BASSETT CENTER
Gateway Boulevard and Magruder Avenue
El Paso, Texas
In 1954, a 53-acre sand and gravel pit located 4 miles northeast of El Paso's Central Business District was designated as a prime location for a suburban shopping center. By November 1955, planning was underway.
The prospective retail complex was named BASSETT CENTER as a homage to Charles Nebeker Bassett (1880-1944) a prominent El Paso civic leader. The mall-to-be would be developed by a joint venture of the Charles N. Bassett Corporation, El Paso's Home Mortgage Company and Milwaukee's Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company. Ground was broken on February 18, 1961.
BASSETT CENTER was designed by San Antonio's Bartlett Cockle & Associates, El Paso's Nesmith & Lane Associates and the Burke, Kober & Nicholais firm, of Los Angeles. The single-level complex would feature a 705-foot, open-air shopping concourse and encompass approximately 444,400 leasable square feet.
Eighteen stores opened for business on March 1, 1962. Officiating at the dedication was Ralph Seitsinger (Mayor of El Paso). In attendance were H.M. Daugherty (president and director of the Basset Corporation) and George G. Matkin (vice-president and treasurer of the Basset Corporation). A ceremonial ribbon was cut.
The original anchors were a 2-level (90,000 square foot), El Paso-based Popular Dry Goods and 1-level (101,300 square foot), El Paso-based The White House. Additional stores and services were dedicated throughout 1962. By year's end, BASSETT CENTER housed forty-four. Charter tenants included Melody Shop records, Dauphin House Gifts, Feder's Jewelers, Stehling's Linens and Buck Rogers Travel Service.
Major stores were a (28,000 square foot) S.S. Kresge 5 & 10, (17,000 square foot) Walgreen Drug, (10,100 square foot) Wyatt's Cafeteria and (21,300 square foot) Safeway supermarket. This store was located in a southeast parking area Convenience Center.
The National General Corporation Fox Theatre at Bassett Center showed a first feature on December 23, 1965. This freestanding cinema, which was adjacent to the Safeway Convenience Center, was twinned in 1976, quaded in the late 1970s and shuttered in 1980.
NORTHGATE CENTER {6.4 miles north, in El Paso} was the region's first mall-type shopping hub. This complex opened for business in April 1960. CIELO VISTA MALL {1.6 miles southeast, in El Paso} was dedicated, in November 1974, as the city's first fully-enclosed shopping center. SUNLAND PARK MALL {7.7 miles northwest, also in El Paso} welcomed first shoppers in August 1988.
In order to compete effectively with the up-and-coming CIELO VISTA MALL, BASSETT CENTER was given a major renovation. In 1973, the Popular store was enlarged to 194,400 square feet. Then, the mall's open shopping concourse was enclosed and climate-controlled.
This 1.3 million dollar project got underway in January 1974 and was completed in the following December. White terrazzo tile and red brick flooring was laid along the shopping concourse. Carpeted seating areas, skylights and lush, tropical foliage were also installed. When all construction dust settled, BASSETT CENTER encompassed 521,300 leasable square feet and housed fifty-six stores and services.
A 2-level (85,200 square foot) Mervyn's was built onto the south-facing front of the complex. Its grand opening was held on November 8, 1981. By this time, a 3 million dollar mall face lift was underway, which brought new flooring, landscaping, lighting and a refurbished exterior.
A small addition was built on the northeast corner of the mall. Gutted store space, adjacent to the expansion, was used to create the 15-bay Cafe' Plaza Food Court. It opened, with five vendors, in October 1983. Some of the restaurants were Sbarro the Italian Eatery, Mucho Taco, Corn Dog on a Stick and 1 Potato 2.
In the next year, The White House downsized its store to 65,000 square feet. It re-opened on October 18, 1984. Abandoned space, on the north side of the building, became a new West Mall shopping concourse. Tenants began opening in July 1985. Among twenty new stores were Cutlery World, Footprints, Today's Man and Lane Bryant.
The mall's revitalization continued with the construction of a (39,000 square foot) SuperSafeway grocery store. Built as a freestanding structure in the east parking area, it welcomed first shoppers on November 30, 1985. The final facet of the 4-year-long renovation repurposed a vacant S.S. Kresge as a new motion picture venue. The United Artists Bassett Cinemas Six commenced operation on December 13, 1985.
BASSETT CENTER now encompassed approximately 610,400 leasable square feet. It was owned and operated by Charles Basset Center, Limited, a joint venture of twenty-eight local financiers. In 1989, the property was sold to Washington, DC-based Cafritz Interests.
The White house store was shuttered in January 1992. Its was demolished, with a 1-level (117,300 square foot) Target Greatland opening on October 9, 1993. The West Mall had also been extended. By this time, the original Safeway and movie theater outparcels had been knocked down.
A two-store strip center was built in their place. It housed a (39,500 square foot) Service Merchandise and (30,000 square foot) Ross Dress for Less. These opened in 1992. Service Merchandise shut down in April 1999 and was divided into a (29,600 square foot) Marshalls and (9,800 square foot) Dress Barn.
Popular Dry Goods closed for good on November 6, 1995. Dillard's assumed the store space and opened in March 1996. This store went dark in February 2001. The building was demolished in early 2003, with a 1-level (140,700 square foot) Costco opening on November 13, 2003.
Meanwhile, BASSETT CENTER had been sold to Dallas-based Cypress Equities in October 2003. They began a renovation in 2004, with the first phase consisting of an interior and exterior face lift. As a facet of the remodeling, the official name of the shopping hub was changed to BASSETT PLACE on November 2, 2004.
A third makeover phase involved demolition of one of the north store blocks. It was replaced with the Premier Cinemas 18, which showed first features on April 7, 2007. The new theater had taken in adjacent mall space previously occupied by the Bassett Cinemas Six.
The shuttering of Mervyn's, in late 2008, brought Wisconsin's Kohl's into the mall. Their store opened on September 7, 2009. Beaumont, Texas-based Conn's HomePlus, a furniture, appliance and electronics retailer, gutted a section of the mall and dedicated a (40,000 square foot) store on December 21, 2012. It went dark in late 2024 and was proceeded by Burlington.
Meanwhile, Dave & Buster's Grand Sports Cafe replaced most of the mall's Cafe Plaza Food Court. The area was gutted and rebuilt, with the (36,000 square foot) Dave & Buster's opening on April 4, 2016. The original 14-bay Cafe Plaza had been downsized to just 6-bays. With these modifications, BASSETT PLACE encompassed 730,700 leasable square feet and housed sixty-eight store spaces.
Sources:
El Paso Times
http://www.epcc.edu/nwlibrary/borderlands / El Paso Community College
El Paso County, Texas tax assessor website
http://www.cypressequities.com
https://www.cinematreasures.org
https://www.joneslanglasalle.com
http://www.jtlcapital.com
https://www.pccmovies.com / Premier Cinemas
https://shopbassettplace.com
