Singer Sewing Company
Why it's listed
Singer Sewing Company occupies a two-story, rectangular building at 211 Texas Avenue in downtown El Paso, finished in January 1928. Poured concrete with a plaster finish forms the structure, which shares a wall with a neighboring department store and opens onto an alley at the rear. Its simplified Spanish Colonial Revival design concentrates decoration on the Texas Avenue front. The storefront has two bays of different sizes, one resembling a tower under a red-tiled pyramidal roof. A broad segmental arch, balconies, grillwork and irregular quoins of scored concrete carry the style, and the company crest is set into the upper level. The lot cost $65,000 and the building $35,000, with another $5,000 spent on interior furnishings chosen to match the theme. The ground floor was built for display and sales, while the second floor housed a sewing school and a trade department supplying multi-needle machines. The building was valued as an architectural contribution to downtown and for the company's long local presence, dating to 1888.
Significance in brief: The nomination presents the building as a handsome example of the Spanish Colonial Revival style that adds to downtown El Paso's architectural character. It also notes that Singer has served El Paso since 1888 and has occupied this building continuously since 1928.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 80004113, listed September 24, 1980. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 211 Texas Ave., El Paso |
|---|---|
| County | El Paso County |
| Listed | September 24, 1980 |
| Reference number | 80004113 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architectural style | Spanish Colonial Revival |
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Occupied continuously by the Singer company since its completion in January 1928, according to the nomination. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Within district | El Paso County Water Improvement District No. 1 |
| Coordinates | 31.75934, -106.48631 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For an income-producing building, listing (individually or as a contributing building in a district) is the gateway to the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit on qualified rehabilitation costs, often stackable with state credits. Work claiming the credit must follow the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and be approved in advance.
Listing does not restrict a private owner acting without federal money or permits; where federal funding or licensing is involved, Section 106 review applies.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 80004113.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q65121309
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.