East Las Vegas in San Miguel County, New Mexico — The American Mountains (Southwest)
Meadows Hotel
1923
Photographed By Duane and Tracy Marsteller, October 14, 2023
1. Meadows Hotel Marker
Contractor: Maurice M. Sundt
Erected by Las Vegas Citizens' Committee for Historic Preservation.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Industry & Commerce. In addition, it is included in the National Register of Historic Places series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1923.
Location. 35° 35.732′ N, 105° 12.862′ W. Marker is in Las Vegas, New Mexico, in San Miguel County. It is in East Las Vegas. Marker can be reached from the intersection of CanAm Highway (U.S. 85) and Douglas Avenue, on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 500 Douglas Ave, Las Vegas NM 87701, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. YMCA Building (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Clara Waring Bookstore (about 400 feet away); City Hall (about 400 feet away); Rawlins House (about 500 feet away); Browne & Manzanares Commission House (about
this page online
Regarding Meadows Hotel. Excerpt from the National Register of Historic Places nomination for the Douglas-Sixth Street Historic District, which includes this property:
El Fidel Hotel (Meadows Hotel) The site of the El Fidel Hotel was originally occupied by a two story frame hotel built in the early 1880's and called variously the Windsor Hotel, the Occidental and the Central Hotel. After World War One, with the increase of automobile travel along US 85, the city's civic leaders decided improved accommodations for travelers were needed. They formed a corporation and, with local attorney Louis C. Ilfeld as president, secured pledges for the purchase of $150,000 in stock. A contract was let to M.M. Sundt for the construction of the hotel in 1921, and in June 1923, the building was christened “Meadows Hotel.” The construction of the Meadows was the last of a series of ventures aimed at civic, economic and cultural improvementwhich garnered wide public support. As a result of the local depression which began in 1923, the Hotel Corporation never sold all the stock pledged and operated in debt until 1946 when the building was sold to Toufick Fidel of Albuquerque, who renamed it El Fidel.Photographed By Duane and Tracy Marsteller, October 14, 20232. Meadows Hotel MarkerMarker is left of the entrance door.
Also see . . .
1. Douglas-Sixth Street Historic District. National Register nomination (PDF) and photographs (separate PDF) submitted for the district, which includes this property and was listed in 1983. (Prepared by Chris Wilson, Citizen's Committee for Historic Preservation; via National Park Service) (Submitted on November 21, 2023, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.)
2. Galena Daily Gazette, 22 August 1925 (PDF). The encounter between Magee and Leahy drew national media coverage, such as this prominent front-page story in an Illinois newspaper. (Illinois Digital Newspaper Collections) (Submitted on November 21, 2023, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.)
3. Judge Leahy testifies in trial of Carl Magee for manslaughter (PDF). Article in the June 19, 1926 issue of Editor & Publisher, a journalism trade magazine. As noted at the top of the story, Magee was acquitted. (Editor & Publisher via Google Books) (Submitted on November 21, 2023, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.)
4. Carl Magee. Wikipedia entry on the journalist and inventor, who patented the first practical parking meter. (Submitted on November 21, 2023, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.)
Photographed By Duane and Tracy Marsteller, October 14, 2023
3. Historic El Fidel Hotel
from Representative New Mexicans by C.S. Peterson; via Google Books (Public Domain), 1912
4. Judge David J. Leahy (1867-1935)
An Illinois native, he moved to the New Mexico Territory in 1891 to be a school principal and later, superintendent of a county school system. He was admitted to the bar in 1897; a year later, he was an officer in Theodore Roosevelt's "Rough Riders" brigade in the Spanish-American War. He became U.S. Attorney for New Mexico in 1907 and later elected a state judge. He was shot in the arm by Magee during their confrontation but survived.
from Dearborn Independent, Dec. 26, 1925; via Google Books (Public Domain), circa 1925
5. Carlton Cole "Carl" Magee (1872-1946)
Initially a lawyer by profession, the Iowa native launched his New Mexico newspaper in 1922. He was instrumental in exposing the Teapot Dome scandal, which resulted in the U.S. Secretary of the Interior's conviction on bribery charges. Magee also crusaded against corruption in local courts, the impetus for the feud between him and Leahy. Magee was charged with manslaughter in the Meadows Hotel confrontation but was acquitted. He later moved to Oklahoma, where he invented the coin-operated parking meter.
Credits. This page was last revised on November 23, 2023. It was originally submitted on November 21, 2023, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 45 times since then and 14 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on November 21, 2023, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
