Phelps & Dewees Sites

The commission created by the Texas legislature in 1935 to oversee Texas' Centennial joined with the public works administration to build a memorial to Texas revolution events in Gonzales. The memorial includes a museum, amphitheater, and reflecting pool designed by acclaimed architects Phelps & Dewees. The art deco museum is built of shellstone, limestone and concrete. It features a rotunda and ornate detailing at the entryway, and in a band below the parapet. It was dedicated in 1937. A 2003 National Register of Historic Places Registration Form notes that, "The Commission allocated the sum of $30,000 and the Public Works Administration...

Text From the state historical marker reads: In response to the East Texas oil field boom, yet in the midst of the Great Depression, Kilgore residents voted to support the establishment of a junior college in 1935. Classes were held in the high school until this building was completed in 1936 with financial aid from the Public Works Administration. Designed by the San Antonio firm of Phelps & Dewees, the Kilgore College administration building remains a good example of art moderne architecture. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1990