Dry Goods - Palacios, TX
Posted by: 
jhuoni
N 28° 42.016 W 096° 12.923
14R E 772058 N 3177954
Not many of the original buildings remain in downtown Palacios. The R.J. Hill Building is now the home of the City by the Sea Museum of the Palacios Area Historical Association.
Waymark Code: WMTZB6
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 01/27/2017
Views: 1
A Texas Historical Marker on the opposite side of the building says:
Robert J. (1864-1930) and Kate Elizabeth (Breggan) Hill came to Palacios in 1904, soon after its founding. Contractor J. G. Bontrager built this concrete block commercial building for them in 1910. It originally housed a mercantile store with living quarters on the upper floor. Later uses included medical offices, a Depression-era canning kitchen, American Legion hall, Montgomery Ward store and a museum. Featuring elements of the Richardsonian Romanesque style, the Hill Building remains a prominent structure in downtown Palacios. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2000
From the 2009 National Register of Historic Places Registration Form:
The west facade contains no windows or doors on the first floor. The second floor parapet level decoration is identical to that of the east facade, but the second-floor fenestration differs slightly—it contains only five evenly spaced windows instead of six. At the north end of the west facade is a large rectangular painted mural, faded with age. It reads "DRY-GOODS" in hand-painted block letters. Below this several rows of masonry blocks were at one time painted over and/or washed clean, as no further text appears and a large span of blocks appears obscured. Adjacent to the west side facade is a narrow strip of empty land between the Hill Building and its next-door building. The lack of windows on the first floor of the west facade, however, suggests that the Hill Building's builder planned for the possible future construction of a one-story building attached to its west wall.