Here is a delightful 1916 Trost designed building, occupied and full of activity. On the first floor, surrounding a fascinating curio/gift shop, are locals discussing the weather, sports and the stranger taking pictures of the building. It's nice to see an old Trost building full of life, even though older in appearance - a central social gathering point for some.
This is a two-story yellow brick building with the first floor dedicated to retail, and the second floor still the home to the Willcox Lodge #10 F.& A.M. The Masons meet the second Thursday of the month at 7pm, and were chartered on the 11th of November, 1891.
Very, very strong historical consensus is that this building was designed by Arizona architect J.F. McClure, including usually accurate historian Steve Minor and the Masonic Lodge itself. In a history of the Masonic Lodge #10 prepared and published by the Arizona Range News on 11/7/2016, Lodge historian Mick Easthouse also states that McClure designed the building. However, primary documentation shows that the plans were indeed drawn by Trost & Trost, and that McClure was the contractor, not the architect. This is documented in the Texas Trade Review and Industrial Record (Dallas, volumes 22-23) from January 15, 1917 (via Google Books), reproduced below. Additionally, the El Paso Public Library is in possession of a copy of the original Trost drawings, dated 10/12/1916, in their Ponsford collection, Ponsford 616. (Note: The building is in the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Willcox Multiple Resource Area listing, however no architect is named.)
The Trost Society shot some new pictures of the building on 10/22/2020. It's not one of the seven wonders of the world, but the little building sure is lively and carries a lot of history on its back.
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| Photograph taken by Mark Stone 10/22/2020 |
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| Otherwise uncredited newspaper clipping from the Trost Society Facebook page |
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| Photograph taken by Mark Stone 10/22/2020 |
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| Texas Trade Review and Industrial Record (Dallas, volumes 22-23) from January 15, 1917 (via Google Books) |
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| Photograph taken by Mark Stone 10/22/2020 |
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| Photograph taken by Mark Stone 10/22/2020 |
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| Photograph taken by Mark Stone 10/22/2020 |
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| Photograph taken by Mark Stone 10/22/2020 |
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| Photograph taken by Mark Stone 10/22/2020 |
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| Photograph taken by Mark Stone 10/22/2020 |
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| Photograph taken by Mark Stone 10/22/2020 |
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| Photograph taken by Mark Stone 10/22/2020 |
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| Photograph taken by Mark Stone 10/22/2020 |
