Fort Bliss Officers’ Club To Close

By ABC-7 Reporter Daniel Marin

FORT BLISS, Texas – It’s hailed as an institution, as should be. The first adobe brick was laid at the Fort Bliss Officers’ Club in 1913.

“There was a wrap-around porch where (the officers) could see down onto Armstrong field, which is where they would play polo games,” said a Fort Bliss historian.

These days, the club is home to a barber shop and restaurant. The ballroom remains intact, with pictures of good times past still hanging.

Down a flight of stars sits the club’s bar, appropriately named the “Down Under Pub.” Here, pictures of past pin-ups hang alongside dart boards.

So why the closure?

Just like during the Mexican Revolution, Fort Bliss is expanding; this time, expanding east. That means all the functions of the officer’s club are moving to the newer Centennial Club near Biggs Army Airfield.

Post officials say the club building will become a soldier family center when the club closes Thursday.