to be haunted for years by the ghost of a little girl in the basement and other spirits. It was a frequent stop on local ghost walking tours, and was featured in a 2017 episode of the Travel TV channel's ghost-hunting series “Ghost Adventures.” 

Rogelio Gonzalez, the owner of the building at 309 E. Mills Ave., said he does not know how the fire started.  Whether the building will be demolished has yet to be determined, he said during a brief phone interview Monday morning.

A city spokesperson said city building inspectors will determine if the building needs to be demolished after the fire investigation is completed.

“I am trying to secure the building, put fencing around the building’” Gonzalez said.

The run-down building, which had been vacant since October, was to be renovated, but the renovation had not yet begun, Gonzalez said.

Greg Malooly, owner of the Mills Avenue building next to the De Soto Hotel, said his building, with five bars and restaurants, may have damage on the roof and possibly on a wall next to the hotel, where The Reagan bar, which opened last summer, is located.

One of Malooly’s tenants, Gelaine Apuan, owner of Mac’s Downtown, a Cajun seafood restaurant at 315 E. Mills Ave., said her restaurant was evacuated during the Friday evening fire, and wasn’t able to reopen until Monday morning.

The restaurant had a smoke smell, but no visible smoke damage, she said. Water from Fire Department hoses dousing the fire got through the restaurant’s roof vents and had to be mopped up from the kitchen floor, she said.

“I’m glad the (De Soto) building didn’t tumble down. The Fire Department did a spectacular job of putting it out,” Apuan said.

More: Fire burns vacant Crosby Elementary School in Northeast El Paso

Gonzalez planned to do a $1.2 million renovation of the hotel, according to information presented to City Council in December, when it approved providing up to $58,636 in tax and fee rebates for the renovation.

Plans called for making the upper floors hotel rooms, and redoing the exterior, including adding “public art,” according to city information.

The El Paso Downtown Management District, or DMD, board also approved giving Gonzalez $59,900 for three grants to improve the façade and other exterior elements of the building, according to district information.

“We had been in discussions with him about a mural grant as plans for the building included the removal of the existing (Boxing Hall of Fame) mural,” Joe Gudenrath, DMD executive director, said in an email.

The weathered, historic mural, depicting some of El Paso’s greatest boxers, survived the fire.

El Paso Times reporter Daniel Borunda contributed to this report.

Vic Kolenc may be reached at 546-6421; vkolenc@elpasotimes.com; @vickolenc on Twitter.