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South Side Of Courthouse Square, Lockhart, Texas

A view of the south side of Lockhart's courthouse square. Shown here is the 100 block of E. Market St. as seen from S. Main St. The buildings shown in this view are contributing properties in the Caldwell County Courthouse Square Historic District listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

 

On the corner at 100 E. Market St. is the E. L. Bowden Building, built in 1889 for a hardware business. The facade has been much altered with plaster, however, the two-story commercial building still retains its original ornamental awning hooks across the front and down its entire west side.

 

Next door at 102 E. Market St. is the former First National Bank of Lockhart Building. Constructed in 1888, this two-story, three-bay stuccoed building has two one-story Doric columns sup- porting the central bay, while flanking pilasters terminate the sides. The original openings have been replaced, but the decorative molding over the first floor is still evident. The second floor contains a wide central window, flanked by narrower windows. An applied cornice with large double brackets and a triangular parapet crown the building.

 

The third building from the corner is the Flowers and Storey Building at 104-106 E. Market. Constructed in 1902, this building originally housed a barber shop and druggist's office.

 

The two-story, originally redbrick building is distinguished by the recessed entrance sheltered by an arcade of three round arches supported by two central Corinthian columns. The three-bay building is divided by brick pilasters on the second floor. Two round arched windows form the central bay, while flat arched windows form the end bays. These windows have been replaced with aluminum windows. The building is crowned by decorative corbelling and a parapet over the central bay.

 

When the building was built an agreement was made with the bank to the west to build and maintain a common stairway to each building's second floor. The first floor entrance has recently been bricked over, but the narrow round arched window on the second floor is still evident.

 

There are five other buildings in this block, but our view of them is obscured by a tree and light pole. The five buildings were all constructed between 1889 and 1910, and originally housed businesses including two saloons, a confectionery, barber shop, and storehouse.

 

Lockhart, a community of 14,811 at the 2020 census, is the seat of Caldwell County and is located just 30 miles south of the state capital in downtown Austin. Lockhart's square and downtown is filled with late 19th and early 20th century buildings, nearly all contributing properties to the historic district. The city's turn-of-the-century appearance has attracted the attention of film makers. Over 50 films for the theater and TV have been shot in whole or in part in Lockhart, including the 1996 Christopher Guest comedy film Waiting for Guffman and the 1993 drama What's Eating Gilbert Grape.

 

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Uploaded on January 8, 2022
Taken on November 23, 2021