HOMES & DESERT LIVING
Local Legend
HENRY C. TROST WAS AN ARCHITECT FOR THE AGES ❚ BY SUSIE OUDERKIRK
If you’ve ever driven by the Las Cruces Country Club or had classes in either Goddard Hall or in the English building on New Mexico State University’s campus, then you’re familiar with the work of architect Henry C. Trost. Trost designed houses and buildings all over the nation, and has his literal and figurative fingerprint on nearly 200 sites across New Mexico. In Las Cruces specifically, Trost and Trost Architects designed more than two dozen houses and buildings. The TRH Smith House at the corner of Alameda and Picacho, which was once a bed and breakfast, is a familiar Trost design, as is the Frank O Brien Papen Community Center on Bell Avenue in Mesilla. Trost, a native of Ohio by way of Chicago, settled in El Paso in 1903, and his architecture can be seen all over the area. His brother, Adolphus, relocated to El Paso at the turn of the century as well, and the brothers
originated Trost and Trost Architects in 1904. The Trosts pioneered the use of reinforced concrete and most of their buildings carry Henry’s unique stamp: horizontal lines paired with soft curves, often framing grid-like panels of fanciful designs. Known for letting his work speak for him, Trost’s architectural styles include prairie, mission revival, pueblo revival, Chicago art deco and Bhutanese design, the latter of which can be prominently seen on the campus of University of Texas El Paso. Just over the last two decades, Henry and Adolphus Trost have been receiving notoriety in the form of articles, biographies and restoration projects for their considerable contributions to New Mexico. The depth of Henry’s influence is apparent in a snippet from his obituary from 1933: “His was a life of purpose and achievement, and he leaves the Southwest richer for his having lived and worked in it.” – El Paso Times, 1933.
The Holt House, built in 1908, is perhaps the most notable of the architect’s designs in Las Cruces. At the southwest corner of Alameda Blvd. and Picacho Ave., the house has had many incarnations but still retains the original unique style. It is currently the office of the Camunez Law Firm.
LAS CRU CE S BU LLETIN | L I FE I S GO O D I N L A S C RU C ES 2016 -2017 CO M M U NI T Y GU I D E
119