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The Historic Round Rock Collection

Historic Architecture

The Historic Round Rock Collection is a project documenting Round Rock’s history, funded in part with a grant from the Texas Historical Commission. These pages are adapted from the original 1991 print version; later additions have been made by staff. Recent Round Rock news is given in the News feature. 

The architecture of the older sections of Round Rock is fairly typical for its time, although there are several outstanding exceptions.  Most buildings in the downtown were built between 1876 and 1881, although several buildings have facades that date from later eras.  Round Rock is also fortunate to have a well-preserved stock of houses which show the progression of middle class housing styles from the 1870s through the present.

Downtown Business District

Most of the historic buildings along Main Street from Mays to Lampasas are of simple limestone construction. Door and window arches display few decorative features and the roof lines are either unadorned or have austere parapets.

A stone building with arched windows and doors, a green bench, and signs reading Longhorn Title Company, Inc. and Notary Public Marriage. Black poles with chains line the sidewalk in front.

105 E. Main Street
Built 1876
The roofline is horizontal and is set out a few inches from the face of the building.

A small, gray stone building with two front doors and three windows, located on a quiet street corner. There are a few signs posted on the windows and two potted plants by the entrance.

121 E. Main Street
Built 1877
This building originally had a second story. Filled-in second floor windows are visible on the Lampasas side of the structure. Like 105 E. Main Street, the door arches are relatively flat and are symmetrically spaced.

A small stone building with three arched doorways, white doors, and tall windows. The sidewalk and street are in front, and a tree is visible behind the building.

112 E. Main Street 
Built 1880
This building and 109 E. Main have high door and window arches and unadorned cornices.

A small stone building with two arched doorways and a sign that reads RBC Mortgage above the entrances. A black car is parked in front on the street.

109 E. Main Street
Built 1885

There are three two-story buildings in the downtown area that are significantly more architecturally sophisticated than the others.  The Old Broom Factory, the Otto Reinke Building and the Masonic Lodge/Old Post Office Building have detailed parapets, ornate window and door arches and much finer stonework than the surrounding buildings.  The Masonic Lodge is particularly interesting with an intricate pattern of oddly-cut limestone clocks and brick detailing on its face.

Black and white photo of a two-story stone building on a street corner with arched doorways, tall windows, and traffic lights overhead. A sign with a stagecoach is visible on the building.

The Old Broom Factory
100 E. Main Street 
Built 1880
This building has been restored.  The leftmost door arch was removed when an auto shop was operated there. The work is almost undetectable.

Two-story stone building with three arched green awnings on the ground floor, three rectangular windows above, and two parked vehicles in front.

Otto Reinke Building
102 E. Main Street  
Built 1889
Notice the stylistic similarity between the decorations above the second floor windows on this building and the Masonic Lodge.  the stone door arches are much more elaborate than the other buildings in downtown Round Rock.

A historic stone building with symmetrical arched windows and doors, decorative brickwork along the roofline, and a paved sidewalk in front.

Masonic Lodge/Old Post Office
107 S. Mays Street
Built 1878
The brick detailing on this building is unique in the downtown district.

The J.A. Nelson Co. Building is also significantly more stylish than the other downtown structures. Its simple limestone construction is decorated with a Mesker Bros. facade of pressed iron and tin. This pre-manufactured front is an excellent example of a popular style of the early twentieth century. The building directly across Main Street also has a second story facade of pressed metal put up around 1907.

A two-story historic building with white walls, red trim, green awnings over the ground-floor windows, and trees partially obscuring the front. Several vehicles are parked in front of the building.

J.A. Nelson Co.
201 E. Main Street   
Built 1900
This building’s pressed tin front is attractively painted yellow with maroon and gray trim.

A small white brick building houses Turners Furniture and Louisiana Longhorn Café, with a bench on the sidewalk and a car visible through the window.

Round Rock Mercantile & Economy Drug Store
200 and 202 E. Main Street
Built 1907
The second story, not clearly visible in this photograph, is a pressed metal facade with a rough-hewn limestone block pattern.

The two red brick buildings in the downtown are also limestone with facades put up around 1920-1930. The patterned brick was a popular style during the 1920s and these buildings are good examples. Details on the parapet of 116 E. Main are quite nice, and the multi-layered brick on 118 E. Main is very interesting.

