El Portal Hotel/WPA Project

Colfax County New Mexico

SFT photo

Photo by Photo by Henry Ostrander

This private old hotel has a variety of art work in lobby areas including large murals created by Manville Chapman in 1939 and 6 others done later by his student, Willie Warder, another WPA Project artist. The hotel housed the original WPA Project office for the region and was the location of WPA-supported art classes.

This historic hotel is reminiscent of a period when railroad and mining workers boarded in hotel rooms routinely. Paintings and memorabilia are fascinating.