{"nrhp_refnum":"80004102","name":"Caples, Richard, Building","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"300 E. San Antonio Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"El Paso","county":"El Paso County","state":"TX","lat":31.758072999000035,"lon":-106.48659199999997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1980-09-24","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Commercial office and retail building at 300 E. San Antonio Avenue in El Paso, Texas, designed by Trost and Trost and completed in 1910, with two floors added in 1915-16.","why_significant":"When completed in 1910 it was the first reinforced concrete structure in downtown El Paso. It reflects architect Henry Trost's early experimentation with reinforced concrete, and the 1915-16 addition brought Romanesque decorative influence. It was claimed to be fireproof when built.","narrative":"Standing on a prominent corner lot at 300 E. San Antonio Avenue in El Paso, this office and retail building was designed by the firm Trost and Trost and completed in 1910. It was the first reinforced concrete structure in downtown El Paso, built with a frame of poured concrete posts and lintels reinforced with steel rods, infilled with tile blocks and faced with brick. Local newspapers described the new method in detail, and the building was claimed to be fireproof. Originally it had two office towers separated by a light well, rising from a single-story base. In 1915-16 two more floors were added, introducing Romanesque details such as arched windows springing from pilasters and foliated panels. The original cornice has been removed and the ground floor sheathed in modern materials. An early photograph shows a Woolworth store on the ground floor. Today the ground floor holds a retail business, while much of the upper space appears unused.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Trost and Trost","architectural_style":"Early 20th century commercial with Romanesque addition","criteria":[],"status_note":"Ground floor serves a retail establishment; much of the upper space appears to be unused. The ground floor has been sheathed in contemporary materials and the original cornice has been removed.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:19.617578-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/80/9688/40968880/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/80004102.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80004102/52a8779e3d-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80004102/52a8779e3d-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Rogelio Rivero Cagigas","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Caples_Building_ElPasoTx.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Rogelio Rivero Cagigas</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Caples_Building_ElPasoTx.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"97000885","name":"El Paso County Water Improvement District No. 1","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/texas/el-paso-county-water-improvement-district-no-1-97000885/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40968880","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Caples_Building","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q65103901"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/el-paso-county/caples-richard-building-80004102/"}