Rio Grande Avenue Historic District

The Rio Grande Avenue Historic District encompasses portions of four of El Paso's earliest middle-class residential additions. The district reflects the city's population explosion and rapid residential real estate development in response to the arrival and expansion of the railroad in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and the rapid population growth it engendered. Between 1898, when the area was first platted, and the first four decades of the 20th century, the neighborhood developed as the location for homes of local attorneys, judges, entrepreneurs, government employees, bankers, nurses, school teachers, and retailers who built their first homes in this affordable area and then later moved on to more fashionable neighborhoods. The construction of Craftsman and Prairie style bungalows, which characterize the district's building stock, exploded during this period as catalogs made this form of housing easily accessible and relatively quick and inexpensive to build. The district's development as an early 20th-century residential neighborhood fits into patterns outlined in the statewide context, Suburban Development in Texas, 1880-1941. Collectively, the district provides an early and intact visual representation of one of El Paso's earliest bungalow neighborhoods and therefore forms a direct and tangible link to specific trends of the city's early 20th-century growth. The district is nominated to the National Register under Criteria A and C in the areas of Architecture and Community Planning and Development at the local level of significance.

HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF EL PASO

Before the arrival of the railroads in 1881, the geographical area which is currently the city of El Paso was inhabited by the Tigua Indians, Mexicans, and soldiers. The international boundary between the U.S. and Mexico wasn't formally established until 1848 and the military post named Fort Bliss followed in 1854. The settlements established by these three factions are all now local historic districts: Ysleta, Chihuahita, and Magoffin respectively. In 1880, El Paso had approximately 700 people working for the military or as wagonmasters along the Chihuahua Trail from Mexico to the U.S. Some worked in saloons or as outfitters as travelers would often stop to drink a warm beer or re-outfit, but few would stay. No event in the city's history ever brought such spectacular and dramatic growth as the railroads. El Paso had a runaway population of over 10,000 in less than a decade, creating the need for much additional housing.

The City of El Paso issued franchises for twelve railway companies in the years between 1880 and 1900, most notably the Southern Pacific, Mexican Central, Santa Fe, Galveston, Harrisburg, San Antonio, Texas, Pacific, and Juarez. Seven of these franchises were issued between May and December of 1881. What a few years earlier had been a small, sleepy, and extremely isolated adobe village was now a rapidly growing city with fast and dependable freight and passenger transportation to every major population center on the continent. Thus, the railroad facilities brought several important industries to El Paso. In 1885, the custom smelter of the American Smelting and Refining Company was built solely because the railroad could furnish a continuous feed of copper ore from Mexico and Arizona. Other industries that opened overnight, brought about by the railroads, included flour milling, cement manufacturing, cotton milling, oil refining, making of optical instruments, brewing, cotton ginning, bottling, and meat packing.

Becoming one of the southwest's major rail centers created a booming population that required several new services for residents. Banking facilities became more numerous than saloons and gambling halls. Retail stores, hospitals, ice plants, fire departments, and churches transformed the architectural landscape of the city and remain today. Utilities such as gas and, later, indoor plumbing, electricity, telephones, and city water became available. A center for the performing arts was built where touring companies could entertain and boxing and wrestling exhibitions flourished. A continuous city government was in place after 1880, and an independent school district was established in 1882 with the first public school opening in 1883. Although gunfighters and gamblers continued to characterize the city for two decades after the arrival of the railroads, in due time, the familiar processes of "civilized" society in the Anglo tradition gained the upper hand. The addition of all these services to the community was evidenced by the occupations of Rio Grande Avenue Historic District's first residents.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE RIO GRANDE AVENUE NEIGHBORHOOD

The city of El Paso annexed the land where the Rio Grande neighborhood developed in 1889. The district encompasses portions of Campbell's, Alexander's, Pierce-Finley, and Franklin Heights Additions. Originally platted between 1898 and 1905, street layouts were oriented to the nearby rail lines, rather than on a strict N/S/E/W axis, following a grid system that developers used almost exclusively in new suburban development in Texas during the early 20th century. This layout system appears to have been essentially pasted onto the area's sloping terrain, ignoring the irregular topographical features of the area which sits at the very base of the Franklin Mountains. The grid system used in this area also appears at odds with the historical plat lines, which were drawn following cardinal directions. The adherence to this plan typifies early suburban development and its orientation to the railroad lines also reveals the impact that the railroad had on El Paso's subsequent growth patterns.

