Association for Preservation Technology International: Texas Chapter APT TX - Internship Program - Spring 2021 Materials Conservation - Abdou Building - Concrete Evelyn Campos-Texas Tech University College of Architecture The Abdou Building 115 N Mesa St, El Paso, TX 79901 Name: Abdou Building Address: 115 North Mesa Street Owner: Sam N Abdou, Jr I l l Architect: Trost and Trost Date: 1909, ca 1910 Original Use: Bank; Commercial/Retail Present Use: Residential and Commercial/Retail Style: Concrete Classical Revival Building Contractors: Sorenson & Morgan Dimensions and Orientation: seven stories; irregular quadrilateral plan with no parallel sides; 86 feet on Mesa x 47 l/2 feet on Texas Avenue; entry on Texas (North) Architectural Style: Early 20th century skyscraper with modernistic detailing Budget/Cost: Architectural Style: 20th Century Skyscraper Foundation: concrete Wall Materials: exposed reinforced concrete Roofing Materials: composition Other Materials Used: specifications call for lobby walls to be marble faced with plaster ornament and bronze plated grilles Remodeling and Additions: two additional two-story bays on Texas, ca 1911 by Trost & Trost Remodeling by American Bank in 1926 Architect Wuehrmann Present Owner: Urban Lion LLC (2016) The building was purchased by El Paso businessman Sam Abdou in 1925 for $150,000, and has since been known primarily by his name, The Abdou Building The Abdou Building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 The exterior was in poor condition, especially on the west side, where chunks of concrete had detached and fallen All the window treatments were seriously in need of maintenance, and the concrete surfaces needed to be resealed and painted The Abdou Building, located at the southwest corner of Texas Avenue and North Mesa Street, is one of Henry C Trost’s most innovative creations Originally called the Rio Grande Valley Bank and Trust Building, it was one of the several major banks to erect a skyscraper in the heart of downtown during the Mexican Revolution The building was Trost’s second major essay in reinforced concrete The first was the nearby Richard Caples building, which was begun in April 1909 The contractors Sorenson & Morgan started work on the new bank only three months later in July For a time, the two concrete buildings were under construction simultaneously The five-story Caples was completed in November of that year Although the bank was not finished until March 1910, it stood two stories higher, and for a brief time was the tallest structure in the city—that is, until the completion of Trost’s Anson mills building in 1911 This is one of the first Trost buildings that adopted the basic design that had been established by Louis Sullivan in Chicago It consists of a tall arcaded base, a narrow shaft with Chicago-style three-part windows, and a prominent cornice In the case of the Caples Building, Trost concealed the concrete structure beneath a layer of elegant brickwork; but here, the architect proudly put the concrete medium on display All the ornament above the arcade was also executed in concrete, including the frieze above the sixth story and the outer face of the cornice This blunt expression of the underlying structure was revolutionary at the time; and the same modernist concept would soon be employed in the Roberts-Banner Building and the Anson Mills Building, which were erected in rapid succession Originally built to house any number of different-sized offices on its upper floors, with retail on the ground level The concrete aspect is more historically important than might be imagined The building was completed before there was even a city code, which means they were testing ideas and technology that were not even yet codified Concrete Repair Work: The work should be performed in the interior and exterior concrete elements of the Historic Abdou Building Measurements: Before proceeding with each task item, contractor shall LOCATE, MARK, and MEASURE quantity of each item and report quantities to engineer/architect Surface preparation for patching Concrete Section Repair: Exposed steel shall be epoxy coated with an approved epoxy Repair cavities for repair placement as specified in section Crack Repair: Work consists of furnishing all labor, materials, equipment, supervision, and incidentals necessary to locate, prepare, rout and seal random cracks in concrete floor slab Cracks greater than 1/8” shall repair epoxy repairs Existing Conditions Root Architect contributed to the restoration of the Abdou Building and has provided me with drawings and proof of the existing conditions before its renovation https://trostsociety.org/buildings/abdou-building/ Root Architects https://trostsociety.org/blog/the-future-of-trost-trosts-abdou-building/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpaA5u6ajBk Image is from the Ponsford Collection at the El Paso Public Library, marked #126, and was accessed at the University of North Texas (Denton) digital repository at https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth613669/ ... renovation https://trostsociety.org/buildings/abdou-building/ Root Architects https://trostsociety.org/blog/the-future-of-trost-trosts-abdou-building/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpaA5u6ajBk... soon be employed in the Roberts-Banner Building and the Anson Mills Building, which were erected in rapid succession Originally built to house any number of different-sized offices on its upper... Louis Sullivan in Chicago It consists of a tall arcaded base, a narrow shaft with Chicago-style three-part windows, and a prominent cornice In the case of the Caples Building, Trost concealed