A small brick building with a white stone facade, three red-framed windows, and a red double door, set on a sidewalk with a ramp and curb in front.

116 E. Main Street
Built 1879
The diagonally-set tile on the parapet (the upper portion of the building) is a common feature of 1920’s brick fronts. The lighter brick is newer than the rest.

A brick restaurant with green awnings and a sign reading MainStreet Grill above the entrance. There are benches and tables outside on the sidewalk.

118 E. Main Street
Built 1920
Notice the texture of the brick pattern. The alternating raised and recessed areas create an interesting effect.

A historic white brick building with Jackson on the sign above the entrance, large windows, and potted plants by the doors, set against a clear sky and trees in the background.

108-110 E. Main Street
Built 1880
The original ornate facade of this building was later covered with wood for an old-west image. In the 1990s the owners restored the facade.

Small, white, single-story house with a shingled roof, American and state flags, a front porch, fenced yard, and a stone path leading to the door. A streetlight and signpost are visible to the right.

Palm House Museum
212 E. Main Street
Built 1873, moved to present location in 1976

The oldest building on Main Street is the Palm House (left), now the Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center. This house was moved to this location in 1976 from the Palm Valley area. The house is a well-preserved example of an early frontier building style: a central door and entry passage with one roughly square room on either side. The porch runs the length of the house and the roof is steeply pitched.

Residential Areas

Nelson-Crier House (Woodbine Mansion)
405 E. Main Street
Built 1895-1900, remodeled 1931
The most interesting house in Round Rock is arguably the Nelson-Crier house just east of downtown. The building originally was in a Queen Anne style with a three-story turret at the northeast corner, but was later remodeled to a neoclassical style with an Ionic-columned porch. The foundation of the turret remains as a large patio. Drastic remodeling has not diminished the beauty of this house.  (left: northeast corner ca. 1900, right: northwest corner ca. 2006).

Black and white photo of a large Victorian-style house with a prominent turret, multiple chimneys, bay windows, and a wide wraparound porch. Some sparse landscaping surrounds the house.
A large historic mansion with tall white columns, green ivy climbing the walls, and a wide front porch, surrounded by trees and lush landscaping under a clear blue sky.

The Merrell House and the St. Charles Hotel building were built at roughly the same time and are very similar architecturally.  They are essentially the two-story version of the Palm House at a somewhat larger scale and are examples of the reconstruction-era Greek Revival style.  The square columns which support the second floor porch and the roof allude to the columns of the classical Greek Revival homes.

Black and white photo of a two-story house with a large porch. Seven people and a horse stand in front of the house. Trees frame the scene. The building appears historic and has a central tower structure.

Capt. Nelson Merrell House
1516 E. Palm Valley Blvd.
Built 1870-71

A two-story historic stone house with a balcony, American and Texas flags, a metal fence, and autumn trees surrounding it.

St. Charles Hotel
8 Chisholm Trail
Built 1850?

Other local homes with a similar structure to the Palm House are the Old Stage Coach Inn, the Barker-Porter House and others in the Neighborhood east of downtown.  All these buildings date from 1850-1880.

Black-and-white photo of a stone building behind a rock wall, with text on the wall reading Texas First Stagecoach Stop, Round Rock, Tex. Trees and shrubs surround the building, evoking a sense of historic preservation and highlighting its role as a local legend.

Old Stage Coach Inn
901 Round Rock Avenue
Built 1848-53

A stone building with green shuttered windows is partially shaded by tall trees and surrounded by bushes and a low stone wall. Sunlight filters through the leaves, creating a dappled effect on the structure.

Barker-Porter House
1113 Ledbetter Street
Built 1872?

More modern style houses began to be built in the 1890s.  Below are photographs of several buildings which probably date before 1930, although only a brief examination of local residential architecture has been made.  The houses pictured below need further study and research before their architectural and historical significance can be accurately assessed.

Black and white photo of a small, single-story Victorian-style house with a front porch, decorative trim, and steep, gabled roofs. Shrubs are visible in front of the porch.

607 E. Main Street
Built 1920

Black-and-white photo of a two-story house with a front porch, columns, and a decorative fence. Large windows and trees frame the house.

Trinity Lutheran College
104 S. Georgetown
Built 1906?
Home built for the President of Trinity Lutheran College (site currently occupied by the Trinity Lutheran Home).  The home was originally located at the corner of Main and College Streets. 

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