Albert Fall House

Mar 1

This two-story Classical Revival home was built in 1907 for Kentucky-born Albert Bacon Fall (1861-1944). Fall gained notoriety as a circuit judge in the Territory of New Mexico and served as the new state’s first elected senator from 1912-1921, where he was recognized as an expert in U.S.-Mexico affairs. Appointed as the Secretary of the Interior under President Warren G. Harding, he served from 1921-1923 and was convicted of accepting a bribe during the Teapot Dome scandal. The house is significant because of the connection to Fall’s life, and its age and architectural design. The Fall House was included on Preservation Texas’s 2004 MEP list because it was threatened by neglect.

Local organizations including the City Historic Landmark Commission, El Paso Preservation Alliance and the El Paso County Historical Commission worked with the City’s Historic Preservation Officer to keep public attention on the deteriorating structure. As a result, the City of El Paso acquired the house by eminent domain in 2007, buying the property from the owner to rehabilitate it. The house was leased by the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center-El Paso from 2014-2021.

MAY 2025 UPDATE: The Fall House has remained vacant over the last few years. The lower-story windows are now boarded up, and the structure is exhibiting signs of deferred maintenance once again.