Martin Building
a.k.a. El Paso Electric Company Building
215 N. Stanton St., El Paso, TXDowntown El Paso's Martin Building is a notable example of the Chicago Style as interpreted in the southwestern United States, particularly in its decorative terra-cotta panels and frieze. In a city graced by many fine, early 20th-century structures, the Martin stands out as one of the most ornamented and intact.
In July of 1911, M.D. Roberts and William Martin Banner bought the property on which this building is situated. This purchase was made by Mr. J.B. Raynolds, president of the First National Bank, for the sum of $82,000. Poor business conditions, however, delayed the construction of the building until 1916. In part as a result of people seeking refuge from the Mexican revolution, El Paso grew tremendously in the period from 1915 to 1925, and the construction of the Martin Building reflects that growth. Completed in early 1917, the Martin Building cost $175,000.
Roberts and Banner had also built another Chicago Style commercial structure on Mesa and Mills Streets. Designed by Trost and Trost, it was called the Roberts- Banner building. Undoubtedly the designs of Trost's building influenced the architects of the Martin building, Brauhton, and Leibert. This new building was titled the Martin Building after Banner's middle name in an attempt to avoid confusion with the Roberts-Banner building. Originally, Banner and Roberts rented the first floor to the El Paso Electric Railway Company and the upper floors to a variety of tenants. In 1943, the El Paso Electric Company bought the entire building. This company retained ownership until it was purchased by the present owner in 1978. Rehabilitation was recently undertaken to restore the exterior and some parts of the interior, particularly on the ground floor.
The quality of the Martin Building is comparable to that of the contemporaneous Trost and Trost commercial building in El Paso (National Register, 1980), but it is distinguished architecturally in its own right. The terra-cotta exterior detailing would be considered noteworthy in any Texas city of the period, and the Martin Building retains its visual prominence at a major intersection in El Paso.
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.