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EP Streetcar - 39 - Roberts - Banner Bldg by Visit El Paso

EP Streetcar - 38 - Plaza Hotel by Visit El Paso

EP Streetcar - 37 - The Kress Bldg by Visit El Paso

EP Streetcar - 36 - Cortez Bldg by Visit El Paso

EP Streetcar - 35 - Mills Bldg by Visit El Paso

EP Streetcar - 34 - San Jacinto Plaza by Visit El Paso

EP Streetcar - 33 - El Paso Holocaust Museum by Visit El Paso

EP Streetcar - 32 - Temple Mt. Sinai by Visit El Paso

EP Streetcar - 31 - Hal Marcus Gallery by Visit El Paso

EP Streetcar - 30 - UTEP by Visit El Paso

EP Streetcar - 29 - Sun Bowl Stadium by Visit El Paso

EP Streetcar - 28 - Don Haskins Center by Visit El Paso

EP Streetcar - 27 - Cincinnati Entertainment District by Visit El Paso

EP Streetcar - 26 - St. Patrick Cathedral by Visit El Paso

EP Streetcar - 25 - Pride Square by Visit El Paso

EP Streetcar - 24 - Pablo Baray Apartments by Visit El Paso

EP Streetcar - 23 - Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Depot by Visit El Paso

EP Streetcar - 22 - Sacred Heart Church by Visit El Paso

EP Streetcar - 21 - Segundo Barrio Murals by Visit El Paso

EP Streetcar - 20 - Douglass Grammar And High School by Visit El Paso

EP Streetcar - 19 - Caples Bldg by Visit El Paso

EP Streetcar - 18 - Gateway Hotel by Visit El Paso

EP Streetcar - 17 - Blue Flame Bldg by Visit El Paso

EP Streetcar - 16 - Robert E. Thomason Federal Courthouse by Visit El Paso

EP Streetcar - 15 - El Paso County Courthouse by Visit El Paso

EP Streetcar - 14 - International Bldg by Visit El Paso

EP Streetcar - 13 - O.T. Bassett Tower by Visit El Paso

EP Streetcar - 12 - United Bank by Visit El Paso

EP Streetcar - 11 - Gardner Hotel by Visit El Paso

EP Streetcar - 10 - El Paso & Southwestern Railroad Bldg by Visit El Paso

EP Streetcar - 09 - Arts Festival Plaza by Visit El Paso

EP Streetcar - 08 - The Plaza Theater by Visit El Paso

EP Streetcar - 07 - Cleveland Square Park by Visit El Paso

EP Streetcar - 06 - El Paso Museum Of Art by Visit El Paso

EP Streetcar - 05 - El Paso Museum Of History by Visit El Paso

EP Streetcar - 04 - Hotel Paso Del Norte by Visit El Paso

EP Streetcar - 03 - Abraham Chavez Theater by Visit El Paso

EP Streetcar - 02 - Haymon Krupp Bldg by Visit El Paso

Corner of Santa Fe & Paisano St., 79901 Designed by Trost & Trost and opened on September 19, 1930, this two-story station has three engine stations, concrete sills and steel frame windows.

The White House Department Store/Hotel McCoy prominently sited as the terminal point of South El Paso Street, a major north-south axis between El Paso and Juarez, is an outstanding example of the Chicago School format. Since it’s opening in 1912, the first floor and basement housed the store, while the remaining six floors were occupied by the Hotel McCoy.

With structural and decorative elements cut sharply into taut ashlar walls of granite and terra cotta, the State National Bank exemplifies the Second Renaissance Revival style with detailed precision and bespeaks the skills of Trost eloquently. The structure represents not only the prominence of Trost as a major influence on the physical appearance of the city, but also the presence of the State National Bank as an important financial base throughout the growth and development of El Paso

Experimenting with the new structural possibilities of reinforced concrete, Trost designed the Richard Caples Building. When completed in 1910, the Richard Caples Building held the distinction of being the first reinforced concrete structure in downtown El Paso.

Built for Conrad Hilton as the El Paso Hilton Hotel, the present Plaza Hotel is significant as one of El Paso's early high-rise structures from the office of Trost and Trost. The style is Art Deco, and the exterior remains largely unaltered from its original form. Hilton, born in San Antonio, New Mexico in 1887, rose to international recognition as founder of one of the world's most successful hotel chains. The Plaza Hotel, located at Mills and Oregon Streets, is composed of a two story trapezoidal plan block attached to a rectangular fifteen story hotel tower topped by a smaller three story central block. Construction is of brick and concrete. Decoration on the first two floor facades, extending around the entire building, consists of simplified pilasters, stylized geometric Art Deco spandrels, and polychromatic roundels. A simple cornice crowns the two-story portion.

