Fort Street Presbyterian Church - San Marcos, TX - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

The NRHP application informs that:
The Fort Street Presbyterian Church is a modest, white, frame vernacular Gothic building distinguished by two octagonal towers within the arms of its cruciform plan. A gable over the sanctuary is intersected by another over the chancel. Both are covered with standing seam metal roofing. A similarly styled and finished educational wing spans the building's rear, but the half-pyramid roof of the apse is visible above it.

The towers rise from square bases, although the transition is smoothed in shingling. Above the wood louvers that comprise the walls are steep pyramidal roofs of plain sheet metal, supported by small carved brackets. The northern tower is about six feet higher than the southern. Other exterior features are triangular, carved, corner brackets at the chancel's front walls and bands of decorative shingles on the gable end. All windows in the original structure are multipaned in the Gothic style. The panes are rose, turquoise, gold,
green, or clear and stippled. Those in the sanctuary's first floor are sash, those above are on pivots.

Built in 1901 in Gothic style, Fort Street Presbyterian Church is one of only to San Marcos churches to survive without damaging alterations. The design is vernacular but elegant. Victorian-period detail inside and out beautifies the simple building, which is credited to local craftsmen. During its years of service the Fort Street Church housed three different denominations.


The building was part of the 2009 local heritage association tour, thus the secondary link below provides more history. The original facility on this site burned and was replace in kind during 1901 by the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. When the congregation merged with another, the First American Lutheran Church purchased the property in 1941. Growth caused this group to seek a larger place, so Pentecostal Holiness Church occupied the space until 1975. At the time of the NRHP application, the building was vacant. It was restored in phases from 1987 through 1998 by Jeff and Rhea Kester, who have leased portions to two law firms. This arrangement allows the perservation of the historical appearance.

Note: The NRHP plaque on the building says 1983 for date, which would be consistent with the extensive effort made during that year. However, the website says 1984, so maybe it was an application approved late in the set.

Street address: 516 W. Hopkins Street San Marcos, TX USA 78666 County / Borough / Parish: Hays County Year listed: 1984 Historic (Areas of) Significance: Architecture/Engineering Periods of significance: 1900-1924 Historic function: Religion Current function: Vacant/Not In Use > Domestic/Business 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

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Date Logged Log User Rating   03/19/2016 WalksfarTX visited it