Garland City Council agreed unanimously to back the application of downtown Garland building owners to seek admission to the National Register of Historic Places.
Council also concurred with the request of Garland property owner Richard D Hargrove of Alston’s Old Home Place antiques that city consultant Quimby McCoy Preservation Architecture expedite a decision on whether Hargrove’s building should be included within the boundary lines for the Garland Downtown Historic District.
11th Street’s Louis Moore, whose Travis College Hill Historic District’s nomination to the National Register was advanced by the Texas Historical Commission in September, lauded property owners such as Hargrove for pressing council to be included within the district boundaries.
Hargrove said his property at 212 North Seventh Street, site of the popular antiques business near the downtown square, was on a city list of property owners that would be included in the district but then appeared outside the official boundary map that was presented to council.
Hargrove said his family’s building, built in 1925, was well within the period of significance (1897-1967) that the city has determined as the basis for its application. He asked council to encourage the city to amend its application to include the property.
Justin Curtsinger of Quimby McCoy agreed to the firm’s meeting soon with property owner Hargrove to look at the Hargrove property closer to see whether it qualifies for inclusion and “determine its integrity.” He said the firm has until Jan. 19 to make minor tweaks in the city’s application before the State Board of Review meeting in Houston Jan. 21.
He noted that the firm is also working with another downtown property owner who has expressed interest in having the city’s application (for the Jan. 21 meeting) modified to possibly show his building moved from the “noncontributing” status to be “contributing.” This building later was identified to be 107 North Sixth, home of the Generator Coffee House & Bakery on the square’s west side, owned by Garland native Robert A. Smith,
Becky Beck King, managing director for the city, said initially some 300 properties within downtown Garland were considered possibilities for inclusion in the National Register nomination but that after counsel with the Texas Historical Commission the boundaries were narrowed.
“We want to make sure it’s a compact district,” Curtsinger said.
He explained that the goal was to not have “random buildings out there and to have a nice filled-in area” so that it doesn’t appear the boundaries are drawn solely to include a particular building. He said this doesn’t exclude buildings such as Hargrove’s from applying later as an individual structure or applying to be added to the boundaries. He said the THC has reviewed the map and “is comfortable with the boundaries” as they exist.
However, the boundary lines on the map do venture across the Santa Fe tracks on the downtown’s East Side and jut out in a somewhat irregular shape to include the A.J. Head building at 316 Main Street, once a combination of residential and commercial site and now owned by Smith.
King said the Hargrove building, although currently used as a commercial establishment, has been considered noncontributing to the district because of its initial use as a residence, while the others in the district are commercial.
Hargrove noted that his grandparents, Marvin and Thetis Alston, bought the building in 1943 and ran a furniture store out of it while they continued to live there throughout the 1940s and 1950s. In the 1960s Marvin and his son, Marvin Richard Alston (Hargrove’s uncle), opened a fruit stand at the location on Seventh Street and continued this through the 1970s (after the family discontinued using it as a residence). The Alston family has operated an antiques business in its current form there since 1995.
District 2 Council Member Anita Goebel moved that council approve the resolution supporting the nomination. This would be the second National Register district in Goebel’s district, including Travis College Hill. Council Member Rich Aubin (District 5), who was part of the Garland delegation present at the Alpine meeting of the State Review Board for Travis College Hill, seconded the motion.
The resolution was approved with a statement that the city include an amended boundary map if it is determined that the Hargrove structure is contributing.