Temple Commercial District

Temple Commercial District

Temple Commercial District Photograph by Gerald Moorhead
Photo 2 of Temple Commercial District Photo 3 of Temple Commercial District
Early to mid-20th century. Bounded by French Ave., 3rd and 6th sts., and Ave. D

The linear commercial district stretches across several city blocks. It incorporates some of the city's best early-twentieth-century architecture, though some of the buildings are heavily modified. The Temple City Hall (1928, Milton W. Scott) at 2 N. Main Street and the ten-story First National Bank Building (1953, Wyatt C. Hedrick) at 83 S. Main Street are two of the finest buildings representing different phases of architectural development. At S. 4th Street and E. Central Avenue, the Doering Hotel (1928, Anton Korn), also known as the Hawn Hotel, is a nine-story, three-part scheme with a limestone base, buff brick body, and an arcaded top story above a corbeled cornice of small Lombard arches. At 116 E. Central Avenue, the Arcadia Theater (1928, W. B Palmer) was built for live performances and silent movies by the architect of the Dent Theater chain. The Santa Fe Depot (1911, Jarvis Hunt) at 315 W. Avenue B has only a shadow of the Mission Revival style favored for other Texas depots of the time. The low hipped roof and horizontal emphasis also hint at a Prairie School influence.

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