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Fellow El Pasoans,
Fabens High School, designed by Henry C. Trost in 1925, burned overnight and its remains will be demolished tomorrow.
Until recently there were 9 Trost-designed buildings in El Paso County but outside the city limits, but then the First National Bank in Fabens was demolished for an auto parts store in 2016, and now Fabens High School has burned.
There are only 7 Trost buildings left in El Paso County outside the city limits, only one of which is in Fabens. Yup, Fabens had three Trost masterpieces only 8 years ago and now there is only one: the First Baptist Church (1928).
Fabens could have been promoted as a place to visit three architectural masterpieces, but through sheer stupidity and neglect that opportunity has been squandered.
I wrote to the County in 2016 to ask that measures be taken to safeguard the Trost buildings in the outlying areas of our community, but not a thing was done. That was when I served as Vice-Chair of the County Historical Commission, whose job is to advise the Commissioners Court and County staff on issues pertaining to our architectural patrimony.
I know for a fact that Commissioner Iliana Holguin of Precinct 3 recently contacted Fabens ISD to discuss the fate of Fabens High School, but to no avail. She proposed the possibility of the County acquiring and restoring the building at a meeting of the Board of Trustees on March 22, 2023 but never heard back.
FAILURE AND INCOMPETENCE OF FABENS ISD
The Fabens ISD Board of Trustees and Superintendent utterly failed to protect their most valuable cultural asset and thus failed their constituents.
The building had no functioning sprinkler system. There was no video surveillance. There was no effective barrier against forced entry. But you can bet there was plenty of money in the budget for administrative salaries!
Make no mistake about it. The ISD Board and Super are 100% responsible for this loss and, in my humble opinion, all 8 of them should resign their positions, effective immediately.
Max Grossman, PhD
Architectural Historian
PHOTO CREDIT: KVIA ABC-7
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