Rio Grande Valley Bank Building

The Rio Grande Valley Bank Building, more commonly known as the Abdou Building, was designed by the iconic El Paso firm of Trost & Trost in a Romanesque Revival style. Completed in 1910, it represented part of a unique explosion of substantially large Trost buildings erected in a very short three year period. These included the Abdou, Caples, Stevens, Roberts-Banner, American National, Hotel Paso del Norte, Anson Mills, Posener (Little Caples), White House and Calishers — all completed between 1909 and 1912.

This building was commissioned by the Rio Grande Valley Bank, but approximately 8 months after completion was purchased by the Two Republics Life Insurance company. When Two Republics completed their new building at Texas & Stanton (The International Building, also Trost & Trost) in 1921, the building became property of the City National Bank. On May 21, 1925, after the failure of the bank, it was in turn purchased by Syrian born Salim Abdou (1875-1953), owner of the Abdou Produce and Cold Storage Company, for $150,000 as an investment property – generating the name that El Paso knows the building by today.

Old photographs courtesy of the El Paso Public Library; modern photography by Mark Stone.

— Mark Stone

Other Names: Two Republics Life Building; Abdou Building
Type: Commercial
Construction Date: Mar 1, 1910
Address: 109 N Mesa St, El Paso, TX 79901, USA
Condition: Restored