Manuel Hardware Building
Lampasas, Lampasas County, Texas
Marker Inscription
This 1884 Building was constructed on property owned by John R. Guynes, and the First National Bank was one of the first tenants. Partners Barnes and Higdon occupied the building during the 1890’s, and W.F. Barnes purchased the building from Guynes’ estate in 1899. J. N. Manuel purchased the building in 1900, and it housed the Manuel Hardware Co. for the next 60 years. The two-story Italianate Style commercial building features a faux masonry plaster block façade and rough-cut limestone walls, with round windows, a chamfered corner entry, and an ornate metal cornice. The building was restored in 2002. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark-2009
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Built in 1884 on land owned by John R. Guynes, this two-story Italianate commercial building first sheltered the First National Bank before passing through a series of Lampasas merchants. J. N. Manuel bought it in 1900, and Manuel Hardware Co. occupied it for the next sixty years. With its faux-masonry façade, rough-cut limestone walls, chamfered corner entry, and ornate metal cornice, the restored building is a fine survivor of frontier-town commercial architecture.
Why it matters
The building embodies the ambitious brick-and-limestone Main Streets that Texas towns raised as they matured from frontier settlements into established communities.
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Related people
- · J. N. Manuel
- · John R. Guynes
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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