Plat maps of the area reveal at least two different block patterns in the area, however, the layouts appear to follow no logical pattern with respect to the historic addition boundaries. The perpendicular boundary lines of the additions often fall mid-block, resulting in some blocks having two different block numbers with respect to these lines. The direction of the alleys does seem to indicate some respect to additional lines, although irregularities can still be found. Alleys in the Alexander Addition run exclusively north/south and the transition to east/west running alleys occurs once in the Pierce-Finley and Franklin Heights Additions. Additional research appears warranted regarding the origin of these layout oddities.

Early Sanborn Fire Insurance maps of the area reveal that the core area of development began in the corner of the district's "L" where Rio Grande, Nevada, Kansas, and Campbell intersect. Mapping capabilities in 1902 did not extend beyond this core area, but subsequent maps show development spreading primarily along these four streets in the "L" pattern that reflects the shape of the district today, with the heaviest concentration of early development primarily along the blocks facing the Rio Grande and Arizona. As early as 1910, Rio Grande was already a well-developed residential street with a solid line of houses and imported landscaping. Higher concentrations of later construction, although still largely dating prior to 1920, were primarily located on the district's outermost blocks, including along Nevada and in the far eastern and northern ends. A 1915 newspaper article refers to the rapidly growing area along Nevada in the far eastern edge of the district as the Golden Hill neighborhood.

Although the historic commercial corridors remained focused along the thoroughfares south of the district, corner groceries can still be found sprinkled throughout, especially facing the Rio Grande and Arizona Avenues. Blocks south of the district boundaries are situated closest to downtown and the railroad lines. The commercial and institutional development of these areas spread from the south over the years, eventually eroding some of the residential fabric in the neighborhood's historic core on the blocks where Rio Grande and Nevada intersect with Kansas. What remains, however, reflects the outward growth that spread north and east along these primary thoroughfares. In addition, strong similarities in the period of development, building stock, and residential history tie the area together today.

Merchants, government employees, bankers, nurses, and school teachers were the chief property owners in the neighborhood. In 1905, the El Paso Electric Street Railway Company built street car lines along Arizona, which became an important amenity drawing residents to the new neighborhood.

While the very wealthy lived primarily in the more "fashionable" Sunset Heights neighborhood just to the west, the Rio Grande Avenue district had its share of prominent citizens but was a more affordable alternative for the middle class. Many of the residents were attorneys, judges, entrepreneurs, and retailers who had their first home in the district and then moved later to Sunset Heights. Jews, some of whom arrived in El Paso before the railroad era, were also prominent area residents and merchants who led active business lives on both sides of the border: Harris Krupp at 505 Rio Grande, Sol Berg at 1016 Rio Grande, and Sam Ravel at 1128 Arizona were three such individuals who owned homes in the district.

What effects did this tremendous economic growth have on the housing market in El Paso at the turn of the century? Four major trends are noteworthy. First, as with any western boom town, housing needed to be provided quickly and inexpensively. As mentioned previously, El Paso went from a population of 700 in 1880 to 10,000 in 1890. This trend continued as the new demands for laborers swelled these figures to 15,000 in 1900, 40,000 in 1910, and 77,000 in 1920. Besides the capitalists, merchants, bankers, real-estate developers, cattlemen, miners, railroad men, gamblers, and saloon keepers flocking to town, thousands of refugees took advantage of the rails to leave Mexico and settle in El Paso. The majority of El Paso Hispanics trace their local roots directly to the 1910-1920 Mexican Revolution. The Revolution itself was made possible because the railroads accounted for the swift and vast movement of armies and there was a constant struggle for control over the rail lines. Many fled conflagration and brutality south of the border and the turmoil of these many revolutions contributed greatly to the influx of residents. Hundreds spent months in empty downtown boxcars because they had no place else to go. There were not half enough hotel accommodations to go around for new arrivals and housing was scarce, causing room rents to rise rapidly. Tents were pitched along both sides of the streets and hundreds slept in the saloons until the housing situation could catch up to the fate of this city. Publications put forth by the railroads and the chamber of commerce added to this trend by vividly describing the curative health benefits of El Paso's desert climate while also promoting the town as a place to make a fortune. Lots skyrocketed in price. This incredible growth and the desperate need for housing led to the substantial new development, or suburbanization, of several neighborhoods just outside El Paso's central business district. It may also underlie the reasons for this neighborhood's odd plan, which doesn't take into consideration the addition boundaries, possibly indicating a certain haste in getting lots ready for sale and construction.

