The Woman's Club Building, located at 1400 N. Mesa just north of El Paso's downtown area, sits as a testament to the genius of one of El Paso's premier architects, Otto H. Thorman. Erected in 1916, the contractor was Ponsford & Sons Construction and it was the first clubhouse built specifically for women in the State of Texas, according to the Woman's Club of El Paso website.
The Woman's Club of El Paso was formed in 1894 as the Current Topics Club, and met in an adobe hut on San Francisco Street. In 1899, with 34 members, they began to charge $2.00 for annual memberships and changed their name to their current moniker. They were affiliated with the General Federation of Woman's Clubs, and claim responsibility for starting the El Paso Public Library through member Mary I. Stanton, propagating strongly for the erection of the 1903 Carnegie Library building. In the years preceding the erection of their own building on Mesa, they met in the home of the late Miss Thirza L. Westcott, which had been donated to them. Proceeds from the sale of this property was a large part of the financing raised to build the Thorman structure. Additionally, a large number of area businesses and businesspeople donated large sums of money. The northeast corner of River and Mesa was purchased for $8500, and work began on the building in 1915.
The Woman's Club of El Paso Clubhouse, a masonry structure, is designed in an eclectic mix of Georgian and Beau Arts styles, according to the National Park Service Gallery. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, not only for its architecture, but also its social history. It has been in constant use by the organization, and is excellently maintained at its ripe old age of 104 years.
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Text and research provided to Sketchclub.net by Mark Stone, citing:
-- The Woman's Club of El Paso website (http://wcoep.org/)
-- Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woman%27s_Club_of_El_Paso)
-- The Woman's Club of El Paso Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/WCOEP/)
-- The National Park Service NPGallery Asset Detail (https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/79002935)
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| Photograph taken by Mark Stone 03/20/2021 |
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| Photograph taken by Mark Stone 03/20/2021 |
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| Photo courtesy of the El Paso Public Library, via the UNT Digital Archives |
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| Photograph taken by Mark Stone 03/20/2021 |
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| Photograph taken by Mark Stone 03/20/2021 |
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| Photograph taken by Mark Stone 03/20/2021 |
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| Photograph taken by Mark Stone 03/20/2021 |
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| Photograph taken by Mark Stone 03/20/2021 |
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| Photograph taken by Mark Stone 03/20/2021 |
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| Photograph taken by Mark Stone 03/20/2021 |
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| Photograph taken by Mark Stone 03/20/2021 |
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| Photograph taken by Mark Stone 03/20/2021 |
