Marfa, Texas: Insider Advice
What to know when planning a trip to Marfa.
By Jori Finkel
A visit to Marfa, in the heart of West Texas, is best made in fall or spring. But don't let the calendar stop you from visiting in any season—each has its pleasures. (The area code for all telephone numbers is 432.)
Getting There
Fly into El Paso or Midland airport and rent a car. It's about a three-hour drive from either city.
Where to Stay
Hotel Paisano Built in 1930 and declared a National Historic Landmark in 1978, the forty-one-room hotel has old-world charm in the form of wrought-iron balconies, French doors and penny-round tile work in the bathrooms. For better and worse, it does not feel much changed since 1955, when the cast of Giant stayed here. Rooms $99 to $210. 207 North Highland; 729-3669; hotelpaisano.com.
Thunderbird Hotel If the Paisano attracts fans of James Dean, this nouveau roadside motel attracts followers of Donald Judd. The twenty-four rooms are simply but thoughtfully put together, with mod blond-wood furniture and with Peruvian blankets warming the beds. Be sure to bring earplugs to muffle the noise of the train that runs through nearby at night. Rooms $125 to $200. 601 West San Antonio; 729-1984; thunderbirdmarfa.com.
Where to Eat
Maiya's Maiya Keck offers a seasonal menu for her Italian restaurant, which has more vegetarian options than anywhere else in town. − 103 North Highland; 729-4410; maiyasrestaurant.com.
The Get Go Keck's new gourmet grocery features high-quality meats, cheeses and organic produce. 208 South Dean Street; 729-3355.
The Brown Recluse Open most (but not all) mornings until 1:00 P.M. Order the migas—eggs fried with tortilla, queso fresco, onion, tomato and jalapeño. 111 West San Antonio; 729-1811.
États-Unis-Marfa This restaurant promises a good aged, charcoal-grilled steak, fish overnighted from Hawaii and a large garden for outdoor dining. 107 West San Antonio; 729-3264.
The Pizza Foundation This restaurant draws a good lunch crowd and serves the best slice around. Cool off with a limeade in the flavor of your choice—such as plain, strawberry or pineapple. 101 East San Antonio; 729-3377.
Where to See Art
The Chinati Foundation The original reason behind all the pilgrimages to Marfa, this 340-acre campus may be the largest monument to Minimalism in the world. It consists of permanent installations of Donald Judd's most ambitious works, along with pieces by his artist friends. Each year brings a temporary exhibition as well, and this month during Open House (October 6 and 7), Chinati unveils a series of early galvanized-steel sculptures by David Rabinowitch and plans for an unrealized, site-specific project that he dreamed up with Judd called the Pinto Canyon Group. Call ahead for a space on the guided tours, which take place Wednesday through Sunday, and set aside a full day to spend there. 1 Cavalry Row; 729-4362; chinati.org.
Judd Foundation The organization oversees a dozen living, working and exhibition spaces downtown that the artist created during his lifetime. Though the spaces are usually open only by appointment or for tours, three are staffed to welcome the public during Open House: the Cobb House and the Whyte Building, packed with Judd's early paintings and sculptures, and the Block, the compound where he and his family lived. The Block is by far the most personal of the spaces, a 3-D biography of the artist. It contains his 10,000-volume library (heavy on art, science and the classics), a collection of Navajo weavings and arrowheads, and a vast array of cooking utensils. Also look for teenaged touches in Flavin Judd's bedroom. (Yes, Judd named his son after artist Dan Flavin—a moment of great affection before the friends' falling out.) 104 South Highland; 729-4406; juddfoundation.org.
Ballroom Marfa Host to lively concerts and movie screenings, the Ballroom also brings the international contemporary- art scene into its cavernous space. Case in point: the fall exhibition (through February 3), "Every Revolution Is a Roll of the Dice," curated by the respected Bob Nickas, includes such international art stars as Huma Bhabha (Pakistan), Carol Bove (Switzerland) and Wangechi Mutu (Kenya). 108 East San Antonio; 729-3600; ballroommarfa.org.
Eugene Binder The first gallerist in town, Binder is also the most serious. In addition to this space, he owns an appointment-only gallery in New York's Long Island City, not far from P.S. 1, and his Texas program features some of the same artists he has shown in New York—from painter John Pomara to the more conceptually driven Nicholas Knight. 218 North Highland; 729-3900.
EXHIBITIONS 2D
Owner Dennis Dickinson was once a set designer in Los Angeles, and his Marfa gallery shows off his knack for creating a thoroughly imagined world where every piece is hung just so, across a handful of small rooms. His specialty is contemporary abstraction. 400 South Highland; 729-1910;
exhibitions2d.com.
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