Texas Building - Galveston, TX - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form
Continuation Sheet Page 10

Texas Building
1905-1906
Charles W. Bulger - Contractor

Description:

5-story, stuccoed-brick, commercial and office building; rectangular with flat roof; plain parapet and cornice; street level includes recessed entrance on each side and display windows for retail space; entrance to upper stories on northeast corner; squared pilasters support plain entablature: floors 2-4 have paired 1/1 windows with shaped and molded architraves; carved stringcourse separates 5th floor; paired round arch windows on top floor spring from squared pilasters and have carved spandrels; restoration possible with addition of missing eave and reversal of minor first- level alterations.

Significance:

Architecturally, one of major buildings on Mall; built for Fellman Dry Goods Co., one of earliest and at one time, largest department stores in Galveston. This building was connected to Fellman's existing structure on corner of Ave. D and 22nd. It was designed by Charles W. Bulger, one of the most active architects in Galveston at the time. Cost was $59,000. Remained Fellman's through 1921 directory. By 1923 had become Thompson Department Store, owned by Clark W. Thompson, who later became representative of 7th U.S. Congressional District . Last listing for Thompson Store was 1930.

From Dry Goods Economist, Vol. 74, Issues 3966 - 3973 page 71 July 10, 1920

The Fellman Dry Goods Co., Galveston, Texas, will be operated under the name of Feldman's corporation having been formed with paid-up capital stock of $100,000. Employees of the old firm hold considerable amounts of the stock and will continue to share in the management. Clark W. Thompson & H. B. Meyer, two of the incorporators, will manage the business.

From GalvestonTX.gov Texas Building

Facts

• Built in 1906
• Constructed for the Fellman Dry Goods Company, one of the earliest and largest department stores within the City of Galveston
• Originally connected to Fellman's first building on the corner of Market and 22nd Streets, which was demolished and replaced by U.S. National Bank in 1925
• Currently used as condominiums with retail space on the first floor

From Galveston Condo Living Lofts - Texas Building

Description

Lofts @ Texas Building has given new life to the 1906 Fellman Dry Goods Company building in the Strand Entertainment district in Galveston, TX. Formerly one of the earliest department stores in Galveston, converted to loft and retail space, all units have interior entry doors, with restricted access to the building. Parking at Lofts @ Texas is assigned in a private lot nearby. Lofts @ Texas are within easy walking distance of restaurants, nightclubs, shopping, and entertainment in the Strand District.

Building Summary

• Number of Floors: 5
• Number of Units: 16
• Pets Allowed?: Yes
• Vacation Rentals Allowed?: No
• View: Downtown

Features/Amenities

• Rooftop deck
• Lobby
• Elevator
• Restricted access
• Assigned parking

From the National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Architect Charles William Bulger

Zion's German Lutheran Church Las Animas County, Colorado
Section Number 8 Page 6-7

Charles William Bulger

Charles William Bulger was born in Delphi, Indiana, on August 3, 1851. Information about his immediate family and young life in Delphi is unknown. He attended Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana; but whether Bulger took a course in architecture, or if it was even available at the college, is not known. The next thing we know about him is that he and his wife Ida "were among twelve pioneers" that organized the First Baptist Church in Anthony, Kansas, on June 27, 1880 (Anthony-First Century 1978:96). In the Weekly Anthony Republican, for September 27, 1884, a brief article reported that Bulger was erecting his home in the northeast part of town. Bulger, his wife and two children were recorded in the 1885 census of Anthony. The first reference to the firm of Bulger & Rapp in Anthony, thus far discovered, appeared in March 1885. It seems their early partnership consisted of being contractors and building supervisors, along with owning a lumberyard. Their first documented commission to draft plans for a building came in December 1885, for the First Baptist Church. Between 1886 and early 1888, they received numerous commissions to design commercial, residential and religious buildings in the town. One of the most significant commissions was for the three-story Anthony Opera House. They also received the contract for the superstructure. Completed and dedicated on December 13, 1887, the opera house was purported to cost $30,000. The last mention of the firm appeared in the Republican on March 16, 1888, when Bulger & Rapp failed to receive the design contract for Clark County's new courthouse in Ashland, Kansas.

Bulger arrived in Trinidad, as reported by the town's local newspapers, on April 9, 1888. The Trinidad Daily Advertiser, in its April 10 edition, stated that Mr. Rapp, "...will follow within a few days. The firm will office with Mr. C.T. Quisenberry [a local real estate man] in the John-Bell block...." The first documented commission for Bulger & Rapp came in May 1888, for D.L. Taylor. It was to be a two-story building located on Commercial Street. The foundation was completed, but for some unknown reason the building was not finished. The next commission was received in July 1888, for a city hall and fire hose company to be located next to R.G. Sipe's building on North Commercial. It was completed in May 1889. The first commission for a religious building, Temple Aaron, was received in March 1889, followed in April for the German Lutheran Church (now Zion's Lutheran Church). The firm went on to design many other significant buildings, one being the Richardsonian Romanesque style First National Bank (1889). Of the numerous buildings they designed in Trinidad (1888-1890), eighteen are extant as of 2005. Early on, Bulger seemed to be suffering from the high altitude of Trinidad (6,025 ft.). A local newspaper reported his disabling bouts with "mountain fever", now referred to as "altitude sickness." The first intimation that Bulger was considering leaving Trinidad, because of his inability to cope with the high altitude, was reported in the Trinidad Daily News for January 5, 1891. He traveled to Galveston, Texas, with C.T. Quisenberry, and commented that he came to that city with the intention of making it his home. On March 10, 1891, members and friends of the local Baptist church gave a surprise farewell party for the Bulgers. Bulger practiced in Galveston from 1891 to 1904, designing a number of commercial and residential buildings. Along with his family, Bulger survived the devastating 1900 hurricane as they took shelter in his office in the Levy Building, which he designed in 1896. In 1902, the architect's son, Clarence C. Bulger, joined the firm after graduating from the University of Chicago with a degree in architecture. In 1904, the family moved to Dallas where Charles W. Bulger & Son are credited with designing numerous buildings. One of them, the fifteen-story Praetorian Building, was Texas' first true steel framed skyscraper, built in 1907. The firm designed buildings, including more than 60 churches, in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and New Mexico. Bulger died on June 17, 1922, and his son continued the practice.

Street address: 2200 Central Plaza Galveston, TX USA 77550 County / Borough / Parish: Galveston Year listed: 1984 Historic (Areas of) Significance: Architecture/Engineering Periods of significance: 1900-1924 Historic function: Commerce/Trade Current function: Commerce/Trade/Residential Privately owned?: yes Primary Web Site: [Web Link] Secondary Website 1: [Web Link] Season start / Season finish: Not listed Hours of operation: Not listed Secondary Website 2: Not listed National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
Please give the date and brief account of your visit. Include any additional observations or information that you may have, particularly about the current condition of the site. Additional photos are highly encouraged, but not mandatory.

Recent Visits/Logs:

There are no logs for this waymark yet.