Historic Downtown Kingsville has been host to many of the town's local businesses and attractions since its establishment in 1904. While today much of Kingsville's main commerce takes place along King Avenue and 14th Street, Historic Downtown continues to be an integral part of the Kingsville community.

KLEBERG AVENUE

Though Historic Downtown Kingsville technically spans a much larger area, the most well-known range is Kleberg Avenue from the Train Depot Museum between 5th and 6th Streets down to the Kleberg County Courthouse on 11th Street. Every year, this stretch of Kleberg Avenue features numerous annual parades and festivals, including La Posada and the Ranch Hand Festival, the latter of which is co-sponsored by the neighboring King Ranch. Kleberg Avenue is also home to unique locally-owned businesses for shopping and dining, as well as local amenities such as the Kingsville Post Office and Kingsville Municipal Building.

 

TRAIN DEPOT MUSEUM

1904 Train Depot Museum.
Photo taken by Miranda Briseño (Feb. 2018)

The Train Depot could perhaps be considered where Kingsville began. In 1904, the construction of the St. Louis, Brownsville and Mexico Railway reached the newly-formed community of Kingsville. The city considers its official founding date to be when the first train passed through on July 4, 1904. Through the 1960s, the Train Depot would be the first place exiting train passengers would see. The current building is a restoration of the original 1904 structure and was reopened as a museum for Kingsville's centennial on July 4, 2004. The museum features exhibits that highlight the impact of railroads on the city, including photographs and a fully operational telegraph. The museum is manned entirely on a volunteer basis and is free and open to the public. 

UNITED STATES POST OFFICE

The current United States Post Office building at the southwest corner of Kleberg Avenue and 6th Street was built in 1935. Before its construction, the Post Office was housed intermittently in several other buildings around town.  In 2004, the building was renamed in honor of the late Texas State Representative Irma Lerma Rangel.

OLD R.J. KLEBERG BANK BUILDING & CITY OF KINGSVILLE MUNICIPAL BUILDING

Formerly the location of Kingsville City Hall before it's relocation to the renovated original Henrietta M. King High School Building, the City's Municipal Court remained at the Old R.J. Kleberg Bank Building on the northeast corner of Kleberg Avenue and 6th Street. Today, they serve the residents of Kingsville by reviewing and resolving city violations to uphold justice.

In its original form, the R.J. Kleberg Bank was a staple in the making of Kingsville. Organized in 1905, it was the first bank in town and essentially funded the community's construction. The building's original wooden structure suffered an irreparable fire on New Year's Eve in 1909, however the vault containing the money and Bank's records remained safe, allowing the Bank to continue its business. The new building that stands today was completed and opened in 1910. Kleberg Bank occupied only the first floor of the building and rented out the extra space to several tenants throughout the years, including a drugstore, a meat market, a jewelry store, and offices for attorneys, doctors, a dentist, the Kingsville Land & Investment Company and the King Ranch. The Bank sold the building to the City of Kingsville for $125,000 in 1969 and the City of Kingsville moved in in 1971. Kleberg Bank moved across the street to the northwest corner of Kleberg Avenue and 6th Street where its main branch still operates today. 

JOHN B. RAGLAND MERCANTILE COMPANY BUILDING

In 1904, John B. Ragland purchased the southeast corner lot on Kleberg Avenue and 6th Street to open his general store in a one-story 15x40 ft. building. Prior to his death in 1908, he sold the lots to the newly formed John B. Ragland Mercantile Company. In 1909, the John B. Ragland Mercantile Company commissioned architect Jules Leffland to design a two-story building on the lots. The first floor housed the company's department store, locally known as Ragland's, where they sold dry goods, clothing, and shoes. The second floor contained office space and community rooms. Ownership of the building was transferred to King Ranch, Inc. in 1950. Renovations to modernize the building transformed both the exterior and interior from its original Italianate facade. With the development of new malls and franchises in other parts of the city, the downtown district fell into an economic decline in the late 1970s. In 1989, the building underwent an extensive restoration to resemble its original exterior appearance, though the unavailability of certain materials required certain changes to be necessary. In 1993, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Today, the building houses the King Ranch Saddle Shop where they sell furniture, apparel, and fine leather goods. 