Second, this rapid growth coincided with national building trends that gave rise to a large number of Craftsman/Bungalow and Prairie style homes that characterize the Rio Grande Avenue district. This type of building provided a moderate, inexpensive type of housing to the large influx of business owners and workers. As mentioned before, these houses became common in the district because they could be built quickly and plans could be easily adapted to suit individual needs. House plans for both contemporaneous styles could even be ordered through catalogs. Having originated in California, Craftsman houses were given extensive publicity in such magazines as Western Architect, The Architect, House Beautiful, Good Housekeeping, Architectural Record, Country Life in America, and Ladies' Home Journal, thus familiarizing the rest of the nation with the style. As a result, a flood of pattern books appeared. Besides the house plans, some even offered completely pre-cut packages of lumber and detailing to be assembled by local labor.

Between 1900 and 1920, these vehicles made the 1-story bungalow house the most popular and fashionable smaller house in the United States. When architect Henry C. Trost moved to El Paso in 1903 at the height of the city's building boom, he began to make prolific use of the new Prairie style of architecture in his designs, furthering the local popularity of this new style. As a result, vernacular interpretations produced many different varieties of the same form of house. These Craftsman and Prairie-inspired bungalows became extremely popular and widespread throughout the city's rapidly growing residential neighborhoods, including the Manhattan Heights district (NR 1980) which grew largely between 1910 and 1930 further to the northeast of the Rio Grande area. This architectural cohesiveness, seen in the Rio Grande Avenue district, not only reflects El Paso's rapid population explosion but is also in keeping with nationwide building patterns during the early 20th century.

Third, the houses in this neighborhood demonstrate developers' and builders' shifts to using predominately lumber and brick in new construction. At the turn of the century, brick and lumber, which are not indigenous to the region, became available from the east by the new rail lines. It was also during this time period that El Paso struggled to resemble other American communities and began to reject the use of Hispanic building traditions, such as adobe and Spanish-influenced building forms. The bungalow has been noted as one of the first types of wooden houses built in west Texas. The houses of the Rio Grande Avenue Historic District represent this influx of new materials and hence the "Americanization" of the southwest, both through the change of materials as well as the changes in styles used in the local housing industry.

Fourth, these changes in building styles reflect the application of new ideas and trends to local building forms. Local builders and architects, including Trost, discovered that many features of these new forms, including gabled roofs, wide overhanging eaves, verandas, and balconies, were extremely useful for solar and heat control in El Paso's desert climate. Although Craftsman and Prairie styles predominate, the homes of the district also display the use and combination of various other styles, including Queen Anne, Classical Revival, and Italian Renaissance. Many houses can prominently display one style while also featuring other types of detailing/influence, such as a Prairie-style home with classical columns on the front porch, or a Queen Anne form with later Prairie-style details. Prior to the turn of the century, houses in El Paso were typically reproductions of the 18th-century Spanish missions and residences. Understandably, local architecture found particular interest in the region's Spanish heritage which has and will always be of special appeal. Some Mission styles and Spanish Colonial Revival buildings can be found in the district, however, the advances in communication and transportation during this time brought more diverse ideas from other regions. The popularity of new residential forms and styles reflects these changes as well as the progressive aspirations of the growing middle class.

The beginning of the end of construction boom in the neighborhood began in the 1930s, as the effects of the Great Depression took hold. For the first time since the arrival of the railroad, El Paso's population actually declined in the 1930s. Property owners had little money for the upkeep or expansion of their homes or their lawns. It is, however, this decline in prosperity that precluded new construction in the neighborhood, thus retaining the early 20th-century residential character of the district. Only four buildings in the district are estimated to have been built during the 1930s and 1940s, and only a handful were built after World War II, mostly apartment buildings. Much of this later development sidestepped the district and was centered around Montana Avenue, which, as the closest major thoroughfare, was more desirable for commercial and institutional building sites. The primary effect of later post-war prosperity in the residential neighborhood resulted in the "modernization" of some homes and the addition of garages and storage buildings of more recent vintage. In very recent years, the historically residential corridor of Rio Grande Avenue has succumbed to encroaching commercial enterprises, and numerous owners have converted homes into use as professional offices. Although the historical function of this area has changed, the majority of these properties retain their residential character and therefore continue to add to the sense of visual cohesiveness with the residential area to the north, which today remains largely working class in character. Local residents are optimistic that recognition of the area through National Register listing, and perhaps local designation, as well as access to tax credits and other forms of assistance will help revitalize the neighborhood while also maintaining its sense of historicity as it grows into the next century.