Day Trips: La Plaza de los Lagartos, El Paso
Colorful sculpture pays tribute to alligators of the past
By Gerald E. McLeod, Fri., Nov. 12, 2021
La Plaza de los Lagartos, or Alligator Plaza, in El Paso reminds locals of a story that began 138 years ago.
Officially known as San Jacinto Plaza, the downtown park was laid out in 1883 with trees, a gazebo, and a small pond. The commissioner of El Paso parks thought it would be a good idea to add three alligators to the pond. Not being native to the desert environment, the reptiles were imported from Louisiana.
Surprisingly, the alligators thrived in their low-walled prison to become a part of the city's cultural fabric. As many as seven of the beasts lived in the pond at a time. The alligators were never accused of making a quick snack of the hands that fed them.
Instead, it was vandals and pranksters that were the problem. Students from Texas Western College (now UT-El Paso) couldn't resist "borrowing" an alligator from time to time. One alligator died from internal injuries after kidnappers threw him back in the pond when police arrived.
The alligators were finally moved to the El Paso Zoo in 1965 when assailants killed two alligators and severely injured a third. They were brought back for a short time in 1972, but once again, zoosadists forced their removal.
In 1993, a colorful fiberglass sculpture of four jumping gators by Luis A. Jimenez Jr. was added to the center of the park.
Most days, the plaza at the corner of East Main and North Mesa streets is the center of a hub for inbound and outbound buses. During the Christmas season, Nov. 20-Jan. 2, the park hosts the community tree and it is decorated with thousands of lights for WinterFest.
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