Trost’s Spanish Revival Design
in Big Bend Hotels
HENRY TROST (1860-1933)
T
he Big Bend is blessed with
more than awe inspiring natural
beauty. e area boasts several
homes and buildings designed by
renowned and prolific architect Henry
Trost, whose main work occurred from
1899 to 1933. His firm, established with
his brother in El Paso in 1903, designed
over 500 buildings throughout the
Southwest, many strong representations of
the Spanish Colonial Revival style of
architecture.
Trost & Trost designed the four historic
Big Bend area hotels we feature here. ey
all demonstrate Trost’s utilization of the
Spanish Revival style in his designs. Each
of these hotels has been beautifully
preserved by their owners and are in active
use today.
Design characteristics of the Spanish
Colonial Revival style include arches,
courtyards, plain wall surfaces, exterior
ornamentation, wrought iron work and tile
roofs, colorful interior tile and decorative
exposed ceiling beams.
e Mediterranean world, Southwest
adobe structures, late Morrish architecture,
medieval Spanish and Italian churches and
Italian Renaissance revival elements
inspired this style. It originated from the
Mission Revival style, which was displayed
most clearly and began to influence
architecture with the California Building
at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago
in 1893.
Trost was living in Chicago at this time
and was certainly influenced by this
building. e Mission Revival style was
further refined into the Spanish Colonial
Revival style and first clearly displayed with
buildings built for the Panama-California
Exposition held in San Diego in 1915 in
today’s Balboa Park.
It’s use in building design was most
prominent in the arid Southwest from
1915-1931 and used primarily in
residential and small commercial
construction from California (Santa
Barbara being a prime example) and into
Texas and Florida.
Trost, having moved to Tucson in 1899
(prior to his move to El Paso) was
introduced to and influenced by existing
Spanish architecture. He wrote, “With
accurate instinct the old Spanish builders
adapted their structures to the
requirements of environment. e object,
therefore, is to build so as to cut off the
intense heat of the sun in the summer, to
retain the artificial warmth of the house in
the winter, and to create a green flowery
oasis for man’s pleasure and comfort. is
threefold end was attained by the Spaniards
with their thick walls, patios, deep porches,
and large, high-ceiled rooms.” is view
would carry forward into many of his later
designs and into the very mission of his El
Paso firm.
THE HOTEL PAISANO • MARFA
Trost made his first study for a hotel in
Marfa in 1919. is early design was a
Mission Revival style that was modified to
Spanish Revival by the time the hotel was
built in 1930. It features the typical
elements of red tile roof parapets, ironwork
balconies,
exterior
ornamentation,
extensive interior tile, wood beams and a
courtyard.
e 35,000 square foot building was
developed by Charles Bassett and
constructed by McKee Construction, both
of El Paso, as part of a chain of hotels
Bassett built. Constructed in eight months
with 65 rooms all with private baths, it was
known as the most elegant hotel between
San Antonio and El Paso.
In 1955, motion pictures came to Marfa
12 BIG BEND GALLERIES AND ARTISTS / 2020
as the Paisano was headquarters for Warner
Brothers and the filming of the movie
Giant, starring James Dean, Rock Hudson
and Elizabeth Taylor. Learn more at
HotelPaisano.com
HOTEL EL CAPITAN • VAN HORN
e El Capitan was also constructed in
1930 by Bassett and built by McKee
Construction. e design is very similar to
the Hotel Paisano, although smaller at
26,000 square feet and 52 rooms.
e El Capitan exterior design and
lobby finish follows the same Spanish
Colonial Revival emphasis with an exterior
courtyard, cast concrete ornamentation,
wrought ironwork, tile work, exposed
ceiling beams and high ceilings.
Today the current owner, who also owns
the Paisano, has restored both hotels,
making them destinations again.
Learn more at HotelinVanHorn.com
THE GAGE HOTEL • MARATHON
e Gage was constructed in 1927 as a
hotel and ranch headquarters office by
Alfred Gage, a prominent Trans- Pecos
rancher. It was built by H.T. Ponsford of El
Paso. is building contains many Spanish
Colonial design influences but represents
Trost’s embrace of alternatives to that style
and his design flexibility. It is a simpler
building than the other hotels mentioned
here but its purpose was different serving
the needs of its owner – office and home
away from home.
Incorporating some Mission elements -
particularly on the interior - exterior
ornamentation is less pronounced than on
other Trost designs. e current owner has
restored and expanded the hotel adding 20
rooms in a separate building to the 16 in
the main original building creating a true
destination hotel with a fine adjacent
restaurant. Learn more at GageHotel.com
THE HOLLAND HOTEL • ALPINE
e original Holland Hotel was built in
1908 by John Holland, noted area rancher,
who saw the need for a “respectable” hotel
in Alpine. Upon his death in 1922, his son
Clay assumed management and in 1927
invested $250,000 hiring Trost & Trost and
Ponsford to remodel, adding a three-story
addition to the older hotel. is resulted in
a hotel of 70 rooms with all the
conveniences of the day. e exterior was
designed by Trost to match the existing
adjacent structure and includes cast
concrete ornamentation. e interior
features all the Spanish Revival elements
embossed wood beams, arches and tile
floors - indicative of the style.
e Holland Hotel quickly became one
of the most prominent gathering places for
travelers and community members.
Holland sold the hotel in 1946 and by
1969 aer several subsequent owners the
hotel closed. In 1972, the property was
purchased and extensive renovation began
with the new owner restoring the beautiful
Spanish Revival elements. Current
ownership is maintaining this interior and
has added an upscale restaurant - the
Century Grill – incorporating creative
custom finish keeping with the hotel
interior and displaying art from the
Museum of the Big Bend. Learn more at
eHollandHotelTexas.com
ank you to Margaret Smith, greatniece
of Henry Trost and Melleta Bell, Senior
Archivist at Archives of the Big Bend for
assistance with this article. Further
information on Trost can be found in the
1981 book Henry Trost: Architect of the
Southwest by Engelbrecht.