KINGSVILLE HARDWARE STORE & FLATO OPERA HOUSE

Flato Building.
Photo taken by Miranda Briseño (Feb. 2018)

Next door to the John B. Ragland Mercantile Company Building, Charles H. Flato opened up the Kingsville Hardware Store in 1911. The second floor housed the Flato Opera House, which held seating for 641 people, and a community room that was used for balls, dances, social gatherings, and other community events. King Ranch files indicate that the building was designed by Jules Leffland, the same designer of the Ragland's building next door, and built by Kingsville contractor C.A. McCracken. The Opera House closed in 1918 due to the competition of movie theaters. The King Ranch Saddle Shop moved into the newly vacated space until 1936. The Kingsville Hardware Store continued to operate in the west side of the first floor. The east side was rented out to several businesses throughout the years. The Kingsville Hardware Store went out of business by 1971 and the last business, a gift shop called The Collector's Shop, left the building by 1975. The building was left abandoned until a restoration project was undertaken by the Kingsville Action Network in 1986. Today, the first floor of the building is occupied by clothing and accessories stores Cactusflower and Blue Quail Designs.

FIRST STATE BANK OF KINGSVILLE

In 1909, Benjamin Taylor Laws was sent by investors to find a location for a new bank and eventually settled on Kingsville. In August of that year, the bank charter for the First State Bank was granted. The building was erected next door to the Flato Building in 1910. The Bank closed its doors on October 13, 1931 due to depository issues but reopened on December 12, 1931 after a community effort to reorganize. The Bank continued to prosper and grow, eventually moving out of the building in 1969. There have since been several transfers of ownership of the building with a variety of businesses. It is currently owned by Cavazos Properties and occupied by Linda's Main Street Cafe. 

HARREL'S KINGSVILLE PHARMACY, SODA FOUNTAIN & GIFT SHOP

In 1916, Nick Harrel, Sr. established the Harrel Drug Company. The building houses Harrel's Kingsville Pharmacy, a soda fountain diner, and a storefront that sells a variety of gifts and other merchandise. The business has been maintained by the Harrel family, passing on to Nick Harrel, Jr. in 1981. Today, the current owner is Nick Harrel, III, who can often be found behind the pharmacy counter or throughout the store on a regular basis. His sister, Claudia Edgerton, manages the other aspects of the business, including selecting the gifts and merchandise and how it is displayed. The soda fountain is a popular local dining spot due to its old-fashioned atmosphere and relatively cheap food prices. Harrel's Pharmacy was proclaimed a Texas Treasure Business by the State of Texas in 2013. 

FUENTES BUILDING

During a time when business districts were traditionally segregated, the area known as Hispanic Downtown was located on Richard Avenue, several blocks away from the Anglo Downtown area on Kleberg Avenue. In 1942, Luis and Manuela Fuentes broke the mold by opening up the first Hispanic owned business on Kleberg Avenue. The property, located near the corner of Kleberg Avenue and 7th Street, became home to  El Nuevo Mundo, a department store. Eventually, the store expanded to the corner of 7th Street after Luis Fuentes purchased the adjacent properties in 1951. El Nuevo Mundo closed in 1961, and the Fuentes family began leasing the space to other tenants.  

On July 29, 2017, a fire broke out within the Fuentes building, causing irreparable damage and displacing its current tenants, including the businesses King Printing and Kingsville Shoe Repair, who had been established there since the 1980s. The building was torn down and the corner lot currently sits empty.

The location of the Fuentes Building until the 2017 fire.
Photo taken by Miranda Briseño (Feb. 2018)

KLEBERG COUNTY COURTHOUSE

The Kleberg County Courthouse was built in 1914, a year after Kleberg County was founded and Kingsville was named the county seat. Atlee B. Ayres of San Antonio was employed to design the new building. Though it was reported to be completed on time and mostly on budget, the County found it still lacked some electrical work and plumbing upon moving in. The first floor houses County amenities, including the courtroom, judge, attorney, and clerk's offices, and tax assessor. The second floor contains the District courtroom along with judge, district attorney, and clerk's offices, two petit jury rooms, and a grand jury room. The third floor was meant to be entirely devoted to the jail and quarters for the jailer, and was designed to be well arranged for the health and comfort of its prisoners. In 1994, it was decided that a new jail was needed as the government had outgrown its old facilities. The new jail moved to its new facilities by 1997. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2010. 

REFERENCES AND SOURCES

Hunter, C. A., & Hunter, L. G. (1994). Historic Kingsville, Texas: Guide to the Original Townsites (Vol. 1). Kingsville, TX: Kingsville Historical Development Board.

Allison, P. (2011). Images of America: Kingsville. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing.

Acosta, T. (2013, September 8). Harrel's is a 'Texas Treasure'. Kingsville Record and Bishop News. Retrieved from http://www.kingsvillerecord.com/news/harrel-s-is-a-texas-treasure/article_b43e5206-005c-5f06-af0b-3d0753ab22ce.html

Ruiz, A. (2017, August 2). Fuentes Building, a Hispanic milestone in downtown Kingsville. Kingsville Record and Bishop News. Retrieved from http://www.kingsvillerecord.com/business/fuentes-building-a-hispanic-milestone-in-downtown-kingsville/article_aac97806-770c-11e7-bd92-0b303907cd68.html