If you grew up in El Paso, you know the feeling. You’re coming back into town after a long trip, the city starts to spread out in front of you, and there it is on the Franklin Mountains. The Star. It means you’re home.
How Rare Is El Paso’s Star On The Mountain?
El Paso’s Star Is the Biggest of Its Kind on Earth
The Star on the Mountain has stood on the south face of the Franklin Mountains since 1940, when El Paso Electric Company first lit it as a holiday decoration. After a storm blew out the original structure almost immediately, it was rebuilt bigger and better. By 1946, it reached its current dimensions: 459 feet tall and 278 feet wide, with 459 bulbs arranged at a 30-degree angle on the mountainside. It can be seen from the ground up to 35 miles away and from the air up to 100 miles out.
That makes it the world’s largest man-made illuminated star. Period.
There Is One Rival City and El Paso Still Wins
The closest comparison is Roanoke, Virginia, which built its own illuminated star on Mill Mountain in 1949. The Roanoke Star holds its own title: the world’s largest freestanding illuminated star. Standing 88.5 feet tall and built from 2,000 feet of neon tubing, it even earned Roanoke the nickname “Star City of the South.” The two cities actually share more than a rivalry in titles. Both stars began as Christmas decorations. Both became so beloved that residents refused to let them come down. And both cities ended up with “Star City” in their identity…