Haydon Central Garage - Dripping Springs Downtown Historic District - Dripping Springs, TX
Posted by: 
WalksfarTX
N 30° 11.559 W 098° 05.371
14R E 587645 N 3340483
This garage building is located at the southeast corner of Mercer and College Streets. It is a front-gabled stone building with a pyramidal-roofed front porte cochere. The building is clad in a variety of rock types including limestone, crystallized rock, and petrified wood. The result is colorful and highly textured. The porte cochere is supported by three battered stone piers and topped with a jagged decorative stone parapet.
Waymark Code: WMY2KX
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 04/08/2018
Views: 2
Texas Historic Site Atlas
Under the porte cochere is the building entrance, which has a central double entry door and four storefront windows. The west, College Street, elevation has two single-width entry doors. Approximately two-thirds of the way down this side elevation is a rectangular garage bay that passes through the width of the building and out the other side. About 1954, a cinder-block addition was built onto the side of the original building to shelter those working on cars. The parking bay has its original pressed-tin ceiling. The decorative rustic construction with limestone, crystalized rocks, and petrified wood stands out even in a town known for its stone buildings. The Haydon Garage is exceptional for its architecture and is a contributing element in the historic district.
Charlie C. Haydon bought the lot in 1925. An old wooden building on the site served hamburgers and had a barber shop. Haydon first moved the roof to the site and then built the building around the roof, beginning about 1935. Haydon’s goal was to build the rock building that occupies the lot now. Rocks from nearby cities Llano and Marble Falls, and petrified wood from McDade, were collected for the construction. Masons Wimberley and Hughs completed the rockwork which was finished in 1937. Called the Central Garage, the building was a Magnolia (Mobil) Gas station and garage. Leroy Roberts ran the service station and his wife ran a café in the east end of the station. The business had a good truck trade along Mercer Street. At one time, the station operated 24 hours a day. After the highway bypassed Mercer Street, Alva Haydon realized that he needed to move his business to Highway 290 and did so in 1964. In 1967, Jake Spears leased the garage building for his repair shop. Today it houses the Dripping Springs Rental Center.