The Architecture of Henry C. Trost in El Paso
THE ARCHITECTURE OF
HENRY C. TROST IN EL PASO
IN THE EARLY 20TH CENTURY, ARCHITECTURAL FIRM TROST & TROST HELPED DEVELOP A REGION THAT HENRY CHARLES TROST TERMED “ARID AMERICA.” THE FIRM DESIGNED HUNDREDS OF RESIDENTIAL, COMMERCIAL AND INSTITUTIONAL BUILDINGS IN EL PASO, WEST TEXAS, NORTHERN MEXICO, NEW MEXICO AND ARIZONA. HENRY TROST (1860-1933) SERVED AS PRIMARY ARCHITECT FROM 1903 UNTIL HIS DEATH. YOUNGER BROTHER GUSTAVUS (1876-1950) DESIGNED STRUCTURES AS WELL, AND GUSTAVUS’ TWIN BROTHER ADOLPHUS (1876-1957) WAS THE FIRM’S STRUCTURAL ENGINEER. IN EL PASO, TROST & TROST DESIGNED DOZENS OF DOWNTOWN COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS AND MANY NEARBY RESIDENCES. HENRY TROST MASTERED EVERY ARCHITECTURAL STYLE THAT WAS POPULAR DURING HIS CAREER, AND TRANSFORMED THEM INTO WORKABLE SOLUTIONS FOR THE SOUTHWEST.
FROM 1909-11, TROST & TROST COMPLETED FIVE REINFORCED CONCRETE SKYSCRAPERS WHICH CHANGED THE CHARACTER OF DOWNTOWN EL PASO, CAPPED BY THE TWELVE-STORY ANSON MILLS BUILDING (1910-11). THE FIRM MOVED ITS OFFICES TO THE EIGHTH FLOOR OF THE NEW BUILDING, AND WAS LATER HOUSED IN ANOTHER OF ITS DESIGNS, THE TWO REPUBLICS LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY (1919-21). OTHER PROMINENT PROJECTS INCLUDE HOTEL PASO DEL NORTE (1912), EL PASO HIGH SCHOOL (1914-16), THE FIVE ORIGINAL BHUTANESE-STYLE CAMPUS BUILDINGS FOR THE TEXAS STATE SCHOOL OF MINES AND METALLURGY (LATER THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT EL PASO; 1916-21), LORETTO ACADEMY (1923), HOTEL CORTEZ (1926), HILTON HOTEL (1929-30), AND O. T. BASSETT TOWER (1929-30). HENRY TROST WROTE THAT “EL PASO DOES NOT ERECT FRAME AND PLASTER BUILDINGS FOR LOOKS; IT PUTS UP BUILDINGS THAT ENDURE.” TODAY, DOZENS OF THE FIRM’S BUILDINGS IN THREE STATES ARE LISTED ON THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES, AND MANY BUILDINGS ARE STILL IN USE FOR THE PURPOSES FOR WHICH THEY WERE DESIGNED.
(2010).