1621 Broadway

This distinctive two story rock building at the corner  of Broadway and G was erected in 1936.  The June 4, 1936  Kerrville Mountain Sun reported this:
"New Caroline Cafe will open Sunday.   H. E. Dixon, owner of Caroline Courts, and his son, William Dixon, .... announced they would formally open the new Caroline Cafe Sunday.
The cafe is in a new two-story rock building at the corner of Broadway and G Streets, opposite Rusche's new Sinclair Station.  William Dixon will manage the cafe, which will offer short orders, place lunches, sandwiches, beer and wines.  Service will be given at the curb.  The place will carry a small stock of groceries."
(Caroline Courts were tourist courts at the corner of Water and G Streets. Erected about 1930, they were torn down long ago. Culligan Water is there now.)
 

The Caroline Cafe changed hands several times over the next three years. The last mention of the Caroline Cafe is in 1939, so presumably it went out of business. 
Since then, the upstairs had been mostly residential, while the ground floor has had some commercial use over the years.

1201 Broadway

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.

Pioneer Lodge

2011

Originally know as Pioneer Lodge, these apartments at 1814 Broadway, Kerrville, are currently known as Broadway Place Apartments.
The first seven units of this former tourist court were erected in May 1946 by H. E. Nelson.  In July of that year, Nelson applied for another building permit to erect an addition six units. A few more were added later.

undated early photo

Tourist courts, early motels, arose in the 1920s, '30s, and '40s to meet the demands of the car-owning traveling public. Unlike hotels, which were generally downtown, the tourist court was automobile friendly. Commonly a collection of small individual cabins and cottages, the traveler could park right in front of his room, sometimes under a carport. They were often arranged around a lawn, making them inviting to families.  The style of the Pioneer Lodge, long buildings with several units under one roof, became more common after World War II as tourist courts began to look like modern motels.

It appears that the Pioneer Lodge fairly early became long-term residential units rather than overnight tourist facilities.  By 1965, when it was offered for sale, all 16 residential units, "all with kitchenettes", were occupied and provided steady income.
By 1975 they were advertised as Pioneer Lodge Apartments for Senior Citizens.  The facility has had two name changes since.  It continues today as kitchenette apartments.

1708 Broadway

This building, now home to Hill Country Affordable Motors, was constructed in the spring of 1936 by Rankin C McBryde on land owned by Henry Weiss. It was originally a Sinclair filling station.

Courtesy of Roger Lachele

As you can see from this photo of the Sinclair Ideal filling station, probably taken shortly after it opened, the building is almost unchanged.
The 3rd man from the left is Raymond Lachele, who lived in a house on G Street between Water Street and the river.

March 1936,  Rankin C. McBryde, agent for Sinclair products built "one of the new bungalow type filling stations" at the corner of Broadway and G Street, facing Highway 27.  E. L. Turner was the contractor; W. W. Miller Lumber Co. supplied materials.   The station will be operated by Alfred Rusche and the bungalow portion occupied by his family.  Rusche has operated the Sinclair station at the corner of Water Street and Medina Road for several years.When it opened in 1936 R. C.McBryde was the Sinclair agent and  Alfred Rusche was the station operator.  Rusche had previously operated the Sinclair station at the corner of Water Street and Medina Road (now G Street).

Sometime before April 1948 it became Landgrebe's Grocery.  "Guns Bought, Sold, and Traded". It may have been a grocery, but it mostly advertised guns.  In October, 1955, the grocery store suffered extensive fire damage. Landgrebe opened a new grocery at the corner of Tivy and Barnett streets and rebuilt the old store.  In addition to the grocery, by 1954 Landgrebe's Used Cars was in operation and continued here after the fire.  It  has been a used car lot ever since.

1421 Broadway

2011

1932

A. C. Schreiner sold the lot this house sits on to Y. W. Baker in June 1922.  Baker bought four adjoining lots for $900, with the apparent intention of erecting rental houses. The house you see to the rear on the left is one Baker built for himself.
This house appears on the 1924 Sanborn map so it was put up in 1923 or late 1922. At that time the house number was 1321 Broadway.
Early advertisements describe it as a modern 4 room cottage with large sleeping porch and garage.  It doesn't seem to have changed much in the intervening years. With the exception of the porch railings, even the exterior architectural details are the same.
The house today is a commercial property, and has been since at least 1985, possibly earlier.

The Old Courthouse Fence

While this may appear to be a photo of the Union Church at the intersection of Broadway, Water, and Travis Streets, it's actually a photo of the newly installed gates, part of a project to install an historic iron fence around the church.

This fence once surrounded the 1886 courthouse.
The San Antonio Daily Light, May 19, 1904, reported the big news from Kerrville: "The new courthouse fence has arrived and is being put into position."  I haven't found the contractor's name yet.  The old court minutes, which should reveal that information, are on-line, but they are very difficult to read. I may have to make a trip to the courthouse to look at the original records.

The fence was only in place 21 years.  The May 14, 1925, Kerrville Mountain Sun reported "The Commissioners authorized the removal of the fence around the court house and instructed Commissioner Beitel to dispose of same."  The fence sections then surrounded a private home for many years.  The sections were recovered and plans made several years ago to place the historic fence around the Union Church.  Lack of funding delayed the project.

The Friends of the Kerr County Historical Commission is seeking donations to complete the restoration of the fence.  You are invited to contribute.
For more information about the Union Church and the Old Courthouse Fence go to http://www.co.kerr.tx.us/historical/friends.html

In the meantime,  you can enjoy the graceful fence gates when you drive by.