Texas Historic Preservation

Texas Preservation

• Granbury Opera House by Joan Upton Hall
  "Inside, period chandeliers and wall sconces light the auditorium. Exposed stone walls, original doors, molding, white-painted balcony rails, and authentic needlepoint seats evoke the 1886 atmosphere of the theatre’s birth..."
  "Its preservation “just in the nick of time” was perhaps what united the town."
  
• Austin's Moonlight Towers by Johnny Stucco
  Officially recognized as state archeological landmarks in 1970
  Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976
  "... In the entire United States, only Austin has surviving examples of this type of lighting system that was once popular in many U.S. cities during the late 1800s....." more
  
• Ritz Theatre in Wellington
• Hill County Courthouse Text & photos by Sam Fenstermacher
  The Hill County Courthouse was destroyed by fire on the night of January 1, 1993. The destruction was nearly complete. All that remained standing was the four limestone walls. The courthouse was a wooden frame structure and the clock tower and wooden truss supported interior collapsed onto the basement. The massive iron staircases survived, but I don't think much of anything else could be salvaged. It's a testament to the determination of the residents and elected officials of Hill County that they were able to rebuild their beloved courthouse during the rest of the decade of the 1990's. Today, the Hill County Courthouse is again perfect in nearly every detail. more
  
• Kyle: Growing with Thought by Veranda Mansard
  With all that's going wrong in the world of development - it's nice to know that something is going right.
  
• Ghost Signs in Texas by John Troesser
  Faded reminders of (usually) defunct products painted on the fronts and sides of buildings in small towns and large cities all across the country...
• Saving Sallie's Home by Bob Bowman
  The proud old house looked as if it might fall down. Turkey vultures perched on its roof like sinister messengers of doom.
• Outhouses by Bob Bowman
  The old-fashioned outhouse, which served thousands of rural East Texans before indoor bathrooms became affordable, has again become fashionable, but not as a working privy. It is showing up in historical displays, as art and in advertisements.
• Circuit Board Fragments on Pine Needles - February 2003
  Personal Observations on the Search for Columbia Debris By Gary McK
  Gary McKee's observations of the search in East Texas for debris from the Space Shuttle Columbia. It's the type of quality first-hand reporting that seldom gets into print.
  
• The Bathhouse that Wouldn't Die
  Reader's Comment : I enjoyed your piece on the Luling Bathhouse. I had no idea all that history was there. - Chandra Beal, author of "Splash Across Texas"
• Temple, Texas downtown linked façades
• Temple - Santa Fe Depot Railroad and Heritage Museum
• New Braunfels Faust Street Bridge c.1887 over the Guadalupe River.
• Honey Grove pocket park
• Restoring Two Old Reds by Bob Bowman
  "A couple of grand old ladies, both with identical nicknames, are getting facelifts on different ends of East Texas.........."
  
• Paper Cuts & County Lines - Adopt-A-Map
  
• A Bridge Too Near
  
• The Buda Taxi
  
• Preserved Building; Fresh Food - The Collin County Prison as Restaurant

• Fire on the Snyder Town Square - February 2003
  Photos by Charlene Beauchamp and Christopher Kelly
  Text from various reports
  The loss of a 1905 building on the Snyder, Texas courthouse square.

Preservation / Restoration Outside of Texas