Henry Trost of the El Paso firm Trost & Trost designed the Rosenwald Building, the massive three-story landmark in Downtown Albuquerque that went up in 1910 as the city's first reinforced concrete building. This was the city’s first reinforced concrete building, and its solid presence still reads in the weight of its façades and the restraint of its simple geometric ornamentation. A two‑story recessed entrance draws you in, hinting at the generous interior that once housed the Rosenwalds’ flagship department store — the entire 42,000‑square‑foot building originally occupied by Aron and Edward Rosenwald.
When it opened the Albuquerque Journal hailed it as “the handsomest, most up‑to‑date, and most complete department store in the southwest. In 1927 McLellan Stores moved into the ground floor and remained here for about 50 years. The building was recognized on both the New Mexico State Register of Cultural Properties and the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
It was renovated in 1981, when the upper floors were converted to office space, and the city purchased two floors in 2008. Picture that recessed entrance still framing the pulse of commerce that has animated this block for more than a century.