El Paso National Gas Co.
("Blue Flame") Building
El Paso, El Paso County
Listed February 13, 2018
Designed by the El Paso firm Carroll and Daeuble in 1952 and completed in 1954, the El Paso National Gas Co. Building is today known as the “Blue Flame” building for the iconic 21-foot-tall illuminated sculpture on its roof. The building was the first postwar high-rise completed in El Paso’s central business district, and stands as a locally-significant postwar interpretation of International Style architectural design. The skyscraper served as the headquarters of a prominent energy company that provided natural gas to customers through the southwest. The building was listed under Criterion C, in the area of Architecture, at the local level of significance as an outstanding example of postwar modern architecture in El Paso, and under Criterion A in the area of Commerce for its role as the headquarters of the El Paso Natural Gas Company, which has withstood regulatory and economic changes since its establishment in 1928 to become one of the largest natural gas-transmission companies in the United States.
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