National Register Listing

Seguin Commercial Historic District

Roughly bounded by Camp, Myrtle, Washington, and Crockett Sts., Seguin, TX

The Seguin Commercial Historic District is a notable example of a turn-of-the-century business district in a small Texas city. The high concentration of later Victorian architecture and the relative lack of new construction and major exterior changes give the district its early 20th-century appearance. Seguin is also notable for the early and extensive use of concrete as a building material, and some of these 19th-century buildings survive in the district. Long the commercial center of Guadalupe County, downtown Seguin has housed some of the same family firms for over 100 years. Since Seguin was selected as one of five Texas cities to participate in the Main Street Program, revitalization of the downtown area has already begun.

Founded in 1838 as Walnut Springs, Seguin has been the commercial and governmental center of Guadalupe County almost since its inception. Named the seat of the newly-formed county in March 1846, Seguin received a post office in May of that same year. In 1848 a courthouse was built. Early commercial ventures included sawmills (several by the mid-1950s) and a hotel as early as 1840 (Magnolia Hotel). Although early records are scanty, Seguin was apparently considered an attractive place in which to live; the population grew steadily, and commercial activity along a similar pattern.

The first boom in commercial construction occurred in the late 1840s and 1850s. This period is especially significant for its widespread use of cast concrete as a building material. Perhaps as many as 100 buildings of all kinds were built of concrete in the period before the Civil War, earning Seguin the name "Concrete City." Surviving concrete or partially concrete buildings in the district include the Magnolia Hotel, begun c. 1846; and 111 S. River St. Additional buildings are thought to have concrete elements.

Growth essentially ceased during the Civil War and Reconstruction, although the town had filled most of the original platted area. Prosperity returned with the arrival of the railroad in 1877; immigration increased as a result of the new transportation link. The population of the county increased from 7,283 in 1870, to 12,202 in 1880. Perhaps half of the county population lived in Seguin. Increased market opportunities led to a second building boom in the 1880s and '90s. No public and commercial buildings replaced older ones, and numerous large private homes were built. A fire in 1878 in the business district also contributed to a need for new construction. Practically all construction in this post-Civil War era was of brick. The Deitz brickyard, the first in town, started production in the early or middle 1880s, followed shortly by the Sonka and Blumberg yards.

Apparently designed by contractors or perhaps taken from pattern books, the new two- and three-story commercial buildings were centered along Austin Street, the route of the first streetcar line, and around the two public squares. In 1886, what Seguin historian Laurance Fitzsimmons called the first large, modern, business house was constructed (Baker/ Terrell Building); the same year prominent attorney and future governor John Ireland remodeled the concrete Campbell Building, with Deitz brick. Other important buildings from this period include the 1888-89 LaGette Buildings, and 70; the Weinert and Burges Pharmacy, c. 1880; the first section of the Grand Central Hotel, c. 1890; the C.E. Tips Building, 1890; the Theodore. Koch Saddlery, 1886. High-style architecture is represented by the Richardsonian Romanesque Nolte National Bank. The sorts of firms that built new buildings during this period (hardware, drugs, drygoods, banking) reflect Seguin's role as a supply center for the surrounding area, a role it continues to fill to some extent today. In some cases, the same families carry on original or similar businesses.

Active commercial construction continued into the late 1920s. Styles changed to reflect the early 20th-century Commercial Style, and professional architects drawn from San Antonio were often employed. The use of brick and the basic scale of the area remained the same, although more one-story buildings were constructed than large buildings. A fire in 1907 damaged and necessitated the replacement of the damaged buildings in the 100 block of E. Court Street. Important structures constructed in the first decades of this century include the Nolte/Starcke Furniture Co., designed by the prominent San Antonio architect Atlee Ayres in 1915; the Park/Plaza Hotel, and the Aumont Hotel. They are the tallest buildings in Seguin at four and five stories, respectively. After about 1918, construction was generally limited to one-story structures.

During the Great Depression, construction stopped except for the WPA-built Seguin Municipal Building; Guadalupe County Courthouse; and the Park Square Fountain, all dating from 1935. A few minor buildings were constructed in the 1940s and 50s, but except for the 1956 Seguin State Bank, little new construction has taken place in the past three decades. Seguin's commercial district is remarkably stable. Businesses such as Starcke Furniture and the Nolte National Bank have existed at the same location for 80 to 100 years. Since Seguin's selection as a Main Street Program city, substantial rehabilitation has taken place. All in all, the district is essentially unchanged; the incidence of unsympathetic alterations is moderate, and changes could be reversed. Seguín is still the largest town in Guadalupe County, as well as its commercial and governmental
center.

Local significance of the district:
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1983.