San Elizario Presidio Chapel

El Paso


A Spanish presidio named for St Elzéar, the French patron saint for soldiers, was established here in 1789 (San Elizario is a corruption of his name). A flood took out the first chapel, and the present building, finished in 1882, is the fourth chapel for the fort. Note the symmetrical bells, the four buttresses and, inside, the colorful pressed-tin ceiling. Still an active parish, this eye-catching white chapel anchors the San Elizario Historic District.