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Patrick Riley
Roswell Architectural History
Hopefully, this doesn’t bore too many of you. I thought I’d share a little architectural history about the J.P. White Building on the northwest corner of 3rd and Main (entrance on 3rd Street). For a number of years, my mother worked on the fourth floor of this building for the J.P. White Company. In high school, I worked right across 3rd Street at the (then) First National Bank.
1912 Construction:
The J.P. White Building was originally called the Allison Building. Initially a two-story building, it was designed by the somewhat renowned El Paso architectural firm of Trost & Trost. It was built for the Rev. S.E. Allison by the W.E. Mix Construction Company and completed in 1912 at a cost of $65,000. That original two-story building is pictured below (check out the overhead street/traffic light). It appears the streets were not then paved and garden fertilizer was free to anyone wishing to collect it.
1928 Remodel:
In 1928, the J.P. White Building (still called the Allison Building) was extensively remodeled by adding two additional floors and a roof garden. The design was again handled by Trost & Trost, with the Ramey Brothers Contractors doing the construction work at the cost of $100,000, making the then total building cost-to-date $165,000. That remodeled four-story building is pictured below (note that the traffic light has been updated).
Subsequent Facelifts:
Renamed the J.P. White Building in the early 1930s, the building has undergone several facade changes. A contemporary view is pictured below (traffic lights updated again).
Bonus Rear View:
Circa mid-1930s, see the rear of the J.P. White building towering over a, perhaps (?), 4th of July bike and wagon parade.
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