The Montgomery Building was built as the American El Paso, as opposed to a Mexican El Paso, underwent a great transformation from a dusty adobe village to a thriving city following the arrival of the railroad on May 13, 1881. The Southern Pacific Railroad had just arrived in El Paso and two other railroads were approaching the outskirts of the county. A great commercial building boom followed as lumber and brick structures, some two stories high, began replacing adobe ones. El Paso Street became a bustling center of commerce running from San Jacinto Plaza on San Francisco Street to the ferry landing at the Rio Grande.