National Register Listing

Abdou Building

115 N. Mesa St., El Paso, TX

The Abdou building, with its stark appearance, exhibits the structural and decorative capabilities of reinforced concrete, a medium explored by Trost in the early 20th century. Established in 1905, the Rio Grande Valley Bank operated from a building known as the Buckler Building. Within four years, however, the need for additional space to house the bank's increasing activities became apparent.

Trost and Trost received the commission to design the structure. Originally to consist of six stories with a completion date of January 1910, the construction was extended to March of that year to allow for a seven-story building. The ground floor of the exterior and the interior of the bank lobby were adorned extensively with marble and the bank was furnished with high-quality fixtures. This bank, along with many others, defaulted in the early part of the century.

In 1925, the building was purchased by Sam Abdou, a prominent El Paso businessman who was actively involved in many philanthropic and civic affairs. Under his ownership, the building was leased to the American Trust and Savings Bank, of which he was a director.

Although this bank defaulted during the depression, Abdou remained at his post and personally saw that depositors were reimbursed for the funds that they had deposited. After the bank closed, a number of retail establishments operated from the ground floor of the building while a variety of businesses leased space above. In 1955 the Zales company leased the basement and first two floors of the building and has remained there since.

Local significance of the building:
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1980.