{"nrhp_refnum":"84001655","name":"Martin Building","other_names":["El Paso Electric Company Building"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"215 N. Stanton St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"El Paso","county":"El Paso County","state":"TX","lat":31.759850508000056,"lon":-106.48701251499995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1984-08-08","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A seven-story reinforced concrete office building clad in terra-cotta at 215 North Stanton Street, on the corner of Stanton Street and Mills Avenue in downtown El Paso, Texas. It was built in 1916-1917 and designed by Brauhton & Leibert, with Jack Mulligan as contractor.","why_significant":"The nomination presents the building as a notable example of the Chicago Style as interpreted in the southwestern United States, especially in its decorative terra-cotta panels and frieze. It is described as one of the most ornamented and intact early 20th-century structures in El Paso. It also reflects the city's rapid growth during the Mexican Revolution and World War I era.","narrative":"Rising seven stories at the corner of Stanton Street and Mills Avenue in downtown El Paso, the Martin Building is a reinforced concrete office block faced in terra-cotta. Built in 1916-1917 for M.D. Roberts and William Martin Banner at a cost of $175,000, it was designed by Brauhton & Leibert and built by contractor Jack Mulligan. Its design follows the Chicago Commercial Style, with large window openings framed by columns and spandrels, ornamented cornices, and a balustrade of columns topped with domed finials. The El Paso Electric Railway Company first rented the ground floor, and its successor bought the whole building in 1943. Construction was delayed by poor business conditions and then reflected the city's growth between 1915 and 1925. Later changes removed much of the street-level terra-cotta and altered the interiors, but a recent rehabilitation restored the ground-floor storefronts and arched entry. The building is valued for its richly detailed, largely intact terra-cotta exterior.","period_of_significance":"1916-1917","architect_builder":"Brauhton & Leibert, Architects; Jack Mulligan, Contractor","architectural_style":"Chicago Commercial Style","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Occupied. The upper floors have been converted to modern office space, and a recent rehabilitation restored the exterior and parts of the ground-floor interior.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:21.125967-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/57/9718/40971857/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/84001655.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84001655/3e266b5686-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84001655/3e266b5686-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Susan Barnum","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Martin_Building_El_Paso.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Susan Barnum</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Martin_Building_El_Paso.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/40971857","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Building_(El_Paso,_Texas)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q65120946"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/el-paso-county/martin-building-84001655/"}