Perhaps one of Trost’s most extraordinary examples of stylistic expression is seen in the Palace Theatre, formerly the Alhambra, the facade of which displays a delicate overall tracery of arabesques and Islamic script. This is thought to be Trost's only design in the Spanish Colonial style with Moorish influences. Trost's choice of a Spanish Colonial format with Moorish influence preceded the 1920's vogue for that style. In the 21st century, this building was renovated and is now the site of Bowie Feathers and Tricky Falls.

At one time the tallest building in El Paso, the O.T. Bassett Tower rises fifteen stories with a strong vertical thrust in the setback skyscraper form which prevailed during the Modernistic development of the early 20th century. An elaborate entrance detailed with Art Deco design elements is the focal point of the southeast facade of the ground floor. Included in this composition are facial representations, one of which is believed to be a likeness of Trost himself.

The hotel was designed by Trost & Trost and opened in 1912. This brick and terra cotta structure was the "dream hotel" of early El Paso businessman and promoter Zach White. Designed by the noted El Paso architectural firm of Trost and Trost, the structure was engineered to be fireproof and was modeled after buildings that had survived the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Throughout its history, Hotel Paso Del Norte has served travelers and tourists, has been an El Paso social center, and has been used as a headquarters for cattle trading ranchers. Numerous dignitaries from both the United States and Mexico have been guests here over the years. The large hotel lobby features a stained glass dome over twenty-five feet in diameter. During the Mexican Revolution, it was popular to watch firefights between the revolutionaries and the Mexican Army from the terrace on the top of the hotel. Some of the notable people who stayed at the hotel include Gloria Swanson, General John J. "Black Jack" Pershing, General Alvaro Obregon, John Reed (journalist), Will Rogers, Enrico Caruso, Amelia Earhart, Eleanor Roosevelt, the then Vice President Richard Nixon. In 2004, the hotel was extensively remodeled and renamed the Camino Real Hotel.

This building was constructed in 1908. Designed as the luxurious Hotel Orndorff in the early 20th century, the Hotel Cortez is an elaborate representation of the Spanish Colonial Revival style with strong Renaissance overtones. The assortment of decorative elements skillfully applied to the tripartite format of the brick structure attests to the artistic genius of Trost. In keeping with the Spanish influence are three-dimensional busts of helmeted conquistadores and Spanish court coats of arms. The new Hotel Orndorff, commissioned by Mrs. Charles DeGroff for $1,400,000, officially opened on September 10, 1926. On June 5, 1963, President Kennedy stayed overnight at the hotel.

Constructed in 1909 and 1910, as the Rio Grande Valley Bank Building, the Abdou Building, as it is known today, rises seven stories above the southwest corner of Texas Avenue and Mesa Street. 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. In 1925, Sam Abdou, a prominent El Paso businessman who was actively involved in many philanthropic and civic affairs, purchased the building. Under his ownership, the building was leased to the American Trust and Savings Bank, of which he was 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.

The Alcázar basement was used by its owners lke and Frank Alderete in 1915 to store weapons for the Huertistas.

In this episode of the Visit El Paso Podcast, we talk about the USBC Open Championships happening now till July 12, 2015. We'll also discuss the "El Paso. It's All Good." movement and a few can't miss events for March 2015. Outro song is 'Love Don't Pay The Bills' by the Joe Barron Band. www.VisitElPaso.com

Hello. Welcome to our tour of the architectural masterpieces of the firm Trost & Trost in downtown El Paso. The reasons why the Trosts chose to settle permanently in El Paso are clear enough. Ever since the arrival of the railroad in 1881, the population of the city had been exploding. What was once a small and unruly frontier outpost was rapidly transforming into a sophisticated modern metropolis. In 1890 the community counted just over 10,000 inhabitants, but by the time the Trosts arrived the population had already doubled. Thanks in large part to the railroad, El Paso soon developed into an important center for cattle, mining, banking, hotels, and garment manufacture. During the Mexican Revolution, between 1910 and 1920, thousands of new immigrants crossed the border, and soon El Paso was one of the largest American cities between the Mississippi River and the Pacific Ocean. Henry was not only skilled at designing architecture in the Chicago and Mission styles, but also in the Neoclassical, Federal, Georgian, Prairie, Art Deco, Romanesque, Gothic, Italian Renaissance, Spanish Colonial Revival, Pueblo, Moorish, and Bhutanese styles. Downtown El Paso, with its eclectic variety of Trost edifices, is his primary legacy. Of the 38 commercial buildings Henry erected there, 27 are still standing, including the city’s most iconic and beautiful buildings. We hope that you will take the time to visit all of his wonderful masterpieces. This walking tour draws upon extensive research conducted by June-Marie and Lloyd C. Engelbrecht and by the El Paso County Historical Commision. For more information on the architecture of Trost & Trost, please visit www.henrytrost.org and www.texastrost.org.