Aboumrad Bank: Lebanese, Art Deco and credit institutions in the 1930s
Banking architecture is a little-talked about genre. However, in the 1930s, it was a notorious field of experimentation. Its constructions had to express the prosperity, stability and even a certain luxury that legitimized and supported the owners of the institution: a modern building with state-of-the-art technology would give greater confidence to users and shareholders. This is the case we will review below.
Abdelnour Aboumrad and Juana Hajjar arrived in The City of Boston, Massachussets, from Lebanon, in the early 20th century. There his three sons were born: Alfredo, Joseph, and Amín Aboumrad Hajjar. Alfredo in 1904, Joseph in 1908, of Amin we do not know the date. Actually, little is known about the life and history of this family. The only thing that is certain is that they became one of the most prestigious among Lebanese immigrants in Mexico and even today they retain their privileged position as entrepreneurs related even to the Slim family.
Having been in Massachusetts, the Aboumrad moved to New York City where they settled for a few years before traveling to Mexico City. The time they were in that city was significant because the Aboumrad brothers studied their respective university careers there and together with other Lebanese immigrants, they formed a solid support group that would last even when the Aboumrad no longer they lived in the neighboring country of the north.
We don't know what motivated the family to leave New York. We assume it was because the immigration laws in the United States began to tighten and many Lebanese had to leave that country. Although they enjoyed a good position in New York, they may no longer have the same capacity for action as in previous years and preferred to try their fortune in the Mexican capital. Nor do we have the specific date when they were established in our country. From the few data found, we can infer that the whirlwind of the Revolution was passed during the 1920s.
What we do know is that by the 1930s, the older brothers already had a reputation in Mexico of being experts in finance and economics, as well as Alfredo running a bank in the capital: Banco Aboumrad. They were also already listed as relevant members of the Lebanese community in Mexico, so they founded in 1937 the Lebanese League of Mexico together with other notable migrants such as Miguel Abed, Elías Henaine, Julián Slim and Domingo. Kuri. Eventually the league would change its name to the Lebanese Union of Mexico.
It was also in this decade that Mexico began a transformation in banking institutions, which began with the law of 1932. It removed powers from the Bank of Mexico and reinstated them to the national banks that began a phase of expansion. Already with Lázaro Cardenas as president, the number of national credit institutions with the State as the main shareholder and emerged others such as Nacional Financiera, Banco Nacional de Crédito Ejidal, Banco Obrero de Fomento Industrial, etc., including several private equity banks such as the Trade Bank (Bancomer) or Aboumrad Bank.
Given these conditions, it is not surprising that by 1938 the Aboumrad were prosperous enough to build what was one of the most important banks in Mexico City during this time. Designed and built by architect Emilio Méndez Llinas, who for this time shared an office with architect Vicente Mendiola, the Aboumrad bank was one of The Art Deco's signature buildings in the Mexican capital. Located in Isabel la Católica 33, and although it still stands, today there is little left of that shining building, except its characteristic circular door with gridded metal doors.
Few would believe that the finest and most expensive materials were used inside and housed one of the most modern and safe vaults of the moment manufactured by the New York Safe and Lock Company. This vault formed a substantial part of the building and was the center of reaction of the foundation because its great weight could produce considerable imbalances in the whole. The bank itself consisted of a large hall for the public, several private spaces for management and accountants, cashiers, document review area, security vault, file department and boardroom.
The rest of the building consisted of large offices that gave towards the facade for companies and companies of importance, some interior double spaces that could adapt to the needs of those who occupy them, and some smaller offices for small Negotiations. Italian marbles, granite, oak floors, Venetian blinds, artistic blacksmithing in windows and entrance boxes, circular French binoculars in skylights. Added to this were technological advances, in elevators, alarm bells, electrical calculation machines, in addition to the safety of the vault elements that contrast with the "great mass of found[…]ations of the colonial era" that were used to elaborate those of concrete weaponship of the new building.
The most eye-catching detail of the facade was the art deco letters that advertised the name of the bank, which currently do not exist anymore. We know that for this time, the constructions of the architect Méndez Llinas were essentially Art Deco style, as noted in the case of the so-called parish "Votiva" located on the promenade of the Reforma corner Genoa and which he built together with Mendiola during this same Time. Unlike the temple, in which the construction was to reflect sobriety and restraint—so the Deco design is only noted in some details of the work—in the case of the bank it was quite the opposite: prosperity, stability and even some luxury should be expressed that legitimized and supported the owners of the banking institution. A modern, state-of-the-art building would give users and shareholders greater confidence.
Unfortunately, as has happened on other occasions, there is little left of what this dazzling building was today. The Aboumrad bank would cease to be one of the most important with the arrival of new institutions, but the family would remain dedicated to finance and other business to this day. It appears that some branches within the republic would remain, but they were also expropriated under the 1982 nationalization decree. In short, both the history of this bank, and that of the family that created and managed it, are waiting to be told.
by Paulina Martínez Figueroa