There was a story in the March 21, 2013, Kerrville Daily Times about this house on Broadway. It has housed a series of restaurants over the last 35 years and is currently being renovated for a new sandwich shop. When I took the photo the exterior was in the midst of being repainted.
The house was described in the newspaper as being a 1930's era house. The house is actually older than that. It was occupied no later than 1920, and probably several years earlier.
The 1924 Sanborn map shows this to have been a one story house at that time. By 1930 a second-story had been added to the front of the house. If you look at the bottom photo you can spot the original roof line behind the small tree.
It was the home of Mrs. Ella Smith, who arrived in Kerrville in 1916 and settled into this house. She, her daughter Lucile, and a son, Fred, came from Atlanta, Georgia, for Fred's health. After Fred died, Mrs. Smith and Lucile remained in Kerrville. Lucile later married Lewis W. Eldridge. The Smiths were living in this house at the time of the 1920 census. Ella remained here until here death in 1941. Later her daughter, who continued to live here, rented out rooms. It was a residential property until 1976.
I am glad that this overlooked house has survived so long. It is located on a stretch of road where other houses are being torn down for parking lots.
That place looks so much better with the horrible addition removed!
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