{"nrhp_refnum":"73001983","name":"San Augustin de Laredo Historic District","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Roughly bounded by Grant and Water Sts., Convent and San Bernardino Aves.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Laredo","county":"Webb County","state":"TX","lat":27.50237544600006,"lon":-99.50560287806766,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1973-09-19","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A historic district of about 23.87 acres in the central business district of Laredo, Webb County, Texas, covering the nucleus of the original city established in 1755 around San Agustin Plaza.","why_significant":"The district is described as the last extant settlement on the north bank of the Rio Grande directly tied to the Escandon colonization. Its buildings show a continuous local development in Spanish/Mexican colonial vernacular style. Laredo was also the short-lived capital of the Republic of the Rio Grande (1839-40).","narrative":"Laredo's San Agustin district covers roughly 24 acres of downtown, centered on San Agustin Plaza and bounded by Iturbide, Santa Ursula, Convent and Water streets. It marks the core of a town founded in 1755 during Jose de Escandon's colonization of the lower Rio Grande, and the plaza area matches the nucleus surveyed in 1767. No building dates from the colonization period itself, but the houses, shops and church show how the city grew outward from this square. Notable buildings include the small stone and adobe capital of the Republic of the Rio Grande, the Gothic revival San Agustin Church with its five-story tower, and several Spanish colonial vernacular homes such as Casa Ortiz, Casa Vidaurri and the Edgardo Gonzales residence. The district was recognized as the last surviving settlement on the north bank of the river directly tied to the Escandon colonization, and for its architecture and local history.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Spanish colonial vernacular (colonial vernacular); Gothic revival for San Agustin Church","criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition listed as fair and altered; uses include commercial, private residence, religious and museum.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:19.427527-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/52/9739/40973952/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/73001983.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73001983/9648a72dba-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73001983/9648a72dba-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 2.5","author":"AMAPO","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:San_Agustin_Cathedral_Tower.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">AMAPO</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 2.5</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:San_Agustin_Cathedral_Tower.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40973952","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Agustin_de_Laredo_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7413213"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/webb-county/san-augustin-de-laredo-historic-district-73001983/"}